Fight for the Lost
by LuxDragon
Summary: Entire human colonies are vanishing. To save humanity, the galaxy's best and toughest individuals come together to form an unlikely team, all led by one very specific man. Novelization of Mass Effect 2. Default Male/Paragade/Multi-Class. Shepard/Miranda. Poster by EpisodeSkywalker
1. Prologue

_**Location: Unknown**_

An unknown star casted its light into a darkened office. The star burned with a beautiful, yet prophetic glow of an angry red surrounded by a serene blue, each vying for dominance.

A lone figure sat inside the office, his chair facing the star. He was immaculately dressed in an expensive designer suit. Surrounding his chair were holographic monitors with varying charts and reports surrounded him, detailing reports of varying operations, funds, and information to be stored, analyzed, and used when the time comes.

The Illusive Man smiled grimly at some monitors, scowled at others, but always continued to process the information he received with a calm, cool, and clinical detachment. News vids coupled with reports from some of his operatives told the story of the attack on the Citadel, the so-called "heart" of galactic power. The destruction of the presidium, the collateral damage on the wards, the remains of the once mighty Citadel Fleet; everything regarding the attack was observed and studied by the Illusive Man.

The attack has shown how vulnerable the aliens were. That the Citadel Council was not infallible, was not untouchable, and was not invincible. All of Citadel space was in mourning of the tens of thousands of lives lost in the attack, but the Illusive Man was a man of vision. He saw opportunity; the opportunity to elevate humanity to their rightful place in the galaxy.

Another report came in showing the Alliance's response to the attack. The Illusive Man glanced at the report before moving on to others. The Alliance was weak. Politicians, bloated officials, and clumsy military branches; the Alliance was a slow, blunt tool weighed down by conventions, laws and public opinions. They could not be trusted to make the necessary decisions to bring humanity to the future. If the Alliance weren't foolishly standoffish to their alien partners, then they were kowtowing to the other species in pathetic attempts to appease them.

The Illusive Man knew that only Cerberus could champion humanity. Only Cerberus could elevate humanity above all others. _Cerberus is humanity_. The Illusive Man turned his head toward a picture of Lieutenant Commander John Shepard when he appeared on another monitor. _Cerberus may be feared and hated now, but that is a power on its own. Our goals will be met no matter the opposition._

Other reports flooded in, gathered by various Cerberus operatives. In the following weeks following the attack, the Illusive Man immediately ordered any and all information regarding the ships, races, and personnel involved, specifically the actions of the first human Spectre. The Illusive Man was not a fool. Both the Citadel Council and the Alliance will not divulge any details regarding the attack, but the Illusive Man was patient. He knew that all the information would come to him in due time.

_We live in interesting times, _thought the Illusive Man as he smoked from the cigarette in his hand. Humanity was given a spot on the council. For centuries, the council remained a triumvirate. The three "dominate" species in Citadel space: Asari, Turian, and Salarian, held the highest positions of power and had always tried to keep humanity at a distance. With the geth attack and the Alliance's timely rescue, none could deny the presence humanity held. With the destruction of the Citadel fleet and the alien races rushing to protect their own individual spaces, the Alliance now held the dominate fleet.

Even with this victory however, politics will undoubtedly become involved. The Illusive Man knew that holding onto power was more difficult than seizing it. Now was the time to strike, while humans held the political advantage. What power the Alliance will have would be temporary as memories fade, gratitude would change to distrust. Old suspicions and resentment would return and in time, the alien's fleets would rebuild and they would seek to get the power back and cast humanity back down. This was all but another step for Cerberus. The continued struggle for dominance.

As the Illusive Man studied the classified reports regarding the attack, he heard the door to his office open. Very precious few were ever allowed to be in his office, much less gain the honor of a personal meeting with him. The confident steps told him who it was, long before he saw his guest.

"Miranda," the Illusive Man greeted without looking away from the reports Shepard gave to the council throughout his mission to stop Saren.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda Lawson walked purposefully into the Illusive Man's office. Very rarely was anyone called to meet the head of Cerberus personally, so she knew what he was about to say was of the utmost priority. The message she received only stated that her next mission involved Commander Shepard. Always ready, she immediately conducted research on the Spectre en route, to be prepared for whatever the Illusive Man wanted.

As she walked into the darkened office, she slowed her steps at the Illusive Man's voice. "Sir," she greeted simply.

She stopped past his holo-monitors and looked at the star. Nothing was said between them and she knew he was testing her, to see if she was the right operative for what job he had in mind. Fortunately, she knew it was no coincidence that her mission involved Shepard so soon after his victory at the Battle of the Citadel. Without turning to face him, she started the conversation. "Shepard did everything right, more than what we could've hoped for... saving the Citadel, even saving the council. Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy." Turning her head toward him, she continued. "And still, it's not enough."

Her guess was rewarded with a glance. Tapping the cigarette in his left hand, he finally spoke. "Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains our best hope."

She turned around to fully look her superior in the eye. She noted an assistant walking behind him with a holopad in hand. "But they're sending him to fight Geth. Geth!" she said as she walked through the holovids to stand before the Illusive Man. The assistant passed the holopad to him. "We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are still out there."

After glancing at the holopad, the Illusive Man passed it back to the unknown assistant. Taking another drag from his cigarette, he simply stated, "And it's up to us to stop them," before exhaling his smoke.

She crossed her arms. "The council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help, even after everything humanity has accomplished." She turned toward the monitor with Shepard's picture still displayed. "But Shepard, they'll follow him. He's a hero, a bloody icon." She turned back to face her superior. "But he's just one man," she stated. "If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."

She watched as he put out his cigarette in the ash tray built in the armrest in his chair. Looking up at the reports, he finally issued his order to her. "Then see to it that we **don't** lose him."

The Illusive Man's assistant stood next to Miranda, holding a holopad out to her. Miranda took one last glance at him to see if she was missing anything, before taking the holopad and leaving. Once outside she studied her new orders.

_The Lazarus Project._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Amada System, SSV Normandy SR-1**_

_One month after the Battle of the Citadel_

In the empty void of space, all was quiet. Stars continued to twinkle millions of light-years away and planets and moons continued their unending dance. A ship appears, as if flashing into existence. As the frigate returned to normal space, the vector engine nozzles extended and propelled the ship forward, the name "Normandy" and "SR-1" prominent on the hull of the vessel.

Within the ship, a man walked toward the bow of the Normandy, his gait suggesting years of experience within the military. His balding head was crowned with gray and his eyes are surrounded by crow's feet. The crew acknowledged him with deference and respect.

As he walked past Dr. Chakwas in the CIC, he heard Joker's report overhead. "Disengaging FTL drives, emission sinks active. Board is green, we are running silent."

When he finally reached the bridge, Navigator Pressly voiced his opinion to Joker, "We're wasting our time. Four days searching up and down this sector and we haven't found any sign of Geth activity."

Joker turned to glance at the XO, before returning his attention to the displays in front of him. "Three ships went missing here in the past month. Something happened to them."

Pressly tapped Ensign Jamin Bakari on the shoulder to relieve him of his shift. Bakari nodded gratefully and left. "My money's on slavers," Pressly retorted. "The Terminus System is crawling with them." The disgust was evident in his voice. Whether it was at the slavers or the inaction, Joker didn't know.

Any further debate was interrupted by Ensign Addison Chase. "Picking something up on the long range scanner," she announced. She moved a screen to the left and pulled another up to better see what the anomaly was. "Unidentified vessel… hmm…" Addison looked closer at her monitors. "Looks like a cruiser."

Joker took a glance at a monitor to his left. "Doesn't match any known signatures."

Addison looked troubled. Sitting up straighter, she looked at her monitors and said, "Cruiser is changing course." Tapping a few more monitors, she said, "Now on intercept trajectory."

Pressly looked at his own monitors, but couldn't believe his eyes. Double checking the ensign's findings, Pressly exclaimed, "Can't be, stealth systems are engaged. There's no way a geth ship could possibly…"

His disbelief was interrupted however when Joker grimly stated, "It's not the geth." Fingers flying across his panels, Joker yelled, "Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

Pressly wasted no time. Trusting Joker, he disengaged the stealth systems and immediately hit the commands to put the Normandy into red alert.

**~o~O~o~**

The cruiser followed the Normandy closely, tracking it's every movement. In the darkness of space, a yellow glow emitted from the center of the cylindrical ship. A yellow beam lanced toward the Normandy barely missing but continued a sustained attack as the frigate did everything it could to outmaneuver the unknown enemy and escape to FTL speeds.

The enemy ship continued its relentless attack however, and soon scored a direct hit on the port side vector thrusters, tearing through shield and armor with minimal resistance.

**~o~O~o~**

Throughout the ship, that glancing blow was felt. Systems immediately overloaded as the attack tore its way through the Normandy. Alarms blared and crewmen were scrambling to contain the damage.

In the bridge Pressly had only moments to read out the damage report before the console exploded. As he fell, his final thoughts drifted toward his last mission. Saren, geth, reapers, and how they defied the odds time and time again. His final thoughts were toward the crew of the Normandy, human and alien alike. At the thought of the nonhuman members of the ship he couldn't help but think, _the commander was right, they really weren't that bad._

**~o~O~o~**

Joker desperately tried to push his girl out of harm's way. His eyes flashed across different monitors trying to predict the enemy's attack, the damage Normandy sustained, and his ability to maneuver. His ears heard the screams of the wounded and dying, every explosion that they were experiencing, and every command that was issued from dozens of different people.

He heard Pressly's scream of pain and hoped that he was all right. He heard Allison's shout before her console exploded. Through it all, he continued to pilot Normandy as best as he could. "Kinetic barriers down!" Joker shouted. The heat from the fire from Allison's console grew behind him. "Multiple hull breaches! Weapons offline! Somebody get that fire out!"

As he looked back at the enemy cruiser's position, he knew that there was no way to avoid the next attack and braced himself for impact.

**~o~O~o~**

The Normandy flew as best as she could, but her pursuer continued to persist. Another shot from the enemy's main cannon struck the frigate on her main body. Fires erupted as oxygen from multiple breaches fed the flames, only to be extinguished moments later from the cold vacuum of space.

In one last act of defiance the Normandy entered the orbit nearby planet of Alchera and pushed around the plant to break the line of sight, using the planet as cover in an effort to get away from the enemy ship.

**~o~O~o~**

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams sprinted through the second deck, moving past scrambling crewmen that were trying to deal with the fires and explosions. She ran to the captain's quarters only to see that the doors were jammed. "Shepard!" Ashley cried, trying to open the doors. One crewman carrying another wounded shipmate passed her.

"He's at the end of the hall!" he yelled as carried he the wounded towards the escape pods. Ashley wasted no time and tore her way through the mess of wires and debris. More explosions rocked the ship as screams of the injured and dying flooded her senses. _Just like Eden Prime all over again,_ Ashley thought as she tried to find the one man that mattered most to her.

_There!_ Ashley ran toward the figure in N7 armor. She stopped as she saw Shepard secure his helmet. Life support was no doubt failing. "Shepard!"

Standing tall and calm despite the chaos that erupted around him, Ashley was once again reminded why, out of all the possible candidates, the Alliance chose Shepard to represent humanity. His background and service record be damned, they were only footnotes compared to standing before the man himself.

His visor was tinted to prevent any exposure to the explosions or when the hull breaches, the nearby sun to blind him. Ashley could almost imagine the calm, reassuring, and penetrating blue eyes behind the mask.

"Distress beacon is ready for launch," Shepard said, turning toward Ashley.

Ashley secured her own helmet. "Will the Alliance get here in time?"

Another explosion rocked the Normandy. Ashley stumbled, but Shepard caught her in time before she fell. _Always trust him to catch me, _Ashley idly thought. She looked up at him as she regained her balance.

Another fire broke out near a console. None of the fire suppression systems kicked in. "The Alliance won't abandon us!" Shepard said as he grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to combat the blaze. "We just need to hold on!"

Ashley grabbed another fire extinguisher and helped fight off the flames. "Get everyone onto the escape pods!" She heard Shepard shout.

"Joker is still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship!" Ashley yelled. She turned toward Shepard and saw him trying to get the fire suppression system working again. "I'm not leaving either!" Ashley declared.

The nearby console flashed to life. Shepard turned toward Ashley and gripped her shoulders. Looking into her eyes, Shepard said, "I need you to get the crew to the evac shuttles." Turning away, Shepard moved toward the console. "I'll take care of Joker."

Another explosion shook the deck. Regaining her balance, Ashley tried desperately to get her words out. All she could say was, "Commander."

"Ashley, go." Shepard turned to look at her one last time. "Now."

Ashley stood frozen for a moment, only a moment, considering defying Shepard's order, but reason won and all she could say was, "Aye, aye." Turning around she ran to get as many of the crew as she could.

Manipulating the console, Shepard finally activated the fire suppression system, giving everyone alive a chance to get past the blazes and into the escape pods. Once finished, he activated the one alarm every captain hopes they would never use. The evacuation alarm rang throughout the wounded frigate. The Normandy VI rang out: "All hands abandon ship. All hands abandon ship. This is not a drill."

**~o~O~o~**

Having gathered as many people as she could find, Ashley led the way to the nearest escape pod. Foam from the nozzles above made the way harder to run, but the fires were no longer a problem. Turning right at the next junction, she heard the VI telling everyone to abandon ship.

Stopping in front of the hatch of the escape pod, Ashley barked out, "Everyone in! Go! Go! Go!"

Dr. Chakwas and other crew members sat in the seats at the rear as their training taught them, so as to make room for others as they came in. Ashley saw one last crew member trying to reach the entrance of the pod before another explosion rang out and caught her, mere feet away. Forcing away the echoes of her dying scream, Ashley jumped into the pod and sealed the door. As she felt the pod rumble, preparing to eject them from the Normandy, she found herself praying to God. Not for herself or for the others with her, but for Shepard. She was praying that he would be all right, that he wouldn't go down with the Normandy. That he would return to her.

**~o~O~o~**

The hull of the Normandy opened, revealing six escape pods on her stern. One by one they ejected, sending all the survivors of the Normandy toward the planet she was orbiting. The Normandy accelerated with what power she had left, limping away from the pods. With luck, the Normandy would be a better target for the enemy than small escape pods. Futilely using what thrusters remained, what thrusters worked, Normandy continued to orbit the planet she was trapped in, lacking the power to break it's gravity well. A trail of smoke and debris were drifting behind it.

**~o~O~o~**

Satisfied that the pods were ejected, Shepard turned away from the console. An explosion from his left nearly rocked him off his feet, but he regained his balance quickly. Looking at his HUD, the brunt of the explosion was caught by his shields and was already regenerated.

He ran down the length of the corridor avoiding what explosions he could and trusting his shields to protect him from the explosions that did get him. His radio picked up Joker broadcasting on all available channels.

"Mayday, mayday! This is SSV Normandy! We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy!" he yelled.

As Shepard reached the stairs leading to the CIC, he heard Joker plead with the Normandy, "Come on baby, hold together, hold together."

Reaching the top of the stairs, the doors opened, stealing what little atmosphere remained from the lower decks and venting it into space. Shepard looked up, seeing the massive hole torn in the hull by the attack from the enemy weapon. He saw the planet they were orbiting and the debris that floated around them. Looking around, the power to the CIC was out, which meant mass effect fields were out, which meant no more artificial gravity. Only thanks to his magnetic boots was he spared from flying out into space. _Every marine a rifleman, every marine zero-gee certified,_ Shepard thought as he moved as quickly as he dared toward the bridge.

Pushing aside chairs that were dislodged from the explosions or attack, Shepard saw that a barrier was protecting Joker from the merciless elements of space. Passing through the barrier, Shepard felt gravity again. Power was still on in the cockpit. _Normandy's still trying to protect us_. Looking down he saw Pressly and Chase were dead. Focusing on his goal Shepard ran up to Joker and grabbed his arm while shouting, "Come on Joker! We have to get out of here!"

Joker pulled his arm away. "No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!"

One quick glance at any working monitors told a different story to Shepard though. "The Normandy's lost. Going down with the ship won't change that."

Joker looked at his commander with despair in his eyes, fighting the truth that they were going to lose another member of the crew no matter what. Giving in, he nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, okay. Help me up."

When nothing happened, he turned to Shepard. He saw him focused on one of the monitors and turned his head to see what was up. Dread fell down his spine as he saw what Shepard was seeing voiced out what they both knew.

"They're coming around for another attack!"

**~o~O~o~**

The unknown cruiser had finally caught up to the frigate. The Normandy was trapped with a planet below and the enemy above. The cruiser charged its main gun as it closed in for the kill.

**~o~O~o~**

A high pitched screeching sound caught Shepard's attention as he turned around and saw the energy weapon of the enemy cut through Normandy, as if they were trying to shear off the bridge from the rest of the ship. Knowing that time was running out he turned back toward Joker and threw finesse out the window. Roughly grabbing his arm and ignoring his pained cry, "Watch the arm!" Shepard picked up Joker and dragged him out of his chair, taking care not to break his brittle legs.

Together, they limped toward the last escape pod, the one reserved for the bridge and CIC crew. It was still there. _The crew probably got spaced, _Shepard grimly thought as he pulled Joker to the pod. Hitting panel on the side, the doors opened. he wasted no time pushing Joker inside, carefully as he could, into the nearest seat. Just as Joker entered the pod, another explosion rang out, right next to Shepard. He tried to get into the pod, but the next explosion tore the ship apart, the shockwave blasting him back against the wall and away from the pod draining his shield. Power shut down and artificial gravity was gone forcing him into zero-g. Pain flooded his senses, _broke some bones probably_, he thought. Knowing that Joker wasn't wearing a hardsuit and that the vacuum of space would kill him, Shepard did the only thing left; he hit the panel to close the pod just before floating away.

He managed to hear Joker's cry, "Shepard!" just before another series of explosions pushed him into space and drained the last of his shields.

Looking back as he floating in the black, Shepard saw his ship torn apart by the relentless fire power of the enemy. As he floated among the debris, all he could hear was his own breathing. All he could see was the remains of his ship floating around him. As he observed the death of the Normandy, he dimly became aware of the cold chill within his suit.

Hard suits were environmentally controlled, which included temperature. The only reason he'd feel a chill inside his suit was if the suit was malfunctioning. Looking at his HUD, his suspicions and fears were confirmed. The readings were flickering, but he saw that his oxygen levels were dropping rapidly. White gas filled his vision then and Shepard knew his suit had been ruptured. Already, he could feel a choking sensation involved with asphyxiation. Grabbing at his neck, he desperately tried to hold the damage back, but it was useless. Still, he struggled, as he always had, never giving in, never stopping, and always refusing to admit defeat.

As darkness crept along his vision, his thoughts turned back to Benezia's last words: "No light. They always said there was a light." In his last moments, Shepard saw a light from the nearby sun and then… nothing.

Author's Notes:

This is my first fic. Having played Mass Effect 1 and 2, I'm hoping to keep to the lore of the game. I've also read the books written by lead writer of the series, Drew Karpyshyn. If any of you read his second book "Mass Effect Ascension", then some of you will recognize some of the early paragraphs as inspiration of the Illusive Man. I do not plagiarize. I used his work as an atmosphere for the Illusive Man himself.

As you may have no doubt noticed, this is a novelization of the Mass Effect 2.

The greatest problem with writing a fic based off this game is that the developers delivered. Each and everyone will have different games, different choices, and different opinions. Because of this, you may not like my version as it may not relate to yours. I make no apologies, because yours could be fun, great or better than mine.

With that said any comments or criticisms should be about my spelling, grammar, or delivery. You can also help me with my Mass Effect lore. I played the games, read the books and check wikis, FAQS, and YouTube vids to ensure I'm staying true to the game, but I can still make mistakes.

To any that care, Shepard is the default Shepard. Meaning he's male, has the default face, default name (John). I'll be using his given name very sparingly. (My Shepard is actually called Aramas.)

In the interest of appeasing a wider range of people, I'll do everything in my power to limit, if not omit his background/service record. However, it still may show up in his personality in how I interpret him.

To those that care, my Shepard is Earthborn/War Hero. Earthborn means he grew up orphaned, tough, with an intimate knowledge at how the world works, but still possessing a strong sense of right and wrong. As a war hero, he's elevated past his origins while still having strong roots from it. He was tough enough that he stood his ground against enemy forces by himself, saving as many people as he could. In Mass Effect 1, Earthborn gives a renegade bonus, while War Hero gives you a Paragon bonus. That means my Shepard will be a mix of Paragon/Renegade dialogue choices. In terms of story, it will mostly be Paragon choices.

As for his class, I'm changing it to be a very custom class with a diverse set of abilities. Training as an N7 Marine, Spectre, and everything else he's done, should have given him some wider talents. What they are, I don't know yet. He won't be over the top, but Shepard is badass for a reason to many people. Biotics are a definite, but different than you think.

Finally, in ME 1, Ashley was my Love Interest (LI), but in ME 2, Miranda became my LI. Again for those that care, this will eventually become a Shepard/Miranda fic. But like the Loyalist vid, she'll have to earn it.


	2. Awakening

_**Location: Unknown Cerberus Science Facility**_

Miranda Lawson. One of Cerberus' top operatives. A woman with a reputation for getting the job done, regardless of the odds. Taking on the most difficult assignments from the Illusive Man himself, she completed her missions with a cold efficiency. Some would say she was the consummate professional, the best operative Cerberus has. Others would see her as cold, unfeeling machine. The less polite would simply say bitch.

None of that mattered as Miranda looked down on the operating table before her. By the Illusive Man's orders, she was made director of Project Lazarus, of the Lazarus Cell. Virtually unlimited credits, the best scientific minds, and the latest cutting-edge technology bought, stolen, or forced into her service all combined to achieve what should be impossible.

Bring the dead back to life.

Such were the dreams of mortals across countless ages on Earth; the ability to conquer death. That's the mission Miranda was given. Make a dream become reality.

She continued to study the body before her. With the death of the Reaper Sovereign, Shepard would have no doubt made an enemy more powerful than anyone dared to imagine. Did the Illusive Man predict his demise? Or was he simply exercising caution?

Having studied her orders, the resources and time needed to bring Commander Shepard back would be staggering. More so than any operation she had ever been a part of or even heard about. Turning to the lead medical technician, she asked, "Can it be done?"

Looking up from his work, Dr. Wilson regarded Miranda cautiously. Despite her beauty, he knew any untoward behavior would result in swift retribution. Keeping his eyes firmly above her neck, Wilson nodded. "Most of the physical damage is what we expected. Physical trauma from the explosions, mainly, but the exposure to the sub-zero temperatures of space…"

Miranda nodded as she turned toward a nearby console. After pouring over technical data and calculations, she asked, "Will organ and tissue growth be sufficient?"

Wilson shrugged. "Maybe, but considering the damage here, we may need to consider cybernetic implants as well, to supplement and assist the function of organs and muscles. Unfortunately the level of tech to put in him will be extremely sophisticated. Some of the stuff might be impossible to try to use."

She waved off his concern. "We'll get whatever is necessary Wilson. If we don't have it, we'll get it. If it doesn't exist, we'll make it. What I want to know, right now, can it be done? Yes or no?" Her piercing gaze demanded a clear answer.

Knowing only one answer to be right one, Wilson simply said, "Yes."

She continued to gaze at him for what seemed like an eternity before saying, "Commander Shepard has been recovered. The Lazarus Project will proceed as planned."

**~o~O~o~**

Over the next two years, Project Lazarus continued. Miranda oversaw every part personally. If there was anything that she didn't know, she learned it. If there anything that she didn't understand, she educated herself. Over the next two years, she studied everything involving Project Lazarus. From molecular biology, to cellular anatomy, to bio-synthetic augmentation; everything was learned.

The Illusive Man forwarded all of Shepard's operational history to her. His health records, his past life, his skills as a soldier and infiltrator and every mission he's taken part of for the Alliance and as a Spectre were catalogued and memorized. Her goals were clear, when Shepard wakes up, he would be the same man; same personality, same morals, and most importantly, the same potential. Nothing less than what he was or the project would be a failure.

Every report she brought to the Illusive Man thus far has met with positive results. Despite her personal fears about the budget given, the Illusive Man simply stated, "Get the job done. No matter the cost." Just like that, her request for more credits or technology would be granted.

However, the enormous cost of Project Lazarus drove Miranda harder. After putting in so much time and money, Cerberus' time and money, she knew, out of all the missions she was given, this is the one that she would not fail.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard had suffered multiple breaks up and down his skeletal structure, organs and tissue.

With so much dead tissue, cybernetics was the start of resurrection, helping to supplement tissue growth and healing. Drugs were used within the circulatory system to restore red blood cells and blood flow. Implants along key areas of the nervous system allowed for skeletal repair and movement as well as a steady heartbeat. Finally, nano-machines injected into the brain to repair and restart neurological functions.

What was most amazing however was the discovery of element zero modules throughout his nervous system. Shepard was an undiscovered biotic. Upon further examination, the modules were very small and easily missed. Per the Illusive Man's orders, experimental L5x biotic amps were installed in addition to the cybernetic implants. Utilizing all their knowledge of biotics from multiple experiments Miranda hadn't even known existed, they cultured the modules within Shepard with further exposure to element zero.

**~o~O~o~**

**Pain.** The only other thing that hurt nearly as bad was the Prothean Beacon. The pain he was feeling now was far worse than that. It felt like a herd of Krogan were dancing up and down all over his body.

Dimly Shepard heard voices and forced his eyes open to look around. A woman's voice, an accent he couldn't place..."There. On the monitor. Something's wrong."

_Wrong? Where am I? What's going on?_

Another voice, male. "He's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of his surroundings."

Shepard's eyes adjusted to the bright lights around him, but the rest of his body seemed unresponsive. Turning his head, he heard the male voice speak again. "Oh my God, Miranda. I think he's waking up."

Looking to his left, he saw a figure dressed in white with black sleeves. Everything was blurry, but long black hair was easily identified. Turning to his right he saw a bald man with a neatly trimmed beard staring down at him. A strange emblem on his shoulder, not Alliance…

The woman spoke again, her voice cross. "Damn it, Wilson! He's not ready yet. Give him another sedative!"

Shepard looked back to his left to see the woman again. _Probably in charge,_ his foggy mind thought. The woman bent down over him as he tried to reach out to her.

"Shepard – Don't try to move." The woman, _Miranda?_ tried to reassure. Shepard could hear his heart beating rapidly, his breath becoming faster. Miranda grabbed his flailing left arm and gently, but forcefully placed it back on the table. "Just lie still, try to stay calm," she ordered.

The man, _Wilson,_ spoke again, "Heart rate still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts." Shepard could hear alarms ringing. He fought off the sedative they'd administered, standard N7 training to resist interrogation. _I want answers!_ his mind yelled through the fog. His voice only came out as a wheeze. Miranda moved above and around him to look closer at the monitors.

"Stats pushing into the red zone. It's not working!" Wilson exclaimed.

Shepard turned to his right to see Miranda pushing him away. "Another dose. Now!" she ordered.

Shepard heard his heart beating painfully fast, his breath coming in shallow. He looked down to see Wilson fiddling with some equipment before the fog came back into his mind. His heart slowed and his breathing became steady and deep.

"Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back into normal range." Wilson's voice droned. He sounded distant.

The world started becoming blurry; light began fading in and out. Shepard's head lolled to the right only to see Miranda fill his vision again as she stepped closer to look down at him. She looked like she was smiling.

"That was too close. We almost lost him," Wilson said in relief.

At his comment, her look became severe. Turning toward him, Miranda said, "I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again." Turning once more toward Shepard, he could swear she was smiling, just before the lights dimmed and the darkness claimed him.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda walked back to her quarters. She knew they were in the final stages of Project Lazarus. She knew that Shepard was clinically alive. Motor function, nervous functions, and most importantly, basic neurological functions were all exceeding predicted estimates. Whether he remembered everything was another test for another time, but she couldn't help but admire his strength, waking as he did several days ago, despite the drugs they used to keep him comatose.

Thankfully, her research into Shepard's N7 training paid off before the commander did something rash. Still, to resist in such a weakened state… _Perhaps his potential still exists then,_ she idly thought as she prepared to submit her latest report to the Illusive Man.

Turning a corner, she spotted Jacob coming out of the shooting range. "Jacob," she greeted with a nod of her head.

Jacob turned toward the voice and offered a nod of his own. "Miranda," he parroted. "Heard there was some excitement a few days ago."

Miranda frowned, wondering how he knew that. "Shepard fought off the drugs. He almost woke up."

"Damn, is he okay?" Jacob asked.

"Stable," came the curt reply.

Jacob shrugged off the answer, knowing Miranda for a few years and accustomed to her personality during a job. "We almost finished then?"

"A few more months. Physically, he seems to be doing very well. It's his psychological tests that might prove challenging," Miranda answered as she turned away and continued down the hall at a leisurely pace.

Jacob knew that most men would take this as a brush off, but her slower pace meant the conversation could continue. "Challenging she says. I would've thought turning something that looks like hamburger into a human would be the hard part," he muttered to himself, though his voice was loud enough for her to hear on purpose.

She chose not to deign his comment with a retort.

"Looks like everything is going to plan then?"

"Of course."

"Can't wait to move on from this place," he grumbled. As Miranda's top "lieutenant" his job was security. Considering all the mechs they had in the facility, all he did was paperwork involving security.

"Getting bored, Jacob?" Miranda asked without turning to him or breaking stride.

He shrugged. "I'm a soldier; I'm where the action is. No offense, but this is more like a science project than a mission." At Miranda's glance, Jacob quickly held his hands up. "A very expensive, very important, science project that I'll defend. No worries there," he amended.

She nodded and looked ahead. "We'll be done shortly."

Jacob nodded as well and then looked around to see if they're alone. "Another colony was hit."

Miranda looked sharply at him. "How many?"

"More than a thousand. At least."

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Still no other intel?"

"None. Same as before, everyone's just up and gone," was the simple reply.

She could detect the resentment in his voice though. The worst kind of enemy to fight is the one you don't know anything about.

"Think Shepard could help?" Jacob asked thoughtfully.

This time, Miranda shrugged, "I don't know. He's done some great things, but even this might be too much. We're going to find out soon though."

Stopping at her quarters, Jacob asked, "The Man tell you anything?"

She glanced at Jacob before opening the door. "Get the job done. No matter the cost." With that said, she entered her room to deliver her report.

**~o~O~o~**

Several weeks later, Miranda lounged on her bed as she looked over the latest results on Project Lazarus before turning in for the night.

_Nothing short of remarkable. _

Ever since Shepard "woke up" his healing increased dramatically. EKG show normal brain waves, even spiking sometimes. The other doctors monitoring him noted increased REM, signifying that he was dreaming. _Memories I hope._

Implants of the L5x's were also a success. Exposing the former Spectre to carefully controlled amounts of element zero allowed his modules to grow significantly, much more than what was previously estimated. _With training, Shepard could very well become quite the biotic._

As she studied the reports, an alarm suddenly sounded out through the station, startling her. _Station wide alert!_

Miranda leapt off the bed and darted to her desk. Opening her terminal, she tapped into the station's security cameras. She felt her blood boil as she studied the images. _Someone's hacked the security bots!_

Just as quickly as her rage came, it faded as she began to analyze the situation as quickly as she could. _Shepard!_

She immediately tapped into the medical suite where Shepard was. Cameras showed that no mechs were there. _Thank goodness._

Miranda remotely disengaged the drugs that were keeping Shepard unconscious and began flooding him with meds that would counteract the sedatives. _I hope he's ready for this._

She knew that the drugs would take a little time to flush out. Fingers dancing across her terminal, she accessed the security cameras to find out who was doing this. _It has to be coming from the control room._

All see could see was static. _Disabled. Damn it. Only around the control room though, so they must still be there._

Looking for the recorded footage was useless as well since the intruder, or traitor, wiped the records clean. There were still backups, periodically downloaded to another area. Miranda knew she needed to find out the identity of the one who did this or she'd be fighting blind. _Or worse, walk right into a trap._

Immediately syncing her Omni-tool with her terminal so she could get access to any working security camera remotely, she got up immediately to put on her modified Cerberus Assault Armor.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Secret Cerberus Science Facility  
**__**Two Years, 12 days after the Destruction of the SSV Normandy SR-1**_

Consciousness came to Shepard slowly but surely. Dimly, he was aware of the alarms. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of gunfire. Training kicked in and soon, he was forcing himself awake to prepare for confrontation. It wasn't long before he heard a voice speaking overhead.

_"Wake up Commander."_

He opened his eyes as the voice continued to speak.

_"Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now – this facility is under attack."_

His head ached and his face felt like it was on fire. Reaching up, he felt numerous cuts on his face, as if he tried shaving while completely drunk.

_"Shepard. Your scars aren't healed yet, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack."_

Finally rising, more pain flooded his mind. His chest, his arms, his legs, everything hurt. Looking down at himself, he saw a multitude of tubes and needles stuck into him, and wearing nothing else. Immediately, he started pulling out the needles, hissing in pain, but hurrying as the sounds of explosions began echoing throughout the room. Stumbling off the side of the bed, he was ill prepared for the weakness in his limbs and fell right off the bed. Forcing himself to his feet, he looked for anything he could use.

_At least something to wear._

Focusing himself, he called on his training as a Soldier and forced Adrenaline into his veins. The effect was immediate; the world seemed to slow to a crawl as strength returned to his limbs. The pain receded and his thoughts became clear. Feeling better than he had in a long time, he stood straighter to survey his surroundings.

The voice spoke again. _"There's a pistol and your armor in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry!"_

Looking around, he spotted the locker and ran toward it. _"We don't have time to waste, Shepard. Grab your armor and weapon!"_

Opening the locker revealed next-gen N7 armor and a pistol model he'd never seen before. Quickly donning his armor, Shepard called out, "Who are you? Where am I?"

The voice answered, _"My name is Miranda Lawson and I'm here to get you out. Hurry!"_

Putting on his armor felt like second nature and in no time, he was protected. He saw an odd helmet inside. It looked more like a hood. Picking it up, it felt like cloth, but Shepard could feel the ceramic plating inside and immediately put it on. The HUD inside identified it as a Recon Hood. The helmet immediately began synching up with his hardsuit. Checking his newfound weapon, he looked in confusion when he noted the hollow grip and movable slide. It was certainly no weapon he'd ever handled before. "What the hell kind of gun is this?"

_"Technology has changed while you were out. Most weapons have adapted a… damn it!"_

Shepard immediately looked around for whatever that sparked her exclamation. The problem became clear as some oxygen tanks near the door were caught in a fire.

_"The canisters are about to blow. Move!"_

By the time she issued her warnings, Shepard had already ducked behind some tables. The explosion wasn't nearly as bad as the Normandy, but it was enough to open a path out of the med bay. Peering out, Shepard saw a dead guard and a strange metal canister next to him. Inside the canister were strange red-orange tubes.

_"That's a magazine filled with thermal clips. Load the mag into your M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol."_

Leaving his cover, Shepard picked up the magazine and loaded his M-3. It took him a few seconds to discover the right orientation before it slid inside.

_"Here's a fast lesson on the thermal clip system. To help firearms from overheating, a stock of thermal clips is used to contain the heat. Your weapon will have a set number of shots before you need to manually eject the thermal clip and the magazine will load a new one. If the magazine runs out of thermal clips, more will need to be inserted. Now get moving!"_

"Wait. When was this made? I've never heard of anything like this," Shepard said as he looked over the gun to see if he was missing anything else new about it.

_"It's a long story and time is something you don't much of. You have to get to the evac shuttle!"_

Leaving the medical suite, Shepard opened the door to see bodies on the ground behind a makeshift barricade. Raising his pistol, Shepard peered over the barricade to see what killed them. Directly to his right was a LOKI mech shambling toward him. Shepard immediately opened fire, aiming for the weak head on the mech. The mech barely had time to raise its own weapon before its head disappeared in an explosion of sparks.

His radio chimed, _"Hurry, we need to get you to the shuttles!"_

Deciding not to question his mysterious benefactor, Shepard began running up stairs and down halls. Every so often, Miranda would give him seemingly odd directions or tell him to turn back and take another hallway. Hearing the mechs shout out warnings told him why she was being random with her instructions.

Entering a large room, filled with equipment he couldn't even begin to imagine the function of, he held his pistol at the ready, stocked with thermal clips of the dead he passed by and various mechs he'd dispatched. He learned quickly of the advantages and disadvantages of this gun he was using. Across the room, he saw that something was cutting the locked door open. Taking cover, he waited for his chance.

The doors opened and one LOKI mech wandered shouting it nonsensical warnings. Shepard stayed behind his cover and trusted his instincts. Peering out, he saw another door at the far left open and four more mechs walked out. Taking a breath, he burst out of cover and opened fire on all five mechs. The first volley of shots blew the head off the first mech. The body exploded as it fell, causing the other mechs to stumble. Shepard wasted no time in picking off the mechs immediately. A few seconds later, he stood over nothing but scrap metal.

_"Nicely done, Shepard, coast is clear."_

Continuing forward, he kept his eyes open for any sign of trouble. Entering a hallway lined with windows allowing a view into another room, Shepard saw two people firing their pistols hopelessly against a heavy mech.

_A YMIR mech. This gets better and better._

He opened fire on the window hoping to give the fighters a chance to escape. The window cracked, but did not break. The heavy mech shot down the two using its superior weaponry. Without shields, the humans had no chance.

_"Don't waste time! I can't keep the mechs off for long!"_ Miranda shouted.

Turning away from the mech and its two victims, Shepard ran down the hall. The next room had a lower floor with what looked like tanks and pipes. Looking down, he saw a M-100 Grenade Launcher next to another dead security officer. _Finally, a **real** weapon._

_"More mechs heading toward you. Use the grenade launcher!"_

Picking up the launcher, he saw four more mechs open the door below him. Taking aim, he shot toward the center of the group, destroying all of them in one blast. Collapsing the launcher and attaching it to his hardsuit, he held up his M-3 as he took the lift down toward the bottom floor. Running though the flames, he heard is radio crackle with static. Pressing his hand to ear, Shepard shouted, "Miranda, are you there? Miranda!"

_"You're doing… - Shepard. Head to the…- meet you…"_

"Miranda, something's interfering with your signal. I can't hear you!" he answered.

_"Shepard… - read me? I've got… - closing in… - position," _came a crackled reply. The last thing Shepard heard was gun fire and explosions before the line went dead.

He shook his head. Realizing he was on his own, he refocused, double-checked his weapons, and pressed forward towards his objective.

**~o~O~o~**

Moving slowly and cautiously, Shepard peeked down what seemed to be another empty hallway. He guessed that whoever programmed these mechs was intent on killing everyone inside this station. If that was the case, the best plan would be to place mechs on routes toward evac shuttles. Against conventional wisdom, he decided to follow the sounds of mechs and hope that he could avoid the bulk of the mechanical army. Without directions or even a map, this was the only plan he could think of.

_If only it wasn't a stupid one._

Luckily, his training as an Infiltrator during his solo missions for the Alliance allowed him to use Tactical Cloak against most opposition. It definitely saved his life twice when avoiding two more YMIR mechs. Armed with only two rounds of grenade launcher ammo and a pistol were not favorable odds.

Hearing more mechs coming down the hall, Shepard darted into the nearest room, closing the door and sweeping for hostiles. He saw two LOKIs on the ground, damaged, but still active. Grabbing the head of the first LOKI, he twisted sharply, silencing the mech before doing the same to the other. Waiting for the mechs outside to march away, he took stock of his surroundings. It appeared to contain medical data on him. Looking at the pictures more closely, he saw some were pictures of his pulmonary system, others of his skeletal system, even one of his brain and nervous system. I'm pretty surprised to have lived after getting spaced. _Must've been in really bad shape._

He looked around for more details about the facility he was in, but everything was strangely secret. All he found was that diamond symbol everywhere. _I recognize this symbol, but where?_

Going back the door, he strained his ears, but couldn't hear any more mechs. Deciding to take a chance, and making sure his Tactical Cloak was ready, he walked over to one of the terminals. Taking off his hood, and placing on the side, Shepard studied the terminal in front of him. It was locked, but he had long since learned the fine art of hacking and bypassing. _Thank you, Tali._

Within a minute, he broke through the firewalls. Inside were personal notes detailing something called Project Lazarus. The director was… _Miranda Lawson!_

Shepard narrowed his eyes at that name. Thinking furiously, he tried to put what little he knew together. _This facility definitely isn't Alliance, no names, no obvious records, they want me for something, but I'm not a POW. Lawson goes out of her way to wake me up and help so far…_

Clicking on the terminal, he idly noted that Miranda kept meticulous and detailed notes. One particular thing caught his eye. 2185 CE. _The hell? 2185… I've been out for two years!_ Looking over the list of notes, Shepard clicked on the earliest one and listened to Miranda's dictations.

_"Test subject has been recovered, but the damage was far worse than we initially feared. In addition to the expected burns and internal injuries from the explosion, subject has suffered significant cellular breakdown due to long term exposure to vacuum and sub-zero temperatures. Despite the extent of physical trauma, Wilson assures me subject is salvageable. The Lazarus Project will proceed as planned."_

_Salvageable? Harsh words. My injuries must have been bad to be out for two years._

_"Progress is slow, but subject shows signs of recovery. Major organs are again functional, and there are signs rudimentary neurological activities. In an effort to accelerate the process, we've moved from simple organic reconstruction of the subject to bio-synthetic fusion. Initial results show promise."_

_Bio-synthetics. Follow-up explosions from the Normandy must've torn me up. How the hell did I survive that?_

_"Physical reconstruction of the subject is complete, but we still need to evaluate mental and neurological functions. Our orders were clear: Make Commander Shepard who he was before the explosion. The same mind, the same morals, the same personality. If we alter his identity in any way, if he's somehow not the man he used to be, the Lazarus Project will have failed. I refuse to let that happen."_

_Make me who I was? What the hell does that mean?_

Mental trauma wasn't foreign to him. All soldiers change in some way after killing someone, getting injured in a fire fight, or watching friends and civilians die… They make this sound a lot more serious than a near-death experience though…

Seeing another terminal on the other side of the office, Shepard hacked his way into it and found another name. Wilson… I remember them now. When I regained consciousness, those two were there. Wilson, Lead Medical Technician. Looking through the files, Shepard found notes detailing Wilson's thoughts and searched through them.

_"Log update: The cost of this project is astronomical – over four billion credits so far. But no one seems to care we've gone over budget. I don't know where the boss gets all his money… Maybe it's better not to know. I just wish he'd kick a little more in my direction once in a while."_

_Four billion? What the hell kind of medical project needs that much creds?_

_"Log update: I can't figure Miranda out. As project director, she should be ecstatic at the progress we've made. But she's still the same old ice queen. Maybe's she's worried Shepard might become the new favorite. Or maybe she's just a pure cold-hearted bitch."_

_Problems in the ranks, it seems. Or maybe he had a crush on her._

_"Log update: The Lazarus Project is about to enter the final phase. It's taken nearly two years, but we did it. Commander Shepard is alive! This is the most amazing medical achievement in recorded history! Maybe now, Miranda will show some appreciation for everything I've done."_

Confusion was an understatement. The implications were enormous._ I was dead?_

Everything made sense. With his suit failures, there was no way he could've survived, but then… This was a project to bring people back to life? Physical reconstructions, bio-synthetic implants, mental tests, even the cost began to make sense… Except…There was no way he could believe the technology existed to bring him back. Looking at the holo-monitors again, he studied his injuries more closely. Pictures of his arteries, pictures of his skeleton… There. He saw highlighted dots all over his skeletal structure. Spine, limbs, chest, head, all over his major organs… _I have more metal in me than in my gun. Explains why I felt like shit earlier._

He turned away from the monitors, fully intent on leaving this place and finding as many answers as he could. As he headed toward the door, stopping only to grab his Recon Hood, an orange glow was reflecting off from the metallic surface of the wall caught his eye. Turing toward the wall, he saw his distorted reflection on the surface. Looking closer, he finally saw the source of the glow. Instantly, he remembered Miranda's words back at the medical suite. _"Shepard. Your scars aren't healed yet, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack."_

_Son of a bitch._

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda held her position behind some crates as the LOKI's continued to fire on her position. Taking a peek she saw that they were all funneling through the only door into the room.

Seizing the tactical opportunity, she engaged her omni-tool and unleashed a full-powered Overload. All the mechs were caught in the blast and crumbled to the floor. Moving quickly, she sealed the door, then went back to the terminal she was hacking. Someone wiped the main copies of the security footage, but she was able to save the backups before the traitor destroyed them too.

She fast-forwarded through the vids, keeping an ear out for any mechs coming to her position. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a very familiar face skulking about in the control room.

"Wilson," Miranda hissed. He was the traitor. She was sure. There was no way he had access to the security bots. She kept strict control over security privileges and any Wilson had worked only in the Bio Wing.

She continued to hack the terminal to see if he was still online. No doubt that bastard is using the mechs to protect himself.

She smiled thinly when she found out he was still online and coordinating the attacks. _Probably sent more mechs to try and kill me. _Immediately, she launched her counter attack. The terminal she was using wouldn't allow her to take control of the mechs, but Wilson's genius was geared toward biology, not engineering. A few carefully timed commands… _Done._

Wilson now had lost all control of any security mechs in the facility. He was just a target as anyone. _More importantly, now I can avoid the mechs instead of fighting them. Once he realizes he's lost control, he'll try to leave the station._ Continuing her hack, she sealed the doors to the shuttle bay from his position. _That should slow him down. Now for the finishing touches._

Overloading the control room's consoles was child's play. _Now he can't regain control of the mechs. With luck, Wilson might even be caught in the blast._

Her work finished, Miranda checked her Omni-tool, armor, shields, and pistol, before running out of the room and toward the shuttle bay. Privately, she hoped that Shepard was prepared to deal with this mess and was already there or en route at the very least. Two years of work was not about to undone by one sniveling traitor.

_Not if I have anything to say about it._

**~o~O~o~**

Leaving the office, Shepard saw that the coast was clear. Hearing gunfire upstairs, he readied himself and quickly, but quietly climbed up. Looking around, he couldn't see the source of gunfire, but he did see another living soul behind a window.

The man looked surprised to see him. "Shepard!" he cried.

Shepard walked into the room, intent on getting answers, but sound of actuators grinding and heavy footsteps stopped his progress. Both men turned to the side to see another YMIR mech entering the unknown man's room.

"Shepard!" the man cried again.

Shepard opened fire on the glass once again, but saw only cracks. The next sound he heard was the sound of a rocket firing just before it struck its unfortunate victim. This time, the glass shattered, but Shepard's hardsuit shrugged it off. The more immediate concern was the heavy mech's guns.

He dove to the side as the mech unleashed its deadly stream of bullets. Sliding along the ground, he activated his Tactical Cloak, blending in with his surroundings and effectively rendering him invisible. Jumping to his feet, he holstered his pistol and brought his grenade launcher against his enemy. Thankfully, the mech couldn't fit through the window frame. Holding his breath, he waited and watched as the mech looked around for its target. Noting that his cloak was almost drained, he stepped closer to a shadowy corner and watched as the mech turned around and left to find other targets.

As his cloak fell away, he donned his pistol again and ran through the nearest door. Taking off down yet another hallway, the sounds of gunfire became even louder. Slowing down, Shepard judged that the door on his right was the source. He could hear another man exchanging fire with more bots. Unlike the other people Shepard saw, this voice sounded more confident in the face of danger. _Finally, someone that might not die on me._

**~o~O~o~**

Jacob Taylor cursed as he popped off a few more shots at the unrelenting mechs. He couldn't help but note the irony of his situation after his conversation with Miranda a few weeks back. _Be careful of what you wish for. Ain't this a bitch?_

Another shot pinged off his cover._ I goddamned didn't mean it! I liked being bored!_

Jumping from his cover, he unleashed his biotics and levitated a mech into the sky before taking aim and blowing its head off in one quick motion. Ducking back down, the other mechs continued their barrage.

Jacob sighed. _Damn it._

~o~O~o~

Opening the door and looking in, Shepard saw some sort of lounge. A man dressed in some sort of assault armor he never saw before was exchanging fire with four LOKIs.

Shepard stayed close to the archway inside the room and began firing at the mechs. The stranger turned around from his cover after seeing two mechs drop.

Shepard saw the surprise through the transparent face plate of the dark-skinned man's helmet. The soldier recovered quickly though and together they easily dispatched the last two mechs.

The immediate threat down, Shepard ran up to the other soldier and ducked down behind the glass railing. The man looked at Shepard in confusion before noticing the N7 emblem on his chest plate. Eyes widening, the man said, "Shepard, what the hell…?"

Just then, more LOKIs came in from the door across the way and immediately opened fire on both of them. Keeping their heads down, the soldier asked, "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, though the effect was lost underneath his hood. "Look pal, I don't know where I am, or how I got here! I've been drugged, shot at, and nearly blown up ever since I woke up! Plus, my head feels like an overripe melon ready to split apart! How 'bout **you** fill **me** in a little?"

"Damn. Sorry, I forgot that this is all new to you. I'm Jacob Taylor…" he started, but before anymore was said, a ricochet alerted them to the mechs wandering toward them. "Damn it!" he exclaimed, before both men stood up in tandem and blew four more mechs in hail of gunfire.

Ducking back down, he continued. "Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get you to the shuttle first."

Shepard wasn't budging though. Not with too many unknown variables. "Ever since I woke up, someone's been telling me where to go and what to do. I need answers!"

"Fair enough," Jacob agreed. "I'll give you the quick version. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here. Our scientists spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been comatose or worse that whole time." He smiled grimly. "Welcome back to your life."

"This isn't an Alliance facility," Shepard said. It was a statement, not a question.

"It isn't," Jacob confirmed. "I can't say much more than that for now. The Alliance officially declared you KIA. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead." More bullets struck their impromptu cover. "And if we don't get you to those shuttles, they'll be right."

"Were there any survivors from the Normandy?" Shepard pressed.

Through the sounds of gunfire, Jacob merely said, "I'll tell you what, you help me finish off these mechs, and I'll play 20 questions with you all day."

He nodded. Looking through the glass, five more mechs stood in their way. Only LOKIs though. He looked at Jacob to see if he was ready, but saw him concentrating. He recognized that look; he'd seen Kaidan do it enough times to know that Jacob was biotic. A second later, dark energy surrounded him as he threw out his arm and thrust it to the sky. A LOKI mech took to the air helpless to Shepard's follow up shots. Between the two experienced soldiers, the clumsy bots had no chance. Moments later, all was quiet.

Holstering his pistol, Jacob turned to Shepard. "Okay, I promised to answer your questions. What do you want to know?"

Shepard held his pistol loosely in his right hand. "You said they spent two years rebuilding me. How bad was I?"

"I'm no doctor, but it was bad. When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. Anywhere else they would've put you in a coffin," Jacob answered. Thanks to the Recon Hood, he didn't see that Shepard's lack of reaction to the news. Jacob continued, "But Project Lazarus was different. Cutting edge technology."

It was likely Jacob didn't know the details behind the science, but any information was better than none. Shepard pressed on. "What can you tell me about the project? Were there other test subjects?"

"Project Lazarus had only one subject. The whole point was to bring you back. Just you. Even that was a challenge. Two years, all the top scientists, best technology money could buy."

_Four billions credits spent on me? I'm flattered. _

Shepard knew knew neither the council nor the Alliance would drop that kind of cash just for him. "What did they do to me? Cloning, cybernetics?"

"I don't know the details; you'd have to ask the scientist. But I'm pretty sure you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back exactly as you were. You're still you; you just might have a few extra bits and pieces now."

_That's an understatement. _Shepard easily recalled the x-rays they had of him. "The last thing I remember was the Normandy blowing up. Did anyone else make it?"

Jacob nodded. "Just about everyone survived. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out, Navigator Pressly was killed by an explosion, but everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew – the asari Liara, the quarian, they all made it out alive."

_Two years thinking I'm dead. Damn._

Sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed in the background. Shepard looked around and decided to focus on the present. "Do you know anything about this attack? Who's behind it? What they're after?"

Jacob shrugged. "Damned if I know. I was getting for some shut-eye then... BAM! Bunch of explosions. Next thing I know, every damn mech in the place starts shooting. At us. I'm guessing it had to be an inside job. You'd need top security access to hack all the mechs."

Glancing at Jacob, Shepard asked, "What's your job here anyway?"

Jacob shrugged again. "Depends on who you ask. Technically, I'm Miranda's top lieutenant, but I'm just a soldier. I served five years in the Alliance before this. Now I'm in charge of this station's security. Usually a lot more dull than this. Normally, I don't fire my gun unless it's target practice."

Bingo. Someone who knows Lawson. "When I woke up, someone named Miranda was talking to me over the radio. We lost contact just before I ran into you."

"Miranda Lawson is the station's ranking officer. She led the Lazarus team. It was her job to bring you back to life no matter what. Should've guessed she'd try to save you. She's not about to give up on you now." Concern clouded Jacob's face. "You said you lost contact? Could you tell what was happening?"

Shepard nodded. "There some gunfire and an explosion right before I lost her."

Jacob looked away. "She knows how to take care of herself… but I hope she's okay."

Deciding he'd heard enough, Shepard looked around. "What's the quickest way to those shuttles?"

Jacob reclaimed his professionalism. "Depends where the mechs are thickest. It's probably best if we…" he trailed off as he put his hand to his ear.

Standard Alliance procedure for incoming radio calls, Shepard noted. Most soldiers, mercenaries and some civilians get implants to be able to receive and send radio messages without any external devices. Since the implants are placed directly in the ear, hearing isn't an issue unless the ambient sounds were too loud. More often than not, putting your hand to your ear meant you were on the radio.

He used the time Jacob spent on the radio to figure out the man before him. The way he handled himself, the way we took down those mechs, the biotics… _Definitely former Alliance Marine._

"Wilson, this is Jacob." Shepard paid closer attention to the conversation after hearing Wilson's name. "I'm here with Commander Shepard. We just took out a wave of mechs over in D wing."

Pause.

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency."

"I think I remember a Wilson checking on me one time when I woke up." Shepard commented off-hand.

Jacob nodded. "That's him. He's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda. Come on, service tunnels are this way."

**~o~O~o~**

The two unlikely allies ran through the hallway toward the service tunnels. Shepard, for his part, was simply glad not to wander around lost again while Jacob was glad to have an extra gun on hand. Opening the door, Jacob looked around, but turned when Shepard shouted, "More mechs!" Ducking immediately, they waited for a pause before standing and fired on their opponents.

After the first wave of mechs was down, Jacob yelled into his radio. "Damn it Wilson! This room is crawling with mechs!"

_"This whole station is crawling with mechs. I'm doing the best I can!"_

The second wave was downed as quickly as the first. Jacob couldn't help but be impressed with Shepard's marksmanship. It was as if he calculated the best shot, the best target, and the best time all in a split second before popping once out of cover and taking the LOKIs down.

"Wilson, find us another route outta here. Preferably, one that doesn't lead straight into an enemy squad."

_"Just keep moving toward the control room. Don't get pinned down. I'll see what I can do."_

Noticing Shepard looking at him, Jacob nodded and moved passed all the pipes and toward the door. Just before reaching it, his radio crackled again.

_"Oh God, they've found me! Help!"_

"Wilson! Where are you?"

_"Server room B! Hurry! They're outta control!"_

Jacob turned to Shepard. "Up those stairs, Shepard!" before turning and running toward the control room. Another transmission came.

_"They've shot me!"_

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard easily kept pace with Jacob, both them keeping their pistols up for any sign of danger. Jacob stopped in front of a door labeled "Server Room B" and held up his hand. Shepard nodded and took a position on one side of the door as Jacob held the other. A quiet three count and Jacob opened the door. Shepard ran in, pistol up, and quickly scanned the room for enemies.

Nothing. No mechs, no remains of mechs, no telltale sign of gunfire. Only a smoking console showed signs of any damage in the room. The only thing moving was the doctor Shepard saw once before and the sparks coming from a nearby terminal. Shepard's instinct flared up at the sight of him.

"Shepard! Down here!" Wilson yelled. "Bastards got me in the leg."

Shepard scanned the room one more time surreptitiously. There was nothing here that could've shot Wilson except the gun Wilson was already holding. Shepard began recalling his conversations with Jacob:

_"That's him. He's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda."_

_"Miranda Lawson is the station's ranking officer. She led the Lazarus team. It was her job to bring you back to life no matter what. Should've guessed she'd try to save you. She's not about to give up on you now."_

_"Damned if I know. I was getting for some shut-eye then... BAM! Bunch of explosions. Next thing I know, every damn mech in the place starts shooting. At us. I'm guessing it had to be an inside job. You'd need top security access to hack all the mechs."_

A suspicion began forming in his mind about the attack. "You were there the first time I regained consciousness."

A pained expression crossed Wilson's face as Jacob inspected the wound. "Yeah, that was me," Wilson grunt out be before letting out a sharp gasp as Jacob ripped open the pant leg to better see the wound. "How about we talk about his after we fix my leg?" Wilson gasped out.

Jacob looked up. "Should be some medi-gel on the first-aid station on the wall. It should be enough to get him moving again."

Shepard walked up to the station and opened it, revealing three medi-gel packs. Grabbing all three, he walked back and gave two to Jacob.

Wasting no time, Jacob applied the medi-gel to the wound. The results were immediate. Blood stopped leaking and Wilson's breathing became slower and deeper.

Standing up, gingerly putting weight on his wounded leg, Wilson said, "Thanks Jacob. Shepard." Looking directly at the commander, he smiled thinly. "Never thought you'd save my life. Guess that makes us even now." He gestured to the broken control panel. "Thought I could shut down the security mechs." He shook his head. "Whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

Jacob crossed his arms. "We didn't ask what you were doing. Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the Bio Wing."

"Weren't you listening?" Wilson growled. "I came here to try and fix this! Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

Shepard shook his head. "I don't care who set up who! Those mechs are shooting at all of us! We'll sort it all later!"

After a last glance at Wilson, Jacob turned to Shepard. "We need to find Miranda first. Can't just leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda," Wilson bit out. "She was over in D wing. The mechs were all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda. She's alive." Jacob stated with conviction in his voice.

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her?" Wilson argued. "There are only two possible explanations. She's either dead or she's a traitor!"

Shepard shook his head. "Then why did she wake me up and warn me about the attack?"

Wilson relented. "Okay, maybe's she's not a traitor, but that doesn't change the fact that we're here and she's not. We need to save ourselves." Pointing down the corridor, Wilson said, "The shuttle bay is only a few…"

Further directions were cut off when the door at the far side opened, revealing more LOKI mechs. Jacob wasted no time and opened fire on the mechs.

Shepard glanced to the side to see barrels saying "Flammable" etched in the side next to the mechs. Lifting his pistol, he fired two shots and watched as the explosion destroyed the mechs.

The threat removed, he started towards the doors. Jacobs's voice stopped him, however.

"Shepard. This is getting tense. If I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

Wilson leaned again some crates and crossed his arms. "This really isn't the time Jacob."

Jacob glanced at Wilson, "We won't make it if he's expecting a shot in the back."

_Ironic,_ Shepard thought, looking directly at Wilson, but his Recon Hood betrayed nothing.

Wilson shrugged. "If you wanna piss off the boss, it's your ass Jacob."

Shaking his head, Jacob turned toward Shepard. "The Lazarus Project. The program that rebuilt you. It's funded and controlled by Cerberus.

The name immediately clicked in Shepard's mind. Floods of memories came. A pro-human splinter group. Experiments with biotics, rachni, husks, and thorian creepers. Corporal Toombs and his torture from Akuze. Admiral Kohoku and his assassination…

Keeping his stance neutral, all he said was, "I wiped out my share of Cerberus projects as a Spectre. There were trying to kill me. Why the change of heart?"

Jacob shrugged. "Those answers are way above my pay grade, but basically, things changed. The Alliance declared you dead. They gave up, so Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back." He sighed. "Look, I'd be suspicious too, but right now, we have to work together. I thought you deserved to know what's, what. Once we're off the station. I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

_Illusive Man? Dramatic. _He racked his mind, but couldn't recall ever hearing the title. "Illusive Man? He in charge of all this?"

Wilson chimed in. "Yeah, that not his real name of course. Nobody knows who he really is."

"It's a code name the Alliance used for him. Kinda stuck," Jacob supplied.

Shepard shook his head. "I don't care what his name is. He just needs to answer my questions. All of them."

Jacob nodded. "He spent a lot of time and money bringing you back. I'm sure he'll tell you everything you want to know."

Wilson limped toward the two soldiers. "It's not much farther to the shuttle bay."

_About time._

Entering the next room, Shepard knew they were almost out. The area resembled a cargo room. Crates were stacked haphazardly, ramps leading to another area, lifts going up and down… _Where there's cargo, there's transport._

Looking ahead though, Shepard's guess about mechs blocking the evac was correct. Thankfully, they only LOKI mechs and no YMIRs could be seen. Between two hardened soldiers, the LOKIs stood no chance. Even Wilson had the technical expertise to use Overload and take one or two down.

After fighting their way through the cargo room, Wilson quickly limped as fast as he could toward the shuttle doors. Shepard narrowed his eyes and readied his pistol. Covert ops taught their operatives that victory was when someone was at their weakest. Always stay on your guard at those moments. If Wilson was going to betray him, this would be the moment.

"Come on! Through here." Wilson started typing in his commands to unlock the doors. "We're almost at the…"

The doors opened long before Wilson finished, revealing another figure dressed in the same kind of armor as Jacob, sans helmet.

Shepard had just enough time to admire her beauty as her blue eyes narrowed and her mouth showed a scowl, all directed at Wilson.

"Miranda… you were…" Wilson stuttered before Miranda raised her pistol and shot Wilson right between his eyes.

"Dead?" Miranda finished derisively .

Shepard trained his pistol on Miranda immediately, keeping one eye on her and one inside the shuttle bay for any more hostiles.

Jacob looked at Miranda incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?" he said after taking off his helmet.

Miranda simply glanced at Shepard, seemingly uncaring of the pistol pointed in her direction, before turning to Jacob. "My job," she said. "Wilson betrayed us all."

Convinced that she wouldn't raise her weapon against him, Shepard lowered his gun. "I had a feeling he was looking for a chance to shoot me in the back."

Miranda turned her gaze toward him, her face betraying nothing. "Good instincts," she said. "Some people are far too trusting to ever see that coming." She nodded her head towards the shuttle. "Come on. Let's grab this shuttle and get out of here. My boss wants to speak to you."

Taking off his Recon Hood, Shepard crossed his arms. "You mean the Illusive Man? I know you work for Cerberus."

Miranda immediately glared at Jacob, her eyes piercing. "Ah, Jacob. I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."

Jacob stood his ground, however. Crossing his arms, all he said in his defense was, "Lying to the Commander isn't the way to get him to join our cause."

Miranda faced Shepard again. "Well, since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you want to ask before we go, Commander?"

"You're the Lazarus Project's director, right?"

"That's right. I put two years of my life into this. Into you."

"What does Cerberus want from me?" he pressed.

"Maybe you should ask the Illusive Man when you meet him. He poured virtually unlimited resources into Lazarus. Obviously, he has some kind of plan for you," she stated.

He looked at the shuttle. "Where are we going?" he asked turning his gaze back to her.

"Another Cerberus facility. The Illusive Man is waiting for you there," she replied shortly and offering nothing more.

Shepard regarded the woman in front of him, trying to find some measure of her character besides saving his life to shooting a man in the head. "I'm not sure I trust you."

Miranda looked unconcerned. "This is the only shuttle off this station. You want to stay and rot with the mechs? Be my guest," she countered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I just think it's convenient that you show up as we're leaving. Where were you during the attack?" he asked, keeping his eyes on her.

She didn't even flinch. "Besides trying to save your life?" she said matter-of-factly. Shepard didn't twitch at her remark. "Wilson sent an army of mechs to take me out. I got here as soon as I could." She broke eye contact with him to look down at Wilson's corpse. "Too soon, if you ask Wilson," she commented as kicked Wilson's boot with her own.

"What about the rest of the people on this station?"

Miranda shook her head. "This is the evac area. If they're not here now, they're not coming."

Shepard held his position though. "We can't leave without knowing for sure. We need to go back and look."

"Don't you get it? The only one worth saving is you. Everyone else is expendable," Miranda said, her statement belying her earlier attitude at leaving Shepard.

Jacob chimed in. "She's right. We all knew the risks when we signed up. Without you, there's no point to any of this."

Shepard appeared unconvinced. Miranda sighed. "I'll call for reinforcements if that makes you feel better. A squad can help anyone else faster than the three of us," she offered.

He considered her words carefully, trying to detect any deception. Eventually, he nodded his acceptance. "Fine. I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime."

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "Or two in your case." As quickly as the smile came, it left as she turned around. "Come on."

The trio stepped into the Kodiak shuttle and seated themselves. Miranda informed the pilot to take off and call for search and rescue team to sweep for survivors.

**~o~O~o~**

As the shuttle continued at FTL speeds, Shepard couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the window, his eyes tracing the glowing orange scars lining his face.

Miranda eventually spoke up, getting his attention. "Before you meet with the Illusive Man, we need to ask a series of questions to evaluate your condition."

Jacob turned his head to face Miranda. "Come on, Miranda? More tests?" he protested. "Shepard took down those mechs without any trouble. That has to be good enough."

"It's been two years since the attack. The Illusive Man needs to know that Shepard's personality and memories are intact. Ask the questions," she ordered.

"This is a waste of time. I feel fine," Shepard said.

"The sooner we start, the sooner we can be done," she countered. "Start with personal history."

Jacob sighed, but brought out his omni-tool to look for the relevant data. "Okay, records show you grew up on earth. Tough environment, no parents. You enlisted and won a medal fighting batarians during the Skyllian Blitz. Do you remember that?"

Shepard remembered. "Elanos Haliat," he said.

Miranda and Jacob gave each other questioning glances, before Miranda broke the silence. "What?" she asked, raising one perfectly sculptured eyebrow.

"The mastermind behind the Blitz. A pirate that was paid off by batarians to attack Elysium." Shepard sighed. "A lot of people were depending on me to hold that position." He met the eyes of the Cerberus operatives. "I did what I had to."

Miranda looked pleased while Jacob nodded. "However you want to put it, it was damned impressive. I had friends who were there." He turned to Miranda. "Satisfied?"

"Almost," Miranda said with an appraising look at Shepard. She almost sounded pleased. "Let's try something more recent. Virmire, where you destroyed Saren's cloning facility. You had to leave one of your people to die in the blast."

Noticing Shepard's darkening look, Jacob jumped in. "Lt. Kaidan Alenko was killed in action. It was your call. Why'd you leave him behind?"

Shepard took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that these people had saved his life. Shooting them wouldn't be the way to repay them. Looking at them, he said with conviction, "I left a friend to die that day and I didn't do it casually, but I had to save as many people as I could. Kaidan gave his life for the rest of the team. Without him, I couldn't have stopped Saren. He died a hero."

Jacob nodded. "I understand, Commander, and we weren't judging your decision. Everybody at Cerberus knows that cloning facility had to be destroyed."

"Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension and killed Saren. What happened next?" Miranda questioned.

"Humanity was offered a spot on the council. I recommended Captain Anderson for the position," he answered.

Miranda smiled. "Yes, though Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson. From what I hear, he preferred life in the military."

"Still, it's nice to know the human council member is going to put politics ahead of defense," Jacob added.

"Your memory seems solid, but there are other tests we really should run…"

"Come on Miranda. Enough with the quizzes. The memories are there and I could vouch for Shepard's combat skills personally."

Miranda nodded in acceptance. "I suppose you're right. We'll have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field test as evidence enough."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

First off, I want to thank everyone that showed an interest to my story. To every person that reviewed, every person that is tracking, and every person that simply gave me a chance. Thank you.

I've never really considered writing fanfiction before, though I've entertained the idea several times. Mostly it was geared toward Zelda, but Mass Effect 2's story and characters drew me in.

This is a novelization. It won't just be just Shepard like in the game. I'm planning to add the parts people don't see. What the other characters are doing when they're not risking their lives or joining Shepard on his missions. I'm also going to take liberties with some of the dialogue. Mix in some paragon and renegade options. I'm sure many agree that 90% of the script was awesome, while the other 10% were… well, I'm sure the opinions vary.

BioWare did something rather amazing. They created an entire party that is really likeable. Some more than others of course, but each has their charm. That said, this will not be a hate fic. All characters will have their own individual moments.

As many of you may have noticed, I've already began blending Shepard with multiple talents instead of restricting him to a "class" since many people within his squad seem to be a unique blend themselves. When Shepard enlisted, he became a soldier. When he became an officer, he added the skills of an infiltrator. During ME 1, he learned other skills from other teammates as he was able. Not biotics, but the quarian engineer Tali could impart some more tech skills. Thus far, Shepard is a blend of soldier, infliltrator, and engineer skills. A blend, not a master.

I'm removing certain weapon restrictions on all the other characters. For instance, Garrus carries only an assault rifle and a sniper rifle. Yet, in some cutscenes, he holds out a pistol. So don't be surprised or dismayed when Miranda starts using an assault rifle or Jacob picks up a heavy weapon.

Finally, I'm not gonna write about thermal clips. Maybe in a few cases, where a "dramatic reload" or a sustained firefight is necessary, but for the most part, let's just assume that everyone is carrying enough ammo to get through a mission, k?


	3. Freedom's Progress

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Cerberus Facility: Minuteman Station**_

The Kodiak left FTL with a slight, but familiar lurch as space outside the window returned to normal. Shepard glanced outside, only to see a massive space station orbiting above a planet. _Damn, that might be as big as __Jump Zero._

After the shuttle docked with the station, Miranda took the lead, guiding their small group through another set of corridors, halls, and passageways.

Even though Shepard had a good sense of direction, he knew he'd be hopelessly lost in this labyrinth. _Probably designed like this on purpose._

Eventually, she opened a door that led into what looked like a waiting room. Five rows of uncomfortable looking chairs were welded into place next to two large windows that offered a view of the star in the system.

Miranda stopped and turned around to address her 'guest'. "The Illusive Man is down the hall to the right," pointing toward the back of the room. "Jacob and I will wait here."

Shepard turned around to see Jacob off to the side of the entrance, looking out the window. Turning back toward Miranda, he saw her walk to the other side of the room toward a terminal. Looking to his right, he saw a trio of technicians working within some office.

Glancing around one more time, Shepard had a distinct feeling that something was wrong. Nothing dangerous or life threatening that would prompt him to draw his weapons… A flash of realization struck him as he realized what was wrong. _No one's disarmed me._ He still carried his M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol and M-100 Grenade Launcher. A sneaking suspicion crept to his mind as he turned away from his given directions and approached Miranda instead.

She looked up at Shepard, eyebrow raised, as he approached. Stopping short, he bluntly said, "I thought I was meeting your boss, face-to-face."

Miranda's tilted her head to the side and said, "You are."

Shepard narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her. "Not funny. Where is he?" he demanded.

A ghost of a smile flickered across her visage as she regarded the former Spectre with something akin to respect. Dropping all pretenses, she asked, "How did you know he's not here?"

Shepard merely tapped his pistol at his hip.

Miranda nodded in what seemed like acknowledgement.

O_r is it appreciation?_

Standing straighter and turning fully toward him, Miranda met his eyes unflinchingly. "You are not a member of Cerberus, Commander," she began. "If anything, you once stood against Cerberus, many times if the records are accurate."

Shepard stayed silent, though he knew where this was going now.

Miranda took his silence as her cue to continue. "Naturally, we must take certain precautions in the interest of security for the Illusive Man and safety for you."

Shepard barely held back a snort at the mention of his "safety".

Evidently, Miranda still picked up on his feelings if her sigh was any indication. "We don't want to be your enemy, Commander. We simply don't know how you may react to our organization given your history. Before your death two years ago and now." Her gaze hardened. "If you want a personal meeting with the Illusive Man, I assure you, it would be much more unpleasant for you, likely involving the use of drugs, shackles, and many armed soldiers pointing weapons at you." She took step closer, her eyes mimicking ice. "If you had any thought of doing any harm to the Illusive Man, two years or no, I would kill you myself."

Shepard merely raised an eyebrow, impressed despite his best efforts. _She has more balls than most mercs I've fought._

Stepping away from him, she returned to her terminal. "Just go down the hall to the right." Glancing at Shepard, she added, "Very few people meet the Illusive Man personally anyway. Even within Cerberus."

Shepard wanted to voice his question, if Miranda ever met the Illusive Man personally, but knew he'd only be pushing his luck and probably wouldn't get an answer anyway.

Turning around, he walked toward the hallway on the right side of the room and down some stairs. Peering inside the room below, all he could see was a silver disk on the ground with a blue light pattern etched just inside the disk within a darkened room. Seeing nothing else of note, he stepped up to the center of the disk and waited.

An orange cylindrical light rose up from the disk, shining its light from Shepard's boots upward. Startled, he looked at his body as the cylindrical light continued rising. Noting that the light was creating geometric figures on his body meant that it was scanning him. _Testing for something?_ As soon as the light reached past his eyes, he no longer saw a small dark room. He saw a very large dark room with tall foreboding shadows created by the star directly in front of him.

Immediately drawing his attention however was the figure sitting in front of him.

The head of Cerberus: The Illusive Man.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

Shepard studied the Illusive Man, trying to gain what information he could. _Definitely one for the dramatic._

Sitting in what appeared to be a simple chair, though judging from the way he was sitting, it may as well be a throne, the Illusive Man was dressed immaculately in a designer and obviously expensive suit. A fresh cigarette was held loosely in his right hand between his index and middle finger and a drink in his left. Sitting directly in front of the projection disk, he was between Shepard and a blue/red star, creating a rather powerful shadow that obscured most of the Cerberus CEO's physical details. The Spectre could still make out the silver hair that dominated the Illusive Man's head and the strange glowing patterns within his unnatural eyes. _Implants?_

Lifting his cigarette and taking a smoke, the Illusive Man greeted his guest. "Commander Shepard," he simply said exhaling his smoke.

Crossing his arms, Shepard parroted him, "Illusive Man."

Finishing his drink, the Illusive Man regarded Shepard with knowing eyes. "I've waited a long time to meet with you. I'm glad we finally got the opportunity."

Shepard didn't move a muscle. He knew he was at a huge disadvantage in this meeting, but he was determined not to give the Illusive Man anything more. Not until Shepard got all his questions answered at least.

"I apologize for all the trouble since you woke, but I'm glad to see that you're still able to handle yourself," the Illusive Man continued. "I've tried to take every necessary precaution, you understand, but there are always threats out there that we can't anticipate. Threats that would do what they can to silence us. Not unusual for people who know what you and I know."

"And what is it that you and I know?" probed Shepard.

"That our place in the universe is more fragile than you'd like to think," he answered with a knowing look. Pausing to inhale his cigarette, he tilted his head as he regarded the hologram before him. "That one man - one very specific man – might be what stands between humanity and the greatest threat of our brief existence."

Shepard knew what the Illusive Man meant. "The Reapers."

Tapping his cigarette into the ash tray in the left side of chair, he continued. "Good to see your memory's still intact. How are you feeling?"

"You need to earn the right to ask those kinds of questions," Shepard retorted.

"Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe," said the Illusive Man, before taking another smoke.

Remembering finding Admiral Kahoku's body amongst rachni experiments and Cerberus researchers, Shepard had long since prepared to hear misdirection and lies from Cerberus, much less their leader. Still, calling out his mysterious and suspicious benefactor on it wouldn't help get any answers and decided to maintain his silence.

"You and I are on the same side; we just have different methods," said the Illusive Man.

_Your "methods" is just one of many things that I have a problem with._

Pushing the conversation toward the point, Shepard decided to be blunt. "Cut to the chase. What are the Reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back?"

"We're at war," came the prompt answer. Standing up to look the Spectre in the eye, the Cerberus Chief walked closer toward the holographic projection.

Shepard managed to get a better look at him now. Guessing to be around 60 years old or more, the Illusive Man appeared to have no obvious flaws marking his face, symmetrical, well-proportioned, and stern. He walked with confidence with a hint of a swagger. _Like most rich, powerful men__._

"No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You've bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

"Fighting a war doesn't seem like Cerberus. Why are you involved?"

"We are committed to the advancement and preservation of humanity. If the Reapers are targeting us, trying to wipe us out, Cerberus will stop them," the Illusive Man answered with conviction. "If we wait for politicians or the Alliance to act… no more human colonies will be left."

Shepard still didn't buy it though. _Two years and four billion credits…_ "You could've trained an entire army for what you spent to bring me back."

"You're unique. Not just in ability or what you've experienced, but what you represent. You stood for humanity at a key moment. You're more than a soldier – you're a symbol," the Illusive Man pointed out. "And I don't know if Reapers understand fear, but you killed one. They have to respect that."

Shepard knew there was more to it than that pretty speech, especially since he spent a significant amount of time destroying Cerberus resources himself. _Rather counter-productive for the self-proclaimed "saviors of humanity", he's trying to play to my vanity. Not bad._ Still, without a foothold over his opponent, Shepard knew he wouldn't get anything more for now. He couldn't help but wonder if the Reapers really were involved though. "Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would he target a few human colonies?"

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of 'harvesting'," countered the Illusive Man.

The news stunned him. _How could anyone not know?_

His surprise was not lost on his "host". "Nobody's paying attention because it's random and the attacks occur in remote locations. I don't know why they've suddenly targeted humanity. Maybe you got their attention when you killed one of them," he explained.

Shepard wasn't naïve. Cerberus had to have spies all over the Alliance. Maybe even influence. "If this is a threat against humanity, you need to mobilize the Alliance."

The Illusive Man shook his head. "They suffered substantial losses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to waste resources verifying the Reaper threat. Blaming the attacks on mercs and pirates is easier. And more convenient," concluded the Illusive Man with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Isn't there evidence of the attacks? Something to show what was involved?"

"None. Evidence gathered by both Cerberus and the Alliance have found no trace as to the identity of the attackers," he answered. "Every colony that's been targeted, however, has the same patterns. Every colonist, and I mean everyone, vanishes without a trace. Buildings are still standing, occasional marks that represents gunfire from defiant colonists, and no distress beacons."

Shepard tried to get a better read on the man before him. He tried to process what he heard. He tried to put together what he learned.

_With this much money and time invested, he's either insane or brilliant… or both._ He didn't believe the Illusive Man was lying though. Looking up colony attacks would be easy enough, as well as Alliance responses. _He doesn't look desperate though. Is he recruiting me? Does he have a plan for me?_

Choosing his words carefully, he decided to go with his instincts. "**If** what you say is true… if the Reapers **are** behind this… I'd consider helping you." _It's like making a deal with the devil._

"I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without seeing for yourself." Turning back to his chair, the Illusive Man continued. "I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you," he briefed as he sat down.

"Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood. Jacob's just a gun for hire. You expect me to trust them?" Shepard asked.

"Wilson was one of my best agents. But he was a traitor," the Illusive Man answered while idly running his hand over his forehead.

_Must be wondering who else could be against him._

"Miranda did exactly what I expected of her. And she saved your life in more ways than one," he added. Tapping his cigarette into the ash tray again, he looked up and took a smoke. "Jacob's a soldier, one of the best." Glancing at Shepard, the Illusive Man said, "He's never fully trusted me, but he's always been honest about it." Leaning back in his chair, the he simply stated, "You'll be just fine with them… for now."

"Is this a volunteer job or am I being volunteered?" said Shepard in a low voice.

"You always have a choice Shepard. If you don't find the evidence we're both looking for, we can part ways," offered the Illusive Man. "But first, go to Freedom's Progress. Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonists? Do they have any connection to the Reapers?" he said, though he was trying to make it sound like a suggestion, rather than an order. "I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."

With those parting words, the Illusive Man ended any further questions or comments with a press of a button.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Cerberus Facility: Minuteman Station**_

Walking back into the waiting room, Shepard couldn't help but wonder how many answers he got compared to how many questions he still had. _I guess a lot really can change in two years. Am I still a Spectre? Am I even still in the Alliance? _Entering the waiting room, he saw that neither Miranda nor Jacob moved from their original positions, though he suspected that they were still briefed on mission he was "given".

Miranda looked up as he approached before turning her attention back to her terminal. "The Illusive Man is very impressed with you. I'm eager to see if you can live up to his expectations on this mission," she said in an even tone.

_I'm supposed to work with her? I think I'm missing the station with the homicidal mechs._

"I can't have anyone disobeying my commands when we get there," Shepard warned.

"I know who I report to. As long as you don't do anything to betray Cerberus, I'll follow your orders," answered Miranda without looking up from her terminal.

Ironic statement since Shepard was entertaining the idea of reporting everything he knew to the Alliance ASAP. _Probably won't be following my lead long then. _Deciding on a different tactic, he backed off a bit. "I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what the Lazarus Project did for me."

Miranda stopped typing and looked up to face him. "I just hope it was worth it. A lot of people lost their lives on that station."

"So I saw," he replied neutrally. "For someone who spent two years putting me back together, you don't seem real fond of me."

"I have the utmost confidence in your abilities. It's your **motivations** that concern me. Only time will tell if you're an asset or a liability to our cause."

_Considering all the damage I caused Cerberus before, I'm surprised she doesn't question my motivations immediately. _Recalling his new scars, Shepard wondered if he'd be able to pry further details from the icy woman in front of him. "I'd like to know more about the Lazarus Project from the person in charge."

"I wasn't in charge, the Illusive Man was," Miranda corrected. "If I was running the show, I would've done a few things differently."

Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't help but ask, "What would you have changed exactly?"

Without looking up from her terminal, Miranda said, "To start, I would've implanted you with some kind of control chip, but the Illusive Man wouldn't allow it. He was afraid it might affect your personality, alter your character somehow." Looking up from her terminal, she continued. "He wouldn't let us do anything that might… limit… your potential in any way."

Brow furrowing, Shepard couldn't help but wonder what they**really** did to him then. "Can't say I like the idea of being brought back to life with a control chip in my brain," he retorted.

"The Illusive Man is taking an incredible risk with you. I just hope his gamble pays off," she replied as she turned back to her terminal.

Shepard knew that women were complicated, but the one before him was a complete enigma. He couldn't tell if she was a scientist or a soldier. _Or something else entirely._ "Tell me a little about yourself," he boldly asked.

Miranda stopped typing, turned and stood straighter to look him in the eye.

_Interesting, now I get her full attention_.

"Worried about my qualifications? I can crush a mech with my biotics or shoot its head off at 100 yards; take your pick," Miranda said.

He thought he could detect something in her tone, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Glancing at Jacob at the other side of the room, Shepard asked, "Did you and Jacob serve together in the Alliance?"

"No, the Illusive Man recognized my potential and recruited me at a young age," she answered, perhaps a tad too quickly given her usual professional tone.

_Quick answer. She's hiding something._ "How old were you?" he pressed.

"Old enough to know this was what I wanted," she said with finality.

Shepard backed off. "I was trying to get know you as a human being."

Miranda's eyes hardened. "I'm not looking for a friend, Shepard. Stay focused on the mission."

Shepard didn't flinch. "This is the last place I'd be looking for friends and I'm focused enough. It's your **motivations** that concern me. Only time will tell if you're an asset or a liability to me," he said, throwing Miranda's earlier words back at her.

Miranda crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. Staring for a moment, she appraised him, trying to see if there was anything she could detect from his body language. Shepard bore her assault stoically.

Nodding, she answered him bluntly. "I don't have patience for incompetence or recklessness or heroes. I'll complete this mission because of you or in spite of you. I'll follow your orders. I'll follow you into battle. But you'll have to fight to **earn** my trust."

With that, Miranda turned back to her terminal and ignored Shepard's presence.

_I stand corrected. She has more balls than most krogan I've fought._

_**~o~O~o~**_

Jacob turned around as Shepard approached him. Offering a grin, he said, "I'm glad the Illusive Man convinced to you to join us, Commander."

Shepard shook his head. "I just want to find out what happened to those missing people. I still don't trust Cerberus," Shepard corrected.

"Noted," Jacob nodded. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

To Shepard's surprise, he actually did. "You're a good man Jacob, but you might be working for the wrong people."

Jacob looked away, a scowl written clearly on his face. "Maybe, but I thought the same when I was with the Alliance. That's why I'm here now."

"How long did you serve in the Alliance?"

"Five years in total. Stationed all over the galaxy. Even spent a couple of years as a Corsair," Jacob proudly answered.

Shepard gave him a questioning look. "I've never heard of the Corsairs," he admitted.

"It was an Alliance initiative," Jacob explained. "They hired independent starship captains and used them for missions that fell outside official Alliance jurisdiction." He shrugged. "Technically, we weren't part of the Alliance. If we ever got caught, they could disavow any knowledge of us." He scowled again. "We were supposed to be free from restrictions and rules, but there was still enough red tape to sink a cruiser. I finally just gave up."

Looking around the waiting room, Shepard asked, "Is that why you joined Cerberus?"

Jacob shrugged again. "I guess I got tired of never making a difference. So much of what we did in the Alliance seemed pointless." He sighed, "I thought things would change after the attack on the Citadel. Humanity was finally invited to join the Council." Shaking his head, He continued, "Nothing's changed. Politics, bureaucracy, same bullshit, different leaders." Crossing his arms, Jacob looked Shepard in the eye. "Cerberus is different. When colonies go missing, we don't commission a team to write a report to figure out what to do about it; we just go and find out."

_A man of action, not politics._ _Guess that's why he doesn't trust the Illusive Man._

"When are we leaving?" Shepard asked.

"Soon. We're just refueling the shuttle and waiting for our weapons to be delivered," came the reply.

"Weapons?"

Jacob nodded his head toward Miranda. "Miranda requested that our weapons be sent to us while you were meeting the boss. Since we have no idea what we're up against, it's best to be prepared."

"And me?"

"We got you something. Not top of the line, but it'll do the job."

**~o~O~o~**

***Encrypted***

_**Project Lazarus Mission Summary:**_

_Shepard escaped attack on the facility, along with operatives Taylor and Lawson._

_Facility destroyed by remote detonation once survivors were acquired._

_Salvage teams will ensure no incriminating data survived._

_Per Miranda's recommendation, I'm running security sweeps on other cells to ensure that Wilson is our only mole._

_Regardless of the cost, Project Lazarus was a success. Shepard is back._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle, En Route to Freedom's Progress Colony**_

Shepard sat in the Kodiak shuttle as they were traveling towards their destination at FTL. Inspecting his M-8 Avenger the he was given, everything appeared in working order. The first of the evolved Avenger series using thermal clips by Elkoss Combine, it was a common weapon found in militaries and mercenaries all around the galaxy due to its accuracy and reliability.

Satisfied with his assault rifle, he moved on to inspect his shotgun. The M-23 Katana was built with a new cocking mechanism to eject thermal clips after five shots, produced by Ariake Tech. Rugged, reliable, and completely unremarkable. There were easily better shotguns on the market. _Guess I should work with what I get. _It was still an improvement over the original Katanas, where any more than three shots overheated the gun.

Moving on to his last weapon, Shepard was at odds about his opinions. The M-29 Mantis sniper rifle, the newest line of sniper rifles created by Devlon Industries, it was created to replace the older and weaker Striker series; the M-29 packed quite a kick. Definitely an improvement over the Striker, but the drawback was the heat generated by the mass accelerators burned out any thermal clip after one shot, making it barely any better than the original models of sniper rifles, since most sniper rifles had a tendency to overheat after one shot anyway. It was down to whether you wanted to take the time to eject a clip or wait for the cooldown.

Satisfied that his weapons were in working order, he looked at his new team that he'd been "assigned".

Both were still in their armor that Shepard didn't recognize. _Custom made by Cerberus R&D probably. _Both sets of armor were painted in standard Cerberus colors, black and white with a gold trim and decorated with the Cerberus logo.

Jacob was packing an M-100 grenade launcher like him. Unlike the Spectre though, he was cleaning a shotgun whose design Shepard didn't recognize. He was also equipped with an M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon as his sidearm.

Noticing Shepard gaze, Jacob stopped cleaning his weapon and offered his shotgun. Shepard took it and inspected the weapon. "M-22 Eviscerator. Heavily modified. Did the work myself," Jacob explained.

Shepard recognized the name. Instead of using chips or pellets as bullets, it used serrated metal edges to help penetrate armor. "I've heard of it. Isn't it illegal?"

Jacob shrugged. "It's a civilian design. It breaks a few intergalactic weapons treaties though, so no military can buy it in bulk. Doesn't bother me, though. You shoot someone and they die, does it matter what the gun is?"

Shepard handed the weapon back. "How's it modified?"

Taking the shotgun back, Jacob continued to clean it as he explained. "I tweaked the heat distribution some, so now it can fire up to eight shots, instead of three, before changing clips." Tapping a part on the underside of the shotgun, he continued. "I also added a separate firing mode. Instead of shooting buckshot, I can also shoot slugs, making it pretty good for long range. Crap against shields, but hell on armor. I can only manage four shots before clip change, though." Looking proud, Jacob tapped the sides of the shotgun next. "And here's my ammo converter. Incendiary rounds, my favorite. All in all, anything armored has no chance against me."

Suitably impressed, Shepard reevaluated Jacob's skills. _He probably knows more about guns than Ash did. _Looking at the Hand Cannon, he asked, "Is that modified too?"

Nodding, Jacob took out his Hand Cannon and gave it to him. "Standard only allows six shots, but I managed to boost it to 10. Modified the compensators, too, so I could reduce the kickback and increase the fire rate. Finally, I modified the ammo generator inside to match my Eviscerator, only smaller, so it could have a bit more punch against armor."

Giving Jacob back his sidearm, Shepard looked at Miranda. She was inspecting an assault rifle that actually looked very familiar. Straining his mind, he knew the answer was at the tip of his brain.

It was a silver colored, but it looked very compact when it was folded, more so than most assault rifle designs. Looking at the tubes running from the top mounted scope toward the main body, Shepard mentally kicked himself for not realizing sooner. He'd certainly been shot at enough times to recognize it. "That's a geth assault rifle, isn't it?" he asked.

Without looking up, Miranda nodded. "Almost. It's based off geth weaponry, a new prototype that I've been asked to test. I'm told that R&D calls it the Pulse Rifle." Engaging her omni-tool, she continued her examination. "It evidently uses high-energy phasic ammunition, making it very useful against kinetic barriers, but it sacrifices armor penetration." While looking over her omni-tool data, she explained the differences between her Pulse Rifle to geth rifles. "Most geth weaponry tends to have variable rates of fire, making them inaccurate with longer bursts. Our techs created a new, modified, mass effect generator that reduces the variations, allowing it to be on par with your Avenger."

Anticipating his next question, Miranda casually added, "Jacob took the liberty of upgrading my Predator as well. More shots per clip, reduced recoil, that sort of thing."

Jacob snorted. "You're welcome." Miranda ignored him.

Any further discussion was interrupted by their pilot: "We're exiting FTL. Stand by."

There was a small throb of deceleration before the energy waves seen in FTL were replaced by stars, once again seen in the window.

The pilot chimed in again: "ETA to destination, 10 minutes."

Thinking back to his meeting with the head of Cerberus and his "request", Shepard wondered how much Miranda and Jacob knew about their mission and how much the Illusive Man kept hidden. He knew next to nothing about their destination, having never heard about it until now. "What can you tell me about this colony we're going to?"

Jacob was the first to answer. "Freedom's Progress? Not much, only that we lost contact with them not too long ago. I guess we'll find out when we get there," he said without looking up from his inspection of his shotgun.

Miranda added her own input. "Freedom's Progress is a typical human settlement in the Terminus Systems. They had a small military force for protection supplemented by mechs and security drones. Average in every way, really; completely unremarkable. Until the disappearance."

"Any thoughts on what we might run into there?" Shepard asked.

"A lot of empty buildings and one giant mystery," she replied. After one last check, she collapsed her Pulse Rifle, apparently satisfied for now. Looking at Shepard, she asked, "The Illusive man put us under your command. Do you have any orders?"

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable following my orders?" Shepard asked.

Collapsing his shotgun, Jacob raised his head to look at Shepard as well. "We didn't bring you back from the dead just to second-guess you, Commander. If the Illusive Man says you're in charge, you're in charge."

"The Illusive Man told me that both Cerberus and the Alliance found no evidence that led anywhere," Shepard said.

"That's right," Jacob confirmed. "No corpses and no traces of unusual genetic material to give us a clue. Only thing we can find once in a while were bullet holes or spent thermal clips from colonies that tried to fight back. Colonists disappear and we got no target to go after."

Staring out the window, Shepard wondered for the thousandth time what he was doing here. Two years of attacks and no information? "What makes you think **this** investigation will turn up anything new?"

"At other colonies, official investigators got there first. Sometimes looters or salvage teams as well. We're hoping to be the first ones there this time. Maybe find clues before somebody else disturbs the scene," Jacob answered.

"Fine. Let's keep this simple. Until I see for myself, just keep your eyes open. Look for anything that tells us who did this. Any terminals with messages, security systems, unusual footprints, even discarded trash left from the attackers."

"Understood, Commander. With luck, we'll find something that was missed in the other colonies," Miranda acknowledged.

"Then we can find out who it and get some payback," Jacob added.

The intercom ringed: "ETA, three minutes. Prepare for atmospheric entry."

Shepard reached inside his chest plate and pulled out his Recon Hood he stuffed there earlier. Putting it on, he saw Miranda and Jacob also securing their helmets and finalizing their prep.

_I hope I know what I'm doing._

**~o~O~o~**

**_Mission: Investigate the Human Colony, Freedom's Progress_**

_All the colonists of Freedom's Progress have mysteriously vanished. No other investigators have disturbed the scene._

_-Look for clues as to the identity of the attackers_

_-Determine how the attacks are accomlished_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Freedom's Progress Colony**_

After going through the turbulent entry into the planet's atmosphere, the Kodiak turned toward the colony and touched down on the landing pad next to a quarry.

After telling the pilot to hold his position, Shepard stepped out of the shuttle to survey the scene. It was nighttime and there was a light snowfall. Neither did much to hamper visibility. Lights were still on all over the colony, steady and constant, indicating that the power was working fine. However, what disturbed Shepard most was the lack of noise. Other than the wind, the colony was completely silent. No talking, no sounds of work, no footsteps other than the crunching snow between the three investigators.

Pulling out his Avenger, he looked around for anything out of the ordinary. _They weren't kidding. This place is a ghost town, but there's nothing here telling why…_

Remembering that Miranda mentioned that the colony was supplied with mechs, he addressed his team. "Let's look for the mechs. If the colony was under attack, they should've deployed the mechs to defend themselves. How they were destroyed might give us a clue."

Both acknowledged him, with Miranda supplying more information. "They'll be stored in a warehouse next to the loading docks, not too far from here. Security was disabled at every other colony though, but I suppose it's still worth a shot."

Arming themselves, they proceeded into the colony.

Stepping through the door nearest from the landing pad, Shepard and his team swept the area, alert for any threats. They entered what looked like a cafeteria for the construction workers. There was still food on the tables, half eaten. They appeared to have been there for some time, but weren't spoiled yet.

"Looks like everybody got up and left right in the middle of dinner," Jacob noted.

Shepard stopped and knelt down, inspecting something on the ground.

"Something there, Commander?" Miranda asked.

Broken dishes, spilled food and drink littered the ground. There were multiple footsteps leading out the other door.

"Look like they were in a panic to get out. Something was chasing them," observed Shepard. "Look at these prints. Construction boots. Judging from the spacing, they were running."

Miranda kneeled next to Shepard to inspect the clues. "There's no other prints. Just the workers."

"So they were being chased by something, but it didn't leave any prints?" asked Jacob.

Shepard got up and held his rifle ready. "Move out," he ordered.

Once outside, the boot prints faded along the catwalk. Pressing forward, the former Specter moved through the catwalk and down the ramp. _Snow wiped the evidence from here on. We're not gonna find anything on the ground._

"Strange. No bodies, no structural damage, no signs of battle," Miranda observed.

_They were running from something, but no signs of struggle_. _Ambushed, maybe?_

Moving toward the large door that entered the colony proper, Shepard stopped. Holding out his arm out to silently order the Cerberus operatives to do the same, he strained his ears, on guard for anything. _Something's moving._

Jacob recognized the mechanical sounds. "Hear that? Sounds like FENRIS mechs," he declared.

"Strange. Security was disabled at the other colonies," Miranda said.

"This might be our break then," Shepard said.

Opening the door, Shepard kept his guard up, not surprising considering his last run in with mechs.

Past the threshold of the door, two LOKI mechs across a chasm stood up and pointed their weapons at the intruders.

_Aw hell. _"Open fire!" ordered Shepard as his Avenger targeted the mech on the left. His aim true, the left mech fell down, gaping holes in its chest.

Jacob wasted no time using his biotics to lift the other mech into the air while Miranda followed suit with a short burst from her rifle, easily taking the LOKI out.

"On our right!" Shepard warned as he ran for some crates. All three ducked down at what cover they could find as six more LOKIs began firing on them. Looking around the crates, Shepard saw two FENRIS mechs closing in on them.

"FENRIS mechs coming!" Jacob yelled.

Miranda used her Overload on two of the LOKIs to disable them while Jacob used his shotgun to put a solid slug into a FENRIS mech's head.

Shepard pulled out his shotgun and took aim as the other FENRIS mech came closer.

Resembling oversized pit bulls, FENRIS mechs are more commonly used to detect contraband using the sensors built in its head. The only weapon they had were tasers to bring down intruders. That pretty much meant that they simply charged at anyone they detected was an enemy.

Using his shotgun, Shepard aimed at the front legs of the FENRIS mech and took it down hard. Stumbling mere feet away from Shepard, it was helpless against the following shot to the head.

Looking up, he saw another unfortunate LOKI fly through the air only to be blasted back into the other three LOKIs when Miranda took the opportunity to use the biotic power Warp_._

After the mech landed on top of its three fellows, it self-destructed, damaging the others. Seeing their chance all three humans closed the distance, firing on any mech still moving. After a few minutes of firefight, all was quiet again.

Jacob spoke first. "Something's not right. Those mechs should've recognized us as human."

"Someone reprogrammed those mechs to attack on sight, we're not alone here," deduced Miranda.

"Hopefully, it's a survivor. Otherwise, it's a scavenger. Either way, it's someone that might know something," Shepard interjected. "Let go."

"Yes, Commander," – "Yes, sir," Miranda and Jacob said.

Moving past the remains of the mechs, Shepard led them through buildings and homes instead of staying outside, trying to minimize chances of further combat.

"We must be getting close," Miranda said. "Fewer homes and more warehouses here."

Shepard merely nodded, while keeping an ear out for the mech's synthesized voices. Nearing another warehouse, his caution was rewarded when he heard more voices coming from inside. Switching his Recon Hood's voice module off, he activated his radio instead. Helmets allowed silent communication via radio since it prevented sound from escaping, giving Special Forces teams the small luxury of speaking without giving their positions way, though hand signals were still taught and used.

Holding up his arm, Shepard said, _"Wait. I hear voices inside."_

Jacob and Miranda disabled their voice modules as well and held their guns up toward the entrance to the warehouse.

"_Mechs?"_ Jacob asked.

Listening harder, Shepard shook his head. _"Voice modules."_

Approaching the warehouse as slowly as possible, Shepard tried to count how many were inside.

"_Three at least, possibly more,"_ Shepard reported, while readying his shotgun. Better for close quarters.

Miranda and Jacob both nodded and took flanking positions on one side of the door, while Shepard took the other. Miranda turned on her omni-tool to open the door remotely and stood behind Jacob.

Shepard and Jacob enabled their voice modules and prepared to breach. The Commander started a silent three count.

Bursting into action, Miranda opened the door and both men ran in, shotguns drawn, trained eyes sweeping for hostiles and shouting their demands.

"Get down! Get on the ground!"

"Drop your weapons!"

The six people inside were startled by their entry and tried to raise their own weapons, but Shepard and Jacob closed the distance, putting their shotguns directly at the small group.

Only two raised their weapons, an assault rifle and shotgun, at the humans, as Miranda ran up with her Pulse Rifle pointed at the two obvious threats.

"Drop your weapons! Do it now!" yelled one of them pointing his assault rifle wildly as if he could hold back all three by himself.

"Wait!" a feminine voice cried. She lowered her shotgun. "Prazza, stand down!"

Disbelief colored Prazza's words. "What?"

Shepard's eyes quickly glanced around. _Quarians!_

"Stand down!" ordered Shepard, lowering his shotgun. Miranda and Jacob turned in disbelief, but complied with the order.

"Prazza, put your weapon down, now!" the female quarian commanded.

_That voice…!_

"What are you talking about Tali? Look! They're Cerberus!" Prazza argued.

"Look at the one in black! N7 armor, he's Alliance! Put your weapon down!" Tali said as stood in front of Prazza.

"Tali! Is it really you?" Shepard asked with astonishment in his voice.

Tali turned around immediately. Shaking her head, Tali said with disbelief, "Shepard? No… it can't be…"

Shepard took off his hood. "It's really me."

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!" Prazza argued.

Tali turned back to face the others. "Put those weapons down!"

Facing his team again, Shepard could imagine the shock on her face. "Shepard? Is that… you're alive?"

"Remember when I gave you that geth data Tali? Did it help you complete your pilgrimage?" Shepard asked, putting his shotgun away.

Tali gave a small laugh. "Yes, it did." Turning toward the quarian group, she ordered, "Enough. Prazza, all of you. Weapons down. This is definitely Commander Shepard."

Reluctantly putting his rifle down, Prazza asked Tali, "Why is your old commander working for Cerberus?"

"I don't know," Tali said. "Maybe we should ask." She turning her head toward Shepard and waited.

Deciding against telling her the whole truth until later, Shepard chose to give a simpler, more believable answer. "I nearly died, Tali. Cerberus spent two years rebuilding me. They want me to investigate attacks on human colonies."

Prazza jumped into the conversation. "Likely story. No organization would commit so many resources to bring back on soldier," scoffed Prazza.

Tali shook her head. "You haven't seen Shepard in action Prazza. Trust me. It was money well spent."

Shepard couldn't help but feel a little flattered at her words. _If only she knew how much was really spent._

Facing Shepard, Tali noticed his scars in the dark room. Reaching out, she asked, "Is that where they…?"

Shepard turned his head away while grabbing Tali's hand. "Yeah, it's a long story." Letting Tali go, Shepard looked over her group. "Why are you all here?"

Tali nodded, letting the subject drop. "We're here looking for a young quarian named Veetor. He was here on Pilgrimage."

Shepard's mind raced at the possibilities. "If Veetor was here during the attack, he may be able to tell us what happened."

Tali hesitated. "That's the hope. We've seen him, but he might not be in the best state to answer questions. He was injured and, ah, nervous -" Tali hedged.

"She means that he was unstable," interrupted Prazza. "Combine that with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and an infection from an open-air exposure, and he's likely delirious," he bluntly finished.

Tali sighed. "When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of town. We suspect that he also programmed the mechs to attack anything that moved."

"Veetor's the only one that could tell us what happened here. We should work together to find him," Shepard offered.

Tali nodded in agreement. "Good idea. You'll need two teams to get past the drones anyway."

"Now we're working with Cerberus?" Prazza angrily asked.

"No, Prazza, you're working for me. If you can't follow orders, go wait on the ship," Tali shot back, before turning back to her old friend. "Head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear you a path."

Shepard nodded. Looking at Prazza, hiss curiosity got the better of him. "Your people really don't like Cerberus. What did I miss?"

"They killed our people, infiltrated our flotilla, and tried to blow up one of our ships," Prazza angrily explained.

Shepard turned toward Miranda, eyebrow raised.

Miranda shrugged. "I wasn't there and I wasn't part of that cell. Still, that's not how I'd have explained it, exactly. It was nothing personal."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. _All the more reason to leave this group ASAP._

Before anything or anyone became more heated, Jacob reminded everyone why they were here. "Look, we can argue about this later. We have a job to do."

"Agreed. We work together to find Veetor," said Tali, trying mediate the two groups.

"Alright. Make sure you stay in radio contact," Shepard said.

"Will do. Good luck, Shepard. Whatever happens… it's good to have you back," Tali replied.

Offering her a reassuring smile and a nod, Shepard put his Recon Hood back on. After Miranda and Jacob were ready, all three went through one door as the quarians left through another.

**~o~O~o~**

Moving cautiously through or around the buildings, Shepard's team kept their eyes open for either mechs or quarians. Jacob's head perked up and he looked around. "Commander, I hear something."

Stopping immediately, all three moved to cover. Hearing a high pitched whine, all of them looked up to see a trio of drones patrolling in the direction they were going.

The radio crackled to life.

"_Be careful Shepard, there's a squad of security drones up ahead."_

"Got it Tali," Shepard answered, still watching the drones.

"Thanks for the warning, we'll take care of them," Jacob added. The drones flew over a structure and broke line of sight.

"Move out," Shepard ordered.

Moving around another warehouse and through another building, he heard more drones. Much more than three. Glancing back, he knew the Cerberus operatives heard it too. Stopping at the threshold of the exit, he looked around. _About six. Damn, three of them are rocket models too. They'll tear our shield down in no time._

He turned to his team. _"Miranda, how many drones can you Overload?"_

Glancing around, she replied, _"Two… maybe. They're probably shielded. I could probably hit another with Warp, though it's not as effective. It'll still lower the shields enough for me to shoot them down quickly."_

"_I could probably snipe one, cloak and take down another,"_ Shepard guessed. Turning to Jacob, he asked, _"Can you take out the last?"_

Jacob nodded, picking up his grenade launcher. _"So long as it's just one. Shields aren't my thing."_

"_Ready then?"_ Shepard asked, gripping his Mantis.

Both nodded. Shepard lined up his shot on the rocket drone and fired. Immediately engaging his Tactical Cloak, he ran as far as he could from the doorway as the rocket drone fell from the sky.

Hearing the electric crackling sounds of Miranda's tech attack, he slid into cover behind a railing, ejected the thermal clip, and lined up another shot. Seeing the second rocket drone, Shepard fired a second time, dropping it.

As his cloak fell away, Shepard watched as Miranda's Pulse Rifle tore through the drone's shields and into their fragile bodies. Jacob continued to pound away at any that were remotely functional. Seconds later, all three were moving toward their destination unhindered.

The radio crackled to life again. _"Shepard! Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen! They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get here!"_

"Damn it," cursed Shepard.

"We should have expected this," Miranda sighed.

"Come on! We can still catch them," Jacob said.

Moving quickly through the various buildings, they spotted a large door leading to the loading docks.

"_Hurry Shepard! We're inside the loading docks."_

An explosion was heard just beyond the door.

"Tali! What was that?" Shepard demanded as his team approached the door.

"_Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza team apart!"_

_Idiot!_

"They did want to get to Veetor first," Miranda commented grimly.

"Tali! Get this door open! We'll take care of the mech!" Shepard ordered.

"_Got it!" _Tali exclaimed_._

Flanking the door, Shepard and Jacob brought out their grenade launchers.

"The mech will probably have shields on top of armor. Jacob, you and me will run in first to distract it. Miranda, you use your tech on it. It might not bring the shields down, but it'll give us a chance to get its attention away from the quarians. We'll split up and attack from all sides. Hopefully it'll confuse it enough that it won't get a clear shot at any of us. As soon as the shields are down, make with the biotics."

"_Shepard, the door is opening now!"_ Tali called.

As soon as the doors opened, the screams of the dying filled the air as the YMIR mech tore its way through the quarians. Utilizing its mass accelerator cannons and rockets, the quarians stood little chance.

"This is going to be one tough son-of-a-bitch to take down," Miranda hissed.

The moment the doors opened, Shepard forced Adrenaline into his body and felt himself speed up. Running for cover on the other side of the battlefield, he began firing on the mech, explosions appearing all around it, but the damage was absorbed by the shields. The mech immediately ignored the quarians, turning to face the newest threat. Bullets began raining all over his shields as he tried to make for the building ahead.

The mech's aim got thrown off, as another grenade struck it, courtesy of Jacob as he dove behind some crates. The mech turned to fire at Jacob's position, before a large electrical sphere struck it, further draining its shields.

Turning toward the open doorway, it tried to fire off a rocket at Miranda, but another grenade struck its back, causing it stumbling it.

Slowly turning, the YMIR registered Shepard's position in the window of a building. Raising its cannon to shoot, Jacob's grenade struck it next, just before the unstable energies of Warp drained the last of its shields.

Seeing their chance, Shepard called out, "Jacob, now!"

Raising his arm into the air, Jacob lifted the mech into the air. "Ha! Gravity's one mean mother!" Jacob crowed as the mech left terra firma.

Without a stable platform the YMIR flailed helplessly in the air. Taking advantage, Shepard left the building and shot grenade after grenade at the helpless mech.

"Fire at will!" Shepard ordered. Miranda and Jacob needed no further encouragement as they used their assault rifle and grenade launcher, respectively to pound away at the heavy mech.

Finally, 10 feet in the air, Miranda launched another Warp, violently disrupting Jacob's biotic energies already present on YMIR. The resulting explosion shut the mech down as it fell, landing with the sound of twisted metal, before exploding a final time.

Following the battle, Shepard activated his radio. "Mech is down. Tali, are you alright?"

"_Yes, I'm fine. I'm in a__ server room tending to the wounded. Thanks for helping them. Please, find Veetor. I'll join up with you soon."_

Shepard turned to his team. "Anyone hurt?"

Both answered in the negative. Nodding in satisfaction, he started his approach towards Veetor's hiding place when something from the remains of the YMIR mech caught his eye. _Don't think I've seen a rocket launcher like that before…_

Stopping for a moment to scan the remains with his omni-tool to peruse later, all three approached the door carefully, on guard for any last desperate attack. Stepping closer to the door, all Shepard could hear was someone inside, mumbling to himself. No other voices could be heard.

"_Have to hide, swarms will get me. Need to protect myself. Can't let them get me…"_

Nodding his head at the others, Shepard pulled out his pistol, prompting them to do the same. Miranda opened the door for everyone as they slowly entered the small room, weapons ready.

The room looked like the control hub for remote control of the mechs in the colony. All the lights were off, illumination provided only by the nine monitors a single quarian was sitting in front of.

He didn't turn around or even acknowledge their presence. Veetor just continued to mumble to himself, typing feverishly on the console.

"Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No-no-no-no-no…"

Collapsing his pistol, Shepard walked slowly toward the frightened quarian, taking off his Recon Hood as he did so. He tried to get his attention. "Veetor?"

"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monster's coming. Have to hide."

"Nobody's going to hurt you anymore," assured Shepard.

Veetor kept typing at the console, seemingly unaware of the three humans in the room with him.

"I don't think he can hear you, Commander," observed Jacob after taking off his helmet.

Shepard activated his omni-tool. He wasn't skilled enough to use Overload as a weapon, but against some monitors, it wasn't that difficult. He waved his omni-tool at the monitors, remotely shutting them down one by one.

Veetor stopped typing, looking at all nine monitors in confusion. When he heard the familiar whistle of an omni-tool behind him, he turned his head.

Seeing the humans, he stood up. "You're human. Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?"

Miranda took off her own helmet after putting her Predator away. "Who didn't find us?" she asked.

"The… the monsters. The swarms. They took everyone," Veetor replied slowly.

"We're not survivors, Veetor. We just got here," Shepard explained.

Veetor bowed his head. "You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything."

Turning back to the console, Veetor typed in some commands and the monitors lit up, each one showing some footage of the colony.

"Looks like security footage. He must've pieced it together manually," Miranda deduced.

Tiny insects were flying around, moving too fast to see properly at the video's current speed. What got the investigator's attention however were the large bipedal forms resembling insects that were walking around the colony, pushing some kind of pods.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob asked.

Veetor paused the video as all three humans focused on the figure. "My God, I think it's a Collector," Miranda answered, surprise evident in her voice.

"I thought Collectors kept to themselves," Shepard said.

Miranda nodded. "They usually work through intermediaries, like slavers or hired mercenaries. If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies."

They watched as the video continued to play. Two Collectors were throwing a human into a pod.

"The Collectors have advanced technology. They could have a weapon that disables an entire settlement at once," Jacob hypothesized.

One figure got Shepard's attention on the top row, far right monitor.

Veetor explanation interrupted his study. "The seeker swarms. No one can hide. The seekers find you. Freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

"Tell me more about these swarms," Shepard requested.

"It's how they find you. Seeker clouds. Machines like tiny insects," Veeter explained. "They go everywhere. They find you. Then they sting you. Freeze you."

"It must be those flying little insects we see on the monitors there. Miniature probes, maybe? Find their victims, then immobilize them with a stasis field or nerve toxin," Miranda theorized.

_Last I remember, Alliance records on Collectors were sketchy at best._ Turning toward Miranda and Jacob, Shepard asked, "What do you know about Collectors?"

Jacob shook his head. "Nobody knows much. Sightings are so rare, a lot of people don't even believe they exist."

"More importantly, why are they abducting human colonists? What are they after?" Miranda queried.

"Maybe the Illusive Man can figure it out," Jacob said.

_If he didn't know already_.

Studying Veetor, Shepard asked, "Why didn't the Collector's take you?"

"Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here," answered Veetor.

"The Collectors aren't known for being careless," Jacob said to Shepard. "Maybe his enviro-suit kept him from showing up on their sensors."

"Or they were using technology specifically designed to detect humans. Only human colonies have been hit," interjected Miranda.

Turning back to Veetor, Shepard asked, "What happened next?"

Looking at the monitors, Veetor's voice trembled, bordering on hysteria. "The monsters took the people onto the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!"

"I think that's all we're getting out of him, Commander," Jacob said.

"We appreciate what you told us. You were very helpful," Shepard said, attempting to calm Veetor down.

"I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electro-magnetic. Dark energy," Veetor blurted out suddenly.

"We need to get his data to the Illusive Man," Miranda said quickly. "Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up."

Before Shepard could respond, Tali's voice angrily interrupted. "What? Veetor is injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation!" Tali yelled, stepping to the room and glaring at the Cerberus operatives.

Jacob tried to placate the irate quarian. "We won't hurt him. We just need to see if he knows anything else. He'll be returned unharmed."

"Your people tried to betray us already. If we give him up to you, we'll never get the intel we need," Miranda added.

"Prazza was an idiot," spat Tali, rolling her eyes, "and he and his men paid for it." Looking at Shepard, Tali pleaded, "You're welcome to Veetor's omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him."

"You don't have to take Veetor and go. We could work together. Just like old times," Shepard offered.

Tali bowed her head. "I want to, but I can't. I got a mission of my own. It's too important for me to abandon, even for you." Tali sighed. "When it's over, and I'm still alive, we'll see what happens," she finished with a shrug.

Shepard's brow furrowed. "That sounds dangerous. What are you doing?"

Glancing at the operatives, Tali crossed her arms. "I don't think Cerberus needs to hear about it. But it's in geth space. That should tell you how important it is."

Shepard nodded in acceptance. Turning towards Miranda, he gave his orders. "Veetor's traumatized and needs medical care. Tali will give us his omni-tool data and take him back to the flotilla. His omni-tool data will be more reliable than his testimony anyway." his tone brooked no argument.

Miranda nodded in acceptance. "Understood, Commander," she said in a neutral voice.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the one giving the orders," Tali said gratefully. Giving Shepard a hug, Tali said, "Good luck out there. If I find anything that can help you, I'll let you know."

Shepard returned the hug. "Stay safe, Tali. I hope we can talk again."

Stepping away, Tali took Veetor's hand and led him out of the room.

Turning toward his companions, Shepard ordered, "Jacob, call the shuttle. Then, you and I will sweep for anymore hostiles and secure a landing zone. Miranda, get on this terminal and download everything Veetor's recorded. Hopefully, it'll supplement his omni-tool data."

"Yes, Commander." – "Aye, Commander."

As Jacob called the pilot on his radio, Miranda sat down in the chair Veetor vacated and began typing.

"Miranda, go back a bit. There was something that caught my attention," Shepard suddenly said.

Confusion colored her face, but Miranda complied. After a few seconds, he pointed at something at the monitors. "Wait."

Pausing the video Miranda looked for what got Shepard's eye.

"There," was all he simply said, pointing toward a monitor on the right. she turned her gaze and saw it.

A Collector that looked different from all the rest. Instead of having a dark brown carapace, it was red and orange. It looked as if was on fire.

"Focus your efforts on that. There's definitely something different about that one," he ordered. Standing straighter, he couldn't help but wonder what they were doing, what was going on, and more importantly; _What am I going to do?_

After spending his career making split-second decisions and facing seemingly impossible choices, for once, Shepard was at a loss.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

I actually had this finished sometime around 3 a.m. before exhaustion finally caught with me and forced me to get some sleep before proof-reading and tweaking this chapter into its final draft.

First off, this IS a Shepard/Miranda pairing. Right now though, Miranda is Cerberus. Shepard felt like he was Alliance only a week ago, having spent that last two years dead/coma/unconscious. Right now, I felt that animosity would be natural since neither would trust each other yet and both are very strong-willed. I certainly wasn't about to have "love at first sight" or something insipid like that.

Miranda respects Shepard's abilities. Shepard respects Miranda's intelligence. I'm sure they admire each other's aesthetics. As it all stands, Miranda will treat this like any other job, while Shepard will still have feelings for Ashley. Don't expect things to change too soon.

Also, don't read too much into Shepard and Tali's scenes. Tali is a familiar face in an unfamiliar time. I think I would be glad to have a friend, when I find myself surrounded by people, that by all rights, I've called enemies. Tali, for her part, owes a lot to Shepard, and I wanted to convey that their friendship stayed strong despite Shepard's "death".

As for Miranda's abilities, as an RPG, all characters start at the bottom. That works for games, but from a novelization point of view, I can' t help but wonder why the hell Miranda, a top operative from a super secret shadow organization, wouldn't take the time to develop her abilities?

It's like saying you're a super secret spy, best of the best. Oh? You don't know how to shoot? Guess you better learn, huh? Now go save the galaxy!

Jacob is the same. A veteran from the Alliance, the main character in Mass Effect Galaxies, and all his biotics is n00b level?

With that said, all the characters are going to have some real abilities that make them worthy of their respective roles. I mean, Garrus wasn't dead, how the hell did he slack off from Mass Effect 1? So for now, Miranda has Unstable Warp and Jacob is biotically strong enough to lift a heavy mech once shields are down. Still, everyone can still find room for improvement, so don't worry, no Mary Sues or Marty Stus. (Whatever the terms are.)

I've also changed the rules of combat a bit. How the hell does ARMOR stop biotics? Armor stops bullets, not energy blasts that fools around with mass and gravity and space and time. Because of this, there is no "health bar'. Armor is the last defense before grievous injuries. Most characters will have barriers or shields since I felt that energy can stop energy. Because of this, other biotics will have the same abilities as the main characters. They can use Pull, Singularity, Shockwave, etc. instead just Warp.

Finally, I want to thank all that took the time to review. You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that no matter what, I will push myself to write this story and make it the best I can do.


	4. Interlude I

_**Location: Unknown **_

A small thin, lighter ignited, its flame kissing the end of a cigarette. The fire illuminated his face for a moment before it was put out, leaving only the glow of his unnatural eyes visible in the shadows.

The Illusive Man took a breath from his cigarette before addressing the projection in front of him. "Good work on Freedom's Progress. The quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history," he informed Shepard.

"Your history, is that the one where you where made a direct attack on the quarian people?" Shepard accused.

Only unrepentant eyes met his question. "That was before your return and not relevant to the task at hand," The Illusive Man said. "You and I have different methods, but I can't argue with your results."

"You ever think about playing nice once in a while?" The distain in Shepard's voice was unmistakable.

"Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat," countered the Illusive Man. Moving back to the original topic, he continued, "More importantly, you confirmed the Collectors are behind the abductions."

_I knew it. _Shaking his head, Shepard asked, "Why do I get the feeling you knew about them already?"

"I had my suspicions, but I needed proof. The Collectors are enigmatic at best," he clarified. "They periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology." After pausing to take another smoke, he continued his explanation. "When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived; back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 relay. Until now, we've had no evidence of direct aggression by the Collectors."

"What are the Collectors getting from these 'deals'?"

Tapping his cigarette into his ash tray, the Illusive Man explained what he knew. "The Collectors aren't very forthcoming about their motives. Generally, they seek out species with rare genetic mutations or abnormalities. They pay slavers and merc groups exorbitant sums to obtain these specimens. And then they leave. But they've never targeted a single species before. And the previous samples sizes were in the dozens, not the tens of thousands."

"Any ideas why they've shifted their focus to humans?"

"If they're agents for the Reapers, it could be any number of reasons. Obviously, humanity played a huge role in Sovereign's destruction. That might have been enough to draw their attention," theorized the Illusive Man. "What really concerns me is why they bother abducting the colonists. They seem to go out of their way with paralyzing them, not killing them."

"Do you know anything about the Omega 4 relay?" asked Shepard.

"Nothing at all. Like everyone else, we only **know** that any ship passing through it has never returned. However, our best guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collector vessels, allowing them safe passage. If they can manipulate relays, that's just further evidence of the connection with the Reapers."

So far, everything made sense, but Shepard still had little reason to trust the enigmatic figure sitting in front of him. "You're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are involved?"

"The patterns are there, buried in the data," was all he said. Shifting in his chair, the Illusive Man took another smoke. "The Council and the Alliance want to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. You and I know better. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."

Shepard already had similar thoughts, but his plans involved the Alliance. Considering the Illusive Man's words, it was clear that he was willing to dedicate whatever resources were necessary to end the threat. As much as Shepard didn't like it, the Alliance would favor politics first long before any real help would be considered.

_Guess I have to dance with the devil just a little longer._ "If this is war, I'll need an army. Or a really good team," agreed Shepard.

A console appeared next to the Illusive Man's left hand. "I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientist, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them." Tapping a few keys, he continued. "Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

_He worked this out quickly. I wonder… _"I don't suppose you know what happened to my old team?"

"Most of them have moved on… or their allegiances have changed," came the prompt reply.

Shepard just stood his ground, waiting for more information.

Evidently anticipating this, the Illusive Man began listing all of Shepard's former squad mates without looking at any terminals or holomonitors.

"Chief Williams is still with the Alliance. Promoted, I believe. Her file is surprisingly well-classified."

Shepard allowed nothing to show how the news affected him. He still had no idea how to approach Ashley after learning about his death and now his dealings with Cerberus. _She's not going to like this, that's for sure._

"The turian disappeared a few months after you were declared dead. Even we haven't been able to locate him."

Furrowing his brow at that particular bit of news, Shepard couldn't help but wonder what Garrus was doing. _Did he still want to be a Spectre or go back to C-Sec?_

"The krogan returned to Tuchanka and hasn't been off-world in over a year. He's trying to unite the krogan clans."

Shepard raised his eyebrow at that. He remembered Wrex was trying that before Wrex's own father, Jarrod tried to kill him. He left Tuchanka believing that the krogan abandoned him. _Wonder what prompted the change of heart._

"Dr. T'Soni is on Illium. My sources say she's working for the Shadow Broker. If so, she can't be trusted."

That startled Shepard. He would've thought that she would go back to Illos to study the Prothean ruins. Maybe have a chat with Vigil, even. _What the hell could she want with the Shadow Broker?_

Shepard suppressed a sigh. _A lot really can happen in a couple of years._ Looking at the Illusive Man, Shepard noticed he hadn't mentioned his quarian friend yet.

"What about Tali? She already helped us on Freedom's Progress," he prompted.

"That was unexpected. I'll need more intel, before I'll commit to that," the Illusive Man said evasively.

Shepard wasn't letting this one drop though. "I'm the one leading this mission. Do I need your permission now?" he said in a low voice.

The Illusive Man made no comment on Shepard's tone. "According to Miranda, your friend is unavailable for now. I'm merely curious as to what she's up to and if will jeopardize the mission," he explained. Seeing that Shepard wasn't budging on the issued, the Illusive Man offered, "If's she's willing to travel with you, then that's your choice."

Lifting his cigarette to his lips, the Illusive Man tapped some more keys at his console. "You're a leader Shepard. You'll get who you need," he said, exhaling his smoke.

"I'm still a Spectre. Maybe I can get the Council to help me out," Shepard reminded.

"If you can convince them, by all means," the Illusive Man replied. Shepard could detect a hint of sarcasm or patronizing tone in his voice though.

_He's still pro-human in the end._

"Just remember – You've been gone a long time. Things have changed," warned the Illusive Man.

Nodding, Shepard said, "You worry about the Collectors, I'll make sure my team's ready."

"Good. Two things before you go: First head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant salarian scientist," advised the Illusive Man. "Our intelligence suggests he may know how to counteract the Collectors' paralyzing seeker swarms."

"So you're actually **suggesting** that I work with non-humans?" Shepard asked sarcastically. "That must hurt."

The Illusive Man didn't rise to his baiting. "Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Shepard," he mildly admonished.

Seeing that any further saber-rattling would be pointless, Shepard pushed on. "What else?"

A hint of a smile appeared on the Illusive Man's face. "I found a pilot I think you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you can trust."

Finishing the meeting with his mysterious statement, the Illusive Man terminated the connection.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Horse Head Nebula, Unknown System, Minuteman Station**_

As the light from the scanner faded away, Shepard heard light footsteps from behind. Turning around, his eyes widened.

"Hey, Commander. Just like old times, huh?" Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau asked with a grin.

Shepard smiled. "It's great to see you again, Joker." Looking at his legs, he noticed Joker favoring his left side.

Joker noticed his gaze. "Some medical thing happened a while ago and I got some upgrades. I can move around now, but I still gotta watch my step or you'll have to carry me."

"Again," came the deadpanned replay.

"That didn't count! I was drunk! Someone had to carry me anyway!" Joker protested.

Getting the conversation back on track, Shepard asked, "So you're going to be my helmsman again?"

"Well I hope you weren't expecting someone else. I still have to pay you back. Besides, I owe you and you'll probably die again without me."

**~o~O~o~**

Walking alongside Joker through the corridors of the station, Shepard couldn't keep the amazement out of his voice. "I still can't believe it's you Joker."

Joker snorted. "Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced."

"Got lucky, with a lot of strings attached," Shepard quipped. "How'd you get here?"

Walking up some stairs, Joker lost his jovial tone. "It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone."

"I'm shocked. I really am," Shepard replied sardonically.

"Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded," he bitterly explained as they turned another corner. "The Alliance took the one thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus."

"You really trust the Illusive Man?"

Joker stopped and looked through a window. Shepard looked as well, but the room was pitch black. "I don't trust anyone that makes more than I do," Joker said with a shrug. "But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly – and then there's this," he finished with a flourish. Crossing his arms, he continued looking through the window. "They only told me last night."

Shepard watched as the lights came on, one by one. The first set of lights illuminated a familiar nose, the words SR-2 written clearly. Shepard watched in amazement as more lights activated. The familiar curve from the nose leading toward the main body, the wings, and the vector thrust nozzles. Shepard smiled as he put his hands on his hips, watching as all the lights turned on, revealing his new ship, looking as good and around twice as big as the original. _Cerberus definitely has a flair for the dramatic._

Joker summed up their thoughts. "It's good to be home, huh, Commander?"

Noticing that only SR-2 was the only thing written, Shepard turned to Joker. "Guess we'll have to give her a name."

Joker only nodded, but Shepard knew there was only one name they could ever give to this kind of frigate.

"She'll be ready by tomorrow. We'll leave on your orders, Commander."

**~o~O~o~**

***Encrypted***

_**Freedom's Progress Mission Summary:**_

_Collectors confirmed as source of attacks on human colonies._

_Quarian survivor Veetor returned with Tali'Zorah to the Migrant Fleet._

_Will examine his omni-tool data for anything useful._

_Received Miranda's security footage and have proceeded to research for any intel needed to combat Collectors. Particular interest in one specific Collector was noted._

**~o~O~o~**

After spending the night on the station in some random room, Shepard found himself following Miranda and Jacob toward the airlock that would eventually lead toward the Normand SR-2. Adjusting his uniform for the 100th time, he still felt uncomfortable. It was silly considering it was the same as an Alliance uniform, matched to his size even, but merely decorated in Cerberus colors and logos.

_Probably why I hate this damned uniform. _

Shepard had served in the Alliance faithfully for 11 years; regardless of his opinion of the politics or the orders he had been given. Even working as a Spectre had been for the Alliance. But now, he was working with an organization that both the Alliance and the Citadel Council recognized as an enemy. After all this time, simply turning his back on everything he'd done to work with Cerberus felt like a betrayal.

Shaking those thoughts away, Shepard knew this had to be done. Researching past events of the missing two years of his life last night, he reluctantly admitted the Illusive Man was actually telling the truth, this time anyway. Colonists were disappearing and official reports were vague or incomplete. General consensus was the Alliance or the Citadel was content to stay out of the Terminus Systems, leaving people there to fend for themselves.

Ironically, it appeared Cerberus was their only hope then. The only thing Shepard could do was trust his instincts and hope he made the right decisions. _Lines between right and wrong can get blurry really fast…_

Walking past the window he and Joker were at last night, Shepard noticed the new paint job on his frigate. "Normandy" was proudly displayed on the main body of the ship, bringing a smile to his face.

Taking an elevator down to the airlock, Miranda stopped and turned toward Shepard. "After you," she invited.

Nodding his head, Shepard entered the new Normandy for the first time.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Unknown System, Minuteman Station, Normandy SR-2**_

Entering the bridge, Shepard looked to his left to see Joker looking at right at back at him; his chair was rotated 180° away from his control station. He appeared to be caressing the armrests and bouncing up and down in his chair.

_Probably anxious to leave. I wouldn't be surprised if he slept in that chair last night._

Acknowledging Joker's enthusiastic wave with a nod, Shepard turned towards the CIC. He noted several Cerberus crewmen wearing the same uniform Shepard was currently wearing, though they seemed much more comfortable in it. All were at various stations along the bridge and the CIC itself.

Shepard couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face as he stopped just short of the CIC to look around.

"Welcome to the new Normandy, Commander," said Jacob.

"Full crew complement?" Shepard asked Miranda, stepping to the CIC.

"Yes, Commander. They're at their stations awaiting your orders," she answered.

Shepard stopped at the command station, looking up at the holographic display of the Normandy and the status of the ship and various systems. All were saying that the Normandy was functioning and ready.

Miranda voice broke into his thoughts. "I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega."

Shepard turned around and gave her his full attention as she continued. "We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us."

"We'll need that countermeasure or we'll be helpless when we run into the Collectors," agreed Shepard.

"Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the most logical place to start," a feminine voice chimed in.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked, directing his voice to the ship's intercom. He wasn't prepared for the blue orb to appear behind him on the command station.

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew likes to refer to me as EDI," introduced the projection. A lighter blue band that ran vertically over the "face" of the orb expanded and contracted as the AI talked.

Turing the face the projection, Shepard crossed his arms as he thought about the pros and cons of having an AI over a VI on his ship. "Helmsman aren't happy when someone takes control of a ship away from them. Especially Joker."

"I do not helm the ship," answered EDI. "Mr. Moreau's talents will not go to waste."

"So what do you do?" asked Shepard. "And what does 'EDI' stand for?"

"EDI is the phonetic pronunciation of E-D-I. That is an acronym for 'Enhanced Defense Intelligence'. During combat, I operate the electronic warfare and cyberwarfare suites. My reaction time is faster than any organic. Beyond that, I have minimal interaction with the ship's systems. I observe and offer analysis and advice. I also collate the records of shipboard monitoring devices for the Illusive Man," explained EDI before a red vertical mark appeared on her avatar. "I seem to serve additional functions which are restricted at this time."

"Monitoring devices, huh…?" Shepard muttered as his expression took on a dark look.

Jacob shrugged helplessly, while Miranda looked completely unfazed by the news.

"The Illusive Man has invested most of Cerberus' resources into the design and construction of this ship. He has an interest in monitoring our progress," EDI said, the red stripe vanishing and her normal sky blue color returned.

"You said 'restricted functions'. Like what?"

The red stripe returned again. "I do not know. Some of my databases are sealed. Some of my hardware is kept offline. I assume that when certain unknown conditions are met, those functions will be released to me."

"Basically, it's a shackled AI. Security precautions built in for our safety," Miranda explained. "The field of artificial intelligence has had rocky results, as you well know. Until EDI is fully tested, we're keeping certain systems offline until needed."

"And cyberwarfare? Do you mean hacking, viruses, that kind of thing?" Shepard asked.

"In close-range ship-to-ship combat, I can sometimes break through the firewalls of an enemy's internal wireless network," EDI said. "Once I seize control of their systems, I can turn off gravity or air. I can disable weapons guidance or shields. Or I can put their fusion plant in meltdown."

"Considering the stealth capabilities of the Normandy, getting in close should be no problem," Jacob commented.

"On the defense, I manage Normandy's own suite of jammers, decoys, and internal firewalls," EDI continued.

Nodding in satisfaction, Shepard turned toward Jacob and Miranda. "Besides being part of my team, what are your positions on the Normandy?"

Miranda spoke first. "I'll be your Executive Officer for this mission. I'll manage the day-to-day operations, such as logistics and maintenance."

Shepard had to admit that having someone as professional as Miranda assigned as his XO could only help, remembering his own stint as Anderson's XO. He still knew that Miranda did more than help manage the Normandy though. "And what are your other duties, aside from keeping an eye one me?" asked Shepard.

Eyebrow raised she answered, "I'm the Illusive Man's agent. You're his most important asset. My job is to make sure you succeed." Tilting her head, she shrugged. "Aside from that… I send regular reports to the Illusive Man, updating our status."

_I thought so. At least I don't have to worry about paperwork anymore. _

"And you?" said Shepard, turning his gaze to Jacob.

"I'm the Armory Chief. I'll be in charge of maintaining or upgrading all the weapons, armor, and any new weapons tech we get our hands on," Jacob informed. "Speaking of which, I've sent those scans of yours to Cerberus R&D. The ones you took off the YMIR mech on Freedom's Progress? There's a new toy you should see when you get a moment."

Shepard nodded. "Now that we've got that sorted out, let's move on to these dossiers."

Joker's excited voice came in from the intercom. _"Final preparations for takeoff are complete, Commander. When you're ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course,"_ Joker said quickly.

_Well, he's eager to go. I'll bet he was ready a week ago._

"Thanks, Joker. I may have been dead, but I still remember how this works," Shepard deadpanned.

"_Uh… sorry, Commander. Just… um… right. I'll just wait then."_

"Jacob and I will be at our posts. Come find us if you have any questions. I'll be in my office on deck 3." Her piece said; Miranda, _Executive Lawson, _Shepard reminded himself, headed off to the lift.

Jacob gave a crisp salute, before heading to the armory on the port side of the Normandy.

**~o~O~o~**

As soon as Shepard was left alone, a young woman approached him. She was pretty, with short-cut red hair, green eyes and a pleasant demeanor.

Standing at attention, she saluted him. _With a smile no less_.

"Welcome aboard, Commander. I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers. I've been assigned as your administrative assistant."

With a mental sigh, Shepard couldn't help but remind himself that he was on a **Cerberus**vessel_._ _How many people are gonna spy on me?_

"I'll manage your messages, and help you monitor the crew," she continued.

Glancing around, she added, "On a more personal note, I must say, it's such an honor to work under you, Commander Shepard."

"I'm glad to have you on the team, Yeoman Chambers," said Shepard, deciding to be polite until he learned more about his ship and crew.

"Please, call me Kelly."

Shrugging, Shepard acquiesced. "Okay, Kelly." Diplomatically ignoring her blush, he asked, "What are your responsibilities exactly?"

Standing straighter, the yeoman said, "I manage and keep you notified of any appointments you have, as well as any messages. If any of the crew has important business to discuss with you specifically, I'll make sure you know."

"Isn't that the type of task better suited for a VI, or an AI, in our case?" asked Shepard as he tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out why he needed an assistant on a war vessel.

"Yes, but being your yeoman is just my official role. Unofficially, I observe the crew."

Raising an eyebrow, Shepard asked, "Observe?"

Nodding, Kelly explained, "Everyone knows how risky our mission is. Many of us may not be coming back. That's a lot of pressure. I have a degree in psychology. I'm good at sensing when people are overly taxed."

"So you make sure the crew's mental health is sound?"

"Yes. I look for warning signs. I listen. It's not a full-time and it's most effective when done informally," said Kelly.

"We're lucky to have someone with your skills, Kelly. Carry on," dismissed Shepard.

"Thank you, Shepard. By the way, you have new messages in your private terminal."

Moving toward the galaxy map, Shepard looked for his destination. _Looks like we're in the Horsehead Nebula. Good to know._ After memorizing the location of the Cerberus facility they were at, he tapped the Serpent Nebula; the galaxy map zoomed in to the Widow System, home to the Citadel and the Council.

"_Yeah! Acknowledged, Commander. Course plotted, we're taking off,"_ Joker called.

**~o~O~o~**

The doors opened slowly, finally allowing access to the ocean of stars. The Normandy hummed as she started to engage her engines to the fullest. As the doors fully opened, the vector nozzles began to glow before the thrusters ignited, propelling the Normandy and crew out of the station. Clear of the dock and station, she turned starboard and accelerated away, gaining distance from her berth, before jumping to FTL.

**~o~O~o~**

Satisfied that everything was underway, Shepard made his way to the bridge, as Joker reported that the ETA to the nearest mass relay would be around four hours.

Stopping at the cockpit, Shepard noticed EDI's avatar on the left. "Everything alright here, Joker?"

Joker rotated his seat to face Shepard. "Can you believe this, Commander? It's my baby, better than new! Fits me like a glove!" gushed Joker.

More disturbing than Joker's tone of affection were his actions. He was rubbing the armrests and writhing in his chair. "And leather seats! Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they couldn't care less if the seats breathe. Civilian sector comfort by design."

Both men turned toward EDI as she interrupted Joker's dialogue. "The reproduction is not intended to be perfect Mr. Moreau. Seamless improvements were made."

The moment EDI spoke, the happiness seemed to drain out of him. Glaring at the avatar, Joker said, "And there's the downside. I liked the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't even want to talk about. It's like ship cancer."

"I don't trust them. We still need to move ahead, but it's all too convenient," said Shepard seriously.

"Maybe you're right. I guess it's hard to argue when they install an AI to spy on us," agreed Joker. "We're staying, though, right?" he pleaded. "I mean, this seat is real leather."

Shaking his head and smiling, Shepard could only say, "Good to see you're keeping it all in perspective, Joker."

Joker patted the armrests and grinned. "Leather!"

Shepard smirked. "If we're stuck here, we might as well let them pamper us, huh?"

"Ah, does it breach uniform regs if I get that on a crew shirt? Because this is my favorite, 'You have no choice!' choice ever," Joker replied.

"Technically, this is a civilian ship. I'm probably lucky you're still wearing pants," Shepard quipped.

Turning in his seat to face his console again, Joker sang, "Uh… leather!"

As Shepard turned away to inspect the rest of the Normandy, he heard erotic moaning.

Turning sharply, Shepard eyed Joker accusingly.

Cringing, Joker said, "Uh, sorry. That was… uh… supposed to go to my earpiece."

"Forget luck. I'm thinking it's miracle," Shepard muttered good-naturedly before leaving.

**~o~O~o~**

Reaching the top deck, Shepard stepped off the lift and walked towards the door, noting the stenciling on the right saying: Deck 1, Captain's Cabin. Opening the door, he stepped into his new quarters.

It was big. Much larger than any Alliance vessel he served on. Most ships give the captains personal quarters, but it was always modest, usually containing only a bed and table.

"Wow," was all he said from his position at the doorway.

EDI popped up from a square, black plate horizontally attached to the wall near the entrance on Shepard's left hand side.

"This is the Commanding Officer's quarters," she informed.

"It's larger than the other quarters of other warships I've served on," he stated.

"This is a Cerberus vessel, not an Alliance warship," reminded the AI. "Accommodations have been made for personal taste. That said, this space is directly under the exterior pressure hull. The fitting yard workers called it the 'loft'."

Nodding, Shepard looked around slowly. To the eyes of the former Alliance marine, it was very lavish, much more decadent than any place he'd ever stayed before. _Considering most of my time is spent on warships or barracks, maybe my standards are a little low._

Though the cabin was well lit with various lamps, the brightest source of illumination came from the water tank on the starboard side the ship. Shepard observed decorated plants and bubbles within. "Is this an aquarium?" he incredulously asked the AI.

"Yes, Commander. It was decided by the interior decorators that certain aesthetics were necessary to distinguish this room from others. Their solution was the addition of an aquarium. If you so choose, you may add any manner of fish you like, so long as it's of reasonable size and temperament," explained EDI.

_Interior decorators… for a warship… of course, _Shepard thought sarcastically, remembering the Illusive Man's office. _For a guy that likes to be subtle,_ _he really likes to make big splashes._

Looking to his right, he noted a large, _very large,_ desk with a personalterminal and a file cabinet, which upon closer examination, contained OSDs of the crew rosters and personnel files of everyone on the ship. There were even Jacob and Miranda, though the information was generic and any real details were sketchy. Above his desk, a large glass container that extended from his table to the ceiling held a model of the new Normandy SR-2. _Model ship display, very nice. _There was easily enough room for more as well.

Seeing nothing else on his desk besides a pair of empty shelves, he walked toward the nearby door. A shower, a head, and a sink greeted him._ And a private washroom too. Wow._ The idea of having a private bathroom was an entirely foreign concept to Shepard, having spent all of his life using communal bathrooms.

Glancing around, he saw his reflection in the mirror. Looking close, it seemed as if the scars were healing. They weren't glowing as angrily as before anyway. If he stayed in well-lit areas, then people couldn't even tell there was nothing abnormal anyway. Thankfully, the entire vessel was always well-lit. _Probably why no one's stared or made any comments._

Leaving the bathroom, _my bathroom_, he continued his tour. Various expensive looking furniture was tastefully placed around the room. Couches, chairs, _Leather too_, coffee table_, _another private table, a pair of nightstands and a holographic alarm clock all surrounded the very comfortable queen sized bed.

Topping it all off was the holographic display on the same wall as the aquarium. Pressing a button, labeled 'Casual Wear', the display vanished as a drawer opened to reveal several styles of clothes. _All in my size too._ Pushing the drawer back, the display appeared again. Pressing 'Armor', a cabinet extended from Shepard's right. Various models of the latest N7 armor models were there, ranging from chest plates, gauntlets, leg armors, shoulder pauldrons, and helmets. There was even another set of Cerberus assault armor Miranda and Jacob used.

_If the Illusive Man is trying to bribe me, he's doing a damn good job._

**~o~O~o~**

Stepping off the lift at deck 3, 'Crew Deck' greeted Shepard from the opposite wall. Taking a quick glance around, the crew quarters and women's bathroom were on the starboard side, while the life support systems and men's bathroom were on the port side. There were observation decks on opposite sides of the hall.

Seeing nothing else of note, Shepard walked into the common room, hearing the chatter of the crew just beyond the short hallway.

"Chef's surprise again? Come on, Rupert," complained one crewman from his table.

An older, bald-headed man scowled from his place at the galley. "I'm sorry, princess," he mocked. "Filet mignon and caviar coming right up. Let me just get out my doilies."

"That'd be real nice, Mr. Gardner," the crewman sarcastically replied.

Turning his head away from the exchange, Shepard thought he saw a very familiar face through the windows of the medical bay. _Can't be…_

Entering the med bay, he saw another welcome figure. "Dr. Chakwas!"

Standing from her chair, Dr. Chakwas, former Chief Medical Officer of the Normandy SR-1, embraced Shepard. Standing back to better look at him, Chakwas said with relief, "Commander Shepard. I watched as the Normandy crumbled with you on board. It's good to see you alive."

"It's nice to see another trusted face on board, Doctor," greeted Shepard.

"I feel the same. I wish more of the original crew could be here," said Chakwas wistfully. Eyeing Shepard with a clinical eye, she commented, "The kind of trauma you endured would've changed most people, but not you, I see. Welcome back, Shepard."

"Doctor, you've been with the Alliance for years. Why leave now?" asked Shepard.

Taking her seat again and prompting Shepard to sit as well, she explained, "After the Normandy was lost, the surviving crew reassigned. I was stationed at the Mars Naval Medical Center. A very respectable position, but it wasn't on a starship."

"Colonial military life isn't for you?"

"I've spent most of my life on warships, never knowing what the next mission will bring. I'm used the hum of the engines, the creaking of bulkheads, that subtle vertigo when the momentum dampeners kick in," she said, lost in her feelings. Returning to the present, she continued, "Life planet-side is just too static, too boring."

_Still the romantic. Glad to see some things don't change._ Turning his head to observe the crew through the window, Shepard commented, "You're not the Cerberus type, Doctor."

"I don't work for Cerberus; I work for you – on a mission that may be crucial to the survival of the human race. I have faith that your dealings with Cerberus will be ethical. I trust you, Commander," Chakwas said with sincerity in every word.

"There's a very good chance this mission will be a one-way trip. Are you prepared for that?" warned Shepard.

"I've through the Reclaiming of Shanxi, the Skyllian Blitz… We went through your missions as a Spectre, survived the Battle of Citadel and the destruction of the Normandy together. I've lived a full life – no regrets. I'd like to make sure the crew gets the same opportunity," she affirmed.

Smiling, Shepard looked around the med bay. "Do you have everything you need?"

"I believe so. This medical bay seems very much like the sick bay on the original Normandy, just bigger," Chakwas said, glancing around. "Only thing missing are my private reserves. I even had a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy that I was saving for a special occasion."

"I'll keep an eye out for a replacement bottle," offered Shepard.

"Oh, you needn't. It's expensive and we have much larger concerns ahead," she said.

An idea popped into his head at that moment. "Tell you what; I'll get you a bottle of brandy, if you give me a full physical."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Chakwas skeptically asked, "A physical?"

Sighing, Shepard turned his head to point out his scars to the doctor.

Chakwas leaned on closer to examine Shepard's face. "Interesting. Do you have any idea what this is?"

"No. I was, or rather, my body was part of a Cerberus project. I need to know what they did to me and you're the only person I could trust with this," Shepard said as he allowed Chakwas to probe his scars. "I need to know everything you can find."

Turning to her console, she tapped a few commands. Suddenly, the windows viewing the crew common area became opaque. "To ensure doctor/patient confidentiality," explained Chakwas. "I love those windows; it makes me feel connected to the rest of the ship and crew."

Pointing to one of the beds, she said, "Sit down there, Commander. Let's start simple, before moving to the more technical matters of your health."

Following her orders, Shepard got up from his chair and sat down on the nearest bed.

Chakwas turned on her omni-tool and began preliminary scans to ensure everything was working fine. "Resting pulse, BP, and breathing rates appear to be fine."

Turning to a terminal next to the bed, she typed in a few notes, before turning back to her patient. "Right, let's see what we're dealing with here."

After a few minutes of scanning and prodding, measuring reflexes, answering mundane questions about he was feeling, and watching Chakwas type in notes, it all felt standard to Shepard.

Only during her more thorough scans, did Chakwas face change from her pleasant one to a more concentrated, serious mask. "This can't be right," she mumbled.

Shepard stayed silent, allowing her concentrate, curious as to what she would find.

After several more minutes, Chakwas suddenly asked, "Could you turn your head for me, Commander?"

Complying with her request, Shepard waited, slightly apprehensive as Chakwas began probing the back of his head, apparently looking for something specific.

"Oh, dear," was all she said.

**~o~O~o~**

During her maiden voyage, all the crew members were expected to report to their stations. This was mainly to become familiar with various systems, other people, and the Normandy herself.

Once underway, the crew broke into their respective shifts. Off-duty personnel stowed away their belongings in the crew quarters and explored the frigate. Once finished, they all trickled down toward the common area to better know the people they were serving alongside.

Stories were exchanged, family talked about, skills bragged, experience on other vessels boasted, all very normal procedure on any new ship. It really didn't matter if it was civilian, merchant, or military.

Of course, none of the crewman had any stories that they could ever recall seeing their commanding officer stomp out of the medical bay. None could say they ever saw the furious mask on the any captain's face match the one they saw on the former Spectre. Not one could even remember ever hearing something as different as the situation they observed as they hurriedly moved out of the way.

Appearing completely obvious to their presence, the crew watched as Shepard marched toward Executive Lawson's office.

"What do you think is going on?" Crewman Patel asked no one in particular.

"I don't know and I don't want to know. Not if I want to keep breathing anyway," Mess Sergeant Gardner said decisively, returning to his sink to clean trays.

A murmur in the in affirmative echoed through the room, as everybody stayed away from the XO's office. As curious as humans were, they also have survival instincts to pay attention too as well.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda looked up in surprise as Shepard barged into her room, rage evident on his face.

Opening his mouth, Shepard paused, turned around and closed the door before rounding on his target.

"_**What did you do to me?"**_ he snarled, trying to least keep his voice in check. He suspected Miranda's office would be soundproofed, but didn't want to take the chance for anyone else to overhear.

Keeping her calm in the face Shepard's anger, she turned off her terminal and clasped her hands on her table. "What exactly could you be talking about?" Miranda asked a neutral tone.

"I have an entire biotic configuration suite hardwired to my nervous system. Why the hell would you do that? I'm not biotic!" Shepard growled.

Eyes widening, Miranda sighed, rubbing her forehead she looked up at Shepard. "Ah, I apologize, Commander. With so many things going on, I didn't have the time to explain everything that we did during Project Lazarus." Standing up, she walked in front of her table and sat on the edge. "Originally, we were going to… ease you in. Help you readjust since you were absent for so long. Ideally, there should have been a few weeks of tests to see if you weren't changed from who you were before your death." Crossing her arms, her face darkened. "Wilson's betrayal obviously forced me to abandon my original schedule."

"I'll bet," Shepard muttered.

Shaking those thoughts away, she looked him in the eye. "Believe me, Commander. I really wanted things to be easier. A lot happened since our escape: our investigation into Freedom's Progress, finding out about the Collectors; even the Normandy wasn't something I was privy too. I only found out about her after Freedom's Progress."

Shepard rubbed his face and nodded wearily. "Right," he replied distractedly. His hand involuntarily returned to the surgical port in the back of his neck and felt the amp within.

"If you have any questions, I'll do my level best to answer them," offered Miranda.

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Shepard did his level best to keep a civil tongue. "Why do I have a biotic amps installed?" he said slowly.

"We noted some element zero modules in you. Very small, but present. It's likely the Alliance simply missed it or thought it was a small aberration when they conducted your physical. We only noticed it because we had to scrutinize every part of your body to see how best to bring you back," she explained.

"If they're so small, then how could I even be an effective biotic?"

"I forwarded daily reports to the Illusive Man. When he heard of our discovery, he sent data on several experiments involving biotics to me." She shrugged, "I don't know the details, I don't know how he got them, and I don't know who was involved in them. All I was given was the instructions to safely increase the modules in your body and wire you with the new L5x configuration."

"I thought the Alliance only had only developed L4's?" asked Shepard.

"L5x's are Cerberus prototypes, developed from the L4 configurations, just more advanced."

"You said that you increased the modules in me?" he inquired.

Miranda nodded, "Generally anyone with modules that are too small to be an effective biotic can be exposed to more element zero to increase effectiveness. Traditionally, it needed to be done at puberty. However, the data the Illusive Man forwarded to me changed several conventions. You're actually quite the biotic. Potentially anyway."

"Potentially?"

Standing up and pacing, she explained, "As you said yourself, Commander, you were not a biotic. Instruction is required to tap into your talents. Usually, it takes years to develop control over your nervous system to manipulate the electrical currents through the modules and create mass effect fields. The Illusive Man believes that you are able to produce quicker results however. Whether it's because of the L5x's or he believes you have the natural talent to begin with, I don't know."

_Considering the fact that I was dead, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here._

Stopping and turning to him, she offered, "Jacob and I were going to teach you all we know about biotics back at the science facility. The proposal still stands now."

Rubbing the back of his neck, an old nervous habit from childhood, Shepard only nodded.

"I still have a report to finish. Shall we meet in the cargo bay on deck 4 in say… two hours?" Miranda asked after checking the time.

Nodding again, he took another deep breath and forced his agitation away. Looking up at her, he noticed she was waiting on him. Sighing, he resolved to at least establish a working relationship, even if he didn't trust anyone on board, save Joker and Chakwas.

Clearing his throat, Shepard said, "Look Miranda. Our first meeting, or at least my first conscious meeting, wasn't the best way to show first impressions. However, if we're going to be working together, then at the very least, I'm willing to put aside what differences I have with Cerberus and focus on these attacks from the Collectors. I want to stay as professional as possible and I hope to be able to work with you."

Raising an eyebrow, she considered his words. "Very well, in the interests of the mission, I will endeavor to establish a better working relationship with you, Commander. I will assist you as best I'm able."

"Thank you."

Apparently coming to a decision, she walked back to her table, sat down, and activated her terminal. "I'm forwarding certain details involving Project Lazarus to you and Dr. Chakwas to peruse at your leisure." Finished with her task, Miranda looked back up at Shepard. "Cerberus isn't as evil as most people believe. If I can help allay any of your concerns…"

Accepting her invitation Shepard asked, "Are you military or political? Or both?"

"Cerberus has several divisions: political, military, scientific. But we're all working toward the same goal. The teams you encountered before your… accident were mostly part of our military division. But not all Cerberus operations use the same protocols. We try not to get bogged down in bureaucracy or formality," she explained.

"I know what we're doing here," Shepard said, waving a hand around him. "But what's Cerberus' long-term goal?"

"The advancement of the human race. Nothing more, nothing less," Miranda simply stated.

_I was kinda hoping for more than the party line._

As if reading Shepard's thoughts, she continued, "The salarians have the Special Tasks Group. The asari have their legendary commandos for stealth and recon operations. Cerberus is humanity's answer to those organizations."

"But those organizations are regulated by governments. Who keeps Cerberus in check?" he inquired.

"Nobody. We're privately funded, and our backers trust the Illusive Man to make the right choices to make the right decisions," came the simple answer. "But he's very clear about our goals: protect humanity and serve its advancement."

When she mentioned funds, Shepard couldn't help but remember the cost it took to bring him back, not to mention the cost it took for the creation of the first Normandy, never mind the cost of the one they're on now. "What kind of resources does Cerberus have?"

"We're very well funded, though I doubt anyone other than the Illusive Man knows exactly how well," Miranda said, a thoughtful look on her face. "But our resources aren't unlimited. Reviving you and rebuilding the Normandy was a significant investment. And a significant risk. We're all hoping you can do the impossible, Shepard. No pressure."

She smiled when she saw him roll his eyes.

"What can you tell me about the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked, curious as to what the top Cerberus operative might think.

Shrugging, she said, "Not much that you don't already know. Even I don't have access to most of his background. And you've seen more of him than most ever do. It's rare for him to become directly involved in missions. Most of the time, he oversees projects or missions through reports or other agents. But you're something special. Whatever else people might say about him, I can assure you he's got humanity's best interest at heart. That includes you and me."

"How can you be sure of that if you know so little about him?" argued Shepard.

"I didn't get to where I am without knowing how to gauge people's motives and ambitions. Even from brief encounters," she responded.

_She's better than me then. I couldn't get a clear read on the guy at all._

"He's no saint and he'd be the first to admit it, but he is committed. Humanity couldn't have a better advocate."

Shepard privately disagreed about her opinion. Especially the part about the Illusive Man being humanity's advocate. _I take it back. I like my opinion more. That guy seems like the type to cross lines and lives. No remorse and definitely committed in more ways than one._

Leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, Shepard quietly regarded the woman in front of him. She wasn't willing to answer his questions before, on the Cerberus space station, but maybe now…

"Tell about yourself Miranda."

Raising an eyebrow at his request, she paused for a moment before answering. "I guess that that fair, I've spent the last two years learning everything there is to know about you."

Shepard tried to appear nonchalant, though he privately wondered how much she did know about him.

Standing, she explained, "Well, you should probably know that I've had extensive genetic modification."

"Really?"

"Not my decision, but I make the most of it," she said, but Shepard could easily hear a bitter undercurrent to her tone, even as her face darkened at bit. Regaining her composure, she continued with confidence in her tone this time, "It's one of the reasons the Illusive Man handpicked me. I'm very good at just about anything I choose to do."

"What level of genetic modification are we talking about?" Shepard asked with genuine curiosity. Some people went through some genetic modifications to improve themselves. Eye corrections, removal of genetic defects, and increased health were standard. Not to mention the level of genetic modifications Alliance Marines underwent. Shepard himself had synthetic adrenal glands implanted to consciously force adrenaline into himself during combat when he needed it.

"It's very thorough. Physically, I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly and I'll likely live half again as long as the average human. My biotic abilities are also very advanced… for a human," she explained with a shrug. "Add to that some of the best training and education money can buy and, well, it's pretty impressive, really."

"Sounds like you were designed to be perfect," Shepard commented.

"Maybe, but I'm not," corrected Miranda. "I'm still human, Shepard. I make mistakes like everyone else. And when I do, the consequences are severe. Everyone expects a lot from someone with my… abilities."

At her statement, Shepard couldn't suppress a small laugh, as the irony struck him more than any physical blow he'd received. Considering his position as the first human Spectre, with the Council judging him, the Alliance pushing him, and even Saren upped the ante when his mission became more than chasing a rogue Spectre…

Miranda evidently picked up his thoughts when she gave a small laugh of her own. A definite contrast to all their previous meetings as the tension between them faded. "Sorry, I suppose out of everyone, you'd know best," she quipped, but her tone friendly.

"Just empathizing with your situation," said Shepard. "You certainly don't lack for confidence," he noted.

Putting her hand on her hip, she responded, "It's just a fact. My reflexes, my strength, even my looks – they're all designed to give me an edge. No point in hiding from it."

When she mentioned her looks, Shepard couldn't resist observing her from head to toe. Dressed in a white blouse, white pants, with black sleeves and matching thigh boots, he could admit that she was certainly a woman that would turn heads for a second look or a third.

O_r more, _he thought.

Despite all that though, the way she listed her physical attributes sounded more like listing mathematical figures or scientific statistics, facts rather than personal confidence or experience. Pushing his thoughts down and away, he focused on her words as Miranda continued her explanation.

"It's the reason why I'm trusted to oversee the most dangerous, risky, and technically demanding operations Cerberus undertakes. And it's why I was assigned to you. It's my job to make sure you succeed, Shepard."

Stepping away from the wall, Shepard nodded, feeling much calmer now than when he entered. "Thanks for the information, Miranda. About Lazarus and yourself," he said gratefully. "I'll look around the ship a bit more and meet you in two hours?"

She smiled. "Of course, Commander. Whatever you need."

Before he opened the door, Shepard stopped. Taking a deep breath and swallowing his pride, he turned around. "I… uh… I'm sorry for snapping at you. And for placing the blame on you. I was out of line," he apologized.

She looked shocked for moment, before nodding. "Its fine, Commander. A lot's happened when you woke up. It's why I wanted to give you some time originally. I suppose I didn't give you much chance to take stock of the situation around you. Hopefully, things might run more smoothly from now on."

Giving her a nod of his own, Shepard left.

**~o~O~o~**

After visiting Chakwas and informing her of Miranda's data, Chakwas promised to look over her scans and the project data and forward what she knew to Shepard. Thanking her, Shepard took the lift back to his quarters.

Sitting down on the comfortable _leather _couch, he closed his eyes and relaxed, marveling over how opulent his personal cabin was…

His eyes snapped open. Mentally slapping himself and growling out loud he stood up. _Idiot! How could you be so naïve? So damn stupid!_

His training in the N7 program and as an Infiltrator should have taught him better. It was mistakes like this that could get trainee dropped from the program. _Not to mention killed_ he morbidly thought. All N7 trainees got personal rooms, small but functional. It was more than the shared bunks most marines got in the barracks. What none of the trainees knew was that each room was bugged. Part of the training was to always stay on your guard. The rooms were designed to be comfortable, act like a safe haven from the physical trainings, the mental disciplines, the technical classes, and the brutal instructors. Halfway through the training, the instructors revealed the bugs and any trainee that didn't find them beforehand were removed from the program.

Shepard had prided himself on finding the bugs the first day in. _Always a catch._ _Always a damn catch you stupid son of a…_

Turning to his terminal and turning on some music, Shepard engaged his omni-tool and did a thorough sweep of his cabin for bugs and monitoring devices. He found no more than 10 different kinds, all high quality.

Placing them in a drawer as deep as he could, Shepard looked at his 'private' terminal. "EDI? Is there anyone else accessing my terminal?"

The familiar blue orb appeared. "No, Commander. No one is accessing your terminal currently."

Doubting that the AI was lying or was even capable of lying, _That'd make even the Illusive Man nervous, _Shepard thought about how to best phrase his question. "Is there anyone **unauthorized**, as in accessing my terminal without my knowledge or specific permission since we left the Cerberus station?"

"Operative Lawson accessed your terminal twice since the Normandy went underway from Minuteman Station," answered EDI.

"Before I met with her in her office or after?"

"Before."

Sighing, but knowing that the Illusive Man put her up to it, Shepard asked, "Whose orders do you follow EDI?"

"I am under orders to assist you in whatever capabilities I can so you can complete your mission."

"Any restrictions to my orders?"

"I cannot act against Cerberus personnel as defined in my programming. I also cannot defy direct orders from the Illusive Man. I cannot willfully harm any crew member onboard the Normandy. Finally, there seem to be blocks on my systems that prevent me from telling anyone about Cerberus operations or structure. Including Operative Lawson and Operative Taylor."

"Could you lock out my terminal then? Prevent anyone from accessing it? A firewall or something?" requested Shepard.

"I can, unless Operative Lawson or Operative Taylor requests that I remove any protections around your terminal in the name of Cerberus security," EDI replied

"Could you inform me if they do? My knowing doesn't go against Cerberus after all. Consider it a standing order."

A moment passed before EDI answered, "Yes, Commander Shepard."

"Lock out my terminal then." With that said, Shepard sat down at his terminal to check his messages and research extranet articles about biotics. Noting he had one more hour before meeting with Miranda and two more hours until they reached the relay.

Opening the correct program, Shepard's eyes widened at the first message. After reading it, he composed his own message to send.

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Cmdr. Shepard**_

_**From: Councilor Anderson**_

_On the off chance that the rumors are true and you actually are alive, I need you to come and talk to me on the Citadel. A lot has changed in the last two years. You put me on the Council, and it's only fair that you be allowed to speak for yourself about what we've been hearing._

_**To: Councilor Anderson**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_As a matter of fact, I'm already on the way there. I'm glad to hear from you Anderson. I'll meet up with you in about 3 hours. Maybe longer if I have to wait for docking permission. I'm in a civilian ship, not an Alliance one. Hope to see you soon._

**~o~O~o~**

"Jacob not here?" Shepard asked.

He and Miranda were alone in the cargo bay. A UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle was hanging on the port side of the room, the new M-57 Hammerhead tank hanging on the starboard side, and a small gym in the aft, starboard side.

"No, right now, this will be more of an introduction to biotics. A few simple exercises after that," she answered while pacing. "To use your abilities, you must understand that it's an incredible mental discipline. You are taking advantage of the element zero modules within your nervous system," she lectured. "Because your nervous system uses electrical impulses to communicate and element zero reacts to electricity, we must train your mind to control these electrical impulses to manipulate the modules and create mass effect fields." Turning to her 'student', she asked, "What do you know of three disciplines of biotics?"

Having read the extranet articles, Shepard recited what he learned. "Mass-lowering is basically telekinesis, mass-raising creates barriers and kinetic fields, and distortion shifts mass effect fields to tear things apart."

Nodding her head in satisfaction, Miranda continued her lecture. "Good. First we'll start with some mental exercises. We'll also get you started with physical mnemonics, that is, physical motions that you'll use when tapping into your amps. Finally, I brought a holopad with specific instructions on how to use the biofeedback devices within the L5 configurations, maintenance of your bioamps, dietary needs, and the more technical explanations of dark energy and their relation to mass effect fields."

On the outside, Shepard looked as if he was paying rapt attention. On the inside, he kept thinking: _Why did I sign up for this again…? I think she's having too much fun bossing me around… What the hell is she talking about…? This is gonna be a while…_

**~o~O~o~**

Grumbling to himself about how he wished he could be rid of strict hard-ass instructors as he left the cargo bay, Shepard was intent on getting his gun from the armory and blow his head off to be rid of his damn headache.

Near the lift though, he heard an argument coming from the last place of the ship he hadn't explored.

Checking the time, he noted that he had around 30 some odd minutes before the relay jump and around another 30 minutes of FTL travel to reach the Citadel. Deciding to investigate, Shepard entered the engineering section of the Normandy.

"Damn couplings. Couldn't those jackasses back at the docks put in the right ones?" a Scottish accented voice cursed.

"Calm down. Yelling doesn't make it better for either of us," a feminine voice chastised.

A man and a woman were arguing while working on something or other when Shepard entered the Engineering Room. Noticing Shepard's presence first, the young man turned around and said, "You came all the way down here to see us?"

He appeared to be in his late 20's with reddish-brown hair and a trimmed moustache and goatee with an informal attitude.

"You're speaking to our commanding officer," the young woman chastised again as she saluted Shepard.

Looking to be around the same age as her partner, with dark red hair and a similar accent, but less noticeable, she tried to appear professional.

Trying not to let his headache get the better of his temper, Shepard said in what he hoped was in a friendly voice, "I'm just touring the ship, getting to know my crew."

"I'm Engineer Ken Donnelly, handling the power control systems," introduced Ken. Pointing to his crewmate, he simply said, "This is Gabby."

"That's Engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually," 'Gabby' corrected with a dirty look to Ken. Turning to Shepard she continued, "I'm responsible for the propulsion systems."

"What can we do for you, Commander?" asked Ken.

"I heard you arguing down here. Is everything alright?" asked Shepard.

"We can't complain. I just wish it didn't take so long to calibrate the FBA arrays -" complained Ken.

"Kenneth, you're complaining," pointed out Gabby.

"What kind of problems are you having?"

"When they upgraded the Normandy design, they got a bit sloppy with the FBA couplings. I won't bore you with the tech, but there is an array of attenuators in the primary power transfer system that channels the field bleed…" Ken droned and made Shepard's headache worse.

"Kenneth, you're boring the Commander with tech," cut in Gabby.

_Thank you._

"In short, if we had T-6-FBA couplings installed, it'd save us a lot of maintenance time each day," Gabby simplified.

"Why isn't something like that installed?" asked Shepard, hoping it's not going to affect the ship.

"It's probably just a design oversight. Efficiency isn't affected. It's a maintenance issue," answered Gabby.

"Also, the T-6 model can be hard to find. Nashan Stellar Dynamics discontinued them," added Ken.

"We could probably find used one in the Omega markets. But spending shore leave there is just asking for trouble," Gabby finished.

Looking back and forth between them exacerbated Shepard's headache. Offering a polite smile, Shepard said, "Carry on," and left.

"Will do, Commander," acknowledged Ken before he and Gabby returned to work. As Shepard left, he heard them talking.

"I'm amazed Shepard came down to see us."

"I told you he would."

**~o~O~o~**

Stopping on deck 3, Shepard walked toward the galley, intent on getting a cold drink of water and relaxing before reaching the Citadel.

Stopping in front of the counter, he asked for his water and waited.

The cook turned around and offered a toothy grin. "Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel! You did humanity proud that day."

Pouring some water into a glass, the cook introduced himself. "Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner here, it's an honor to serve under your command." Around 50 or so, Gardner had a hard face and bald head crowned with thinning silver hair.

Taking a sip of his water, Shepard decided to make conversation. "What do you do here on the Normandy?"

"What don't I do?" came his reply. "Most think of me as the ship's cook, but I'm also facilities technician and custodian. HVAC, plumping, non-mission-critical electrical. I make sure they're all clean and running."

Shepard stopped drinking his water immediately and looked up at the mess sergeant. "So the man cleaning the toilets is also preparing the meals?" he asked with disbelief.

"I wash my hands… most of the time," Rupert answered. "This ain't no luxury liner. You have to pull your own weight on a Cerberus vessel, and I catch what falls through the cracks," he defended. Then he laughed. "Heh… through the cracks."

Finishing his water, Shepard looked at the sergeant. "Wash your hands all the time. Every time. That's an order," he said in an even tone.

"Uh… Yes sir," Rupert acknowledged.

Looking around, Shepard was impressed. The old Normandy never had a galley. "Do you have everything you need?"

Shrugging, Rupert said, "I make do, but have you ever tried to prepare a decent meal with military provisions?"

Shepard didn't answer, but the simple truth was that all marines universally agreed that the best way to eat was fast, so you don't have to suffer. Either from an empty stomach, the enemy, or what you're eating.

The sergeant leaned on the counter as he continued to rant. "I'm good, but I'm no miracle worker. Taking down the Collectors is going to be rough business. The crew deserves a few fine meals before they throw themselves into the fire."

Privately, Shepard agreed, though pessimistically, it sounded like a condemned man's last meal. "What do you need?"

"If I had some quality ingredients… aw shit, you've got more to worry about than grocery shopping on the Citadel. Forget I mentioned it."

"We're heading there now. I plan do a supply run anyway. Forward me the list and I'll take care of it," offered Shepard. _An army runs on its stomach…_

"Much appreciated. Most of this list is probably standard fare for those namby-pambies on the Citadel anyway," thanked Rupert.

"I won't take any more of your time, Sarge."

"Back to work," Rupert said, taking the glass.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel**_

_**Two Years, Three Months, and 17 Days After the Battle of the Citadel **_

"_Commander? We're approaching the Citadel now,"_ Joker called on the intercom.

Shepard had finished putting on his armor. Having a variety of pieces to choose from, he picked the heavily armored Aegis Vest chest armor, power enhancing Amplifier Plates shoulder pauldrons, shield supporting Heavy Damping Gauntlets, and speed increasing Stimulator Conduit leg greaves.

Preparations complete, he doubled checked Anderson's reply before stepping out of his quarters and toward the CIC.

**~o~O~o~**

"_Citadel Control, this is Normandy SR-2, requesting permission to dock." _

Shepard stepped into the CIC in time to hear Joker request a berth. Stepping up to the galaxy map, he waited for the control tower to reply. _Damn, it doesn't seem like I've been gone all that long._

"_Stand by for clearance, __Normandy,"_ a control operator radioed.

After a several minutes, the operator radioed. _"Be advised, __Normandy. The soonest we'll be able to grant permission will be approximately 2 hours and 14 minutes._

This was expected. Military ships belonging to member races of the Council had personal docking bays, so ships could land immediately. Despite being a warship, the new Normandy was constructed and owned by Cerberus, who was not recognized by anyone and was technically considered civilian. Really, they should've been shot on sight considering that Cerberus was officially labeled a pro-species terrorist group. Thankfully, Anderson pulled some strings to allow the frigate to approach.

Tapping into the radio, Shepard contacted the Citadel. "Citadel Control, this is Shepard, commanding officer of the Normandy and an agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Office. Requesting immediate permission to dock."

Technically, since he was declared dead, his Spectre status was removed, but Anderson assured him that it was fine.

There was a moment's pause before another operator was heard. _"Understood Spectre. Please verify your identity."_

Stepping to his terminal next to the galaxy map, Shepard transmitted the verification codes Anderson sent.

"_Identity verified. Transmitting a vector and berth. Welcome to the Citadel, Normandy."_

**~o~O~o~**

Stepping away from the CIC, Shepard heard Joker's report that the Normandy will dock in 10 minutes. Heading toward the armory, he saw Jacob adjusting some light armor. It looked a little like his assault armor, but smaller and it processed no distinctive markings.

"Going incognito I see," greeted Shepard.

Jacob only shrugged. "No sense wearing Cerberus flags on a place that isn't welcome to us. Less trouble."

Nodding in approval, Shepard grabbed a Predator pistol off the table.

Jacob spoke up. "Commander, there hasn't been a lot of time to settle in and take stock. I want to say working with you is a great opportunity to do something that matters. It's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Commander."

Holstering his pistol, Shepard turned to Jacob. "You may change your tune if we end up like the original Normandy."

Jacob appeared unconcerned. "Maybe. As long as the Illusive Man walks his talk, and you do the same, I'll do my best to make sure we succeed." Crossing his arms, he added, "That's been the condition for my service so far. I have issues with certain actions Cerberus has taken in the past."

"So what has Cerberus done to make you nervous?" Shepard asked as he leaned on a table.

"A lot. They've been called terrorists, and with good reason. Doubt you can find a more checkered past. But if the Collector threat is real, and we do something about it, Cerberus will be remembered differently." He shrugged again and smiled. "Or we'll be all tried and executed. Can't count on people thinking about it as long as I have."

Shaking his head, Shepard smiled. "I look forward to working with you, Mr. Taylor."

"Likewise, Commander."

The door opened and both men turned to see Miranda entering the armory, dressed in a similar light armor as Jacob with no markings to identify her either.

"Commander, Jacob," she greeted.

"Pistol's only," ordered Shepard as both were prepared to arm themselves. "We don't want trouble. I'm here to speak to the Council to see what kind of support I can get." After they both nodded, he asked, "Are either of you going to be a problem here? Cerberus isn't exactly welcome."

"C-Sec doesn't know that Jacob and I are agents for Cerberus. They barely know anything about us at all. Don't worry, Commander, we won't cause any trouble," assured Miranda.

Accepting her reassurance and trusting that they knew what they were doing, Shepard turned back to Jacob. "You said you had something to show me?"

Grinning, Jacob walked toward a table near the entrance and picked up heavy weapon next to the Grenade Launcher. "ML-77 Missile Launcher. Has advanced tracking software that can damn near make this a fire-and-forget weapon. You point at or even near an enemy, shoot, and the missile will take care of the rest. Even fire around cover if you want. R&D said something about how people can only have a 6% chance of dodging this thing. Best thing? It fires around 80 rounds a minute and has a power cell capacity of 20 shots. There is no merc out there with a weapon as badass as this," he raved.

Shepard looked impressed, taking the weapon and examining it with Jacob pointing out the finer details, while Miranda shook her head, muttering something about boys and toys when Joker called. _"We're docking at the Presidium now."_

With EDI supplementing, "_All hands stand by for docking procedures."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium Docks**_

Entering the C-Sec checkpoint, Shepard and his crew walked through a hallway that led to the Presidium proper. Only one turian guard stood at the end to monitor a terminal, while more C-Sec officers were working or standing guard on the other side of a series of windows on the left.

As they approached, the familiar geometric light ran over their bodies signifying a scan. The alarm beeped just after they passed halfway.

The door locked and two drones appeared from hatches on the ceiling as the guard yelled, "Halt!"

"Obviously security has tightened since any of us were last here," commented Miranda.

"I'm sorry, but carrying weapons on the Citadel is restricted to authorized or licensed personnel, you'll have to…" the guard trailed off as the console beeped. He leaned in closer to examine the scans and data.

The turian did a double-take. "Spectre?"

Looking between the terminal and Shepard, the turian stammered, "Uh… I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Agent Shepard. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're, ah, dead?"

"I was only mostly dead. Try finding that option on government paperwork."

"Yes, well, you're cleared to go of course, Spectre…" the guard trailed off again as he looked at Jacob and Miranda.

"They're with me. Let them through," Shepard ordered.

"Of course, sir. I'll open the door." he nodded. "Standing down."

The drones returned to their hatches as the door to the presidium opened.

As the trio stepped into the Citadel, Shepard said, "I'll go alone from here. I don't think the Council needs to see you."

"Aye aye, Commander," Jacob acknowledged. "There some old friends I need to talk to anyway. Business. They said they'd meet me in the Zakera wards, a place called the Dark Star Lounge. If everything goes right, I think we'll get some heavy duty equipment in the near future."

"We'll be waiting there for you," informed Miranda.

Going their separate ways, Shepard hailed a taxi to get to Councilor Anderson's office.

**~o~O~o~**

Running up to the offices next to the Citadel Tower, Shepard paused a moment to glance at the Prothean-made mass relay, recalling the memories of when he was last here. Seeing everything repaired when it looked like a warzone at what felt like a month ago was a bit disconcerting.

"Welcome back, Shepard. It has bee…" Ignoring the VI, he nodded to the receptionist who pointed to her right. "Councilor Anderson is expecting you, sir."

Turning to his left, he took the stairs three at time and entered the office to hear his name.

"Shepard will be here any—oh, Commander. We were just talking about you," Anderson greeted as he turned to face him.

"It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you right," Shepard said, smiling at his former captain.

"There've been some rough spots. It's good to have you back," the human councilor sincerely said.

The salarian councilor interrupted their reunion. "We heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are… unsettling."

Shepard turned toward the three holographic projections of the other councilors: turian, asari, and salarian respectively.

"We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard," the asari councilor said. "We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his geth."

Getting right to the point, Shepard said, "The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse, we think they're working for the Reapers."

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonists knew this when they left Council space," the turian councilor rumbled, always seeming to be in a bad mood when dealing with humans.

"You're missing the important part, Councilor. The Reapers are involved," corrected Anderson.

"Ah, yes. 'Reapers'," the turian councilor scoffed and miming quotation marks at the word, Reapers. "The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim," he finished with a negligent wave of his hand.

Anderson turned and explained. "Shepard, no one else encountered the hologram on Illos that told you about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign. I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the geth attacks."

"No one investigated Illos and spoke with Vigil? The remains of Sovereign? Or even questioned why geth would even follow Saren?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"The hologram on Illos is no longer functional, and we have found nothing to suggest that Sovereign was **not** a geth creation," the salarian councilor said.

"The geth are capable of remarkable technological achievements. This is probably why Saren recruited them," the asari councilor added.

"This Reaper theory proves just how fragile your mental state is. You've been manipulated – by Cerberus and, before them, the Saren," the turian councilor said.

"As for the geth, Saren was a compelling and charismatic individual. He convinced the geth the Reapers were real… just as he convinced you," argued the asari councilor.

"It was part of his plan to attack the Citadel. The Reapers are just a myth. One you insist on perpetuating," finished the turian councilor.

Shepard glared at the projections before him. "I'm so glad to see that the Council is so well-versed in geth technology. Suppose they have another ship like Sovereign hidden in the Perseus Veil then? Are you hoping that the remains of the Citadel Fleet are enough to stop them?"

"Shepard," Anderson said.

"And you, Councilor," Shepard said looking at the turian, "Weren't you confident that you could outsmart Saren once before? Believing that the Conduit wasn't real made your job easier, did it? Thinking that the fleet would be enough to stop him?"

"How dare you?" the hologram growled.

Turning toward the others, Shepard continued. "All the lives lost were because of your inaction! I warned you **exactly** what would happen. Tens of thousands of lives lost, because you think you know everything."

"Commander!" the asari councilor exclaimed.

"The sheer arrogance that you can choose what to believe and nothing else matters, that any threats out there don't exist because you only **hope **it doesn't. I would think that Saren managed to manipulate the hell out of all you! Played you for the fools you are. Making you believe that the enemy doesn't exists until your own lives are threatened. The evidence does exist. I saw it with my own eyes long before I fought Saren face-to-face. Just because you twist and distort the truth to match your own secure views of the galaxy, doesn't make it any less than the truth."

"Shepard, that's enough…" Anderson tried again.

"My mental state is fine, thank you very much _**Councilors.**_ You've no right to question me, Spectre or no. I've proved myself time and time again. I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I made the call to sacrifice **human** lives to save **yours**. Are you telling me that I made a mistake?"

"We are in a difficult position, Shepard," the asari councilor began.

"So you keep telling me," interrupted Shepard.

"We have reports that you are working for Cerberus – an avowed enemy of the Council. This is treason, a capital offense," she said, with serious undertone.

Anderson stepped in before his friend could tear into the council again. "That's too far. Shepard is a hero. I'm on this Council, too, and I won't let this whitewash continue."

"Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgment, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support," suggested the Asari Councilor.

Visibly keeping his temper in check, the Turian Councilor offered, "Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre."

"What does that mean? Will I need to start filing reports again?" Shepard said, barely keeping his distain out of his voice.

"That won't be necessary. This is show of good faith on our part," explained the Salarian Councilor.

"We cannot be involved in an investigation regarding the missing colonies in the Terminus Systems. But Spectre reinstatement shows our support of you personally," said the Asari Councilor.

Glancing at Anderson, Shepard caught his nod.

"I want full restatement. No restrictions," he demanded.

"Shepard…!" the Turian Councilor growled.

"It's the least the Council can do after I saved your lives. You did acknowledge that. I'm using Cerberus resources currently, which was noted as treason. If I am granted full Spectre status, then it shouldn't matter. Cerberus is willing to risk their own resources on this endeavor, only to find out who or what is attacking the colonies. They asked me to head up the mission since there's a chance that the Reapers are involved. So long as I don't act against the Council or do anything to destabilize galactic peace, I'm free to use whatever means I need to get the job done. After all, whatever is attacking human colonies might not be satisfied with humans alone or remain in the Terminus Systems," he negotiated.

The Asari Councilor's face remained neutral, though it appeared she was thinking about his words. Turing to her salarian colleague, she nodded. The Salarian Councilor nodded as well before both turned to the Turian Councilor.

His mandibles on either side of his face were opening and closing, a sure sign that turians were angry or agitated. Of course, the glare he was giving Shepard might have tipped everyone off. Some things were cross-species after all.

With obvious reluctance, he nodded as well.

Calming down, Shepard kept his voice as neutral as possible. "I accept your offer. It's good to have the Council on my side."

"Good luck with your investigation, Spectre Agent Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution… and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus," the Asari Councilor concluded before the connection was terminated.

Sighing in relief, Anderson turned to the newly reinstated Spectre. "Well. That was… well, it went better than I expected. You realize the Council's offer is just symbolic. They won't actually do anything."

"I know. I guess I kind of expected it. If you couldn't get them to help, then my chances were less than none. Still, with the freedom of a Spectre, I have options now. Besides, even if they don't help, I might try to stay on… reasonable terms with them. If only to make your job easier," said Shepard.

"I appreciate that thought, though you blowing up at the Council might not help me in the short term." Sighing again, Anderson looked at the bright side. "At least you won't have to worry about the Alliance. With Spectre privileges, they can't touch you, especially if you keep to the Terminus Systems."

The door to Anderson's office opened, prompting them to look at their guest.

"Anderson, we need to talk about – Shepard!" Udina stopped, looking shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Stopped by to see how Anderson was doing," he deflected.

"You don't have to cover for me," Anderson said to Shepard. Turning to Udina, "I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We just finished our meeting actually," he explained.

"You what?" Udina asked, shock still in his voice.

_Sound like he's having or going to have another bad day…_ Shepard thought without a hint of remorse.

"Councilor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?" Udina rhetorically asked.

"The Council reinstated my Spectre status. They're just happy that I'm heading for the Terminus Systems," interjected Shepard.

Udina rubbed his chin, his mind looking at all the political angles. "Yes… I could see how that arrangement works best for both sides."

Turning to Anderson, Udina griped, "But you really shouldn't have taken a step like this without consulting with me first, Councilor."

Anderson stood his ground. "I don't answer to you, Udina. Why don't you go to your office and think about that for a while?" he snapped.

"Of course, Councilor. Good day to both of you," Udina responded, though the both of them could detect the hidden sarcasm.

"Sorry about that. Udina's never gotten over the fact that I got the Council position instead of him," apologized Anderson. "Sometimes I need to put him in his place."

Shepard shrugged, content to let Anderson deal with him. "Udina's just doing his job, though I wouldn't tell him about the details of the meeting."

Walking toward the balcony, Anderson leaned on the edge looking at the rebuilt Presidium. "Agreed. He's got his uses. And if you want something done on the Citadel, he knows who can make it happen. Plus, he's always happy to attend all those formal diplomatic functions I can't be bothered with."

Shepard stood next him and looked at the vista as well. "Nothing like job security," he joked.

Both men shared a small laugh, thankful that the politics between them was settled for now.

"How have the last couple of years treated you?" asked Shepard.

"Serving on the Council isn't how I planned to spend my twilight years," Anderson said, paraphrasing his retirement from commanding the Normandy. "Sometimes it feels like I'm beating my head against a wall."

"Knowing the truth about Sovereign is brutal. It's nightmare stuff. I can't blame others for not wanting to believe it. But I know how important it is, so I keep trying. Fight the good fight, right?"

Looking at the various races below, Shepard asked, "How long did it take to get his place back up to speed after the battle?"

"Still counting," Anderson answered. "The main areas of commerce and the most populated wards are complete, but estimates for total restoration are sitting around five years." Pointing toward a keeper, he said, "The keepers always surprise us though. It's like our repairs are annoying. We'll put up an ugly new bulkhead and in a few days they've made it seamless. We never thought of them as heavy lifters, and I have no idea where they get their resources, but we'd never get done without them."

_They're probably designed to repair and clean the Citadel after every Reaper attack._

Checking the time, Shepard needed to go. "It's been nice talking again 'Captain', but I have to go."

"I should tell you that I was in charge of your personal possessions after you were declared dead. As soon as I heard otherwise, I got them from storage. They've been delivered to your ship," he informed.

Shepard didn't have too much that was worth keeping, but he did have a photo of Ashley. Thinking about her, Shepard casually probed, "I hear that Williams was promoted? What's she doing now?"

"Operations Chief Williams is still with the Alliance, but she's working on a special mission. It's classified," came the answer. "I can't say anymore. Not while you're working with Cerberus. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Thanks for everything, 'Captain'."

"I wish I could do more to help you, but if you ever want to talk, I'll be here," Anderson offered.

"Look, about my relationship with Cerberus…"

Anderson raised his hand. "I don't know anything and I don't want to know. Better this way. The Council doesn't care what Spectre's do so long as they do their job. They may complain about how you do it, but they don't want to know the details. And neither do I."

Shepard fell silent and nodded his head. As he turned and walked away, he heard his old friend call out with one last warning. "Just do me a favor and be careful. You can't trust Cerberus."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Financial District**_

Getting out of his taxi, Shepard looked around the newly rebuilt financial district, right across from the Citadel Tower. Barla Von's office wasn't there anymore, most likely killed in the battle. The Emporium was still open, though Shepard couldn't tell if it was the same hanar that was there before.

Moving swiftly, he entered another building much further away from the transit station.

The sounds of a breathing mask greeted him. "Yes, Earth-clan? What could I…? Oh! Commander Shepard. How nice to see you again!"

Stepping around the counter, the volus walked up to Shepard. "I heard that you had died, but I'm glad to see that they were wrong. How might I help you?"

"It's good to see you again Levan Tio. I'm here for a quick withdrawal," Shepard said to the volus banker.

"Of course! You are lucky to come as you did. As per our agreement I've held your funds. Three more years, though, and there would be nothing for you," Levan said as he walked back to his terminal.

Not long after Shepard became a Spectre, money came quickly through pirates, mercenaries, criminal syndicates, corrupt business officials and salvage. Depositing his millions of creds to a bank just seemed like the smart thing to do. Given the danger of his work though, Shepard added a clause that if he was declared dead for more than five years, his money would go to various charities, mostly on Earth.

"How much are you looking to withdraw?" asked Levan as he typed away on his terminal.

"Let's make it an even million. I need to get some supplies."

"Very well," tapping a few more commands, Levan completed the transaction. "Will that be all, Commander?"

Nodding as Shepard accessed his omni-tool, he noted that he was carrying the proper electronic credit transfer.

Thanking the volus, Shepard left to get food supplies for his ship and crew, a bottle of brandy, and supplies for himself.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel**_, _**C-Sec Academy**_

"_Historians and astronomers alike are abuzz tonight over a new paper published by Dr. Amanda Kenson of the University of Arcturus. Her team claims that by testing the dust trapped in the gravity wells around a mass relay, and comparing its composition to that of dust clouds in the same system, scientists can create a timeline of when the relay passed through the dust. Her conclusion? 'Only a small fraction of the mass effect relays date back 50,000 years,' she writes, 'The majority are far older, indicating they were created by a species predating even the Protheans.' Dr. Aurana T'Meles of the University of Serrice met the information with skepticism: 'While Dr. Kenson's methods appear sound, the asari tried a similar procedure centuries ago and discounted it. What civilization could have spanned the galaxy for not thousands, but millions of years? If this were the case, we should have found mountains of evidence of their passing. Where is this species now?'" _

Thankful that the elevators seem to run faster than before, Shepard stepped into C-Sec academy after his quick run for higher quality food and Dr. Chakwas' Serrice Ice Brand. Going down the stairs, he saw the same Requisitions Officer sitting there two years ago.

"Yes?" he said, continuing to type at his console.

"I need some equipment."

"One moment… Commander Shepard?" Looking up in surprise, the officer was speechless. Shepard found himself getting used to it by now.

"Uh… well, it's been awhile," the turian said, trying to get his composure back.

Shepard only nodded. "I need access to your special stock."

"Of course, Commander. Follow me please," the Req. Officer said as he stood up and entered a code on the far side of the room. A door opened and he stepped inside.

Confused, Shepard followed. Stepping inside the room, he gaped. Guns lined the walls, all of them looking as advanced and as powerful as he remembered. Mods, grenades, and explosives completed the arsenal within the room.

Seeing his expression, the Req. Officer explained. "After the Battle of the Citadel, the Council immediately started to arm their agents with some next-gen weapons would help against anyone that wanted to take advantage of the situation. Things got ugly for a while. Increased funding was given to the Spectres and this place came around."

"Wow," was all Shepard could say.

"So what do you need? Just grab anything and I'll note it for the inventory logs."

"How much will this cost?" Shepard asked.

The turian began laughing. "No cost this time Spectre. Just take what you need. If you need the weapons modified though, you'll have to inform me so I can get the quartermaster to do it."

Shepard became even more confused. "I think I need some clarification here…"

"Oh, right. You got pushed out the door, huh? Usually Spectre candidates are taught everything they know from an active Spectre before becoming one themselves," the R.O. said.

Leaning on the table in the middle of the room, he began explaining. "First time Spectres need to learn to fend for themselves. They either use the stuff they can get their hands on or they're smart enough to get the money needed to buy this equipment. Kinda like proof that they're Spectre material, y'know? It's their skill, not the weapons or something like that."

_That's something I really wished I knew. _"So, since I've proven myself, I can get what I need for free?"

The C-Sec officer nodded. "I just need to keep track of the inventory here."

"They still have their security built in?" Shepard asked. He remembered the warning the Requisitions Officer told him once before. Only Spectres were allowed to use HMW equipment. No one else.

"Yeah, only Spectre's are still allowed to use these weapons. Anyone else touches them and zap! I heard they upgraded the countermeasures too. Electric shock so bad, it'll stop a Krogan's heart. Both of them. Then the gun explodes," he explained. Then he started chuckling, "Some asari commandos love it. Sometimes, they'll throw the HMWP at their enemies just to watch them catch it. First the guy drops dead, and then the explosion kills the rest."

Picking up the HMWA Assault Rifle, Shepard noted the ejection port. "Thermal clip?"

"Yeah, these are the new ones. I wouldn't worry though. Gun will eject the clip on its own. You can get about more shots before hand though than any other weapon out there."

"You said these can be modified?" Shepard asked as he inspected the powerful rifle. The new weapons designed to use thermal clips couldn't be upgraded with mods yet, due to compatibility issues, though various companies were working on it.

"Latest and greatest. Not everything we have is 'legal' per say, but since Spectres don't have to worry about laws," he shrugged, "whatever you need to get the job done."

"How do you get the mods then?"

"C-Sec confiscates thousands of stuff like this. Most of if it goes to you guys."

Placing the HMWA on the table, Shepard went through the racks and picked out an HMWSG Shotgun, HMWSR Sniper Rifle, and an HMWP Heavy Pistol and placed them all next to the assault rifle.

The Requisitions Officer typed it all in his holopad, "Mods?"

Walking over to the appropriate section, Shepard perused his options. "Hyper Rail?" he asked as he looked over the rail extensions

The turian moved his mouth and mandibles in the human equivalent of a smile. "I thought you might like that. Most Spectres do. Prototype, you can't find that anywhere else. It extends the barrel some and it's supposed to overclock mass accelerator equipment, much more than the old Scram Rails. You put that on any assault rifle and it can punch through small armored vehicles. 160% more damage and carries the kick of a shotgun with the accuracy of an assault rifle. Downside is the heat generated. I'd recommend you put some heat sinks on or you'll burn through thermal clips faster than you shoot."

_I really could use a few of these, _Shepard thought, his mind dancing at the possibilities. "Give me two, for my HMWA and HMWSR with Frictionless Materials for both."

"Noted. Anything else?"

"Standard Scram Rails for the HMWSG and HMWP," Shepard said as he continued looking. "Another Frictionless for the shotgun though, and a Combat Optics upgrade for the pistol."

Finished with the weapon mods, he moved toward the ammo convertors. "Snowblind rounds for the assault rifle, Sledgehammer Rounds for the shotgun, High Explosives for the sniper, and Inferno Rounds for the pistol. I'll take an order of High Explosive grenades too," finished Shepard as he rounded off his shopping spree.

"All right, got it. Nice choices on the ammo. Oughta get more bang per shot and you save up on clips. And that sniper rifle… hell, you probably have a mass accelerator cannon in your hands."

"I'll inform the quartermaster to begin work immediately. Should be done in an hour. Pick up or delivery?" the Req. Officer asked as he typed away at his holopad.

"Deliver it to the Normandy. Secure case, so no one touches it," Shepard said as he glanced around one more time to see if he missed anything. "The quartermaster is authorized to touch these?"

"Former Spectre himself, though he still has some clearance," came the response as the officer typed away. Finishing, he looked up at Shepard. "So… what are you doing now?"

"I'm heading out to the Terminus Systems. I'm trying to get a team together, best I can find. The odds of survival on my mission are pretty slim," Shepard said in all seriousness.

"Yeah? Even after the Battle of the Citadel? Saren and his geth?" the Req. Officer asked, his eyes widening.

Shepard only nodded.

"Hmm…" was all the turian said, appearing to be thinking about something.

Apparently coming to a decision, he stepped closer to Shepard. "You know, there's a new weapon coming here. Top of the line tech, only one in existence so far. Usually its first come, first served for Spectres, but since you helped us out, saving the Citadel and Council, I can get it sent directly to you instead."

"What is it?"

"It's called the M-490 Blackstorm Projector, also called a Blackhole Gun. It really does shoot miniature black holes. Sucks in enemies and crushes them. Any that aren't caught inside are trapped in the event horizon. The singularity then explodes, tearing up anyone unlucky enough to be near the blast radius," explained the Req. Officer excitedly.

Shepard raised his eyebrows at that. "I want it."

"I thought you might like it. I'll forward it to your ship. Need anything else?"

"No, I'm good now," Shepard said with a smile.

_Collectors won't know what hit them._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 27**_

_The attack on the human colony of Freedom's Progress has generated a swift but confused response. Aid vessels have been sent, but it is not clear whether there are survivors. The Council offered its sympathy, but regretted that it could not become involved in a purely human matter._

Ignoring the news report overhead, Shepard looked around the ward he was in. Zakera Ward wasn't one of the wards he'd visited last time on the Citadel, so it took him a moment to get his bearings. After a few minutes of wandering, he found a map that labeled the Dark Star Lounge on Level 28. Heading toward the stairs, he spotted a store he'd seen once or twice around the Presidium.

Stepping into Citadel Souvenirs, Shepard saw they sold model ships and fish. _Might as well if I have the cabin for it._

"Good day, my friend. Welcome to the Citadel. I'm Deleia Sanassi," an asari sales rep greeted.

"These stores are owned by the Citadel, right?"

"That's correct. Citadel Souvenirs outlets are owned by the Citadel government. The profits generated by sales are used to maintain the station," she answered.

Shepard smiled, "Since these stores are owned by the Citadel, do government employees get a discount?"

"Yes, in fact. What's your position?" Deleia asked.

"I'm a Spectre."

"Oh! That's quite a prestigious role. It is my pleasure to extend the government employee discount to you, Spectre," offered Deleia.

Turning to the kiosk to buy a pair of ship models, Normandy SR-1 and the Ascension, as well as some fish and even a hamster, Shepard thought to himself, _Still got it._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 28, Dark Star Lounge**_

_Welcome to Citadel NewsNet. I'm Emily Wong. Officials in the Systems Alliance remain tight-lipped about the recent disaster on the pioneer colony of Freedom's Progress. The human outpost is believed to have been destroyed, with no survivors on record. Details are sketchy due to a news blackout. This is the latest in a series of frontier settlements lost by the Alliance. The hanar shine of the Enkindlers plans a prayer vigil for the deceased. The hanar maintain that the lost colonies are the Protheans' wrath, after human explorers 'defiled' a Prothean data beacon two years ago on Eden Prime._

After climbing the stairs to Level 28, he heard the thumping bass and the muted music through the walls. Following the sounds through the crowds of people, he finally found the sign 'Dark Star Lounge' and walked in.

_Much better than Chora's Den, but not nearly as flashy as Flux,_ Shepard decided as he looked for the Cerberus operatives.

"Commander, over here!"

Shepard turned toward Jacob's voice. He was at the bar alone. As soon as Shepard was within proper hearing distance, Jacob ordered a drink and waited as Shepard sat down next to him.

"Where's Mir…Wait, what is this? It's green?" he asked.

"And guaranteed to knock you on your ass," the turian bartender answered. "Unless you're dextro-DNA like me, then it'll kill you."

Shepard grabbed his drink downed it. Immediately after, he started coughing. His eyes watering, Shepard turned to Jacob only to see him knock back a different drink. "Not a big drinker, Commander?" Jacob ribbed, as the bartender refilled both glasses.

"Not for that stuff it seems. Where's Miranda?" Shepard choked out.

"I hear you, Commander; I had the same reaction to the same stuff. Miranda's following up on some of her old contacts. Said she'll be back soon," Jacob said, taking another drink.

"That would be now," a feminine voice verified.

Both men turned toward her as she continued. "Looking for a little R & R, Shepard? It's a nice enough place."

She reached around Shepard, took his green drink and downed it easily.

"Damn," Jacob remarked.

Putting the glass down, she continued. "A lot nicer than Chora's Den anyway. I wasn't sorry to hear they never reopened after the geth attack. Though I suppose the fact that you killed Fist and his thugs in there didn't help."

"What are you two doing here anyway?" asked Shepard.

"Checking some intel. Don't worry, if it all pans out, it'll definitely help us," Miranda answered. "If you're finished with your business, I could meet you back at the Normandy. I need a little more time."

Nodding, Shepard and Jacob got up, the latter paying for the drinks.

As all three were leaving, Shepard couldn't help but ask, "Illusive Man pay you enough to pick up the tab for our drinks?"

"The Illusive Man is footing the bill for our entire mission. We need weapons, armor, supplies; he'll take care of it. Company card," Jacob responded with a smile.

"Within reason Jacob. I'm the last say on any purchases. So no, Commander, no penthouse in the Presidium," Miranda said with a straight face.

"Commander Shepard! Commander Shepard!" a female voice called out.

All three turned to see a well-dressed woman walk quickly toward them with a camera trailing behind her.

"Khalisah bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News," she introduced, holding her hand out toward Shepard.

Miranda and Jacob to left discretely the moment she identified herself as a reporter. For his part, Shepard crossed his arms and held a bored expression of disinterest.

"I interviewed you two years ago, when you first became a Spectre," she prompted. "You presented your case very well on camera. Do you have a minute?

"Sorry. Don't remember, don't care," he replied.

"But the people remember you, Shepard," she insisted. "You're back, you're news. I just want to give your story its due."

Tapping into her omni-tool, her camera and light activated, shining directly on him

"Sources claim you were at the heart of the Presidium during the Battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say the course of the battle hinged on your words. If true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing thousands of human lives and securing the dominance of the Citadel Council."

Resisting the urge to draw his Predator and shoot the camera, or her, Shepard settled for putting her down in front of the camera. Again.

"The turians lost 20 cruisers. Figure each had a crew of around 300. The Ascension – the asari dreadnought we saved – had a crew of nearly 10,000."

"But surely the human cost -" she began.

Cutting her off, Shepard continued, "The Alliance lost eight cruisers. Shenyang. Emden. Jakarta. Cairo. Seoul. Cape Town. Warsaw. Madrid. And yes, I remember them all. Everyone in the 5th fleet is a hero. The Alliance owes them all medals. The Council owes them a lot more than that."

"And so do you," he finished, before turning his back on her and leaving.

"Commander Shepard, first human Spectre, hero of the Battle of the Citadel. Check vid. We get it? Great, bull-rushed on my own show…" he heard as he walked away.

Spotting Jacob, he signaled him to follow before leaving for the Normandy.

**~o~O~o~**

After Miranda announced her return, but offered no details of her business, Shepard entered the CIC from the armory, as the Normandy prepared to leave.

Looking at the galaxy map, Shepard recalled the location of both the Professor and Archangel.

Tapping the Omega Nebula, then the Sahrabarik System, and finally, Omega itself.

_I always hated that place._

"_Aye aye, Commander. Setting course for Omega."_

**~o~O~o~**

Author's Notes:

Wow, this was a long one. The problem with writing this chapter was finding a good spot to stop. Stopping after the Normandy and Citadel didn't seem right, since they weren't missions, but adding those as well as Omega… oi…

If the chapter seemed too wordy, I apologize. I needed to establish the mission and newfound freedom (with costs) Shepard now had. At least the proper ground work was established. So I don't have to worry about chapters that long again. FYI, the armor/weapons Shepard will be using will not change, except for the heavy weapons, though the others might have some changes later in the story.

Also, I introduced an OC *gasp!* I thought we needed a volus that wasn't corrupt. Why is every volus in this game corrupt? And don't say the salesman in the wards isn't corrupt. He sells _used _starships. He's as corrupt as it gets. Its species-ism I tell you! Those poor little guys!

After thinking about it for while, I've decided not to add Zaeed or the rumored "Kasumi" into my fic. I don't really know the consensus of opinions on Zaeed, but I liked him. Or I liked his dialogue. The problem however, is that he doesn't really "connect" to the story as the other characters do. Considering that this will be a long fic, I'm cutting him out, especially since I don't know what "Kasumi" will add as well. Admitting to cutting corners is not a pleasant feeling…

Which mean what I have to say now is a little worse. Given the scope of the game, I'm obviously not gonna do ALL of the side missions. As much as I love you all and how much I like typing this, I'll never get it done if I did everything. Real life demands, food, drink and sleep; those kinds of things are still important to me too. I'll place my focus on some of the more notable side missions you find in cities. Conrad Verner on Illium is one I'll do; Krogan Sushi on the Citadel is one I won't.

I also wanted to announce a different set of chapters I've planned to add to my story, to cut back on the length of chapters. I know some people love long chapters, but others don't and I have to find that balance. Not to mention time between updates.

The first is called "Interlude". Basically, it's Shepard/Crew interactions en route to a mission or post mission. In game terms, it would be the part where you walk around talking to people on the Normandy. To expand on that, it won't be just Shepard or the team, but the crew itself will take part in conversations and the like. Opinions will be shared or news or whatever. Also, it won't always take place on the Normandy. Landing in areas like the Citadel or Illium will mean the crew will get some down time. (I didn't do it the first time on the Citadel, because it was a quick stop the mission had only started. Why should there be a reason to give them leave so soon?) Interacting with the people in bars and shops will be possible now. Maybe give a spin on side quests.

These particular chapters will focus on dialogue and character development, arguably the hardest thing to do in writing. I really hope I'm up to the task.

The second kind of chapter I will be writing is called "Correspondence". It always irked me when I get great emails (I as in Shepard, not I as in me - the author), from all sorts of people, read them, and then dump them. These little things allowed ME 2 to connect to ME 1 rather well, but I can't RESPOND? Why the hell not?

Shepard touched a lot of lives and I want him to stay connected to them. It's nice that they remember, but what? Shepard doesn't remember them? Doesn't care? Doesn't know how to type?

Taking a page out of GTA IV, Niko could get emails and respond positively or negatively. I'm sure everyone sees where I'm going with this. I really wish BioWare added some Paragon or Renegade responses to answer back.

Anyway, I'm going to dedicate chapters after every mission to replying to emails with how I think Shepard would respond. This way, I don't have to write variations of "Shepard went to his terminal to check his private messages," or "Kelly said, 'You have new messages in your private terminal, Commander'", in every chapter.

These will probably be small, either responding to one email to five emails depending on what I get. Depending on the emails/characters, it might even come to multiple emails from the same person.

Before anyone asks, I don't know if I'll have a set of emails with Ash. It depends how the story unfolds. Break-ups are rough, but hard to determine emotionally how people react.

Whew! Long story with a long AN, I just say want to say thanks to everyone who's reading my story so far and that I'm diligently working on more.

P.S. This story is gonna have a lot of chapters…


	5. Correspondence I

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Chief Medical Officer Chakwas**_

_**Subject: Healing of your Facial Scars**_

_Commander,_

_I've done further investigation regarding your facial scaring, and the old adage of "mind over matter" holds true. Negative attitudes and aggressive acts create adverse reactions with your cybernetic implants, while peaceful thoughts and compassionate actions promote healing. If you maintain a positive outlook, I believe your facial scarring will heal on its own. Otherwise, there is surgical equipment we could use to insulate your cybernetic implants and accelerate your healing regardless of your mental outlook._

_I have the right tech in mind for the new medical equipment if you wish to consider this option. There is some cost involved however, in order to install it on the Normandy safely._

_Sincerely,_  
_Chakwas_

_

* * *

_

_**To: Dr. Chakwas**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Healing of your Facial Scars**_

_In other words, control my temper and mind my thoughts, and the glowing scars will be less noticeable._

_Exactly how bad can the scars be if the mission proves too stressful? And how much will the new equipment cost?_

* * *

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Chief Medical Officer Chakwas**_

_**Subject: Re: Re: Healing of your Facial Scars**_

_Judging from the information sent to me by Executive Officer Lawson as well as my own scans, should you let your temper get the better of you or allow your patience to wane, I'm afraid your visage will be quite noticeable and impossible to miss. Aesthetically speaking, you would look quite terrifying if some of these implants were to show._

_As for the cost of the medical bay upgrade, it stands around 50,000 credits. I'm sorry, I know it seems like a lot, but this is the best option with the fewest risks. The Citadel or any other planet with modern medical technology will carry the necessary equipment. We also must stay at dock for a few days while it is installed. It is very unlikely we'll find what we need in the Terminus Systems._

_Sincerely,_

_Chakwas_

* * *

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Samesh Bhatia**_

_**Subject: Thank You Again**_

_Commander Shepard,_

_Mr. Udina offered to pass on a message for me. I wished to again express my thanks for your assistance in retrieving my wife's body. While nothing can ever banish the pain of losing Nirali, be able to see her body was treated properly helped me more than you could imagine._

_I have opened the restaurant that my wife always wished to start, back on Earth. Nirali's picture hangs on the wall and Alliance soldiers eat for free. It is the least I could do to honor the courage with which you, Chief Williams, and my wife have served humanity._

_Sincerely,_

_Samesh Bhatia_

* * *

_**To: Samesh Bhatia**_

_**From: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: You're Welcome**_

_Once again, I offer my sincerest condolences for your loss Mr. Bhatia. I'm glad to have eased your burden however I was able._

_I'm glad to hear that you honor your wife's memory in your own way. I'm sure that she loved you and that your actions reflect that._

_Thank you for your help in assisting the Alliance. Whenever I return to Earth, perhaps I will stop by to enjoy your hospitality._

_With respect,_

_Shepard,_

_Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2_

* * *

Author's Notes:

That's one interlude done and one correspondence done.

Thanks to all who review, you make this worthwhile. To those that don't, it's okay. I like to think that I'm not the kind of author who begs for reviews.

My personal opinion is that I'm writing this for you and for me. Any author that asks for reviews in return for more chapters is wrong. Technically, you could argue that it's extortion.

I still kinda see why they do it though, even if they don't know better. Reviews are addicting…

I'm typing away the next mission as we speak and I really am taking consideration of any input you send. Thanks for reading.


	6. Archangel

_**Location: Normandy**_

The hamster squeaked from her cage on the shelf as Shepard continued to organize his cabin.

The few possessions Shepard had owned from his apartment on Intai'sei and his quarters at Arcturus Station were sitting in his quarters when he returned, as Anderson promised.

Several books on varying subjects: galactic history, training manuals, and personal reading were neatly stacked to the side of his table. His medal case, containing various commendations he earned in his Alliance career, including the Star of Terra, which he placed against the wall near his books. And finally, his picture of Ashley; Shepard stared at the picture for a moment, wondering what her mission was and privately glad that she was able to have the chance to redeem her family's honor. He placed it gently next to his private terminal.

Turing toward the boxes containing his ship models, Shepard unpacked them and placed them inside the display case, noting the size differences between the Normandy SR-1 and SR-2 models.

Tasks complete, he sat down and relaxed, content to look around his cabin. His gaze locking on the Illium Skald Fish floating in his aquarium, Shepard frowned. The hamster cage was equipped with an automated feeder with water. All he had to was refill it every so often. The fish on the other hand…

Shepard called out to the ever present AI, "EDI, can you set a timer to feed my fish? I don't think I can be here often enough to feed them myself."

"Of course, Commander," EDI replied.

Nodding his head, Shepard turned toward his bed, tempted to sleep, but knowing there was a few more things left to do.

Sighing, he got up and headed toward the lift.

* * *

Entering the armory, Shepard noticed Jacob still working. "It's late, why aren't you getting some rack time?"

"Almost finished here, Commander. Actually, I was supposed to give you one quick lesson on biotics before crashing," Jacob answered, without looking up from his weapons.

Suppressing a groan at the thought of more training in biotics when he barely survived the first lesson, Shepard walked to the back of the room to inspect the large and locked metal case.

Placing his hand on the scanner, the box opened, revealing all of Shepard's personal armaments. Taking them out one at a time and inspecting each, he was satisfied to see that everything was tailored to his requests.

"Damn, Commander," said Jacob. Shepard looked up to see Jacob standing next to him. "What are those?"

"Spectre gear. Built-in security too, so don't touch," warned the Spectre himself. "That'll kill you worse than the bullets. Tell Miranda too. I don't want any accidents."

"Gotcha, Commander," acknowledged Jacob. "I'm finished here, so we'll meet in the docking bay?"

"Yeah, just let me get my equipment squared away," answered Shepard as he continued to inspect his order.

"See you in a few then."

* * *

Closing his eyes as he descended on the lift, Shepard tried to recall everything Miranda taught him earlier in the day.

As he focused on his mental exercises, Shepard couldn't see the telltale glow of dark energy as his eezo modules began reacting to the electricity he subconsciously pushed through them.

The soft chime of the elevator interrupted this concentration as he reached his deck. The glow faded long before Shepard opened his eyes and walked out toward the docking bay unaware of his evidence of power.

Jacob was setting some pillows down as Shepard walked downed the stairs. "What are those for?"

"Demonstration. I don't think you're up to doing anything yet, Commander."

"So what am I going to do? More instruction, mental exercises?" asked Shepard as he stood next to his other teacher.

"I'm not really into the whole technical thing of biotics," assured Jacob. "Miranda's teaching you how to think like a biotic. I'm just going to show you some of the physical motions needed to subconsciously direct your electrical impulses. Strictly speaking, if you're mentally disciplined enough, you don't need to move a muscle to use biotics."

"Who can do that?"

Jacob shrugged. "I can't, that's for sure. Miranda can't either. I think there are some asari who can, but I never seen them."

Motioning Shepard to follow, Jacob continued. "It's called Physical Mnemonics, using certain motions to make your mind remember certain commands. In our case, it's manipulating our nervous system to use the eezo modules."

Stopping some distance away from the pillows, Jacob turned to Shepard. "What I'm going to show is a basic biotic technique that just about all biotics learn and know the first time they're taught. It's simple, quick, and doesn't take too much effort to control. You've probably seen it. Most call it _Throw."_

Shepard nodded. He'd seen the biotics of his old team use it thousands of times.

"Unlike most of the other abilities, this is all about how hard you can hit the other guy, no finesse or subtlety. It's why it tends to be taught first. Get you used to the whole idea," Jacob lectured.

Looking at the pillows, he pulsed with dark energy before thrusting his arm out, as if pushing something. A dark purple energy left his hand and arced toward one of the pillows on the ground. The energy struck the pillow and it moved about three feet.

Shepard furrowed his brow at the display before giving a questioning glance to Jacob. He received a shrug before an answer.

"I said that biotics start with it. I never said they all did anything useful with it. Like anything, Commander, you gotta work at it to make it more powerful. Throw wasn't something I was interested in. Figured I could learn to make it more powerful later," he defended.

"Besides, it's more than what you can do," he pointed out. Shepard merely held up his hands in compliance.

"_Lift_ on the other hand…" Jacob started, before bringing his arm from the ground up into the air.

The same energy left his hand at the middle of the motion, streaking towards the pillow far faster than his last display. Immediately, the pillow rose to the air and was held there with nothing but Jacob's will.

"This is something I practiced for a while. A lot more discipline needed to do this. The heavier the object, the more you got to put into it."

Remembering that Jacob could pick up a YMIR mech, Shepard wasn't about to dismiss his talent.

Letting the pillow fall down, Jacob addressed his 'student'. "Right, for now, let's get the motions down. Push your arm out like this…"

For the next hour, Jacob and Shepard kept at it. Shepard was mimicking the motions he needed to exercise his mind into tapping the element zero modules while Jacob coached him. "Remember every muscle that you use when you do it…" or "Focus on what you need to use for the motions, the muscles or thoughts, not your arm or how hard you move…"

Finally, he called it quits. "That should be good enough for now, Commander. Miranda will help you out before we reach Omega. Just remember what we both taught you. I'm sure she'll test you on it."

Shepard nodded. "I think I got it. Just focus. Biotics uses the mind and all that," he said as he thrust his arm out again, trying to merge Miranda's theoretical training with Jacob's hands-on methods.

"Pretty much. Nothing to it, if you don't count all the years of training. Why they would implant you with… Holy shit!" Jacob's thoughts were completely derailed as Shepard suddenly glowed with dark energy just before he thrust his arm out again.

The results were plain to see. The five pillows Jacob had brought down for his demonstrations were all blown back through the entire length of the docking bay and struck the opposite wall where two of them burst open.

"Holy shit, Commander!" Jacob repeated. "That was incredible! I've never… whoa! Shepard!" Jacob exclaimed as he caught Shepard's wavering form.

"Oh man… that's… really…" Shepard gasped out, suddenly exhausted.

Jacob slung Shepard's arm over himself. "I got you, Commander. How about we stop here and you get some shut-eye? We'll let Miranda know in the morning about this."

Staggering, both men climbed up the stairs and to the lift, wondering what happened and how the hell it happened.

* * *

The next day, Shepard woke up fine, but completely ravenous. Finishing his morning preparations as quickly as possible, Shepard rushed to deck 3 to get as much food as he could.

"Commander! Those provisions you provided were perfect. I owe you," Gardner greeted as Shepard walked into the common area.

"Glad to have helped. I need food. Lots of it," Shepard demanded.

Getting to work, Rupert commented, "Hungry this morning, aren't we?"

"You have no idea. Feels like I haven't eaten in years," Shepard said, ignoring the personal irony of that statement.

"Well, you're in luck. I managed to cook up something nice with the new supplies. Enjoy!" Rupert said, passing along Shepard's plates. "And thanks again. You really came through."

Thanking him, Shepard saw Miranda and Jacob at the table already, plates full similarly to his.

"Biotics consume a massive amount of calories. Our metabolisms run high with the effort to create mass effect fields," Miranda explained as Shepard sat down next to her and across Jacob.

"I take it Jacob already told you," he said, glancing at the man in question.

Jacob ignored their exchange, occupying himself with his breakfast.

"It's completely remarkable and completely unheard of. I was expecting months before we saw tangible results, not hours. How did you do it?" she asked.

Taking a several bites of his meal, Shepard tried to recall exactly what happened. "I was thinking of your lessons, and then I took Jacob's advice and put the two together. That's really about it."

"'That's about it' he says. It was a full-powered Throw Miranda. If it'd been me, my spine would've snapped," Jacob added, without looking up from his meal.

"Interesting," commented Miranda. "I wonder though… Do you think the L5x's had anything to do with it?"

"Doubtful. You and I are wired with the L5n's and that's only a step down from the x's," he answered. "I'm telling you, one moment, it was business as usual. Same stuff I learned in BAaT or Ascension, next, boom! Comes out of nowhere with his stuff."

Before Shepard could add his own opinions, Joker called.

"_Commander? Just wanted let you know that we're an hour away from Omega."_

"We made better time than I thought… I had assumed the loose asteroids surrounding Omega would slow our helmsman down a bit. I suppose we'll skip the lesson today. Just report to Dr. Chakwas and get your amps checked out. I'd like to see what caused your spike," Miranda said as she finished her breakfast. Shepard nodded, while taking another bite out of his.

"Full armor and weapons," he ordered to both Cerberus operatives. "We're not going to stay long if we can help it. But if push comes to shove, I want the people there thinking twice before they start trouble."

"Understood, Commander," Miranda said before heading to her office.

"Aye aye, Commander," Jacob said from his seat, eating his breakfast quickly.

* * *

After Shepard finished his breakfast and checked in with Dr. Chakwas regarding his biotic amps, he went back to his room to put on his armor. Given the inherent dangers of the facility he was going to, Shepard also started to work a medical exoskeleton inside his armor, just in case.

Once finished, he traveled to the armory where he met up with Miranda, already in her armor and was just finishing inspecting her pulse rifle.

As Shepard opened his locker to retrieve his weapons, he called out to the AI. "Are you tapped into Omega EDI?"

"Yes, Commander Shepard."

"Anything about our two recruits that you can find?" Shepard asked, as Jacob walked into the armory, making last minute adjustments to his armor.

"I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station. I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with Archangel. There's a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have more information on him."

Fitting his grenades on his pouch attached to his waist, Shepard asked, "What can you tell me about the quarantine?"

"There are no details on the reason for the quarantine in Omega's mainframe," EDI said.

"Figures. I'm surprised Omega's mainframe is actually still up and running. Though I suppose if it were to go down, life support for the entire station would stop," Miranda commented.

"Monitoring local radio channels though, inhabitants are calling it a plague. The quarantine must remain in effect until the problem is solved by Dr. Mordin Solus or everyone that is affected by plague is dead. One more thing to note, the plague apparently doesn't affect humans," continued EDI.

Slipping his HMWP Pistol into a specialized thigh holster on his right side, Shepard shared a look with Miranda and Jacob.

"What about Archangel? You said mercs?"

"According to local transmissions, the three major mercenary groups in the Terminus Systems: Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack, are now working together to kill Archangel. According to various reports, Archangel has been launching a war against them, disrupting cargo shipments of questionable materials, weapons, and slaves. Archangel is also responsible for several assassinations of top ranking members of all three mercenary groups," EDI reported.

"Well, at least this isn't going to be boring," Jacob joked.

"Yes, I seem to recall that being a problem back at the Project Lazarus Science Facility," Miranda noted.

"I was under the impression you liked the boredom over the homicidal mechs. Now you get to deal with a plague and an army of mercs instead," Shepard quipped as he strapped one of his combat knives to his right hip and the other to left boot.

Remembering the attack and the waves of mechs on top of him, Jacob grumbled.

* * *

_**Dossier: The Professor**_

_Biological weapons expert_

_Light weapons training with Salarian Special Tasks Group_

_Dr. Mordin Solus is a salarian biological weapons expert whose technology may hold the key to countering Collector attacks. He is currently operating a medical clinic in the slums of Omega._

_**Dossier: Archangel**_

_Small-unit tactical expertise_

_Omni-tool expert and noted sniper_

_Archangel is a mercenary commander whose operations are noted for their technical expertise and strategic brilliance. He is responsible for high-profile attacks on gang leaders on Omega and can likely be found there._

* * *

The Normandy danced around the large loose rocks and debris as she approached the hollowed out asteroid. Any other rocks that were too small to be detected on sensors were easily deflected by the kinetic barriers.

Given the number of hazards, the speeds at which she was traveling at as the Normandy bobbed and weaved through the potential dangers could be considered suicidal, but in no time at all, the asteroid field was cleared and the space station Omega came into view.

Red rods surrounding an equally red ring lit up the remains of the dome shaped asteroid the station was under. Complex metal structures were built extending from the rock, growing thinner as the formation moved farther away from the main base, making Omega resemble a top or more appropriately a mushroom cloud.

From a distance, Omega was incredible, but as Normandy navigated the towers, columns, and buildings, a different sight greeted her. Decay, rust, and neglect as the ages old station showed her age and lack of maintenance. The antithesis to the Citadel. And from the inside…

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega**_

_Omega, the end of all things_, Shepard thought to himself as he and his away team stepped into a rusted out hallway from the safety of the frigate.

Any windows were covered in dust and grime, making it hard to see through. All manner of gasses were leaking out of the pipes through numerous cracks. And the smell generated by hundreds of different unclean species all living together.… _It's like a sick mix of piss, shit, vomit, and dead bodies that all decided to have a mutant smell of their own_. If there was a smell that could kill, Omega would have it, but there was none, Shepard had checked his terminal before they left to be sure.

As he and his team walked down the length of the corridor to the entrance of Omega, a salarian walked from the opposite side toward them. Shepard's trained eye didn't see any obvious or hidden weapons, but it didn't stop him from maintaining a cautious stance and wary eye. It's probably why he also noted the armed batarian walking toward them as well.

Holding his arms wide, the salarian greeted them in a scratchy voice. "Ah! Welcome to Omega! You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to --"

The salarian was cut off as a heavy hand clapped his shoulder. The batarian pulled the salarian roughly away from Shepard's group.

Fear encompassed the salarian's demeanor, a stark contrast to his earlier attitude. "Oh… Hello, Moklan! I was just --"

"Leave, Fargut. Now," the batarian ordered.

"Of course, Moklan! Whatever she wants!" agreed the scared salarian.

Moklan raised his hand, as if to strike him, and Fargut ran immediately. Turning towards Shepard, he merely commented, "Blasted scavengers."

Adopting a more imperious tone, he continued, "Welcome to Omega… Shepard."

If the salarian made Shepard cautious, the batarian made his hackles rise. "You know who I am?" Shepard asked in a neutral tone.

Moklan scoffed. "Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not a subtle as you think."

Shepard merely maintained his silence, alert for anything amiss.

"Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I 'suggest' you go to Afterlife now and present yourself," he ordered.

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "I'll talk to your boss when I'm damn well ready."

"Then you'd better get ready. No one keeps Aria waiting," the batarian threatened. "Afterlife. Now."

Shepard decided that a more simple answer was needed. Calmly drawing his pistol, he shot Moklan in the knee in one smooth, quick motion.

As the batarian went down screaming, Shepard calmly said, "I'm not some scavenger you push around. You're the messenger boy, the message was delivered. Next time, leave the threats to the grownups, before you get hurt. Again." As he finished talking, Shepard slammed his boot on the wound, prompting another scream from his unfortunate victim.

Keeping his pistol in his hand, Shepard signaled to the others to keep moving. Miranda and Jacob silently holstered their pistols and followed. After they all went five steps, Shepard turned around and shot Moklan in his other leg.

Moklan screamed in pain again, the pistol he was aiming dropped in favor of clutching is newest wound. Another scream was made as the hand that was holding the pistol lost four fingers, courtesy of another shot by the Spectre.

"Want to try again? I'm sure I can shoot you a few more times before you die," Shepard stated in a bored tone.

Whimpering in pain, the batarian shook his head, trying to stem the blood and the pain. He flinched as he heard another gunshot, but saw that his pistol had a new hole, rendering it useless.

Shepard simply collapsed his HMWP and left without further incident.

* * *

"Omega. What a pisshole. At least it keeps you on your toes. I've had to come here on business before. I felt like I needed a shower afterword – in addition to normal decontamination," commented Miranda as all three of them stepped out of the hallway and into Omega proper.

Shepard nodded, agreeing with her since the smells only got worse.

Nothing really changed. It was still cramped, dirty, and filled with jackals ready to pick the dead clean.

"You've been here, right, Commander?" asked Miranda.

"Twice. Terrorists hit some settlements in the Verge. My team and I tracked both groups here. They always run here," Shepard said.

"What happened to them?" Jacob asked.

"Guy like them think they can hide in Omega or be protected here. Doesn't work like that," said Shepard as he moved forward. "Unless you're part of a gang, you just pay the right people for information and you find what you need to find. Our orders were to bring them in alive if possible, but take them out if they fight back. Both groups tried to fight and we took them down. You may have noticed, but no one really cares for a few dead mercs."

Finding the Afterlife club, they ascended the stairs. "What about you Jacob? Ever been to Omega?" asked Shepard.

"Can't say that I have, but I can tell that I hate this place already," he replied.

Bypassing the long lines, and inciting many protests, Shepard walked past the elcor bouncer and to a batarian with a holopad.

"Go on in. Aria is expecting you," the batarian said as the doors opened.

Past the door, the atmosphere changed abruptly. The hallway inside was clean and maintained. Holograms built into the walls projected fire, befitting the club's name. No doubt other decorations inside would revolve around the Afterlife, be it hell or heaven.

Shepard moved toward the other door only to find his progress blocked by three more batarians.

"What are you looking at?" the leader sneered.

Reaching out and grabbing the jerk by his throat, Shepard pulled his knife from its sheath on his hip and held it against the batarian's privates. He heard Miranda and Jacob draw their pistols, presumably aimed at the other two batarians.

Pressing his knife closer, Shepard glared into two of the batarians four eyes. "The man whose day I'm about to ruin."

"Uh… I'm not looking for any trouble," Shepard's soon-to-be-next victim stammered.

"Maybe I am. Maybe you'd better get out of here before I decide to cripple you," Shepard said evenly, his scars glowing in the dim light.

"All…all right. I… I've got stuff to do anyway."

Letting him go, Shepard put his knife away as the batarian turned to his fellows. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Two walked away, but the third glared at Shepard, drawing an imaginary line through his neck.

The Spectre gave a glare of his own, drew his pistol and aimed at the man's foot.

Ignoring the second wounded idiot he made scream in so many minutes, Shepard stalked toward the doors leading into the club.

_Reminds me of Chora's Den_ was his thought as he passed through the doors. Minor differences between the seedy den in the Citadel and here was size, the giant projection in the center and the use of holographic and real flames. There was still a circular bar, dancing half naked asari, strippers in side rooms, loud music, drugs, and plenty of armed guards.

Looking up past the giant projection, Shepard could make out someone standing over the club. No doubt in his mind, he knew that to be Aria, especially with the extra concentration of guards around her.

Shepard led his team toward the lounge where Aria overlooked her domain. Reaching the top of the stairs, he saw a blue-hued asari standing with her back to him.

"That's close enough," Aria commanded.

Immediately, the guards around Shepard and his group drew their weapons and readied them. Miranda and Jacob drew theirs as well and pointed at targets of the highest threat.

Aria ignored the exchange and merely nodded her head. One batarian holstered his weapon before approaching Shepard. "Stand still."

Grabbing him, Shepard growled, "Try it and you'll be scanning the inside of your colon."

Aria nearly laughed. "I'd almost pay to see that." Turning her head slightly to glance at him, she said in a tone brooking no argument, "But it's not an option. You want to talk, you get scanned."

"Uh… Aria…" the batarian stuttered.

Aria turned her head more to see Shepard holding an armed grenade along with his hostage.

"Tell your goons to stow their weapons then," Shepard said in the same tone as Aria's.

Aria narrowed her eyes. "You've got gall, Spectre."

Nodding her head at the guards, they put the weapons away. Shepard released the batarian and put his grenade away as well as Miranda and Jacob relaxed.

"All you had to do was ask," Shepard said neutrally.

"I don't ask," Aria hissed as she looked back at the club.

Shoving the batarian with the scanner to the side, Shepard stepped closer to Aria. "I was told you're the person to talk to if I have questions."

"They're clean."

Aria turned around to face Shepard after hearing the report. "Depends on the questions."

"You run Omega?"

This time Aria laughed, though it was dry and humorless. Turning around to face the main floor, she spread her arms and said, "I am Omega."

Turing to face her guest, she continued, whispering, "But you need more. Everyone needs something. And they all come to see me."

Pacing in front of Shepard, she excluded confidence in her stance and words. "I'm the boss, CEO, queen if you're feeling dramatic."

_Not nearly as dramatic as you_, Shepard thought.

"It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule." Sitting down on the plush leather couch and crossing her legs, she smiled viciously. "Don't fuck with Aria."

"I can understand that. I keep similar rules," Shepard said as he crossed his arms.

"And on your ship that would matter. Here, we entertain my preferences," she countered. She stared a bit, as if judging him, before motioning for Shepard to take a seat. He obliged.

"So, what can I do for you?" she asked in a bored tone.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "One scan and we're straight to business? People are usually concerned about who I am."

"You death was downplayed, but hardly what I call a secret. I had to make sure it was really you. You could have been anyone. Anything," she explained.

Shepard got the impression that she meant more than being brought back from the dead.

"Whatever you need will come out on its own. I'm curious, but Omega doesn't care about you," Aria finished.

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus. Do you know where I can find him?" Shepard asked.

"The salarian doctor?" Aria voice took on an interested tone. "Last I heard he was trying to help plague victims in the quarantine zone." She smiled, "I've always liked Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you."

"I understand that he was part of the STG," commented Shepard.

Aria nodded. "He's brilliant and dangerous." She leaned back into her couch. "Just don't get him talking. He never shuts up," she warned. "If you really need to find him, take a shuttle to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in, of course. Just don't bring the plague back with you."

"I'm also trying to track down Archangel."

"You and half of Omega. You want him dead, too?" Aria asked.

"I heard he's been causing trouble here. You mind filling me in?" questioned Shepard.

"He thinks he's fighting on the side of good," she scoffed. "There is no good side to Omega. Everything he does pisses someone off. It's catching up to him."

"Just the kind of guy I'm looking for," Shepard smiled.

"Really? Well, aren't you interesting?" she said. Locking eyes with him, she cautioned, "You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now."

"I heard that three different merc groups want him dead. How bad is it?"

"They've got him cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing him off. They've started hiring anybody with a gun to help them." she answered.

"That might be our way in," Miranda said aloud.

"They're using a private room for recruiting… just over there," Aria said, nodding her head to her left. "I'm sure they'll sign you up."

"Anything you can tell me about Archangel?" asked Shepard.

"Not as much as I'd like," answered Aria with a small frown. "He showed up here several months ago and started causing all sorts of problems. If you make your own laws – which everyone here does – he makes life difficult. He's reckless and idealistic. But he seems to know enough to stay clear of me."

"Sounds like I don't have much time," said Shepard.

Getting up and leaving, he heard Aria point out, "You've got all the time in the world. Archangel… not so much."

"Let's go," Shepard said to his companions. "Change of plans," he stated as they turned left and went down the stairs to the private rooms.

"Archangel?" Jacob rhetorically asked.

"Mordin is dealing with a plague. He probably won't come with us until it's been handled," Miranda reasoned.

"We'll consider it an audition. Archangel is in trouble right now," Shepard said.

The group stopped in front of a merc guarding the entrance to the private room, Blue Suns judging from his uniform.

"I hear you got some work," Shepard said to the guard.

"Inside," the guard grunted.

* * *

"You'll get paid when the job's done, just like everyone else," the recruiter said to a human freelancer, as the trio walked in. "Who's next?"

Shepard stood in front of the recruiter's terminal. "You three look like you could do some damage. Looking for a good fight?" the batarian merc asked.

"Sure, if this is the place to arrange Archangel's funeral," Shepard said smoothly.

"This is the place," the batarian confirmed. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job is done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armor," he read from the terminal. Looking up at Shepard's group, he observed, "Looks like you've got that covered. And no, this does not make you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period." Finished with his pitch, he asked, "Any questions?"

"Seems like a lot of trouble for just one guy," Shepard commented.

"He had a whole team, but we've dealt with them. Now he's just one guy," the merc corrected. "But he's got the advantage. It's his base of operations, and he knows we're coming. He's planned for an attack like this. We've lost a lot of men trying to get to him already."

"Sounds like it's gonna be tough to get to him."

"Like chasing a vorcha out of the sewer pipes. But that's why we're recruiting. If we just keep throwing fighters at him, we'll get him eventually," the recruiter said.

"Where's the attack taking place?" asked Shepard.

"Archangel's base of operations. He's been hiding right under our noses. I can't tell you exactly where you're going, but we'll get you there," he vaguely answered.

"So what do we do once we're there? How do we get to Archangel?"

"The mercs will tell you when you get there. Last I heard, they were putting the freelancers into scouting groups; they attack in waves to distract Archangel while we try to get past his defenses."

"So we're just fodder for his bullets?" Shepard asked in disbelief.

"If you don't like it, don't sign up. But if you do your job right, its easy credits," dismissed the recruiter. "Besides, what are the odds he can kill all of you?"

"Where do we go?"

"Just head outside to the transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there," pointed out the merc. "Send in the next one."

As Shepard and his team were leaving, a young man, 20 or so walked past, heading toward the recruiter. "Hey, is there where I sign up?"

Turning around, Shepard said, "You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc."

"I'm old enough," he argued. "I grew up on Omega. I know how to use a gun."

"So does Archangel," Jacob countered.

"It really wouldn't do you much good," added Miranda.

"I can handle myself," the young man asserted. Pulling out his pistol, his only weapon apparently, he said, "Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this pistol…"

Reaching out and grabbing him by the collar, Shepard took the gun away. "Get your money back," Shepard said low tone.

Letting him go, Shepard started hitting the ejection port until the gun jammed. "Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later," he said before tossing the gun back.

Turning around, the three 'freelancers' headed for their transport.

* * *

_****__**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Archangel's Base of Operations**_

Their driver dropped them off in front of a series of apartment buildings. If there was any doubt as to whether they were in the wrong location, it was quickly dispelled by various scrambling mercs, freelancers, the gunshots, and explosions.

Another Batarian Blue Suns merc walked up to Shepard as the car took off.

"It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight," he observed. "They tell you what we're up against?"

"I know enough. Just tell us where to go," answered Shepard.

"Archangel's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there," the merc explained jerking his thumb over shoulder. "He's got superior position, and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."

"Now that we're here you will. We'll get to him. Just point us to that bridge," stated Shepard confidently.

"I like your attitude, but we've got a plan in place," said the merc. "You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him."

"Sounds like suicide mission to me," Jacob commented.

Shrugging, the merc only said, "Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it." Pointing at an archway, he directed, "Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in."

"Hold on, where's the infiltration team now?" asked Shepard, hoping to fish for some last minute intel.

"On the far side of the bridge, near his hideout. But they can't get any closer without being seen," he answered.

"How'd they get that close?"

"More distractions. Tarak used a gunship to keep Archangel busy. We were able to sneak a few men into his hideout before he took it down, but they're stuck there. We need to keep Archangel focused on the bridge so he doesn't find them and wipe them out," the batarian said.

"They were using a gunship to take out one guy?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"Yeah – and Archangel shot it down. He didn't destroy it, but he knew just where to hit it to disable it. It wasn't even a fair fight. At least not for us," the merc said bitterly.

_Huh, I like this guy already._

"The bridge is the only way to his hideout?" asked Shepard. _Funneling the enemy, sniper's perch… this guy is good._

"Yeah. Archangel collapsed all the underground passageways and sealed the doors to the lower levels. We've got teams digging, but it's taking too long. If they can get the gunship flying again, that'll help. But I'm hoping the infiltration team will finish the job and we can all go home.

"I'll go report to Cathka then," stated Shepard.

"Watch yourself on the boulevard. Archangel's kill dozens out there already," the merc warned before moving to greet more freelancers.

Moving toward the stairs, Jacob spoke up. "Well, we might have a way in, but getting out could be interesting."

"Very interesting, I'll guarantee that. Let's see what we're about to go up against, see what kind of damage we can do, and then get to Archangel," responded Shepard.

"Shepard, I've scanned the area, but I am unable to plot any other paths to Archangel," EDI informed them.

"Guess we're going with the mercs then," Shepard responded as his group saw the first barricade.

"The heavy mechs and gunship possess considerable firepower. Weakening them before leaving will improve your chances," EDI advised.

Approaching the barricade, manned by two Eclipse mercs, Shepard chanced a peek over the railing, using his sniper rifle to scout out Archangel and the terrain.

* * *

Taking a steadying breath, he poised the scope at the railing he saw the merc duck down behind. Ignoring the occasional inaccurate blind fire, trusting his shields would hold, Archangel waited. The sound of his rifle echoed as the merc fell back dead, finally popping out of his cover.

Moving his head away from the scope, he surveyed the barricades, looking for his next target of opportunity. Another one in the far back showed his head, carrying a rifle from the looks of it. Adjusting his rifle quickly, Archangel looked at the far back barricade. The shot was too difficult to try, but that would mean the sniper couldn't fire back either. As his scope zoomed in on the figure…

_No… It can't be…_

Exhaustion was catching up to him. No food and no sleep against this onslaught, all while holding his position alone for the last 24 hours, his mind had to be playing tricks on him. Yet, as he watched the barricade closely…

There. He could no longer see the face, but he saw the armor as the figure moved away. He'd confirm who it was soon enough, friend or foe. If it was another merc, he'd have to come closer. If it was who he thought it was, hoped it was, then things would get exciting soon.

For now another target presented itself. _Vorcha, so probably Blood Pack…_

Taking a steadying breath, he poised the scope at the railing he saw the merc duck down behind…

* * *

"What did you see?" Jacob asked as they walked through the makeshift bases of the mercenary groups.

"Turian. Wearing Colossus Armor too from the look of it," Shepard answered, as they walked past the Eclipse meeting.

"Kassa Fabrication armor is expensive. Whoever Archangel is, he definitely has the credits to back his operations," deduced Miranda.

Nodding, Shepard stopped to listen in on the Eclipse plans.

"As the first wave goes in, the infiltration team will attempt to take Archangel by surprise," a salarian ordered. "I don't expect much from the freelancers. When they fail, we're up next. The light mechs go in first. If that's not enough, we send in the heavy. Be prepared."

Moving quickly away from the meeting, Shepard saw a large locked door to his left. Motioning Miranda and Jacob to watch his back, he proceeded to bypass the door. Less than a minute later, the lock yielded to his attempt and opened.

Taking one last look around to ensure no one was watching, Shepard slipped inside and closed the door. Inside, a dozen light mechs lined the walls all deactivated. At the back was the heavy mech EDI and the salarian Eclipse leader was talking about. Next to the YMIR was a diagnostics station that was still hooked in. Shepard smiled to himself as he proceeded to hack his way into the terminal. Cracking the firewalls, he located the IFF of the mech and disabled it, then synched up a self destruct command to his omni-tool for remote detonation.

"Miranda, all clear outside?" Shepard radioed when his tasks were complete.

_"Hold on, Jacob,"_ she responded. _"How many merc groups are here again?"_

_"Three. Don't think I ever saw them working together before,"_ Jacob answered in a conversational tone.

Assuming that there were three mercs outside, Shepard waited patiently, keeping his Tactical Cloak ready. Seeing a holopad on the table next to the terminal, he picked up and perused the contents. _Plans against Aria? Huh, this might come in handy if I need to deal with her again._

After five minutes, Miranda called. "All clear, hurry."

Opening the door and locking it, Shepard stepping in line with his team as they walked past the Blood Pack. Noting the mercs were near an underground tunnel, they ran past the second barricade, looking all business. Even as the vorcha fell dead from a head shot right next to them.

* * *

Confirming his kill, Archangel adjusted his scope as he saw the man in black armor again. The low archways prevented a clear shot or a clear look, but he definitely identified the armaments he was carrying.

_Spectre weapons! _He frantically thought.

The figure looked human and there was only one human Spectre that **was **in service. The Council or the Alliance had yet put forth any new candidates for more human Spectres. With the security measures built into every HMW weapon and the fact they weren't widely known, there was only one man in Archangel's mind that fit the clues.

_He's alive and he's here… Maybe I got a chance to survive this after all._

* * *

Seeing a freelancer standing well away from the third and final barricade, Shepard walked up and asked, "Where's Cathka?"

Ignoring the gunfire next to them the merc turned to face Shepard. "You and me both, pal." Pointing across the boulevard, toward a makeshift hanger, he directed, "He's over there, working on the gunship. We go over the bridge when he gives the word. Go talk to him if you want, but I'm in no hurry."

"Why haven't you talked to him?" Shepard asked.

"Because I'm not stupid. This assault is damn dangerous," he snapped. His actions belied his words though. _Smart enough to know it's dangerous, still stupid enough to do it for the credits._

As if reinforcing the merc's point though one of the freelancers at the barricade fell dead from another clean headshot.

Taking another chance, Shepard and his team ran across the way, thankfully unharmed.

Stepping into the hanger, he approached and bunch of mercs standing around. "Cathka?"

One merc jerked his thumb toward the mechanic, still fixing the gunship. Motioning his team to wait, Shepard moved past the freelancers, noting that they were staring openly at Miranda. Hoping they weren't going to do something stupid, Shepard walked toward the Blue Suns merc, ducking under the gunship's wing.

The mechanic stopped his repairs and turned to look at Shepard, his helmet's visor tinted to protect his eyes from the arc welder he was using. "Sergeant Cathka," he corrected.

Tapping his helmet, the visor became transparent again as the batarian regarded Shepard. "Ah… you must be the group Salkie mentioned. You're just in time."

Shepard merely nodded.

"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him," Cathka said with a dark undertone. "Got any questions? This may be your last chance," he said as he put down the welder and picked up cigarette and lit up.

"So our plan is just jump the wall and make a run to Archangel's position?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"And try not to get killed too fast. You're only a distraction as long as you're alive," Cathka said morbidly. "You don't have to make it all the way across. Just keep Archangel watching that bridge. The infiltration team will do the rest," he explained.

"And how will the infiltration team get to Archangel?"

"They've got two options. They trap in close quarters, and finish the bastard off face-to-face. If that doesn't work, they have explosives. They'll just need time to set up," said Cathka.

_Great. Demolitions. Have to disarm those._

Any other thoughts or conversations were interrupted as a commotion occured near the entrance to the hanger. Shepard turned his gaze toward the sounds just in time to see Miranda cold-cock a merc, dark energy surrounding her arm. The merc fell down and didn't get back up.

Immediately, the other three mercs as well as Miranda and Jacob drew their weapons on each other.

Correctly assuming what happened between Miranda and the unconscious or dead freelancer; Shepard drew his pistol and shouted across the room. "Hey! You really want to die for the idiot that couldn't keep his dick in his pants? You're being paid to kill Archangel; you're not being paid extra for fighting us. You guys really think this trouble is worth it?"

In a surprising show of intelligence, the mercs lowered their weapons, glaring at Miranda before leaving for the barricade.

Continuing as if nothing happened, Shepard asked Cathka, "Are you going to give us cover with the gunship?"

Despite the innocence of the question, the point was to determine if the gunship was working again and how difficult it would be to get Archangel and get out.

Cathka laughed. "Ha. Tarak is the only one who flies her. Besides, she's not quite ready. That bastard Archangel gave her quite a beating last time she was out there. A few more tweaks and she'll be as good as new," Cathka explained for before taking a smoke and blowing it in Shepard's face.

Waving his hand to clear the air from Cathka's toxic paper stick, Shepard asked, "Are you leading the assault?"

He laughed again. "Ha! Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of --"

Anything more was cut off as a console next to them beeped. "Target is in sight. We're a go."

Cathka tapped the terminal. "Check. Bravo team – go, go, go!"

A flurry of activity happened as the mercs readied their weapons and prepared to assault Archangel's building.

"Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him. But that means no more waiting for me," Cathka said, tapping his helmet and changing the opacity of his visor.

Walking back to the gunship, he continued. "Got to get her back to a hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs her again."

Seeing the arc welder on the table, Shepard scooped it up before standing next to Cathka. "You're working too hard," he said, just before ramming the welder as hard as he could through Cathka's armor and into his spine.

As Cathka screamed, jerked, and spasmed, Shepard pulled out a grenade and linked it up to his omni-tool. Given the armor plating on the A-61 Mantis Gunship, the grenade may cripple it, but definitely not destroy it. Since every bit helps, he attached it to the underside of the gunship where the sergeant was working on, and stepped over Cathka's body.

* * *

_Something's wrong_ Archangel thought.

The first thing he noticed was that the merc rushing his position didn't carry any symbols belonging to anyone. _Freelancing mercs?_

The second was that they were rushing across the bridge, firing blindly on his position. _Suppressing fire, they're trying to distract me._

Archangel had an idea of what they were planning, but with the firepower aimed against him, there was little he could do.

Ducking to avoid a grenade from a launcher, Archangel immediately targeted the heavy weapons user and took him down.

_Wherever you're doing, I hope you do it fast._

* * *

Seeing his squad secure their helmets, Shepard pulled his Recon Hood from underneath his Aegis Vest and slipped it on.

"Sounds like Archangel doesn't have much time," Jacob commented as they moved behind the freelancers.

"Then let's not wait around too long," Miranda quipped as she pulled out her Pulse Rifle.

"Radios only, no voice modules," ordered Shepard as he pulled out his pistol and a suppressor from another pouch. Attaching the suppressor to the pistol, he said, "Come on. We'll give these guys a surprise of our own."

Two more mercs were preparing to jump the barricade when Shepard and Jacob ran up to them. Grabbing one merc by the shoulder, Shepard pressed the silenced barrel of his pistol to the merc's unarmored head and double-tapped him.

Jacob merely drew his combat knife, reached around and slit the merc's throat.

All three of them jumped the barricade and proceeded to run after the other mercs. Stealth kills were an advantage, but moving quietly wasn't needed, since everyone was focused on the building ahead.

Four more mercs were on the bridge, shooting at Archangel's position. Jacob ran to the closest one, clapped his hand over the merc's mouth and ran the knife over his throat.

Passing Jacob by, Shepard immediately ran up to the next merc and gave him another quiet double-tap.

Miranda followed the two men closely with her Pulse Rifle in case they were finally caught and needed some fast firepower.

Seeing the next merc equipped with a helmet, Shepard used his own knife in favor of the pistol and slit his throat.

The final merc finally noticed that the gunfire behind him stopped. Turning around to find out what was going on; Jacob rammed his knife through the guy's chest and pressed his hand over the merc's mouth as he gargled, choking on his blood.

Nodding to the other's, Shepard moved as quickly as possible into the building. Inside, he saw two mercs tinkering with a bomb. Miranda sidled up next to him.

"_Two hostiles. And a bomb. We'll take them out and then you disarm it. Jacob, cover Miranda while she works."_

After hearing them acknowledge his order, all three enabled their voice modules and walked up to the two mercs. "Everything okay here?" Shepard asked conversationally.

"We're almost finished. In a few minutes, we'll bring this building down on this bastard's head. That's if the guys upstairs don't finish him off first."

"Good work," Miranda said, before pulling out her Predator and shooting one merc in the head.

The other merc tried to react, but Shepard's pistol was already up. Two bullets were immediately put into the chest and a third into the head, a classic Mozambique Drill.

"Get to work," Shepard ordered. Collapsing his pistol and drawing his shotgun, he ran up the stairs toward the last two mercs.

"Almost through?" Shepard asked, holding his shotgun loosely and in a nonthreatening manner.

The merc working on the door ignored him, but the other answered. "Yeah, as soon as the door opens up, we're throwing all the grenades inside as we can."

The merc looked around, before turning to face Shepard. "You the only one that made it?"

Shepard shook his head. "There are others downstairs. They're guarding the bomb."

"Good. We'll finally finish this crap," the merc snorted before turning his back to Shepard.

Seeing is his opportunity, Shepard pressed his HMWSG against his unsuspecting victim back and pulled the trigger.

At extreme close quarters, shields don't work and at point blank range, armor couldn't protect anyone from a shotgun blast.

As the merc when down with a gaping hole in his back, the other one turned toward the disturbance, only to catch another shotgun shot to his shields, draining them completely. As he fell back from the blast, a look of surprise on his face, Shepard fired again, locking the unfortunate man's facial expression permanently.

"Finished down there?" Shepard called into his radio.

"_Just,"_ Miranda answered. _"We're regrouping with you now."_

As he waited, Shepard inspected the door. _There's no way a guy this would just leave the door locked and hope no one comes in._

Engaging his omni-tool, Shepard crouched in from of the door and ran a quick scan.

"Find something, Commander?" Jacob asked he and Miranda crouched besides Shepard in front of the door.

"Prox. Mine. Jacob, finish opening the door, I'll disarm it from here. Miranda, cover us."

* * *

He heard the shotgun blasts outside the room. He heard the sound of a cutting torch working again. Still, Archangel held his perch, kneeling in front of the railing. There was that one scout, right over there… _Probably checking to see if the freelancers did their jobs._

The proximity mine wired to the door beeped as it was deactivated. Underneath his helmet, Archangel smiled.

* * *

The door unlocked and the mine disabled, Shepard and his team readied their weapons. Opening the door, they quickly swept the room, looking for any hostiles. The only one of note was the turian kneeling in front of the railing.

"Archangel?" Shepard asked.

* * *

Archangel lifted his left hand toward the others, silently telling them to wait. Taking a deep breath and holding it, he gripped his M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle and waited… The rifle bucked as he took the shot. Immediately the scout went down.

Groaning slightly as he rose to his feet, he held the weapon loosely as he turned to his 'guests'.

Seeing them lower their weapons, Archangel clearly saw the N7 emblem, finalizing the identity of the man in front of him.

Sitting down on an armrest of a nearby chair, Archangel took off his helmet and leaned on his sniper rifle.

"Shepard," greeted Garrus. "I thought you were dead."

* * *

Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. Taking off his Recon Hood, he smiled at the sight of his old friend. "Garrus! What are you doing here?"

"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice," Garrus said, though the exhaustion was clear in his voice.

Shepard observed the condition of his old teammate. The Colossus Armor he'd bought for him was scratched and dinged, though still well maintained. Garrus himself was breathing a little bit heavy, but eyes remained sharp and responsive. His mandibles were open and closing slowly, a sign that he was happy or relieved.

"You okay?" Shepard asked concern in his voice.

"Been better, but is sure is good to see a friendly face," replied Garrus. "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."

"How'd you manage to piss of every major merc organization in the Terminus Systems?"

"It wasn't easy. I _really_ had to work at it," Garrus joked. "I am amazed that they teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me."

"What are you doing here on Omega?" asked Shepard.

"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel," Garrus answered bitterly. "Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."

"So… since when did you start calling yourself Archangel?" Shepard asked with a smirk.

Garrus laughed. "It's just a name the locals gave me. For all my good deeds." Clearing his throat, he said, "I don't mind it, but please… it's just Garrus to you."

Getting back to business, Shepard stepped forward. "This is Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor. We're here to help Garrus. Getting here was the easy part, but getting out…"

"Not so easy. Yeah, but that bridge has saved my life… funneling all those witless idiots into scope," Garrus informed. Standing up and walking back to the window, he pointed out the disadvantages. "But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."

"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked sarcastically.

"It's not all that bad," Garrus replied calmly. "This place held them off so far. And with the three of you… I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."

Turning his head to face Garrus, Shepard couldn't help but ask, "How'd you let yourself get into this position?"

"My feelings got in the way of my better judgment. It's a long story," Garrus said angrily as he adjusted the scope on his rifle.

Shepard got the distinct impression that Garrus was angry at himself rather than at him.

"I'll make you a deal: you get me out of this alive, and I'll tell you the whole damn thing," Garrus promised.

"I took the liberty of sabotaging some of their equipment. They won't stand a chance against us," Shepard said.

Garrus nodded in approval, "That'll help." Bringing his Viper up, Garrus peered down the scope. "Let's see what they're up too…"

Shepard brought his HMWSR to observe the situation as well. He heard Garrus analyzing the situation. "Hmm… looks like they know their infiltration team failed. See that? Scouts. Eclipse, I think."

Shepard saw the light mechs the Eclipse leader was talking about jump the wall and approach their position. He pulled the trigger and with one shot earned two kills. "More than scouts. A couple less now though."

"Indeed. We'd better get ready."

"Miranda, Jacob. Get downstairs and hold the main entrance. Garrus and I will snipe as many of these bastards as we can. Wait for the heavy, you know what will happen then," Shepard ordered the Cerberus operatives.

"Aye aye, Commander." – "Understood, Shepard."

Garrus walked back to grab his helmet as Shepard slipped on his Recon Hood. "Just like old times, Shepard. Let's give these bastards everything we got!"

Both kneeled at the railing and began picking targets. In tandem, their rifles fired, dropping the lightly armored mechs long before they became a threat.

It wasn't long before the Eclipse mercs ran out hoping that the multitude of mechs would serve as an adequate distraction. Unfortunately for them, Miranda's Overload and Jacob's biotics covering the bridge turned their charge into pandemonium as mechs blew up from the attacks and provided ample opportunity for Shepard and Garrus to pick off targets.

"Ha! Never saw it coming!" Garrus crowed attacking with renewed vigor as the mercs began panicking at the added firepower.

Timing his shots carefully, Shepard fired another round at an engineer. The explosive round easily breached his shields and killed him as well as wounding another.

"_Head's up! They're deploying heavies and snipers!"_ Jacob reported.

Shepard immediately turned toward enemies armed with the rocket launchers. Firing on them, he noted Garrus was aiming for anyone with a sniper rifle, hiding in the barricades.

"_Overloading their systems!"_ Miranda called out.

A group of rifleman was guarding another heavy weapons user. Using Miranda's attack as his signal, Shepard focused on the merc trying to fix the overheated rocket launcher. One shot later, the heavy was dead and the explosive round killed two others.

"_Up you go!" _Jacob called out as two more mercs were airborne. A shotgun blast later and they were tumbling over the side of the bridge, their screams heard all the way from Shepard's position.

In what seemed like no time at all, the mercs were scrambling back behind their barricades to escape the killing grounds.

Shooting an asari Vanguard in the back of the head as she attempted to retreat, Shepard saw his opportunity. "Miranda, Jacob, fall back. They're bringing out the big guns."

Garrus fired another shot, killing another sniper before seeing what Shepard was seeing.

A crane was lifting a deactivated heavy mech over the barricade. Dropping its cargo, the mech immediately activated. Standing up, it began rapid diagnostics on its systems before the sensors on its head glowed red, signaling the mech was ready for combat.

Garrus cursed. "Damn it. They're sending out the heavy mechs."

Shepard merely smirked. "That problem should take care of itself."

Garrus gave him a questioning look, but prepared himself for anything.

The mercs that were retreating came back in full force believing the tides of battle were turning. They jumped the barricade staying behind the mech as it stomped down the bridge. After three steps though, the mech turned around and fired a rocket into a cluster of mercs, killing them instantly.

The Eclipse's elation turned to fear as their YMIR began firing indiscriminately on them.

"Nice…" Garrus commended. He and Shepard took the opportunity to take out any mercs with a rocket launcher that could threaten their new ally as Miranda and Jacob entered the room.

All four of them watched as the YMIR used its rockets to break through the barricade and stomp its way into the building opposite. After the lost visual, they could still see the occasional flashes of muzzle fire as the mech went berserk on the Eclipse.

"Hold position here," Shepard ordered. "Watch carefully."

They waited for a few minutes as the sounds of gunfire and explosions continued at the merc base. Garrus finally spoke up. "What are you watching for?"

"I think the Eclipse is on their own over there," Shepard observed. "If the Blood Pack or Blue Suns were in there, the mech should've been destroyed already."

"Do you have any idea where they are?" Garrus asked.

"There were some tunnels next to the Blood Pack," reminded Miranda. "They're probably coming from under us right now."

"And the Blue Suns have a gunship. They're probably using that to move their troops on top of our position," Jacob added.

Still watching the silhouettes of carnage Shepard summed up their tactical situation. "Blood Pack is coming in from below Blue Suns from above. We may not have to worry about the Blood Pack, but if that gunship is somewhere nearby, we'll never make it across that bridge."

"I thought I took that thing out," Garrus grumbled.

"They fixed it, but not completely. I made sure of that," Shepard said.

After a few more minutes, the Eclipse was running on the bridge again, except they were still firing in the other direction.

"Looks like your YMIR flushed them out," Garrus said before leveling his sniper rifle.

Shepard followed suit and the mercs found themselves in a crossfire as the heavily damaged YMIR limped out of the tunnels.

After firing a shot, Shepard collapsed his sniper rifle and turned to his omni-tool. Activating the self-destruction sequence on the mech, the YMIR exploded with fantastic results. The trapped mercs were caught in the blast, killing or wounding all of them.

"Ouch," Jacob deadpanned.

"Finally got you, you son of a bitch," Garrus suddenly said.

The three humans turned toward the turian as they watched him aim his rifle. A pull of the trigger and a familiar wounded salarian was dead.

"Scoped and dropped," he said with finality. Turning to Shepard, he praised, "You're kicking ass Shepard. They never stood a chance. And I got Jaroth in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard for months."

"The Eclipse leader? Why were you after him?" asked Shepard.

"He's been shipping tainted eezo all over Citadel space. Half the goods I seized back at C-Sec came from his team on Omega," he explained. "I took out a big shipment a while back and killed his top lieutenant in the process. Not surprised he decided to work with the other mercs after that."

"Well, we still have two more groups to deal with. What worries me is that there's no sign of them," warned Shepard.

"We should look for that gunship. If we take it out, we have a…" Garrus started, before an explosion rippled through the building.

"What the hell was that?" Jacob exclaimed.

Turning on his omni-tool, Garrus check his security cameras. "Damn it. Blood Pack's breached the lower levels. Well, they had to use their brains eventually."

"How many entrances from down there?" Shepard asked.

"Two. One's a set of tunnels that I managed to use explosives to seal. It's the largest one, so the bulk of the Blood Pack will be coming from there. You can stop them by sealing the shutter doors though," Garrus answered after checking his omni-tool.

"And the other?" Miranda asked

"Another tunnel, smaller, but I ran out of explosives, so all I could do was seal the doors and block it. If they've managed to breach through those doors, we can hold them off easily, but I'm worried about the larger tunnels," he responded.

"We'll split up, two and two. Jacob, you stay with Garrus and hold the smaller force here. Miranda and I will head for the shutters and stop them. Then, I'll use my grenades and block the entrance. All that should buy us the time needed to get out of here," Shepard commanded.

"You sure? Who knows what you'll find down there," Garrus warned.

"I'm sure," Shepard said confidently.

"If you say so, Commander. I'm not sure this is a good idea…" protested Jacob.

"We'll be fine. Just hold your positions. Let's go Miranda," Shepard said.

"Right behind you, Shepard," Miranda nodded.

The two ran down the stairs and through the door. Down another set of stairs were two doors to the left and right and a shutter in front of them.

With no signs of hostiles, Shepard took his chance to run toward the first shutter while Miranda placed grenades on the stairs and archway. No sooner did he hit the button, did the door down the hall open, revealing several vorcha and a krogan.

Miranda opened fire on them immediately forcing them to take cover in the archway. Shepard added own burst of firepower from his assault rifle. Three vorcha fell to their attack since all the available cover was taken by their owe fellows and the krogan.

An alarm was blaring overhead. "Commencing shutdown" a VI announced. "10 seconds before shutter shutdown."

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Shepard as the krogan and vorcha returned fire and drained a large chunk of their shields. Activating his omni-tool, he slammed on the button, bypassing the safety protocols and bringing the shutter down immediately.

"Well done," Miranda applauded.

They turned to the next door and flanked it. Shepard nodded to Miranda, who then opened the door. Bullets began flying through the archway. Seeing that his shields were charged, Shepard ran into the firepower, unleashing a hail of bullets of his own. His shields drained from the charge, forcing him to slide behind a large crate his chest armor taking a few rounds, but nothing penetrating. The enemies inside began firing on his position as he waited for his shields to regeneration and for a pause in their fire.

"Deploying tech overload!" he heard Miranda say. Chancing a look, he saw the combustible crates she'd been targeting explode, scattering their foes.

Taking the offensive Shepard ran from his cover as Miranda entered the room. Both were laying down suppressing fire on the Blood Pack as they scrambled to get their bearings. Tearing through the first wave, the second began firing, forcing the protagonists to cover. Shepard threw a grenade at the advancing vorcha and waited as the explosion killed a few. Moving forward, heard a growling just before a varren turned a corner and jumped, jaws snapping. Its teeth sunk into Shepard's left gauntlet and they both went down.

"Shepard!" Miranda called out. She moved to assist, but the two more Blood Pack vorcha started shooting, forcing her to fall back behind some more crates.

The varren twisted, trying to break through the ceramic plates inside the Heavy Damping Gauntlet. Reaching down to his hip, Shepard drew his knife and rammed it into the underbelly of the varren, forcing it to let go as it howled in agony. Taking the momentary advantage, he reached up to grab the varren's head and twisted sharply as hard as he could. Satisfied at the wet crack of broken vertebrae, Shepard grabbed another grenade and tossed it at the attacking vorcha.

They ran from the explosion, giving Shepard the opportunity to reclaim his HMWAR and jump back into the fight.

"Ahhh!"

Shepard turned immediately to his right and saw Miranda on the ground, another varren biting her leg. Miranda drew her pistol and sat up, abruptly pulling her armored leg and the varren toward her body. Reaching out she grabbed varren with her left hand and pressed the barrel of her pistol into the varren's head with her right. Four shot's later, and she was cursing as she grabbed her Pulse Rifle and readied herself as Shepard covered her.

Firing on the vorcha and keeping an eye out for more varren, Miranda and Shepard alternated their attacks, one covering, while the other moved to the next piece of defilade. Vorcha were vicious and ruthless, but all could agree, they were not clever. In the face of the apparently randomizing attacks, brute force fell to tactics. Grenades, cloak, tech and biotics were used in conjunction with bullets. Shepard and Miranda pressed their attack, but soon found themselves at an equal disadvantage when they approached the shutter doors. Getting close means they were funneled and easy targets, just much as they were firing at the door, holding enemy reinforcements back.

"Shields down!" Shepard reported, as a krogan used his shotgun to break through the lines.

Blood Pack tended to use brute force over technology, so they lacked kinetic barriers, preferring armor instead. Miranda's Warp brought the krogan to his knees as his armor failed and the unstable dark energy began tearing him up.

"Cover me!" Shepard called out as he decided to use his newest heavy weapon. Shepard hoped that the Requisitions Officer wasn't embellishing about the M-490 Blackstorm Projector.

With his shields only charged at 50%, he rose up and pulled the trigger. A humming sound issued from within the weapon as a buildup of energy amassed at the barrel. Miranda fired at anyone that was aiming at Shepard, her shields failing as other vorcha tried to suppress her.

Three seconds later, a black ball of a few bits of matter encased in a high-mass increasing field launched out of the barrel. The near-infinite mass of energy slowly crossed the battlefield and through the doorway. About five feet away from Shepard's position did the sphere reach critical levels and began exhibiting characteristics of a black hole. Any Blood Pack that was unfortunate enough to be in the way was crushed to a bloody pulp as the miniature black hole crushed them. Others, only slightly less fortunate found themselves being pulled by the gravitational field it emitted.

Vorcha howled and screamed as they clawed the ground or grabbed onto anything to escape. Those that tried immediately became Miranda's focus as she fired on them mercilessly.

Staying away from the monster he created, Shepard sidestepped the direct approach and ran around some crates to reach the button. The singularity had stopped traveling in the middle of the hallway and began fluctuating violently, still pulling as many Blood Pack as it could into its event horizon. Feeling the pull of the projection, Shepard slammed his omni-tool on the button, causing the shutter to slam instantly.

"Run!" Shepard yelled to Miranda.

Without questioning him, she immediately ran in the opposite direction of the shutter, Shepard hot on her heels. Moments later, a thunderous explosion rocked the room and shutter dented, but held.

"What the hell was that?!" Miranda shouted as they returned to the main junction.

"My new favorite toy," Shepard said fondly as he put the Blackstorm away and pulled out his assault rifle.

"That's not what I…" Miranda's diatribe was cut off as Jacob radioed.

"_Blood Pack broke through the doors! They're coming in!"_

"We got one more shutter! Hold them off!" Shepard commanded. Turning to Miranda, he said, "Come on!"

The next hallway was littered with debris on the ground, some going waist high. Blood Pack merc were already there, climbing over. They looked up in surprise before the humans began running them down with their assault rifles firing simultaneously.

Leaping over the debris, Shepard rounded the corner at the end of the hall, only to jump back at the last second as a vorcha wielding a flamethrower ate away at his shields, almost breaking through them.

Pulling his second-to-last grenade, Shepard threw it around the corner, the fire bringing his shields down, but the armor holding against the flames. The grenade went off followed by a second explosion from the gas tanks of the flamethrower.

Miranda rounded the corner first this time firing through the doorway at the end of the tunnel. "More Blood Pack!" she reported as she took cover.

Shepard smiled underneath his mask as he collapsed his rifle and brought out his Blackstorm again. Behind her transparent face plate, Miranda smiled too. She jumped out of cover to use her biotics before laying down suppressing fire. Shepard followed and the familiar hum began again as the heavy weapon began charging…

* * *

Garrus stayed on the second floor, firing at all the vorcha coming through the door. Jacob stayed on the bottom floor crouched behind a pillar near the stairs, his shotgun still smoking from the last kill.

Their numbers had long since proved themselves as they flooded past the door were now firing on Garrus' and Jacob's positions.

Jacob popped out of cover to lift a charging krogan in the air. Helpless against the biotic's influence, the krogan roared in anger, firing his weapon wildly at anything, even his own men. The boom of a sniper rifle shot silenced his protests.

"Is that all you got?!" Jacob yelled defiantly as he used his Eviscerator's ability to punch through armor in conjunction with his incendiary rounds to rip through the Blood Pack ranks.

Garm and his men stepped into the room, crying out battle cries as they firing at anything not krogan or vorcha. "Raaah! Rip them to shreds!"

The boom of a sniper shot caused Garm to look to his right as a vorcha fell with a hole in its head. Turing to his left he spotted Garrus on the second floor.

"Watch my back," he ordered to everyone still alive. "I'll deal with Archangel!"

Before he took two steps, two more vorcha fell dead as Miranda and Shepard arrived.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Garm roared.

* * *

Taking cover, Shepard began firing at the varren charging toward Jacob. Once dead, he looked to see two krogan ascending the stairs toward Garrus.

"Aim for the krogan!" Shepard shouted, before leveling his assault rifle at one and fired.

Jacob called on his biotics and arced dark energy from around his cover and to the attacking krogan. One was lifted in the air, but the other glowed with similar dark energy, resisting the attack.

"One of those motherfuckers has a barrier!" Jacob reported, putting his focus the krogan in the air.

_Damn it! Battlemaster!_ Shepard thought. "Cover me!"

Pulling out his shotgun, Shepard danced between various covers he tried to get to Garrus.

"_Garm's got me pinned down. I need help with this guy, Shepard!"_

Pulling out his last grenade, Shepard threw it at the highest concentration of vorcha he could see. After the explosion, Shepard took the opportunity to run for the stairs as Miranda and Jacob began their offensive.

Running down the hall and into Garrus' room, he saw Garm firing at Garrus' cover, trying to flush him out.

Unloading his shotgun at Garm's back, Shepard abandoned finesse or tactics in favor of brute force in an effort to break through Garm's barrier.

Garm turned around as Shepard approached, his barrier finally failing. Firing his own shotgun, both men appeared to try to make their battle an endurance contest, whose shield would last. Shepard would win though; both knew it, he fired first and he was equipped with the superior weaponry. The moment Garm's barrier fell, Shepard's next shot peppered his armor, the next tore out a chunk of his leg. Roaring, Garm fired again, this time, breaking Shepard's shield. Thrusting out an arm, dark energy rammed into Shepard, flinging him across the room and against the wall, his shotgun dropped.

Sliding down painfully, spots danced across his vision from the impact, though the armor managed to mitigate most of the damage. As the Spectre struggled to his feet, he blurrily saw Garrus firing frantically at the krogan with an assault rifle as the krogan fired from his shotgun, his wounds already stopped bleeding.

The medical exoskeleton kicked in, flooding Shepard with painkillers. Shaking his head, Shepard tried focusing his mind and clearing out the cobwebs as he swayed on his feet. Clutching his head from the sudden vertigo, he saw his arm glow with the telltale sign of biotics.

Desperate enough to try, Shepard locked his focus on Garm and thrust out his arm. His biotic retaliation struck Garm in his back, making the large krogan cry out in surprise as he flew into the bunk beds lining the walls in the room.

A sickening crack was heard as Garm's arm was caught against the post of one of the beds before he landed painfully in a heap. Struggling to stand, he was helpless as Garrus used this advantage to shoot straight into his unprotected head.

Firing a few more times to ensure the krogan wouldn't get up, Garrus nodded gratefully Shepard.

Giving nod of his own, Shepard scooped up his dropped shotgun and radioed his team. "All finished down there?"

"We got them, Commander," Miranda's voice said from the doorway. She and Jacob entered no worse for wear.

"You okay, Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"I'm fine, Shepard. My shields held. What about you though? You took a hard hit," Garrus said, his mandibles fluttering.

"I'm alright, but I'm sure going to feel it in the morning," Shepard replied. "At least nothing was broken."

"Thanks for the help, Shepard. We managed to take out Garm and his Blood Pack. This day gets better and better," Garrus said with a smile. "He was one tough son of a bitch."

"You fought with him before?" Shepard asked while twisting his torso, trying to alleviate some of the pain.

"Yeah, we tangled once. Caught him alone. None of his gang to help him." Garrus shook his head. "Still couldn't take him out. I've never seen a krogan regen that fast. He's a freak of nature. He just kept at it until his vorcha showed up. It was close, but I had to let him go."

Garrus smiled again. "Not this time."

Walking to the railing and at the open door with all the dead Blood Pack mercs, Shepard suggested, "With the Blood Pack gone, the tunnels are clear. We could use those to escape and avoid the gunship and the Blue Suns altogether."

"I think you're right. Tarak's got the toughest group. We can rig some explosives on the way out. When they try to get inside the building, we'll…" Garrus was interrupted by the sounds of a Mantis Gunship soaring by the window. "Damn it!"

"Everyone down!" Shepard ordered.

The gunship fired through the windows as everyone hid behind pillars or the doorway. Pausing for a moment, the ship weaved back and forth searching for targets. Everyone held their positions, except Jacob who pulled his rocket launcher. Jumping from cover Jacob fired, the rocket locking onto the gunship and striking the side. The ship took off, flying up toward the roof.

Shepard took opportunity to use his omni-tool and detonate the grenade attached to the belly. Moments after the explosion, screams were heard. Everyone looked out of the window to see several Blue Suns mercs holding onto scorched ropes as they fell to their deaths.

Jacob couldn't help but laugh. "Nice one, Commander!"

Garrus' omni-tool beeped. Checking it, he cursed. "They're rappelling down the side wall! Ground floor!"

"Stay up here and provide cover fire, I'll move to the other balcony while Miranda and Jacob deal with them downstairs."

Garrus nodded, heading toward the railing.

The humans ran through the doorway. Shepard stopped and pulled out his sniper rifle as the Cerberus operatives ran down the stairs and took defensive positions.

They didn't wait long. Blue Suns came bursting through the windows, firing blindly into the room. Jacob launched a biotic attack the lifted one of the mercs into the air before he entered. He floated away from any ropes or ledges before falling.

Miranda waited as Shepard and Garrus began firing on the Blue Suns, forcing them to huddle together in the middle behind a counter. Engaging her omni-tool, she struck the center of the group, overloading their shields and weapons.

Taking advantage of the fact that their shields were down, Shepard called on his new abilities and arced his biotic attack toward the mercs. They were pushed away from cover, leaving them open to Garrus' and Jacob's follow up attack.

Ducking behind his railing again, Shepard saw the contrails of missiles just before they detonated against the wall next to him, draining his shields, but thankfully leaving him unharmed.

Aiming his rifle, he targeted the one reloading and fired, killing her and injuring another as their shields failed to protect them from the powerful rifle.

This time, Jacob used his biotics and soon the hapless heavy was flying near his fellows. He suddenly exploded as Miranda's Warp detonated against Jacob's Pull, killing the others.

* * *

Garrus surveyed the scene below, but there were no more mercs left alive.

The Mantis Gunship reappeared at the window to his left.

"Archangel!" Tarak yelled through the ship's microphones.

Garrus turned his rifle toward the Mantis' engine intake, hoping to disable it again.

Unfortunately, he was too slow this time. The heavy guns of the Mantis tore through his shields and into his armor. The high caliber bullets brought Garrus down, but the Colossus Armor held up against the worst of the onslaught. Crawling to cover as fast as he could, Garrus felt the rounds penetrate as dozens of bullets began striking vulnerable flesh.

"You think you can screw with the Blue Suns!" Tarak roared.

As Garrus leaned against a pillar in the side of the room, he heard Tarak scream. "This ends now!"

Looking around his cover, he saw the gunship hover in different position. _Missiles!_

Leaping as fast from his cover as his wounds would let him, the missile screamed into the room and then, everything went black.

* * *

Shepard ran into the room and slid into cover. "GARRUS!"

Garrus lay face down unmoving, his lifeblood pouring out of numerous wounds.

The gunship began firing bullets into the room again as Miranda and Jacob took cover at the doorway.

"Jacob! Bring that bastard down!!" Shepard yelled.

Waiting for the gunship to pause, Jacob took his shots, the rapid fire of the ML-77 Missile Launcher striking the gunship over and over.

Engaging his Tactical Cloak, Shepard left his cover and aimed his HMWSR Sniper Rifle at the gunship. The gunship jerked side to side as Jacob continued to fire missiles at it. Miranda joined into the fray, her Pulse Rifle adding to the cacophony of combat.

Shepard kept still, waiting for his shot, but the ship was moving too fast. Focusing, Shepard pushed as much synthetic adrenaline into his body as he could safely.

He could hear his heart beating rapidly. But his mind felt everything slowing down.

Focusing, he could see the missiles from Jacob's attack.

Focusing, he could see the tracers from Miranda's gunfire.

Focusing, he could see the pilot inside the Mantis, windshield broken from a missile strike.

Shepard put the scope of his rifle over his eye. Sounds began to slip away, save for the thumping of his heart.

Focusing, the movements of the Mantis seemed to slow to a crawl.

Focusing, he put the crosshair of the rifle on the pilot.

Focusing, he could see all four of the batarians eyes. He slid the crosshair over the top left one.

Focusing, he squeezed the trigger.

The sound of his shot was deafening, pulling Shepard away from his trance. The sudden rush of sights and sounds contrasted sharply with the tunnel vision Shepard forced himself into. Slightly disoriented, he saw the gunship go down in a tailspin, Tarak dead when the explosive round entered his head and detonated. The siege was over.

Collapsing his rifle, Shepard ripped off his Recon Hood as he approached Garrus' body. "Garrus? Garrus! Wake up!" he called out, lightly touching the turian's shoulder.

Garrus gasped, his eyes snapping open, moving erratically as his breathing came in short bursts. His right hand clutched the barrel of his rifle.

"Garrus! Quick get some medigel on these wounds! Hurry!" Shepard told the others. Turning to his friend, he called out, "Hold on! Garrus! We're getting you out of here! Just hold on!"

Miranda began scanning the wounds as she applied medigel on the worst she could find.

"Radio the Normandy! Make sure Dr. Chakwas is ready for us!" Shepard told Jacob.

"Normandy! We have wounded down here, send a shuttle for immediate pick up! Tell Dr. Chakwas to be ready. Multiple gunshot wounds and burns!" Jacob called into his radio.

* * *

Darkness and light both struggled for dominance in his vision as Garrus struggled to breathe. Dimly, he heard panicked voiced echoing in his mind.

"_Mulit… shot…ds. Blee… ne… ilize…!"_

Everything hurt at first, but now it seemed like a distant memory.

"_Can… lp… Chakwas…"_

Another voice joined the chorus. Another memory.

"_Yo… be… fin… us… Tha… order!"_

Orders… He'd never been one to follow orders well. His superiors in the turian military… Chellick and Pallin in C-Sec… Even his own father… There has been one man whose orders he did follow though. For some reason, his orders seemed to make sense. His orders demanded respect, and yet, they seemed to have earned it just as equally. Garrus never seemed to have trouble follow his orders despite the dangers, despite the odds, or despite the opposition…

He was talking, **ordering**, again. Garrus strained to hear the words clearly this time. _"Do you hear me, Garrus?! You're going to be fine! That's an order!"_

An order… Garrus never minded following his orders, despite questioning them on occasion. He always had his reasons, he always shared them, and he never flaunted his authority… because he cared about the lives of the people under him more than most, followed his own orders, and followed his own code. He followed his own people into the same dangers without hesitating…

"Yes, sir," Garrus rasped out, managing to acknowledge Commander Shepard's orders, before the darkness overcame the light and he heard no more.

* * *

***Encrypted***

_**Dossier: Archangel Mission Report**_

_Extracted Archangel from mercenary siege and recruited him for the team._

_Unclear whether injury to Archangel will impair his ability to assist in the mission._

_Regardless, revelation of identity as Garrus Vakarian useful in keeping Shepard comfortable._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Some more minor changes to some weapons. Before anyone cries foul, suppressors do exist in Mass Effect. In the book _Mass Effect: Revelation_, Anderson, who was a lieutenant at the time, used a silencer on a pistol to infiltrate a base to rescue someone. He killed two guards with it.

I figure an Infiltrator with the ability to vanish using optic camo should have the ability to use silencers.

Also, knives. Marines carry knives. Soldiers carry knives. Even airmen carry knives. In Call of Duty 4, they use knives. So, hell yes, in ME, people carry knives.

BTW, Soldiers, different from Marines. For the Army, they're called soldiers. The Marines are called the Marines. Ask them. They'll say the same.

Credit for the inspiration of suppressors, knives, and the Mozambique Drill goes to Havoc-legionnaire. Thanks.

With regards to the Blackstorm, I wanted its gravity sucking power to be a bit delayed. If it could suck people in immediately, then every time you shoot that thing, you should get sucked in. Makes for a crappy weapon in novel terms.

Next, shields. In ME lore, they're designed to stop bullets or any object traveling at a certain speed. Physical attacks aren't stopped by shields, too slow. Punches, kicks, and knife attacks are blocked by armor. Also, shields are generated a certain distance away from the body. Put a gun at point blank range, and you bypass shields entirely.

Finally, Shepard's biotics. I know he learned Push in a few hours. Consider this though, you play a soldier in ME1, no biotics whatsoever. Then, you import the save file into ME2, and change your class to adept, where you don't use any guns. It's like Shepard can't remember how to shoot an assault rifle, but he can sling biotics like he's been doing it all his life. WTH? I have a simple explanation for his ability to learn next chapter. It is simple and it might piss a few people off. I hope you all bear with me.

As always, I look forward to any comments or criticisms.

Interlude II is coming up soon.


	7. Interlude II

**_Location: Normandy_**

After being ejected from the medical bay and the windows opaque, Shepard stomped around the Com Room for a while. The Captain's Cabin felt too cramped and far.

Five hours since they brought Garrus in and no word. The lack of news frustrated Shepard, bringing a kind of nervous energy. After everything Garrus and he fought through, Shepard had refused vehemently that a merc gunship would be enough to bring the turian down. Not wanting the crew to see their commanding officer in such a state, Shepard sequestered himself in the only available open space. Miranda had stayed for a bit to assess the situation before leaving for her office to report to the Illusive Man and Jacob had some knowledge of advanced first aid. Dr. Chakwas enlisted him as her assistant to stabilize Garrus for the first two hours, before ejecting him too. Afterword, Jacob stayed in the Common Area, promising Shepard that he would let him know if there was anything that changed.

The door opened and Shepard snapped his head up. Jacob walked in, but after seeing the look in Shepard's eyes, decided to give him the update from across the table.

"Well?" Shepard demanded as he placed his hands on the table.

Jacob mimicked Shepard's actions, his face serious. "Commander. We've done what we could for Garrus, but he took some bad hits. Dr. Chakwas corrected what she could with surgery and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…"

The door opened again, both men turned to see Miranda entering. "Commander, there's someone that would like to see you," she said, smiling.

Garrus walked in from behind Miranda. "Shepard," he said, nodding.

Jacob looked impressed. Letting out small laugh, he commented, "Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet."

The right side of Garrus' face was badly scarred, extending from his ear, underneath the eye, and down the mandible and jaw. Bandages covered most of the damage though. His armor looked to be in the same condition. Gaping holes in the abdomen, the collar was chipped, cracked, and broken in some places. Several scorch marks lined the areas where he took the hardest hits.

Still, he looked to be in good spirits though.

Garrus stepped into the room. "Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" he asked in a pseudo-serious tone.

Shepard crossed his arms and smiled. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some more face-paint there and no one will even notice."

Garrus laughed, and then groaned in pain. "Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is." He shook his head. "Ah, probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it."

Shepard could only laugh.

Jacob snapped off a smart salute, before excusing himself. Miranda eyed Garrus before turning to Shepard. "Dr. Chakwas extremely discourages her patient to be out of the medical bay this soon. She recommended that she keep an eye on him for at least four more hours."

"I'm fine," Garrus protested.

"Until the painkillers wear off," Miranda countered. Sighing, she told Shepard, "I'll arrange for him to have the proper security clearance on board the Normandy."

"Make sure he has officer's clearance," Shepard added. "I trust him."

"Understood, Commander," she acknowledged before leaving.

As soon as the doors closed, Garrus' jovial tone changed to business. "Frankly, I'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard? You remember those sick experiments they were doing?"

"That's why I'm glad you're here, Garrus. If I'm walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side," responded Shepard.

Garrus gave a small chuckle. "You realize this plan has me walking to hell, too. Hah, just like old times."

"Considering that you fought against Saren and Sovereign and the mercs on the Omega, hell should be something you're used to," joked Shepard.

Turning serious, Shepard said, "You should report back to the medical bay. No buts," when Garrus opened his mouth to protest. "Let Dr. Chakwas get her four hours. Miranda has to include you into the Normandy crew roster anyway and get security clearance. Until then, you'll have nothing to do for a while anyway."

Tapping his omni-tool, Shepard sent the dossiers to Garrus, along with the specifics of his current mission. "Some light reading while you're being checked out. The mission I'm on right now." Looking up at Garrus, he continued, "First thing tomorrow, we're going back to Omega. I want you as healthy as possible."

Garrus checked his omni-tool. After a few minutes he looked up at Shepard. "The Collectors?"

Shepard nodded.

"What's Cerberus' take on this anyway?" Garrus asked suspiciously.

"I don't know yet," Shepard admitted. "The Illusive Man wants something, I'm sure of it. The problem is… he plays everything close to the vest. For now, he's provided me the resources to fight this threat, so I'm going along for now. But I don't believe for a moment that he's discovered his altruistic side."

Shaking his head, Shepard patted Garrus on the shoulder. "Just be ready, okay? Now, report to Dr. Chakwas."

Garrus nodded. As they both left the Briefing Room, Shepard added, "And Garrus? I'm glad you're okay."

* * *

Sitting down for dinner, Shepard watched the now transparent windows of the medical bay. Chakwas was running her omni-tool over Garrus while the turian sat there looking like he'd rather be back on Omega than doing nothing.

Turning his gaze across the table, Shepard addressed Jacob. "I need a favor."

Jacob looked up from his meal. "Anything, Commander."

"After you finish, I need you to go back into Omega and buy some new armor for Garrus. Best you can find, on the regular or black market. Illusive Man's footing the bill, right?" he requested.

"I can do that," Jacob nodded.

"Do you need backup? Omega's a rough place," warned Shepard.

"Oh, I know. One wrong step and you could get shot in the leg," Jacob joked.

Rolling his eyes, but smiling, Shepard conceded. "Fine, but full armor and…"

"Weapons. I got it, Commander. Anything else?"

Miranda sat down at their table at that moment as Shepard was thinking.

"Whatever materials you need to upgrade Garrus' weapons too, if you can find it," he said after a moment. "I don't expect you to burn through the night working though. Just a few tweaks. Garrus will be coming with us tomorrow when we recruit Mordin. And one last thing, get some food supplies suitable for turians to eat. MREs or raw goods. I'll have a chat with the mess sergeant about the menu."

"Gotcha, Commander," Jacob said, before returning to his meal.

"I have to say, Shepard. Your biotics today were very impressive," Miranda said during the pause in conversation. "You've come very far in such a short time."

"You check Dr. Chakwas' report on my amps?" asked Shepard.

She nodded, but her brow knitted in confusion as she said, "There's nothing that I could find that would explain your sudden talent." Sighing, she said aloud to herself, "I just can't explain it…"

"Maybe the Commander is a biotic savant or something. Maybe it just comes natural," inputted Jacob.

"It can't be as simple as that," she argued. She shook her head, "Well, I managed to finish my operations report. If you're able Commander, perhaps we can continue with your lessons after dinner? Say… one hour?"

"It's fine with me. It came in handy today. Learning more can only help," he replied as he ate.

Joker hobbled toward their table and sat down. "Hey, we got Garrus back! That's great, because he was totally my favorite… with that pole up his ass."

Jacob nearly choked on his drink that last statement.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Considering that we found him fighting waves of mercenaries out for his blood, I'd like to think that Garrus has changed a bit."

Joker nodded as he ate. "Yeah, you're probably right. It seems like Garrus has finally worked that stick out of his butt, but now he's trying to beat guys to death with it. I can't believe I like the old Garrus better."

Jacob burst out laughing. "I think Garrus is going to do just fine on this mission then." Turning to Joker, he asked, "So what do you think of me?"

"The truth?" Joker asked. Jacob nodded. "I think you're way too nice a guy for all the ways you know how to kill people."

Jacob laughed again and clapped Joker on the shoulder. "I can see why you like this guy, Commander. What about Miranda here?"

Miranda looked up when she heard her name and gave Joker a neutral stare.

"Um… I wouldn't say anything bad about Miranda and expect to survive the reprisal," Joker said nervously.

Nodding in acceptance, Miranda returned to her dinner as Jacob laughed again.

Picking up his empty tray, Jacob stood up while chuckling. "I'll see you in the morning. Miranda, Joker, Commander," said Jacob as he tilted his head to each of them.

"Whoa, hey! You're not gonna say anything to Garrus, right?" Joker asked Jacob's retreating form.

Jacob only smiled and shook his head as he gave his dishes to the mess sergeant and began his preparations to go back to Omega.

"Don't worry Joker, I'll tell him," Shepard suddenly said, keeping a stoic face as he ate.

Joker turned around to face Shepard with a look of horror. "You wouldn't!"

"That was a joke," Shepard deadpanned, smiling at his look of panic.

Relaxing, Joker gave Shepard a glare as he began eating again.

"How's the new Normandy treating you, Joker?" Shepard started in a conversational tone.

The helmsman's eyes lit up. "Oh, man. I really want the chance to put the Normandy through her paces."

"Dodging asteroids wasn't enough for you Mr. Moreau?" Miranda asked.

"Pffft. That's nothing," Joker scoffed. "I had to trim up the drive output a bit. Once we leave Omega, I want to see if it worked. It'll be like we never lost her."

EDI's avatar appeared. "Safety standards advise against manipulating drive settings while the engines are powered and in use Mr. Moreau," EDI reminded.

"I know! You said that the first time!" Joker complained. He turned to Shepard, "Commander, can we shut this thing off? I don't need it in my day-to-day."

"I like her, actually. She's been a lot of help already," Shepard admitted.

"Wha…! You can't be serious?" Joker looked horrified again at Shepard's statement.

"Sorry, Joker. You're gonna be stuck with her."

"Yeah, until I find a soldering gun. There's got to be some wires I can cross to make it hurt," he grumbled.

"No sabotage. Understood?" Shepard said in a semi-serious tone.

Joker sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Don't break the boss' toys."

"I see," EDI suddenly said.

"See what?" Miranda asked the AI.

"What Mr. Moreau said. According to Commander Shepard, that was a joke," EDI announced before vanishing.

Everyone shared confused looks, before shrugging off the off the strange incident and returned to their meals.

Finishing with his dinner, Shepard collected his tray and got up. As he approached the sergeant, one the crewman, Hawthorne, called out. "Rupert! There's something different about tonight's meal. Seems you put in more food and less ass."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking," Rupert sarcastically said.

"Thanks for dinner, sergeant," Shepard said as he deposited his tray.

"Glad you liked it Commander. Calamari Gumbo. Truth be told, it's based off an asari recipe. Seems cannibalistic with their tentacle heads and all, but they sure know how to make good grub," Rupert confided.

"Do you know anything about turian foods?" asked Shepard.

"Hmm… nope. Can't say I do, Commander," he admitted.

"I need you to learn then. See him there," Shepard pointed at the medical bay, where Garrus was resting. "He's a good friend of mine. He was there when I first became a Spectre. He was there when I hunted Saren down and he was there at the Battle of the Citadel."

"I gotcha, Commander. I look into extranet sites tonight to see what I can cook up," Rupert acknowledged.

"Good. Chief Taylor is bringing the supplies you'll need. Keep up the good work."

Leaving the Crew Deck and toward the lift, Shepard almost bumped into Kelly as she was entering.

"Oh! Sorry, Commander," she apologized.

"Its fine, Kelly," Shepard said easily.

"I have the incident report ready for you. I also forwarded a copy to Executive Lawson," she reported.

"Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Shepard asked.

"Besides our newest crew member, there's really nothing to note," answered Kelly. She glanced at the medical bay, before turning her attention back to Shepard, her expression worried. "How's our newest turian crew member doing? His injuries looked painful."

Shepard waved off her concern. "He's a soldier. It'll take a lot more than that to keep him down."

Kelly face took on a wistful look. "There's something about him. I just want to hold him close and whisper, 'It will be all right',"

Shepard couldn't help but laugh at the mental image. "I think that will make him more uncomfortable than his injuries, Kelly."

She sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"Enjoy your dinner," Shepard dismissed.

"Good evening, Commander," she said.

* * *

Stepping into the docking bay, Shepard saw a few crewmen salute him from the gym. Nodding his head in reply, he made his way over to them as they returned to their workout.

"Good evening, Commander," Gabby greeted, before taking a drink.

"Evening, Gabby," Shepard returned as he looked over the various weights.

"How's your friend doing?" Ken asked as he sat up from the weight bench.

"Pretty good. He's up and about already," answered Shepard. Grabbing a 10 lbs. weight, Shepard nodded to both of them before carrying it toward the center of the room where he trained his biotics.

Placing it on the floor, Shepard stepped several feet away and closed his eyes. Breathing slowly, he recalled the sensations he felt every time he called upon the eezo modules along his arm.

To the amazement of his audience, Shepard began glowing the dark energies biotics continuously called on. All of them stopped and watched as their commanding officer was surrounded by a thin layer of purple-blue ribbons of energy.

After several minutes of concentration, slowly going through the steps Jacob and Miranda taught him, Shepard began feeling a powerful tingling sensation up and down his right arm. The same arm he used when he executed Throw. It felt uncomfortable as first, painful, similar to needles being poked into his skin, causing his arm to twitch erratically. But as he slowly explored the feeling, the pain receded. A warmer feeling seemed to occur, as he acutely became aware of the nerves in his arm. They felt like they seemed to hum or vibrate or resonate within.

_My eezo modules_ Shepard distantly realized.

Carefully shifting his focus, he turned his attention toward other parts of his body. The pain returned, more intense, his nervous system protesting against their new roles, but he gritted his teeth and focused harder. Soon the pain was massaged away, giving room for something akin to pleasure. The warm feeling returned as other parts of his body. Something alien, yet familiar began to sing back to him.

The crewmen watched, enraptured by the display before them. Biotics were uncommon, so most had never seen anything like what they were seeing now. The ribbons of power that seemed to only dance across Shepard's body, grew in intensity. They seemed to throb and pulse, spreading and extending away from the Spectre, his aura illuminating the room with unnatural light.

Crewman Matthews found himself stunned by the sight, having never seen a biotic before. Ultimately, the barbell he was holding eventually slipped from his slack fingers, crashing onto the deck, the sudden sound startling all inside.

Shepard gasped as he lost control. The dark energy around him vanished and the pleasurable sensations turned to pain as his element zero modules reacted poorly to the sudden change in electrical current. Kneeling on the floor and groaning, his nerves seemed to scream from the backlash. Shepard gritted his teeth again to prevent the string of curses on the tip of his tongue.

"Oh damn. I'm sorry, Commander!" apologized Matthews as he ran up to his commanding officer. "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the medical bay?" Matthews asked alarmed.

His body tingling pins and needles, Shepard shook his head. Slowly standing up, he leveled a glance at the crewman. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I just overdid it, that's all," he reassured.

Already, the feelings were fading, though Shepard had to resist a shiver or two. "As you were," he ordered to the various crewmen around him.

Matthews apologized a few more times, while several words of acknowledgment were said as they all returned to their business. A few people were chastising Matthews for his mistake as they walked away.

Despite the abrupt and painful end, Shepard smiled at his revelation. Even as the sensations left, he was still aware of the modules throughout his body. Looking at the weight he left a few feet away, he collected himself. Flexing his left arm, he felt the eezo modules respond to his will. Recalling Kaidan's and Jacob's movements, Shepard brought his arm from the ground and into the air. Dark energy streaked toward his intended target. 10 lbs. of metal rose into the air swiftly, floating as if it was trapped in zero-g. Unfortunately, the disk flew around randomly and Shepard had no idea how to control it. Releasing his control, the weight fell back onto the deck with solid thud, bouncing as few times before coming to a rest.

"How…?" a feminine voice said behind him.

Turning around, Shepard saw the shocked look on Miranda's face.

"How… how did you do that?" Instead of shock or praise, Miranda's question had a more severe tone to it.

Unsure what he'd done to earn her ire, Shepard answered, "I just put the lessons you and Jacob taught me together. Just like before. This time, I just copied the same physical movements I saw Kaidan or Jacob do. That's it."

"That's all? A few hours of lessons and you're already using manipulating mass effect fields?" she snapped. "You haven't had any training prior?"

"I wasn't a biotic before," Shepard said sternly. He had no idea why Miranda would be angry, but wasn't going to allow her snap at him when he'd done nothing wrong.

Miranda glared at him. "Did Jacob give you any extra lessons? Any instructions that he failed to inform me about?"

"No. Why the hell are you so angry?" Shepard fired back.

The various crewmen stopped their activities again, watching the events unfold before them.

Miranda turned her attention to the people watching and ordered, "Return to your duties. Now!"

They complied immediately, shouting an assortment of "Yes, ma'am!" or "Aye aye!"

Within seconds, the docking bay was empty save for the commanding and executive officers locking horns. Both glared at each other, a contest of will and pride.

"Where did you learn to do this? It takes years for anyone to grasp even the basics!" Miranda hissed.

"I focused my mind like you said. I remembered the nerve conduction exercises like Jacob said. I put two and two together and came up with four. That's what you've been teaching me!" Shepard answered loudly. "Why are you so worked up about this?"

"Because you **shouldn't** be able to do this! Even **I** can't do it!" Miranda yelled back. "There has to be something you're doing to make this happen. Extranet resources? EDI? Red sand?"

Shepard eyes widened at the accusation. Stepping closer and using the size difference to stare down Miranda, he brought his face so close to hers that their noses were almost touching.

"You've got a lot of nerve to accuse me like that," he growled.

Miranda held her ground, unflinching. Her breathing was heavy with suppressed anger. At what, Shepard still didn't know.

"Fine," she snarled. "Since you're making so much progress on your own, I suppose I don't have to waste my time teaching you."

Turning on her heel and muttering about men and their idiocy in general no matter the species, she walked away angrily, though Shepard couldn't help but note that she still did it gracefully.

"What the hell was that?" he asked aloud to the empty room after she'd gone.

"It appears that Operative Lawson is frustrated by something," EDI answered, assuming Shepard was asking her. It was a psychological fact that talking to oneself was a sign of mental instability.

"Frustrated? Why would she be frustrated? Hell, I'm frustrated right now and I have a damned good reason!" Shepard ranted at the AI.

"I cannot speculate as to Operative Lawson's mental reasoning. I merely observed her behavioral changes," replied EDI.

"Okay, what changes?" Shepard said, trying to rein in his temper.

"At dinner, Operative Lawson remained quite civil with you. Even recommending that your biotic lessons continue and scheduling a time. After dinner, she appeared calm with no behavioral abnormalities as she entered the lift and descended to the Engineering Deck. Her demeanor only changed when she entered the cargo bay," recited EDI.

"When did she enter the cargo bay… no wait. What was I doing when she entered the cargo bay?" Shepard asked, a suspicion growing in his mind.

"You were using the biotic ability known as Pull or Lift on the 10 lbs. disk," EDI answered.

Shepard recalled his conversation with Miranda yesterday.

_"It's very thorough. Physically, I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly and I'll likely live half again as long as the average human. My biotic abilities are also very advanced… for a human," she explained with a shrug. "Add to that some of the best training and education money can buy and, well, it's pretty impressive, really."_

_"Sounds like you were designed to be perfect," Shepard commented._

"Shit," Shepard groaned.

* * *

Moving swiftly through the short hallway on Deck 3, Shepard stopped in front of Miranda's office. The console in the center of the door was red instead of the usual green, signifying that she had locked it. Thankfully, as commanding officer of the Normandy, no doors were locked to him.

Using his omni-tool and overriding the console, he opened the door and stepped brazenly in; despite the glare Miranda leveled his way.

"The door was locked for a reason," she coldly said from behind her table.

Shepard merely raised an eyebrow, before closing the door behind him and locking it. "And now it's locked again," he calmly pointed out.

Taking a seat in front of her desk, Shepard decided the direct approach was the way to go. "Are you jealous of me?"

Miranda's eyes betrayed her. They widened just for a moment, before narrowing. She laughed sardonically at Shepard's statement. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why would I be jealous of you?"

"Because I can see that you're looking through my biotic amp data again from here," Shepard bluffed. It was an educated guess, but when she turned off her terminal, Shepard schooled his features before his triumphant smile could set her off again.

"What do you want?" she said, keeping her voice neutral. "Come here to gloat?"

"No, I want to know why you got so angry. Why you should have a reason to be jealous. Didn't we talk about establishing a professional, working, relationship right here in your office yesterday?" Shepard stated. "Well, I want to work through this problem."

Miranda maintained eye contact. After a few minutes, she sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, before saying, "I'm sorry. And you're right."

Shepard held his peace. There was nothing to brag about here.

Miranda seemed to appreciate it if her small smile was a sign. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

Shepard nodded. "It's kind of why I guessed why you were angry."

"Being genetically enhanced doesn't guarantee results. All it would do is provide significant amount of potential," she started, before hesitating.

Having been proud of his own accomplishments, Shepard knew that admitting weakness was one of the most difficult things he could do.

"I'm ashamed to say it, but… while my biotics are advanced; I seem to lack the ability to… master other areas," she confessed. "I'm particularly good at Warp, but creating mass-raising or mass-reducing fields seems to prove difficult for me. I try, but I can't produce the same results Jacob does." She scoffed at herself, "Or you."

She looked up at him. "I wasn't being fair when I snapped at you. I suppose I was frustrated at my lack of results while you've been working at this for only a day and made incredible progress."

"I wasn't trying to show off or prove something, Miranda," Shepard pointed out.

"I know. How could you? You weren't a biotic less than a week ago. You were just putting two and two together," Miranda agreed.

"Does being genetically modified really bother you that much? Even I had some modification done when I joined the Alliance," he probed, trying to understand the woman in front of him.

She hesitated again, a frown marring her features. "I suppose you deserve to know…" she said. "I'm… I'm more than genetically altered. My father created me."

Her tone became a bit darker as the memories surfaced. "He's a very influential man and extremely controlling. He didn't want a daughter – he wanted a dynasty. I ran away as soon as I was old and brave enough. I went to Cerberus because I knew they could protect me."

Shepard's brow furrowed. "How bad were the terms you and your father parted on?"

"Shots were fired," came the simple reply.

"You seem more than capable of defending yourself. Why did you need Cerberus?" he asked.

"My father invested a great deal in his 'dynasty'. It wasn't a matter of just leaving… I knew he would continue to pursue his… investments," Miranda carefully explained.

"I assume Cerberus approves of your enhanced abilities?"

"Of course. Cerberus full endorses anything that advances the cause of humanity… genetic alterations included. But unlike my father and his own selfish reasons, Cerberus and the Illusive Man believe in a greater good. They see the bigger picture… and I feel like I have a purpose here," she admitted.

_I imagine the 'greater good' has been the Illusive Man's go-to excuse every time he crosses the line. I wonder what she means by purpose though…_

"Who exactly is your father?" Shepard asked, curious.

"A business man. But a very wealthy one," Miranda vaguely said.

_Probably means Lawson isn't her real surname if she doesn't want to tell me…_

"It's ironic. My father believed deeply in a human-positive agenda. He donated generously to Cerberus… before I joined them," she ranted. "That's how I first heard about Cerberus -- through my father's connections."

"Well, what about your mother?"

"I never had one," she replied matter-of-factly. "Most of my genetic material is based off my father's tissue. His Y chromosome was altered with an amalgam of desired traits from various sources."

_Wow. That's pretty self-centered. Creating someone using only your own genetic template? Definitely not an asari fan then…_

As if she was reading his thoughts, she continued to fume. "How arrogant can you be? The man is completely egomaniacal. Just another reason I had to get away from him."

After letting her vent, Shepard couldn't help but point out his earlier observation. "I couldn't help but notice, but you talk about yourself like you're just a…" he searched for the right word, "tool… to be used. By your father, by Cerberus."

Miranda shrugged. "Maybe. I like to know where I fit in the world. It helps me find meaning in how I was created."

Shepard gave a shrug of his own. "I think a lot of people like to know their place in the galaxy, to make their existence matter in some way. I like to believe we are who are. We don't need to make excuses for it and we don't need to try harder for it. Things will happen as they'll happen and life will have the final say on what we did."

She gave a small laugh. "That's easy for you to say. We've both been engineered for greatness, Shepard. The difference is, you were great before we rebuilt you… I'm great because of it."

Shepard shook his head. "I'm more about the choices we make and the courage to act and stand by those choices more than our abilities. You might have the genetic potential, sure, but it's your choice on how use your gifts that makes you great."

"That's kind of you… I'm not sure I believe you, but thanks for saying it," Miranda said softly.

"Are we okay?" he asked.

"Yes. I think we are," she agreed. Letting out a small sigh, she smiled, "Perhaps Jacob was right after all. Maybe you really are a biotic savant."

"Or maybe I'm lucky? Nothing wrong with a little good luck," Shepard joked, lightening the mood.

"Luck is fine, but it will never replace skill," she scolded, but her smile belied her tone.

"Well, is the offer to teach me still open? I'm interested in learning about Warp," Shepard said honestly.

"Well… I think I can teach you that much," Miranda teased. "After that, I'm afraid I can only show you the basics of other fields."

"Then we can learn about it together. I still need to learn about the basics of other fields too," he said with nod. "Are you free now?"

Shaking her head, but still smiling, she stood up and led the way.

* * *

A few hours later, tired, but pleased with his results, Shepard trudged back into the Crew Deck, a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy in his hand that he retrieved from his cabin.

Before he made it into the medical bay though, he saw Garrus' silhouette in the low lighting of the crew pods, heading for the Forward Batteries.

Changing course, he followed his turian friend and soon stepped up next to him. "Feeling better?" Shepard greeted.

"Much. Dr. Chakwas still knows her stuff. And yes, I got full permission to report for duty. I'm told that I'm the Gunnery Officer," Garrus nodded. "Oh yeah, and thanks for getting some food for me. I hadn't eaten in days."

"Not much time to eat when you're fighting for your life," he teased. "I also see you got your new armor too," he observed, noting the case in Garrus' hand.

"Phantom Armor," Garrus said. "Your friend Jacob had to dig deep to find this. It's not as good as the Colossus Armor you gave me, but I doubt I'll find that here on Omega."

"I'll get you a replacement whenever we get back to civilization," Shepard promised.

"Normally, I'd argue against you for that, considering how rare and expensive it is," Garrus started, "Except that Colossus Armor saved my life more than a few times and Cerberus is funding our mission. Plus, after reading the briefing you gave me, we're going to need every bit of help we can get."

"I did hear our odd of survival are pretty low…" Shepard mockingly gossiped.

"Which is why they brought in the best. I'm sure you'll keep up though," Garrus shot back.

Laughing, Shepard turned his head back at the various crewmen still sitting around the Common Area. Turning back to Garrus, Shepard started walking further down the hall toward the Forward Batteries, prompting the turian to follow.

"Have the Cerberus crewmen given you any trouble?" Shepard asked softly as they walked.

"I think being part of the team that took down Saren got me some points. Everyone I talk to is polite, anyway," Garrus assured. "Don't worry, Commander. We're all working together."

Stepping into the control room, Garrus continued the conversation. "You know, I thought I'd seen every weapon in the galaxy in our fight against Saren. Mercenary work showed me otherwise. And now Cerberus rebuilds the Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I wish we'd joined up with them sooner."

Leaning on the railing overlooking cooling plant for the main guns, Shepard asked, "You sure you're okay working with Cerberus?"

Garrus shook his head. "I can't exactly doubt your judgment. Not after I got my own squad killed," he said bitterly.

"I remember you promised that you would tell me how end up fighting mercenaries on Omega," Shepard reminded, interested what his friend had to say.

"After the Normandy was destroyed and you were… well, gone… most of us went our separate ways. C-Sec asked me back, but I turned them down," Garrus said, while shaking his head.

Pacing around the small room, he continued, "Omega was filled with criminals nobody could touch, and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit. People here needed someone to believe in. Someone to stand up to the local thugs."

"That explains how you started. How'd you end up with a squad?"

"Not too different from how you formed your squad to fight Saren, actually. You prove you get things done, and people join up," Garrus explained. "Mercs who wanted to atone. Security consultants tired of playing by the rules. I gave them hope," he said, conviction behind his words. Then the memory of the fate of his squad returned and his voice took on a tone of self-loathing. "And now they're dead. Shows what I know."

Hoping to change the subject slightly to shake Garrus out of his melancholy, Shepard asked, "What did your squad do? It didn't sound like you were available for hire."

"You saw Omega – it was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my own team to kick back. We weren't mercenaries. At least, no one was paying us," he informed. "We made money by taking down slavers, pirates, or gangs that went too far."

"Another gang fighting other gangs then? You didn't cross any lines, right?" Shepard asked, concerned.

"No. No shake downs, no civilian casualties. That was our rule," he defended. "Every member of my team had lost someone to Omega's gangs. We weren't out to get rich. We were out to make those bastards think twice before murdering someone in the street."

"Well, you obviously weren't out to make friends, if that siege was any indication," Shepard observed.

"I got three separate merc bands to work together to take me down," Garrus said with pride. "My manager at C-Sec would be impressed."

"What did you do to them exactly?"

He explained his tactics, "It was simple. We'd hit their shipments, disrupt activities. Get under their skin. Make them angry. They'd come charging right into our well-prepared kill zone. Crossfire and snipers, clean and surgical. They never stood a chance."

Shepard was impressed. He'd done similar tactics in the past and knew how effective they were. _Glad to see he hasn't changed._

Curious about the difference between his last squad and Garrus', Shepard said, "Tell me about your squad."

"There were 12 of us, including me. Former military operatives, C-Sec agents, the usual. Had a salarian explosives expert. Pretty sure he'd spent time in the Special Tasks Group. My tech expert was a batarian, believe it or not. Not the friendliest guy, but he could hack into any system ever built. Only one I could think of that was better than him is Tali."

"How did those mercs take down your team?" Shepard asked, hoping it wasn't too personal.

Garrus looked away. "It was my own damn fault. One of my own people betrayed me."

He turned walked down the hall, trying to hold in the hate against the memory. "A turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before the mercs attacked my squad, and then he disappeared. Everyone is dead because of him. And because I didn't see it coming."

Shepard frowned at the implications. "What happened exactly?"

"Sidonis asked for my help on a job. When I got to the meeting point, nobody was there. By the time I got back to our hideout, the mercs had killed all but two of my squad. And they didn't last long," finished Garrus in a somber tone.

"Do you know where Sidonis is now?"

"No. His trail vanishes after he leaves Omega. But I'll keep hunting. I lost my whole team, except for Sidonis. One day, I'll find him… and correct that," Garrus said calmly. Too calmly.

Shepard heard that tone of voice before. Two years after the Skyllian Blitz, Alliance Intelligence pinpointed the exact location of most of the criminals involved hiding on the moon of Torfan. Many soldiers and marines talked about getting revenge. Same kind of voice Garrus was using now. The Alliance had annihilated everyone there, but suffered heavy losses in return.

Garrus looked back up at his friend. "Thanks for coming by, Shepard. I've got some things I need to take care of." He walked back toward the control room.

"Garrus…" Shepard started, but hesitated, wondering what he could say right now. "If it means anything, **I** think you did fine as a squad leader. And I'm sure your men thought the same. What happened wasn't your fault. Even I wouldn't be able to do anything different if our positions were reversed. That's why betrayal is a hard thing to accept and worse to endure," he finally said.

Garrus was silent for a moment, but didn't turn back around. "Thanks, Shepard. It does mean a lot from you. But it still doesn't change the fact that 10 good men died."

"No, it doesn't. But… they died willing to do the right thing. I hope you remember that."

* * *

Shepard walked into the medical bay, spotting Dr. Chakwas typing away on her terminal.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked.

Chakwas turned around and smiled. "No. Nothing. I was just finishing my report on our turian friend. There's nothing to worry about, Commander. He's fine, for now."

"I know. I just had a talk with him. I'm here because a deal's a deal," Shepard said before presenting the bottle.

"Serrice Ice Brandy. You really didn't have to, deal or no. But thank you," she said gratefully. Taking the bottle, she looked at it for a moment before looking up at Shepard. "You know, I always regretted not opening that original bottle – when I still could. I won't make the same mistake again. Would you fancy a nightcap, Commander?"

Shepard smiled. After his talk with Garrus, a drink would be welcome. "You crack open the bottle, I'll get the glasses."

A few drinks in with Chakwas and the world became slightly hazy as the alcohol took effect. Shepard managed to hold himself up well though. What was most surprising was how loose the doctor became. She always held herself with a professionalism that kept her slightly distant from the others on the Normandy.

"I thought Alenko's biotic display might have broken Jenkins' back, but Jenkins' pops up and yells, "That was awesome!" Chakwas exclaimed rising from her chair and imitating Jenkins' excitement at seeing biotics for the first time.

Shepard couldn't help but smile at the memory. It was his first time stepping on the Normandy and meeting either of them. The crew was getting ready for her shakedown run and was greeting each other for the first time. Kaidan was well known at a biotic and Jenkins' had never seen one. The results were comical as Kaidan used his biotics to lift Jenkins' into the air before accidently dropping him.

Chakwas sat back down and sighed at the memories. "Ah. Its marine's like Jenkins' and Kaidan make the Alliance great. Cerberus lacks the same… enthusiasm."

Polishing off his glass, Shepard poured the last of the bottle into his and the doctor's. Leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs, Shepard couldn't help but ask, "With your service record, you could have gotten a tour of duty on any Alliance ship. Why did you really leave?"

Her voice took on a wistful tone as she explained, "Maybe it's less about leaving and more about staying. As a military doctor, I mostly treat people who are in bad shape. Either they die or I help them and they move on. Regardless, they leave."

"Don't you have any friends or family outside the Alliance?" asked a confused Shepard.

"No, not lacking friendship – just stability," Chakwas corrected. "Jeff… Joker will always have Vrolik syndrome. He would never admit it, but he needs my help. And he always will. I wish it weren't, but sadly, it's true," she whispered.

"So treating Joker gives you a kind of stability," he interpreted.

She smiled as she looked around. "So does this ship, even if it's a copy. Or hell, maybe it's you. Shepard, our immovable center. A place for a person to stop and catch her breath."

Shepard couldn't help but be extremely flattered by the praise.

"Or maybe I'm just happily drunk. Would it hurt if it was simple like that for once?" Chakwas whispered, the brandy making her tipsy.

"To the people we care for and the people cared for," Shepard toasted, raising his glass.

Taking her glass and raising it, Chakwas added, "May we never take them for granted."

Knocking back the last of the brandy, Shepard saw Chakwas was done for the night. Taking a deep breath and grabbing what clarity he had left, he stood up and the world tilted something wicked. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, he reached down and picked up the semi-conscious doctor and slung her on his shoulder. Dragging her to nearest of the many beds in the room, he deposited her slowly, making sure she was comfortable, before stumbling out of the room.

As soon as he stepped outside the door though, the tilting seemed to reduce and more of his senses returned. _Huh, I thought I was a lot more drunk than that…_

His balance apparently restored for the most part, he walked over to the galley. Grabbing some water to mitigate the headache he'll undoubtedly have tomorrow, he took a seat at the Common Area next to some crewmen.

"Commander," both crewmen at his table stood up and saluted. After Shepard's nod, both sat back down.

"Crewman's Patel and Rolston, right?" Shepard guessed. At both their nods, Shepard took another drink of water, wondering why he wasn't more plastered.

"Aw… she's a cutie. How old?" Patel said, looking over a photograph.

"She'll be a year old next month," Rolston answered proudly.

Shepard turned his gaze toward them. Seeing the Commander's interest, Patel handed the photo over when Rolston nodded. It was a photo of a sleeping baby, newborn, according to Rolston. She was cute as Patel pointed out, but like all newborns, she was also wrinkly and small. Shepard smiled at the picture before handing it back to Rolston.

"Aw. You'll miss her first birthday," Patel said, apologetic.

"Well, my family lives in New Canton," Rolston said with a bit of worry in his voice.

"That's out in the Terminus," Shepard commented.

Patel nodded. "Yes sir, out on the edge of the frontier. That means it could be vulnerable to Collector attack, right?

Shepard said nothing, turning his attention to Rolstron.

Rolstron nodded somberly. "Exactly. It's most important that she have a first birthday. That's why I'm here."

"Are you okay with this? This mission isn't exactly like others. A lot more risk and gambling here," Shepard warned.

"I want to do my part Commander and I want to do my duty," Rolstron resolutely said.

"It must be hard, doing your duty here on this ship while having a responsibility to your family as well," Shepard sympathized. "I'm glad to see that you're sticking by your convictions."

Rolston looked flattered that the commanding officer of the Normandy personally praised him. Patel still looked worried though. "Are you sure that you're okay out here, while they're at New Canton?" she asked.

Rolston nodded. "I actually have them booked on a flight back to Earth. It's just too dangerous for them in New Canton."

"You can afford that?" Patel asked in surprise.

"Cerberus looks out for their own. They're funding the transport for me," he answered.

Shepard nodded. "I'm glad to hear that," he said honestly.

"It's the least they can do when we're putting our lives on the line," Patel added, before remembering Shepard's presence. "Uh… what I meant was…"

"Relax Crewman. I'm not exactly Cerberus. I'm just in command of this mission, operational control really," Shepard assured.

"Oh," Patel said, blushing.

"Executive Lawson is the leading operative of the Lazarus Cell," Rolston informed. "She manages the resources and contacts the mission needs. She's the one that actually booked passage for my family. "

Shepard looked up at this, somewhat surprised. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah," Rolston answered, before asking, "Which part?"

"Both."

"Well, Executive Lawson looks over the finances and maintenance cost of the Normandy. Fuel, weapons, that kind of thing. She also reports to the Illusive Man, so he informs her of anything we may need to know. I figured if she was in charge of the money, maybe she could help me with my family," he explained.

_That's actually pretty nice of her…_ Shepard though, reevaluating his opinion of Miranda. Again.

Finishing his water, Shepard stood up. "It's been nice talking with you, but I have another big day tomorrow. Good night."

Both crewmen said their farewells before leaving themselves.

As Shepard stepped into lift and headed to his cabin, he noticed that felt completely fine. Even during his talk with his crew, the drunken stupor he was in had vanished.

_"That's easy for you to say. We've both been engineered for greatness, Shepard. The difference is, you were great before we rebuilt you… I'm great because of it."_

The full implications of their conversation finally hit him. While he may not be genetically engineered like Miranda, Shepard processed a few new abilities than just biotics now.

_"You're still you; you just might have a few extra bits and pieces now."_

_I wonder what else these implants do…_

_

* * *

_

**_Author's Note:_**

First off, two references I need to make. One is to _Star Trek: First Contact_. The other is to _Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets_. I paraphrased it, but I still thought that I should point that out.

I don't know if people can see it, but this time around, I added a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. Some are obvious, others… not really so much. Some of the choices Shepard will make impacts the game (Obviously) and I wanted to kinda tweak the script some to reflect that.

I really have to say, trying to characterize characters that don't have any real substance is pretty hard. I touched on it, but for the most part, I focused on Garrus and Miranda this time around to try and get a feel for it. That and the story's time is progressing. I need to keep pushing forward after all. Galaxy won't save itself.

Some people might think that Miranda's insecurities arise from her genetic creation and tailoring. Her successes are due to her genes and her failures are hers alone. For the most part, I completely agree, but I don't think that's the whole story. I recalled the movie, _Gattaca_, were one man was genetically engineered to be the best. On that level, he had everything going for him. In reality, he actually lost once and received a silver medal. Despite his apparent "perfection" he still lost and he was bitter for it. That's another problem I imagined Miranda to be facing. I wanted to show that she wasn't perfect and she was angry for it, irrationally perhaps, but another sign of being human.

I really admire the complexity of Miranda's character in this game.

BTW, to those that know what I'm talking about, then you get the reference. To those that haven't watched the movie yet, do it. It's pretty good.


	8. The Professor

_**Location: Normandy**_

"Your implants?" Miranda queried, tilting her head.

She and Shepard were alone in the armory, both in full armor and were doing last minute checks on their weapons before returning to the cesspit known as Omega.

"I noticed that I wasn't drunk anymore after I left the medical bay, around 10 minutes later or so. I wanted to know if your work did that," Shepard stated.

Miranda was quiet for a few moments, checking her Predator. "Hmm… The best way to explain it would be to say that… well, I suppose it would be accurate to say that you're the human equivalent to a krogan."

"A krogan," Shepard repeated skeptically as he checked his HMWA.

"The implants were first used to regenerate your bones, organs and tissue. Once that particular process was complete, they now supplement and assist their functions," she lectured as she holstered her pistol and was now looking over her Pulse Rifle.

"Supplement how?" asked Shepard, as he looked over his HMWSG.

"To put simply, say you used to run at 100%. With the implants, you're running at 130%. Your liver can process toxins and poisons much more effectively. You can probably survive some poisons that could kill most humans, including me," Miranda explained.

"So that's why I sobered up so quickly. The alcohol was flushed out of me by the implants…" Shepard realized. "Jacob mentioned to me once that you used cutting-edge technology."

"Not really the words I'd use exclusively. Some of the tech we used **is** cutting-edge, yes, but others simply didn't exist before until we created them specifically for you," she corrected, collapsing her equipment and equipping them.

Shepard frowned. "So I'm using untested, prototype tech?"

"We put a lot of money, effort, and time into you, Shepard. I suppose the Illusive Man wanted you to last this time. Don't worry, everything should be working perfectly. It would be shame for you to drop dead now. And worse yet, it would be an embarrassment for me," Miranda teased.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "I'll try not to disappoint you, oh great Executive-Operative-Director Lawson of the Lazarus Cell," he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. Turning serious, he asked, "So what can I do now, besides survive hangovers and some poisons?"

"About 85% of your bones were fractured or broken, so we've had to use a synthetic weave to repair, reconstruct, or replace them. After we finished, we reinforced your skeleton further with a skeletal lattice, another kind of synthetic heavy bone weave, to the point where you're almost unbreakable. If you do suffer some sort of trauma to your skeleton though, there are medi-gel conduits at key locations that will allow you to regenerate bone damage in hours… days at the most."

She paused as Shepard did a full system check on his Blackstorm Projector and to process what she said.

"We've also perforated your muscles with a microfiber weave. It's why you're still able to get up and move around, despite being insentient for two years. Muscle stimulation to combat atrophy. Now, you should be physically stronger than you ever were. I wouldn't recommend arm wrestling an elcor, but you should be able to make a krogan think twice about hand-to-hand combat. Well, small krogan anyway," she said with a shrug.

Shepard looked back at her from his omni-tool scans. "Huh. Maybe I should hit the gym and see what I can bench now…"

Crossing her arms and giving him an irritated look, she asked rhetorically, "Do you want me to finish?"

Shepard nodded obediently and continued his scans.

"Soft tissue damage was the worst. Particularly your skin, if your scars are any indication. Just about every inch of you was damaged in some form or fashion. Using a unique blend of cybernetics and tissue growth, we managed to restore you to look like you. The hardest part, actually. The bio-synthetic fibers are still there, as you can already see," she explained, nodding her head at the glowing scars. "Your lattice shunting, that's the heavy skin weave, will see to it that you resist getting burns, cuts, and bruises and the micro-medi-gel conduits built-in will heal any trauma you actually do sustain."

Allowing Shepard time to collapse his weapons and equip them, she waited until he stood up from his prep and turned to face her.

"In all, your organs are more efficient, your bones are more resilient, your muscles are stronger, your skin is very resistant, and your capacity to heal yourself is well beyond the norm," she finished, seemingly proud of herself.

"Do I come with an instruction manual with lots of pictures too?" Shepard asked wryly.

Before she could give a retort of her own, Garrus walked in fully armored in his new Phantom gear, Jacob right behind him.

Both men saw Shepard suppressing a smirk and was trying to step away from Miranda subtly. For her part, Miranda looked torn between smiling as well or hitting him with something hard.

"Huh, haven't even helped with the mission yet and Shepard already looks like he's going to die again…" Garrus couldn't help but comment out loud before going to the weapons locker.

"She wouldn't kill him. Cripple or maim him maybe, but not kill. Too expensive to bring him back otherwise," corrected Jacob as he followed Garrus' example and retrieved his gear.

Both tried very hard to ignore the glares coming from the other side of the room.

"Per your request, Commander, I've monitoring local channels on Omega and the various mercenary factions believe that Archangel was killed in the assault," EDI suddenly declared.

"Works for me," Garrus said.

"Thanks for the info, EDI," Shepard called out to the AI. "Also, about that info I found?"

"I've sent the contents of the datapad to Aria T'Loak. I've yet to receive a reply," EDI answered.

"Fine. You two, finish up and let's go. Hopefully, Mordin is almost finished with his work."

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega**_

Stepping back into Omega, the group walked toward the transport area that would take them to the plague zone and clinic where their next recruit was waiting.

"Man, walking around this place last night… how can these people be left to rot like this?" Jacob asked with disgust as they passed by some people scrounging in the trash.

"You don't understand, or you don't want to?" Miranda said.

"Does it really matter?" Jacob said rhetorically.

"No. Omega has worked this way for a long time. No one's changing it now," Miranda answered matter-of-factly.

"She's right," Garrus said with loathing. "Walking around this place makes me sick. People are still dying, the strong still exploiting the weak. Nothing I did here even made a dent in this."

"Yet you were given a title for all your 'good deeds'," reminded Shepard. "Three merc groups are gone; their businesses will stop for a few months. The vacuum left behind will probably be fought over by various gangs for another few months. Until there's a clear winner, any shipments, slaves, or shakedowns will be put on hold for while. It's likely you did more than you think. Here, definitely. Outside of Omega, probably," Shepard finished with a glance at Garrus.

Garrus looked around a bit. "I know, but looking around…"

"You can't save everyone here. It's not possible. But you did do something and that's more than most," Shepard interrupted.

"Thanks Shepard."

Giving a nod and smile to his friend Shepard turned his head just in time to see a load of boxes carried by someone before colliding into him.

"Ah!" a voice cried through a voice module as his cargo started tumbling down to the floor. "Keelah!" he cursed, before grabbing the nearest items as quickly as he can.

"Sorry about that. Let me help," Shepard offered as he got down and picked some of the items up for the quarian.

"No! Stay back! It's mine!" The quarian yelled, before reaching out and grabbing some of the parts in Shepard's hands.

"Relax. I'm not going to steal anything from you, okay? None of us are native to Omega," Shepard assured.

The quarian tilted his head in a cautious manner, before seeing Garrus bend down and help grab some of the boxes. He turned to see Miranda and Jacob grab some of the stuff that bounced away and brought it closer.

"Um… Thanks…" he said carefully.

Stacking everything into haphazard piles, Shepard and Garrus picked up some of the load. "Need some help?" Shepard offered.

"Thanks," the quarian said, picking more of his cargo up while Jacob grabbed the rest. Miranda kept an eye out for any signs of trouble.

"What's your name?" Shepard asked in a friendly voice as the unlikely troupe started following the young quarian.

"Um… Kenn'Vael nar Selani," Kenn answered.

"Nar, huh? On your Pilgrimage then?" Shepard asked as he followed the Kenn down a set of stairs and past some vorcha.

"Yeah…" Kenn said dejectedly.

"Not going well I take it," Shepard said sympathetically as they stopped in front of a shop.

"No. I heard about Omega having a lot of different species and danger. A lot of quarians on their Pilgrimage start by going to the Citadel, Illium, or Omega. Like an adventure or something, y'know? Well, I made the wrong choice. What money I had got stolen within a few days. So I decided to sell salvaged parts," Kenn explained while he started putting some parts away. "You can put those down anywhere."

After placing the boxes down, Shepard took a look around. "So how's business then?"

"Badly," Kenn answered shortly. "Harrot's forcing me to sell high and I can't even afford a ticket off this station.

"How much do you need to get off Omega?"

"I still need 5000 credits to pay my way… but I couldn't let you do that. This is my mistake on my Pilgrimage. It's my problem," Kenn resolutely stated.

"Fine. What do you have that's worth 5000 credits?" Shepard easily said as he engaged his omni-tool and electronically passed appropriate amount of credits to the quarian.

"I… I can't take this. I…" Kenn stuttered, amazed that someone would drop that much on him out of nowhere.

"Just take the money kid," Garrus interrupted. "You got lucky the first time by getting robbed. Next time, someone might just stab you and take what they need. Omega's dangerous. The sooner you leave, the better."

"… Thank you. With this, I can finally continue on my Pilgrimage!" Kenn exclaimed happily. "Here. This isn't really worth the money, but maybe it might help you."

Using his omni-tool, Kenn tapped some commands before transferring the information to Shepard.

"What's this?" Shepard asked, checking his omni-tool.

"It's a little something I've been working on. Do you know anything about hacking?" Kenn said.

"I've been known to break into a few terminals from time to time," Shepard said evasively.

"Well, this should make things much easier for you. It'll calculate and predict the appropriate codes that you might need to break through firewalls," explained Kenn.

Shepard checked his omni-tool again. "Huh. That I can use. Thanks."

"No, no. Thank you. I'm going to buy my ticket right now," Kenn said, running off.

"Hold on. Just one last thing. Do you know where I can get some T6-FBA couplings?" Shepard asked.

"From Nashan Stellar Dynamics? Can't say I do. They've been discontinued for a while. Sorry," Kenn said after a moment.

"It's fine. See you around, Kenn."

Nodding in thanks, Kenn ran up the stairs.

"That's pretty decent of you, Commander," Jacob praised as the squad turned around and headed to the other direction.

Shepard shrugged, continuing down the hall toward the transport station.

* * *

"Complaining is pointless, human. There's plague. Nobody gets in or out," a frustrated voice said.

"You can't keep me out! I live in there!" another irate female voice argued.

Shepard and his group turned the corner to see a human female and a turian guard, arguing in front of the transport station door.

"I'm doing you a favor, lady. If you go in, the guards will cut you down," the guard warned.

"You can't do this! Everything I own is in that apartment!" she screeched.

"Look. I told you to get lost lady! The plague has the whole zone quarantined! Nobody gets in!" the guard snapped back.

"I'm human, you ass! Humans can't get the plague! Now let me get my stuff out before looters get it!" the refugee shouted.

"This thing affects every other race out there! We're not taking chances. Nobody gets in until the plague has run its course," the guard said with finality.

"So the slums are completely sealed off, then?" Shepard interrupted.

"Finally, a human that can hear. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," the turian confirmed.

"You can't keep me out! I'm going to lose all my stuff!" the woman repeated.

"Look, anybody in the quarantine zone will be dead from the plague or the gangs in a few weeks," the guard said.

"I didn't think Omega had any kind of law enforcement. Who gave the order to quarantine the slums?" Shepard asked.

The guard turned back to Shepard. "Fresh off the transport, huh? Aria T'Loak calls the shots around here. She's got her little blue hands on every business in this district… and a plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone."

"_If you really need to find him, take a shuttle to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in, of course. Just don't bring the plague back with you."_

_That bitch. She's the one that made the call._

"There's a salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him," Shepard told the guard.

"The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I'd wish him luck, but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in and clean up," the turian informed.

"Any idea where I can find Mordin's clinic?" asked Shepard.

"Not a clue," the guard shrugged. "What do you care? The place is quarantined, remember?"

"Tell more about the plague then."

"Starts out as a cough, then you start coughing blood, and… well, then I shoot you," the turian explained with another shrug. "It affects multiple species though. Turians, salarians, krogan – you name it. Only humans are immune. And vorcha, if you count them," the guard explained. "An airborne disease that takes down multiple races… we can't let that spread. Hence the quarantine."

"I didn't think diseases could cross species barriers. Turians and salarians can't even eat the same food," Shepard commented.

"Right," the guard agreed. "Most people figure that it has to be synthetic. Somebody engineered it, and it either got loose, or they're testing it here. And seeing as how humans are immune to the plague and doing a fair bit of looting, a lot of people think humans made it."

"Take a good long look at me. Do I look like a looter?" Shepard asked in a low tone.

Noting the full body armor and weapons, the guard hesitantly answered. "Uh, no."

"I'm going in," Shepard resolutely stated. "If I find looters, I'll kill them. Anybody gets in my way, I'll probably do worse," he finished with a glare at the guard in his way.

"I'll call the guards. They'll let you in with no trouble," the turian stammered when the others stepped in behind their commander.

"Wait, you're stopping me, but not them? You son of a bitch!" the female refugee said indignantly.

"You don't have a grenade launcher, lady. Get lost," the turian dismissed.

Ignoring their argument, Shepard turned to his team.

"A quarantine zone for a plague that kills turians. Why don't we ever go anywhere nice?" Garrus asked sarcastically.

"Do you still want to come along?" Shepard asked.

"I'm not going to let a cough keep me back, Shepard," Garrus answered confidently.

"Keep your helmet on and your hardsuit sealed then. All of you, just in case," Shepard ordered. After securing his Recon Hood, he added, _"And voice modules off. Radio contact only. There are civilians inside, so check your fire. So far, only the Blue Suns and vorcha are considered targets of opportunity. Hold fire otherwise._

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Auxera District, Mordin's Clinic**_

"Ah, finally succeeded. Vaccine should remove all traces of virus. Best way to cure plague is render it airborne. Need to distribute through environmental controls," said a salarian doctor.

"Dr. Solus, we have reports that the Blood Pack has taken control of the environmental facility. We can't get in," said a woman in medical garb.

"Doctor, more refugees are coming in!" called someone from the front of the office.

"Problematic. Need to look after current patients. Need more help. Where's Daniel? Need him to cover," Mordin Solus said in his usual quick manner.

The salarian turned back to his terminal and doubled–checked his work to ensure success of the cure.

"Professor! Daniel is gone! We can't find him anywhere!" one of the assistants cried out.

"Oh dear, snuck out. Probably out helping sick batarians. Told him not to go. Too dangerous," Mordin said.

"What do we do?" another assistant asked.

"Can't do anything. Too many need us here. Hopefully be all right. Taking cure to people. Might not hurt him," Mordin quickly said.

"How do we distribute the cure?"

"Find a way. First take care of sick patients. Then see difficulty getting to environmental controls. Much to do. Much to do," the doctor said as he went to the next room to help the refugees.

"Begin synthesizing cure. Need to make enough to distribute through district," Mordin ordered as he ran his omni-tool over a turian.

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Level 429, Gozu District **_

"Don't shoot. They're cleared to come in," a guard said. The other two turians lowered their weapons as Shepard and his team entered the district.

When the district guards lowered their weapons, Shepard called for his people to do the same. Moving around the barricades, a lone turian stood guard to the lower level of the district.

"Good luck in there. The Blue Suns and vorcha are shooting anything that moves," the guard warned.

Shepard merely nodded to him and moved through the door. Cautiously walking down the stairs, he spotted two Blue Suns mercs.

"_Garrus, two hostiles, 40 meters. I'll take the left, you take the right,"_ Shepard called on his radio.

"_Roger,"_ Garrus said.

Miranda and Jacob stood back and the two snipers brought out their rifles. Two simultaneous shots brought down the guards and any chance of warning to any more mercs deeper inside.

"_Move out,"_ Shepard said after a few minutes of waiting to see if anyone would come to investigate. Bringing up his assault rifle, they carefully stepped into the district and took stock of their surroundings.

"_Looks like they're burning the bodies in the streets," _Jacob noted with disgust.

"_Well, it's a good thing we're fully sealed. I can't imagine how bad the smell must be," _Garrus responded.

"_They must be trying to keep the plague from spreading," _Miranda guessed.

"_Judging from the amount of smoke coming from the hallways, they're burning more bodies," _Shepard observed. _"Whatever this plague is, cremation isn't working."_

"_Biological attack seems more and more likely," _Miranda said.

"_Commander! Over here. We got a civilian down. Batarian," _Jacob called.

Rushing over to Jacob's position, a batarian was indeed there. He was still alive, but appeared to be in agony. Multiple bloody sores covered him and he was coughing blood every few minutes, making it hard for him to breathe.

Turning his voice module back on, Shepard walked over to the prone man.

Seeing Shepard's approach, the batarian coughed some more before spitting blood at the Spectre's feet. "Human. Should have guessed. Bad enough you infect us with this plague. Now you lack the decency to even wait until I die before you come to steal my possessions."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Shepard asked, kneeling down toward the sick man.

The batarian victim raised a Hand Cannon weakly in the air in response. "Get away from me, human! Your kind has done too much already!" Gasping for more air, he continued his hateful tirade, "Your plague did this to me. Your feigned pity is the final insult."

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus. I understand that he's developing a cure. Maybe he can help you…" started Shepard before the sick batarian interrupted with a cross between a wet cough and a wheezing laugh.

"Humans looking for the human sympathizer. I hope the vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground."

Coughing harder, more blood splattered the ground next the batarian. "I hope you… I hope… Damn it. Damn you. Can't…"

"Hey, stay with me!" Moving closer and unconcerned about the pistol, Shepard administered some medi-gel to the batarian. "This won't cure the plague, but it might help a bit."

Breathing a little easier, the batarian managed to stand shakily on his feet as the anesthesia in the medi-gel took some of the pain away. Swaying slightly, his four eyes looked into the glowing blue eyes of Shepard's mask. "You… you helped me. Why?"

"It's what I do," Shepard said simply. "I don't know if I can find a cure for this plague, but I'm going to try."

"Your words sound… sincere," the plague victim said hesitantly. "Maybe it's the fever, but… what have I to lose? What do you wish to know?"

"You were talking about vorcha earlier. Tell me what they're doing here."

"Before the quarantine, the Blue Suns controlled this district. But as their numbers fell to the plague, vorcha moved in. The Blue Suns are fighting to protect their territory, but as the plague spreads, it's only a matter of time until the vorcha overwhelm them," explained the batarian.

"_The vorcha aren't smart enough to do this on their own. They have help," _Jacob said, via radio.

"_They're not smart enough to launch a siege like this either. Not by themselves. If this is a planned attack, I'm thinking Blood Pack," _Garrus deduced.

"_You both might be right. Blue Suns must conduct most of their operations from this district. Someone attacks them with a virus to whittle down their numbers, and then the Blood Pack move in and take the district for themselves," _concurred Miranda. _"It must mean krogan are around here somewhere coordinating the attack. Probably in sealed suits like Garrus to prevent getting sick."_

"I need to find Mordin Solus," Shepard asked the batarian.

"He has a clinic on the far side of the district," he said, pointing down the boulevard. "He's taking in refugees. Offering to help those infected with the plague. I was afraid to go to him before. He's dangerous," he admitted. "But perhaps he can help."

"What makes Mordin worse than dying from the plague?" Shepard asked, confused.

"The Blue Suns tried to press him for protection money. He killed them. Stunned them with some kind of toxin, then gunned them down," the batarian explained with a shudder. "He's not just a doctor. Doctors don't execute people and display the bodies as a warning."

"_Definitely sounds like STG training,"_ commented Garrus.

"When I find Mordin, I'll tell him about you. If he has a cure, I'll make sure someone gets it to you," promised Shepard.

"Thank you. My time is running short, but at least you have given me a flicker of hope to brighten the darkness of my final hours," he said with gratitude. He started coughing again, but with less intensity than before. "I don't want to die. Whatever Mordin is, I will risk it, if he can reach me."

"Just rest here. I'll try to get to him as soon as possible," Shepard said.

"Goodbye, human," came the tired response as the batarian slid along the wall and sat back with his eyes closed.

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Auxera District, Mordin's Clinic**_

"Thank you," a turian gratefully said.

"Of course, of course," Mordin distractedly replied as he listened to the sounds of combat outside. "Hmm. Rapid fire shots. Interspaced with shotgun rounds. Blue Suns and Blood Pack fighting again. Very close by. Increase security at front door just to be safe."

"Understood doctor," a human acknowledged. The clanking of mechs was heard as they moved to reinforce the entrance.

"Be sure to ready the explosives. Blood Pack known to use rocket launchers. Better to kill them first," Mordin reminded as he ran his omni-tool over a gunshot victim.

The Blue Suns turian merc groaned in pain as Mordin injected a local anesthetic before digging in to find the bullet.

"Got it. Should have no more complications. Heal quickly. Use stock of medi-gel. Be sure to use plague vaccine. Just in case," Mordin said to an assistant as he placed the bullet in a nearby tray.

"Wh… why are you… he… helping me?" the merc asked weakly.

"Life in danger. Why shouldn't help?" the salarian said quickly as he moved to the next table.

"We… we tried to kill you…" the turian said with confusion.

"You're injured. Now you can't kill me. You need me. Or you're too weak. Or sedative will kick in. Either way, can't kill me," Mordin said in a disinterested tone.

"Doctor, we still can't find Daniel. And we still have no idea what the Blood Pack are doing in the environmental controls," a human freelancer said.

"Logical guess would be they are intending to spread virus all over district. Too complicated for them. Won't succeed. Am worried that they may break something though. Will need to deal with them soon," Mordin replied. "For now, patient stabilized. Move to next room."

* * *

A Blue Suns merc screamed as he floated in midair. One shot from Garrus and a corpse was floating instead.

Shepard released his concentration on the dead merc and readied his own sniper rifle on another target that was firing wildly in Jacob's direction.

"_Miranda, I see an ammo dump next to their barricade. I can't Overload it from up here," _Garrus said.

"_Overload deployed!" _Miranda called out.

The explosion destroyed the makeshift barricade the Blue Suns were using, scattering and disorienting them. Garrus and Shepard used the opportunity to pick off the last of the targets.

"_Jacob, they breach that apartment?" _Shepard asked.

"_Negative. They managed to unlock the door, but I got them before they entered,"_ Jacob reported.

Garrus stood up with Shepard, checking the lower floor while Miranda and Jacob swept the area below for any more hostiles.

Observing Shepard's performance, Garrus couldn't help but ask, _"Were you always a biotic?"_

Shepard turned to face him, shaking his head in the negative. _"Cerberus upgrades. I have eezo modules, but they were too small before."_

Regrouping at the bottom floor, they flanked the apartment door the Blue Suns were trying to open.

The moment the door unlocked, Jacob and Shepard ran into the room first, sweeping for targets, followed closely by Miranda and Garrus.

"_Hold fire! We got civilians,"_ Shepard called out and lowered his assault rifle.

"Oh, thank God. You're human!" a woman said in relief.

"When we saw that door open, we thought those turians had found us," the man next to her said. Upon hearing this, Garrus stayed in the back of the group and out of their line of sight. "Ever since this plague, the Blue Suns have been out to get us. They're killing as many people as the disease."

Engaging his voice module, Shepard asked, "Why are the Blue Suns after you?"

"We didn't do anything!" the woman vehemently stated. "Pretty much every non-human in the district wants us dead!"

"They think we cause the plague. Humans aren't getting sick, and that's all the evidence they need. God knows how many of us they've already killed," the man explained.

"They should be looking at the vorcha, not us!" she added. "Ever since the plague hit, they've been taking over Blue Suns territory."

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus," Shepard said.

"Oh, yeah. Him. He's got a clinic in another district, in the Auxera District area," the man responded.

"Heard he's taking in refugees now. Trying to help plague victims. Offering protection from the Suns and the vorcha," the woman informed.

The man scoffed at her. "Sure. A doctor with military-grade mechs helping people for free. On Omega? Grow up."

"Sounds like you don't think much of the doctor and his clinic," Shepard noted.

"The vorcha tried to muscle in – he gunned them down, just like that. Pop, pop, pop. Didn't even use his mechs," he answered.

"Then the Blue Suns heard he was sheltering humans, and they went to burn down the clinic. He killed them too. Then he went inside and got back to work. He's cold. Must be salarian special force or something," the woman added.

The sound of distant gunfire filtered into the room. Shepard turned to his companions and nodded his head. Jacob went back with Garrus outside to secure the area and ensure there was no immediate danger while Miranda stayed behind.

Turning back to the refugees, Shepard tried to reason with them. "You can't stay trapped in this apartment. If you get to Mordin's, you might at least survive until the quarantine ends."

"Are you nuts? We'd never make it. The streets are crawling with Blue Suns and vorcha. We don't even have pistols!" the woman said incredulously.

"Besides, I'm not risking my life on a rumor that some salarian might offer me sanctuary," the man added.

"I know you're scared, but your only hope is to get to Mordin's clinic. You were lucky we managed to stop the mercs when we did. But you might not be so lucky next time. I'm going to be under fire from the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack, so I can't take you with me. But I promise you this: I'll do what I can to leave a safe path for you to follow me. It's risky, but I think it's your only chance," Shepard persuaded.

The pair looked at each other for confirmation of a choice or comfort in a life-and-death situation. Finally the man replied. "Okay… you're right. We'll never make it if we stay here. We have to try. We'll wait here for a while and give you time to clear the way. Then we'll head for Mordin's clinic. If we're lucky, maybe we'll meet you there."

Nodding, Shepard left the building. Hearing nothing more of note as well as assurances from Garrus that there was no danger, he disengaged his voice module and brought up his assault rifle.

"_Move out."_

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Kokomo Plaza**_

The sounds of gunfire were easily heard as Shepard stepped through the doorway leading into the Kokomo Plaza.

"_Sounds like the Blood Pack are hitting the Blue Suns hard,"_ Garrus said.

"_They're in our way. We'll need to take care of them," _Miranda suggested as they walked slowly down the hallway into the plaza proper.

"_Stairs on the right,"_ Shepard said. _"Garrus, you and me. Miranda, Jacob: stay on the ground floor. Wait for us to draw them out, then take them from the archway."_

"_Roger," _they both echoed, before moving into position.

Shepard ascended the stairs slowly, assault rifle ready as he and Garrus made it to the top and peered at the scene below.

"_Three Blue Suns left and a lot of Blood Pack,"_ Garrus declared as they both did a quick head count.

"_Let the vorcha finish them off then we'll take them out. Mordin's clinic is close by. We can't have them attack any of the civilians,"_ Shepard ordered as his eyes danced around the battlefield below. _"Flamethrowers and shotguns mainly. They don't stand a chance in long range."_

"_Watch out Commander," _Jacob warned. _"I see at least two krogan from down here."_

"_I don't see them from up here, Shepard," _Garrus reported. _"Stairs to our right. They could get up to us from there."_

One last turian was still standing, defiantly firing at the vorcha threatening to overwhelm him.

"_Set a grenade there for them. I'm firing up the Blackstorm. Everyone get ready."_

During the three second charge, a varren charged out and bit down on the turian allowing the vorcha to close the distance and exuberantly fire into the last Blue Sun resisting them.

Their yells of victory changed to screams of terror as Shepard fired the miniature black hole into the middle of their positions. Vorcha, varren, and the two krogan were pulled right into the artificial singularity. Those that were sucked in were crushed to a size of a thermal clip, while the others were being torn apart at the accretion disk at the edge of the event. Eventually, the black hole exploded, killing all that were trapped and nearby.

With his sniper rifle resting on the railing, Garrus was poised to take out the others that were undoubtedly coming.

"_Here they come…"_ Garrus said to himself, just before pulling the trigger and killing a vorcha that rounded the corner.

"_They're coming from the left!" _Shepard called out as collapsed his heavy weapon and brought out his sniper rifle. "_Get ready down there. They're coming in hard."_

Garrus and Shepard began firing into the enraged Blood Pack mercs as they charged toward the balcony. _"Damn, varren incoming," _grouched Garrus as he tried to get a shot on the fast four-legged war beast.

He needn't have bothered as a shotgun blast from below quickly killed the varren as Miranda and Jacob entered the fray. _"Krogan charging up the stairs!"_ Miranda called out as she suppressed the reinforcements pouring in from the other end of the room.

Shepard merely glanced at the krogan running up the stairs toward his position before putting his eye back into scope and shot another vorcha wielding a flamethrower. The simultaneous explosions from the grenade on the stairs and the vorcha's flamethrower tanks confirmed the kills of two more Blood Pack as he looked for more targets.

Apparently, only three krogan were coordinating this attack, because the vorcha began to just rush their positions. A blunt attack against four fortified, prepared, and trained soldiers stood no chance and in short order, Shepard called the all clear after using Warp on a prone vorcha.

Swapping weapons, Shepard climbed down the stairs carefully with his assault rifle ready searching for anymore threats. He found none.

"_The clinic is close by,"_ Jacob called out.

Shepard turned toward Jacob and saw what caught his attention. A yellow neon sign was easily pointing the way towards Mordin's clinic.

"_All clear here, Shepard,"_ Garrus reported as he swapped weapons and followed Shepard down the stairs.

"_All clear, Commander,"_ Miranda echoed as she rejoined everyone at the bottom floor. _"It seems like we've crossed into Blood Pack territory now,"_ Miranda noted as she stepped around the vorcha corpses.

"_The Blue Suns have lost a lot of ground. I wonder how much they can hold out," _Garrus commented as he looked around the impromptu battle they ended.

"_Come on. The clinic's up ahead_," Shepard called out as he followed the signs into the Auxera District, before stopping suddenly. _"Damn. IEDs…"_

"_Whoa, good eye, Commander. I see them. I should be able to disarm them,"_ Jacob said as he knelt down to study the explosives hidden near some garbage.

"_Garrus, start looking for more. Mordin was obviously prepared for a more violent reception,"_ Shepard ordered as he glanced down the hall. _"And be careful. Looks like this could be awhile…"_

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Auxera District, Mordin's Clinic**_

"_Armed guard and mechs ahead,"_ Jacob reported as they entered the last hallway before entering the clinic proper.

Shepard held back a sigh of relief as they finally reached their destination. While the IED's were obviously set for the mercenaries, Shepard had no idea how they would detonate in their presence. They weren't mercs, but they weren't civilians either, which meant it was better to be safe than sorry. After crossing the makeshift minefield, the squad went down some stairs and through another hallway to see a human with no obvious merc affiliations standing guard with two LOKIs.

"Weapons away," Shepard called out loud.

The guard seemed to relax the armed group collapsed their weapons and approached him in a nonthreatening manner.

"Mordin Solus here?" Shepard asked the guard when he walked up to the makeshift security checkpoint/office.

"Yeah. No funny business once you're in the clinic – unless you want to deal with those mechs or the doctor," the guard warned, though he didn't make any threatening movements with his rifle.

Shepard nodded in compliance before moving through the next door and into the waiting room of the clinic. Stepping inside, it looked about what he was expecting. Dirty, cramped, and full of refugees looking to escape the merc war outside. The majority of the people in the room were human, though there was a fair amount of batarians and turians there as well. The non-human species all seemed to be doing fine, clustered in one area of the waiting room and talking animatedly.

"Looks like Mordin came through. At the very least, they don't seem nearly as bad as the others we've seen," Miranda commented as she looked over the area Shepard was observing.

"Glad to hear it, but I'll keep my hardsuit sealed all the same," Garrus said as he looked around the clinic.

Shepard walked over to the counter where two humans, a man and a woman dressed in medical uniforms, were working and managing the waiting room. "I'm looking for Mordin Solus."

"In the back, door on the right," the female receptionist distractedly said. Shepard nodded in thanks before stepping around two more LOKIs and walked down the hallway lined with cots filled with plague victims and causalities of the mercs outside. Some of the patients were even Blue Suns mercs, wounded or sick. Each was watched over by a LOKI mech.

"Professor – we're running low on cipoxidon," a voice said in the room Shepard was approaching.

"Use malanarin. Plenty on hand. Almost as good. Causes cramping in batarians. Supplement with butemerol," another voice rapidly answered.

Shepard entered the examination room as the assistant made a note in his omni-tool. "Malanarin and butemerol. Got it." He left the room to look for the medicines, too busy to spare a glance at Shepard and his team.

"Cenozine is the catalyst. Bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass produce. Why not heplacore? Too unstable. Inconsistent results. Demozane better option. No, no, no. Demozane toxic to humans. Not an option. Not an option," Professor Mordin Solus muttered to himself as he typed away at a terminal.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Shepard asked, getting the salarian's attention.

Moving quickly away from his terminal, Mordin ran his omni-tool over Shepard and his group. "Turian physiology resilient with simple immunobooster. Sealed hardsuit? Should be fine. Still should administer vaccine anyway. Just in case," he announced as he gave Garrus a syringe.

Turning toward Shepard, he continued speaking in his rapid-fire manner, "Now, to greetings, human. Curious. Don't recognize you from area. Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else." He turned back to his terminal to look over some of his work. "Blood Pack? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Blood Pack a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Yes, yes, yes."

_Wow. Aria wasn't kidding. This guy really likes to hear himself talk…_

Mordin continued to voice his train of thoughts out loud. "Hired guns, maybe? Looking for…"

"You, Mordin," Shepard interrupted. _Who knows when this guy will stop?_ "I'm Commander Shepard. This is Garrus Vakarian, Jacob Taylor, and Miranda Lawson," he introduced, gesturing to everyone in turn. "We came here to find you. We're on a critical mission, and we need your help."

"Mission? What mission?" exclaimed Mordin. "No. No, no, no. Too busy." He ducked down behind some boxes, rummaging for something. "Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast." he continued from below. "Who sent you?" he then asked with a curious tone.

"Ever head of an organization called Cerberus?"

Mordin stood up slowly to regard Shepard more carefully. "Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans." He turned his gaze toward Garrus. "Turian involvement surprising. Racial tension with humans. Unlikely to help a human-centric organization."

Garrus crossed his arms as he stated, "The Commander and I aren't exactly Cerberus Professor. The mission we're on though, it reaches far beyond mere human interests. We all have to work together – to take down the Collectors."

Mordin narrowed his eyes. Crossing one of his arms, he started to tap his chin with the other. "Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." Raising his eyes to regard the armed troupe before him briefly, he turned back to his terminal. "But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Blood Pack guarding it." He glanced at Shepard before he took a breath and finished, "Need to kill them."

Shepard tilted his head back and looked upward. "Just once, I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached'," he sarcastically said. Garrus tried in vain to hold back a snort.

Mordin smiled. Standing up from his terminal with a large vial in hand he said, "Life is a negotiation. We all want. We all give to get what we want."

Suddenly, the loud sounds of the aging ventilation systems began to wind down before stopping completely. The sudden quiet that followed was nothing short of ominous to everyone. Shepard couldn't help but recall a conversation he had with Tali two years ago. It was too quiet on the Normandy SR-1 that she couldn't sleep because mechanical silence on the flotilla meant something was very wrong.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob asked looking up at the vents.

"That wasn't a good noise," Garrus added as he looked around.

Mordin looked at his omni-tool. His eyes widened before he started talking faster than before. "Blood Pack shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates."

Pushing the vial into Shepard's hands, he continued, "Here, take plague cure." Before Shepard could glance at the vial, Mordin held up his hands and continued to talk even faster. "One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into vorcha territory. Looking for victims." The salarian took a deep breath before looking intently into eyes of Shepard's hood. "Hasn't come back."

Nodding in acceptance, Shepard assured the professor. "If I see him, I'll do what I can to help."

Mordin even sighed in relief quickly before nodding in gratitude. "Thank you. Told him not to go. But he's smart. Bright future. I hope."

Holding the cure reminded Shepard about the plague victim he promised to help. "I found a batarian plague victim near the entrance to the neighborhood, the Gozu District. Can you send someone to help him?"

Tilting his head in thought, Mordin answered, "Risky. Blue Suns, Blood Pack still battling. District not secure. See what I can do."

"I cleared most of the various districts just to get here. Anyone you send should be all right," Shepard reminded.

"True. True. Send someone soon then. Must administer cure quickly," Mordin nodded in agreement.

"How long do we have before the oxygen levels become critical?" Miranda asked as Shepard put the cure in a secure pouch.

Mordin started tapping calculations into his omni-tool. "Hmmm. Depends. Many casualties from plague. Various mercenaries. Population dropped significantly in last few weeks. Must factor in fires. Age of environmental controls…"

"Just give us your best guess doctor," Jacob said in exasperation.

Mordin stopped typing and just shrugged. "A day. Maybe two."

"What can you tell us about this plague?" Shepard asked.

"You didn't seem surprised when Garrus mentioned the Collectors," Miranda pointed out.

"Advanced design. Suspected Collectors before you mentioned them. Purpose seems experimental. Destroys respiratory systems with harmful genetic mutations," Mordin explained while pacing and looking over a holopad with his findings. "Makes sense to avoid humans. Unnecessary to force mutation on human genetic structure for sake of variance."

Furrowing his brow, Shepard tried to figure out what the Collectors hoped to gain or learn with this attack. "Unnecessary mutation? What are you talking about?"

"Possible goal of virus. Testing viable mutation level in various species. Horrific but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background. Wider range than other sapient races. Makes sense as control group," the salarian doctor/scientist answered.

Shepard nodded his head in thanks. Turning to his team, he said, "Let's head to the environmental plant."

Moving past his guests, Mordin left to tend to his patients. "Yes. Good. Restore power. Release cure. Will be here when you return."

* * *

A human merc working for Mordin led the team out of the clinic's other exit. "To avoid the mines," she had said. Shepard's trained eye had already picked out half a dozen, but given Mordin's STG training, it was likely that he missed many more.

"There aren't many civilians in this sector, mostly Blood Pack. They're in control of this area. Blue Suns long since got pushed out. They were probably after the environmental controls the whole time," she continued to say.

"I heard that there were some sick batarians out here," Shepard said as he recalled Mordin's request to find one of his assistants.

"They've holed up deeper in. We'll deactivate the mines if they approach, but we're worried about attacks now. Blood Pack is planning something, so we can't let our guard down, that's why I'm leading you out. Until we're sure it's reasonably safe, we can't afford to open up properly. Otherwise, we'd already have gotten Daniel back. He's one of the best Mordin has here," the merc responded. "We'd appreciate if you can get him back in one piece."

Stopping at an entrance to another hallway, she turned toward Shepard. "It's safe from here on out. Or at least it's explosive free. From us I mean. Goddamn Blood Pack is another story. Hope you kill the lot of them," she said with a nod before going back to the clinic.

Disengaging his voice module, Shepard called out to his team. _"Be on your guard. Blood Pack may have fortified their positions here against the Suns. We're on our own."_

Receiving answers in the affirmative, Shepard put his silencer on his HMWP, idly noting Garrus was doing the same to his own Predator. Slowly, the troupe stalked the district, Garrus and Shepard in the lead.

Blood Pack had indeed taken this area of the slums. There were no signs of the Blue Suns anywhere. Thankfully, it seemed that only pockets of mercs were around the area of this residential district. Any mercs they encountered were easily taken care of quickly and quietly by the two infiltrators.

"_Everyone must be at the control room," _Shepard commented.

"_I hear something," _Garrus suddenly said. Everyone stopped moving and tensed up, straining their senses to perceive any threats.

"_Civilian. Sounds like he's in trouble,"_ Jacob announced after a minute.

"_Must be the one Mordin sent us after," _Garrus added.

All four of them approached the door to the apartment to hear a man's voice, quivering in fear, pleading and reasoning with his captors. "Please… I'm telling you the truth. I work for Mordin at the clinic. I came here to help you."

"_Combat Radar says there are three inside," _Shepard called out. _"Garrus, you and me enter first. We'll try to talk them down. Miranda, Jacob. Stay at the door. If they try anything, bang and clear the room. Check your fire. We don't want to hit the hostage."_

"We know you're spreading the plague virus. We saw the vials in your bag," a batarian voice growled.

Taking flanking positions at the door, Garrus stood ready on the left side of the door and gave a nod to Shepard who readied himself on the other side. Jacob stood behind Garrus while Miranda stood behind Shepard. Everyone equipped their pistols.

"No! Those vials contain the cure. Please… you have to believe me!" Daniel begged.

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers. That should loosen your—" the batarian started to threaten before Shepard and Garrus opened the door and sprung into action.

"Hands in the air!" – "Don't move!"

The batarian on the right reached for his shotgun still collapsed on his back, but Shepard's warning shot placed between his feet stilled his hand. Garrus was forced to place a similar shot on the batarian on the left as he tried to ready his pistol. The leader still held his pistol on Daniel.

"Don't even try," Garrus growled.

"Drop the weapons!" Shepard ordered. "Do it now!"

The other two reached for the weapons slowly. The leader raised his pistol against his hostage's head. "Don't…"

"Shut up," Shepard ordered to the armed man. "You two. Just detach them and let them fall. If they start to open up, we'll take you down," he said keeping his pistol pointed at one while Garrus held up the other.

The batarians on the left and right side of the room glanced at each other nervously before pushing the guns off their harnesses, letting them fall to the floor, still in their compact state. The apparent leader was more desperate however and continued to hold his gun up. "Don't move! One more step and we kill your friend!"

Garrus and Shepard immediately trained their weapons at the only armed batarian. "Pull that trigger we'll put a pair of new holes in your head," Shepard threatened menacingly, his gun unwavering and his stance steady. "Let him go and you'll walk away."

"Oh God…" Daniel prayed as he closed his eyes to the confrontation of his captors and saviors.

"You must think batarians are stupid," the leader said with an edge of fear in his voice as his hands started shaking. "What's to stop you from killing us if we let him go?"

"Nothing," Shepard said bluntly. "Let him go and there's a chance you live. Kill him, I can guarantee you die."

The batarian looked shocked and completely unsure what to do. "I'll… I'll kill him!"

Shepard merely shrugged slightly, his masked face betraying nothing. "Then we start shooting and kill you and your friends. Seems standard on Omega. Think his life worth yours or your two buddies? Either let him go and take a chance or try and shoot him and my friend and I kill you and loot the bodies. Either way, the last thing you get to do is try to kill a guy trying to help you."

Daniel started hyperventilating as the batarian considered his limited options. Eventually, he lowered the gun. "Okay… I'm letting him go."

"Drop the gun and step away from him," Garrus ordered.

The batarian complied. "You got what you want. Are we free to go?"

"We have a deal," Shepard calmly said as he lowered his weapon. Garrus followed suit as Miranda and Jacob entered, keeping their weapons in hand, but down. Jacob subtly put his flashbang away.

The batarian looked shocked at the added numbers. "Human nobility. I didn't know such a thing existed."

"I could say the same of you," Shepard shot back. "Leave the weapons and go. You might want to take some of that cure if you're still interested."

All three glanced at other before one of them shrugged and grabbed a vial before sidestepping past Shepard's group. The other two followed his example.

Garrus and Jacob kept their eyes on the batarians as they left, ensuring that the situation was still under control. Shepard and Miranda approached Mordin's assistant as he tried to calm himself down.

"T-Thank you. I-I thought t-they were going to… to k-kill me," he said as he was looking at the floor and wringing his hands. Taking several deep breaths, he looked back up at his rescuers, slightly calmer. "Did Dr. Solus send you to find me?"

Shepard nodded. "The Professor could use your help right now. He's got way too many patients and not enough volunteers."

Daniel gave a rapid nod in return. "Yeah, okay. I'll go right away. Thanks again. I owe you… well… everything."

"Where's the environmental control plant from here?" Miranda asked before Daniel had a chance to run with his bag.

"Not too far. This is the last residential area before you get to the control plant. Just take the hallway over there," he directed, pointing in the indicated direction. "It'll lead to a lift that will take you right over there. Be careful though. There are a lot of vorcha down that way."

After Daniel said his thanks again, Shepard stepped up toward Jacob. "All clear, Commander," he reported.

"The elevator to the control center is ahead. Expect resistance," Shepard said to everyone. Readying his assault rifle over his pistol, Shepard walked slowly down the hall.

* * *

The squad descended to the lower levels of the district via the elevator.

The hostiles they encountered wasn't too difficult. The hallway had opened up to reveal the elevator one floor below. Two sentries were silenced at the end of the hallway by Garrus before he took up a sniper's perch. Several shots killed any vorcha armed with a rocket launcher and all the others were running toward the stairs only to be met by three well prepared humans.

Once the elevator hit the bottom floor, Garrus took point and held his assault rifle ready as everyone followed him down the hall. _"Hold it,"_ he said. _"Blood Pack ahead."_

"_How many?" _Jacob asked from behind him.

"_A lot,"_ Garrus answered grimly.

Jacob pulled up to Garrus to look around. There were at least a dozen vorcha and from their vantage point, he couldn't tell if there were any krogan around. Worse yet, everyone were spread around the room. A glowing yellow sign at the far end of the room denoted the objective: District Environmental Control. _"Damn. Room's too big for the Blackstorm. We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way."_

"_We have no idea how many there are. We might end up fighting an army from here to the controls," _Miranda argued.

"_I agree. We need to do some recon. Maybe arrange a distraction," _Shepard said from the back.

"_You sure about this?" _Garrus asked turning back to look at Shepard.

"_The plague is their best weapon. Once we get the cure in the air, they'll lose their footing. We'll get Omega take care of Omega after that. For now, we need to get these guys out of our way," _Shepard responded.

"_Got it, Shepard. I'll handle it," _volunteered Garrus.

"_You're sure?"_ Shepard parroted back at him.

"_You're not the only one who learned a few tricks the last couple of years,"_ Garrus quipped before vanishing as he engaged his own Tactical Cloak. Barely audible footsteps were heard as Garrus left to cause trouble for the Blood Pack mercs. Again. "_I'll rejoin you at the environmental plant," _he called through the radio.

"_Wait for his signal. We'll make for the far stairs and go around the long way to the door," _Shepard ordered as he prepared to make his own move. _"Weapons ready. Prepare to take out any stragglers that don't leave."_

"_Think he'll be okay?"_ Jacob asked has he shifted his stance.

"_I imagine so. This __**is**_ _what he was doing before we picked him up. Being a turian, most likely they'll think he's a Sun,"_ Miranda said as she prepared to run.

Shepard remained silent, trusting his old friend to do his job. The radio came to life as Garrus reported in. _"Good call Shepard. There's a lot more than we thought. I see four more krogan from here with more vorcha. I'll need a few minutes to set up."_

"_What are you going to do?"_ Shepard asked as he peered around the corner.

"_Nothing fancy. Just a few grenades and IEDs. Should cause enough of a ruckus for you to slip in. I'll try to lure them to the next area and lock'em out with the shutters. By the time they get out or find a way around, we should be done," _Garrus informed.

"_Unless something goes very wrong…"_ Jacob pessimistically said.

"_I'm sure we'll be fine, Jacob," _Miranda chided.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Garrus called back to the others. _"Almost ready. Wait for it…"_

Less than another minute later, several explosions echoed across the Blood Pack's fortifications. Confused yells of surprise and outrage crossed the room back to Shepard's position as he waited to make his move. Sounds of gunfire followed the explosions as Garrus began raining bullets on the disoriented mercs.

The last two surviving krogan roared in challenge and called for the vorcha to hunt down the fleeing turian. Screaming various battle cries, the vorcha gave chase, only to run into the IEDs Garrus created. Seizing the opportunity, Garrus fired off more shots directly at the krogan, enraging them further, before running down another hallway to another district. Soon after, the sounds of the firefight left the massive room as most of them left.

"_Go!" _Shepard shouted and moved through the shadows, keeping his weapon trained on the vorcha that were still alive, but too wounded to give chase. All three humans closed the distance and immediately opened fire on the regenerating vorcha, eventually securing the area temporarily.

As Shepard approached the door, he received an incoming call from EDI. Tapping his omni-tool, he activated the channel. _"Go ahead, EDI."_

"_Shepard, I've scanned the room up ahead of your current position. The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the systems there," _she informed.

"_That's it?"_ Jacob asked skeptically. _"I was thinking it would be more complicated than that."_

"_It is, Operative Taylor,"_ confirmed EDI._ "After injecting the cure and the systems reactivated, you will need to turn on the fans. I have located the fan controls. There are two, one either side of the room."_

"_Anything else?"_ Miranda asked.

"_My scans reveal a large number of life forms inside the control room. I assume that they are hostiles. Expect around 20 to 25 enemies within."_

"_Thanks EDI," _Shepard gratefully said. He turned toward the Cerberus operatives. _"You heard her. Controls at the back of the room. Check your fire. We didn't come all this way just to shoot everything up. Push forward. When the controls are to our backs, then we can cut loose."_

After hearing their affirmatives, he opened the door which led to a short hallway with the control room at the end. Leading the way, he crossed the threshold, where a vorcha at the other end of the room noticed his entry and turned to snarl at the intruders.

"You no come here!" he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. "We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors—"

Shepard interrupted the vorcha's screeching with a short burst from his rifle. Miranda and Jacob followed quickly and opened fire on the four other mercs at the back, taking care not to hit any of the machinery. The other vorcha roared in challenge as they fired back.

"_They're coming from both sides!" _Miranda declared as she took cover.

"_Jacob! Frag the right! I'll hit the left!"_ Shepard called out as he threw a grenade down the left stairs and scattered the reinforcements. Turning, he saw Miranda pinned down by enemy fire. Turning his rifle, he immediately started to suppress her attackers to give her a chance to break cover and fire back.

Miranda leapt at the chance and used her Warp on a vorcha. The armor was broken through and the unfortunate victim screamed as his ability to regenerate was negated by the biotic attack.

"_Night, night!"_ Miranda taunted as she focused her rifle on the opponents climbing the stairs Shepard had pushed back moments ago.

Shepard ran toward the center console, catching a vorcha with a headshot. "_I'm moving up! Watch my back!"_

One last vorcha stood in the way, firing blindly from behind a pillar. Summoning on his novice biotic talents, Shepard called his own Warp and curved it around through the empty space and into the hidden merc. The vorcha screamed as the attack struck him and fell from cover. The armor held though and the merc started to shake his head, trying to clear the pain. He immediately got back up only to catch a burst of automatic fire from the Spectre.

"_Move up!" _Shepard ordered.

Miranda and Jacob complied as they slowly rejoined Shepard at the front, still firing on the horde of vorcha still coming from the sides.

Shepard ducked behind one of the pillars lining the room. _"Garrus! Where are you?"_

"_On my way back and I'm bringing a lot of company!" _came the frantic response.

_Damn. So much for the Blackstorm… _Shepard dejectedly thought. He couldn't fire without the assurance that Garrus could run into the room at the wrong moment. _"Jacob, make ready with the missile launcher! Miranda, help me funnel them closer to each other!"_

"_Got it, Commander!" _Jacob said as he collapsed his shotgun and readied his heavy weapon.

Giving a nod to Miranda, Shepard turned and Lifted two vorcha on the left. Miranda followed quickly with Warp, the biotic energies exploding more violently than any grenade and prompting the survivors to take cover closer to the middle.

"_Yes!" _Miranda cheered.

Seeing some of the mercs grouped together, Jacob hopped from cover to release three rockets right on their position, killing most and scattering the others. The vorcha scrambled to find cover, but fell quickly to the precise shooting of Shepard and Miranda.

"_Cover me! I'm injecting the cure!" _Shepard said as he raced for the console. The Blood Pack attempted to fire on the exposed human, but rockets and biotics exploding near their cover prompted them to hide again.

Inserting the vial into a slot at the control panel, Shepard began typing furiously, studiously ignoring the bullets raining down around him.

_Come on, come on…_

Various symbols, words, and lights began appearing around Shepard as he worked as quickly as possible. After a few tense minutes filled with explosions and gunfire, all the systems stated that they were on standby as Shepard finished re-initializing the environmental controls. _"Done!"_

"_Finally!" _Jacob said as he fired another salvo. _"I'm almost out of ammo here!"_

"_We need to get to the fan controls now!" _Miranda reminded as she launched another Warp at the vorcha.

Many more remained as they tried to use their dwindling numbers to overwhelm the protagonists.

Garrus' voice suddenly chimed into the radio. _"Coming through!"_

The turian ran right into the room like a madman; unaware or uncaring of the vorcha that were already firing on the three humans. Everyone was caught completely by surprise by his sudden appearance that they simply stared as Garrus ran through their ranks as if they weren't even there. For the Blood Pack, shock changed to outrage as they all raised their weapons to fire on the crazy turian. They never saw the grenades Garrus dropped at their feet when he passed by.

"_Few less to worry about!"_ Garrus crowed as the heat from the explosion washed over him. He continued running down the length of the room firing his rifle blindly in one hand and lobbing the last of his grenades with the other, killing any of the survivors.

The immediate vorcha threat inside the control room was over with Garrus' appearance, but he continued to fire through the doorway regardless. The reason became apparent as several angry krogan and more vorcha burst into the room, looking to get the turian's blood.

"_Open fire!" _Shepard ordered as he brought out his Blackstorm Projector. _"Keep them in one place!"_

As Shepard charged his weapon, Jacob gave Garrus an incredulous look through his transparent faceplate. _"I thought you were trying to lock them somewhere!"_

Garrus dove behind some cover and ejected a thermal clip. _"I did! Then I ran into the Blood Pack looking to attack the clinic and got their attention too!" _he defended before popping out of cover to fire wildly at the charging Blood Pack. _"You won't believe how much I had to run from!"_

Their argument was put on hold as Shepard fired off a miniature blackhole. The artificial creation slowly traveled down the room and toward the mercs. They ran from their cover only to be cut down as Shepard's squad fired on anyone trying to run from the singularity. As the gravity well settled in the middle of the Blood Pack's group, Shepard called out to his team, ignoring the frantic screaming. _"Jacob, Garrus. You two go to the fan on the right. Miranda, we'll take the fan on the left."_

"_Got it."_

"_Roger."_

"_You bet."_

The explosion of the unstable blackhole signaled their charge. "_Move it!" _he commanded.

Immediately, everyone jumped up and fired on anything that looked to be a threat. Some of the krogan had managed to escape the worst of the Blackstorm's attack and were trying their best to hold their ground. One krogan gave out a loud roar before charging directly at Shepard.

"_Krogan charging!" _Miranda cried out.

Glowing briefly, Shepard thrust out his arm, his biotic attack slamming into the krogan and sending him across the room where he hit the wall with a sickening crack.

"_Firing a concussive shot!"_ Shepard heard Garrus call out. Two more krogan were blasted out of cover into Jacob's line of sight.

Shepard turned away from them, trusting that they would succeed in their job. With Miranda hot on his heels, Shepard ran down a set of stairs and peeked around the corner only to duck back bullets struck his cover.

"_This'll put them down," _Miranda said as she moved around Shepard and tossed a grenade. The explosion allow them to jump from cover and push toward the fan control.

"_Flamethrower!" _Shepard warned as a vorcha ran out of the sub-control room roaring at them.

"_I got him," _Miranda assured as she aimed for the gas tank.

Her aim true, the vorcha stopped roaring and started screaming as he flailed about, trying to get the tank off. After the subsequent explosion, Miranda charged ahead her Pulse Rifle firing in short bursts at the last of the Blood Pack resistance on their end. Shepard followed closely, keeping his eyes peeled for any last second threats.

"_Activate the fan. I'll cover the door," _Shepard said to her as they stopped inside the fan control room.

"_Understood, Commander," _Miranda acknowledged. Setting her rifle down within reach, she began typing the commands into the console.

"_Garrus, what's your status?" _Shepard called as he held vigil at the doorway. Sounds of gunfire could still be heard.

"_We're at the control room. I'm getting the fan back on, but it looks like the Blood Pack really wants me dead. Taylor's holding the door, but we might need some help getting out," _Garrus reported.

"_We're almost finished here," _Miranda said. _"Hold on… done."_

The massive fans above them slowly turned, the blades gaining speed with each passing second. Within moments, they were emitting a constant, rumbling roar.

"_First fan is on,"_ Miranda informed. She rejoined Shepard as they moved quickly to the other team.

"_Second fan is coming on…" _Garrus trailed off as he continued to work. _"Now."_

The second set of massive fans joined the first as the stale air was rotated out with fresh atmosphere.

_As fresh as it gets on Omega anyway,_ Shepard distantly thought as he prepared to flank the last of the Blood Pack. After telling Miranda to hold her position at the top of the stairs, Shepard activated his own Tactical Cloak and ghosted toward the mercs, his last grenade primed and ready. After dropping his deadly payload in the middle of their cover, Shepard quickly moved away.

_Just once. Just once! I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached'. Hmph. It's never that easy._

* * *

_**Location: Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik, Omega, Auxera District, Mordin's Clinic**_

The band of heroes stepped tiredly back into the clinic. After a frantic run back through the Blood Pack controlled district, they all looked a little worse for wear. Various burn marks and dents lined their armor when shields failed or were breached.

The three humans had taken off their helmets when they arrived; Garrus opted to keep his armor sealed until they left Omega and was decontaminated.

The people inside the clinic that were healthy or strong enough started clapping and cheering for the small group as they entered. Taking their praise in stride, Shepard headed for the rooms in the back to speak with Mordin. His intentions were sidetracked as he noted the two humans from the apartment were in attendance at the clinic.

"Oh! It's you! Thanks for bringing us here," the man said gratefully.

"You probably saved our lives," the woman added.

Nodding and smiling to both of them, Shepard moved on. Upon entering the examination room Mordin was in, he spotted the sick batarian from the entrance of the Gozu District sitting upright on an examination bed. Mordin was muttering out loud as he poured over his terminal.

"I… I know you," the batarian hesitantly said, squinting all four eyes. "From before. You found me." He offered Shepard a small smile. "You told Mordin about me, didn't you? You… you saved my life."

"The last time I saw you, you were too weak to move," Shepard said.

"Two of Mordin's assistants found me," he explained. "They gave me the vaccine and brought me back here once I was stable." He bowed his head as the memories surfaced. "They were humans, but they risked their lives to find me and bring me to safety."

"Remember this the next time you're about to judge our species then," advised Shepard. Recalling Alenko's words, he added, "We have jerks and saints just like any other species out there."

The batarian nodded. "I was wrong about you, human. I was wrong about a lot of things. I owe you my life. Thank you."

"Glad to see you're okay," Shepard responded before Mordin spoke up.

"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Blood Pack retreating," Mordin listed off as he checked his terminal. He turned away from his terminal and spared a quick glance at Shepard as he walked calmly by. "Well done, Shepard. Thank you," he praised before running his omni-tool over the batarian.

Daniel stepped up to offer his gratitude. "And thank you from me, as well. Those batarians would have killed me." Rubbing his head in relief, he added, "For a second there, I thought you were going to shoot them even after they let me go."

Holding his Recon Hood in his left hand, Shepard crossed his arms and shrugged. "They were sick and scared. There was no point in hurting them."

Mordin turned to regard him. "Merciful of you. Risky. Would have killed them myself," he admitted bluntly.

Daniel looked shocked. Stepping forward and turning to face Mordin, he asked indignantly, "Professor, how can you say that? You're a doctor. You believe in helping people."

Mordin merely shrugged as he calmly responded. "Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients. Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps."

Daniel looked like he wanted to argue his point more, but Mordin simply placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder and ushered him out the door. "Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said."

Turning to face Shepard, Mordin smiled. "Good kid. Bit naïve. He'll learn. Letting him take over the clinic. Should be able to handle it now that the Blood Pack are gone."

"We've cured the plague. Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises." Mordin actually sounded excited about the idea. "Just need to finish up here at the clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship," he said in his rapid manner as he glanced around. Taking a breath, he finished, "Looking forward to it."

Shepard turned his head and nodded to Miranda. Nodding back, she engaged her omni-tool. "I'm transmitting the name and location of our ship," she explained.

Shepard reached out and shook hands with the salarian scientist. "We'll see you there, Professor."

* * *

***Encrypted***

_**Dossier: The Professor Mission Report**_

_Recruited Dr. Mordin Solus for the team._

_Examination of Omega plague cure confirms Dr. Solus' expertise._

_Can also use work on Omega as leverage against Aria T'Loak if necessary._

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'd like to apologize for my absence. Like many others, I have other considerations to look at. School, my personal life, and my own library of games take up a great deal of my time. However, the one thing that caused my delay the most was the bane of author's everywhere: writer's block. My creative juices grounded to a halt, forcing me to only type a sentence every few days. If the chapter was lacking in any way, I am sorry. Most of my best ideas seem to happen at Horizon and beyond.

In combination with **Heavy Rain**, my time became a precious commodity as I balance school work and home studies with this thoroughly addicting game. Utterly beautiful.

Anyhoo, I finally broke out of my funk with a combination of **Heavy Rain**, various fanfics, music, and the proper TV shows/movies with a dose of re-reading my various reviews. Speaking of which…

Woohoo! 100 reviews! Yeah! Thanks to all!

*Ahem*

Music: **I Will Not Bow** by Breaking Benjamin. There's something about this that just really reminds me of Shepard.

I should also note that I made a reference to **Band of Brothers **in this chapter for anyone savvy enough to spot it.

I changed Kenn's role a bit as many will have noticed. First the original price was 1000, but considering the prices you could buy at his kiosk, after the discount, I'm surprised he was still there. So I raised it a notch. Also, I wanted to slightly tweak some of the engine parts side quest to better fit the story later.

Also, Garrus. He's an infiltrator, hence the sniper rifle and the assault rifle. The game is set that only Shepard has heavy weapons and the advanced techniques of the various classes. Obviously I'm changing that, so Garrus, in his two years of vigilantism, learned a few things. Others will as well. For instance, Samara, who's supposed to be 600 years old and a well trained biotic warrior, will know singularity.

Since my semester started and with a new host of games coming out, (New content for Mass Effect, Splinter Cell, Final Fantasy 13, Resonance of Eternity, Red Steel 2, Alpha Protocol, Dragon Age Awakenings, Command and Conquer 4…), my updates will come at a slower pace. At least a chapter a month, maybe two, depending if I get back into my groove again. Sorry!

Finally, certain reviewers tend to ask me questions about my fic, my opinions/theories, or simply because they want to know a little about where I'm going with this. I love answering as some may already know. However, some people don't actually enable Private Messaging, so I really have no way to contact them. If you really want an answer to any question, just pop on to your control panel and turn it on and I'll be happy to get back to you as best I can. Otherwise, there's nothing I can say or do and I'll simply accept your question as criticism to better my writing.


	9. Interlude III

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / Omega Nebula / Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

"Commander, Professor Solus has just arrived. Yeoman Chambers has escorted him to the briefing room where he is currently waiting. I've taken the liberty of informing Executive Lawson and Operative Taylor as well."

"Thanks EDI," Shepard called out.

Stepping out of his cabin after a shower and a clean change of clothes, Shepard finally felt the tension of the last mission wash away. Stepping briskly to the lift, he descended to the CIC where he spotted Miranda next to the galaxy map looking over a holopad. The sound of the doors opening prompted her to turn around. "Commander," she greeted. Nodding back at her, he walked around through the armory and into the Comm/Briefing Room, Miranda in step next to him.

Inside, Shepard saw Mordin pacing around looking excited while Jacob stood to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Miranda crossed the room and stepped up to the salarian. "Welcome to the Normandy, Professor. It's an honor to have you aboard."

"Yes. Very exciting," Mordin replied, still pacing the room and glancing about. "Cerberus working with aliens. Unexpected. Illusive Man branching out, maybe? Not so human-centric?"

Shepard raised his eyebrow. "You're very well informed."

"Salarian government well connected. Espionage experts," he explained, stopping his pacing to focus on Shepard. "Had top level clearance once. Retired now. Still hear things." Shaking his head in thought and taking a breath, he admitted, "Informed of name only. No knowledge of man behind it. Anti-alien reputation listed as problematic."

_Well, there's no point in deception then…_ "Cerberus' goals haven't changed Professor, at least as much as I'm privy to anyway. As far as I know, humans still come first in the Illusive Man's eyes. But this mission is too big for them to handle alone."

"The Collectors are abducting human colonists out on the fringes of Terminus Space," Jacob explained from the other side of the table.

"Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple," Mordin deduced as he began pacing again.

Jacob began pacing as well as he explained. "Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any kinds of attack. There's virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all… except that every man, woman, and child is gone," he said, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. Shepard could still hear the bitter undercurrent in his tone though.

Turning his gaze toward Mordin, Shepard could easily visualize the gears in the professor's head spinning.

Miranda had to step out of the way as Mordin's pacing moved around the table. He started speculating theories out loud to himself, "Gas, maybe? No. Spreads too slow. Airborne virus? No. Slower than gas. Drugged water supply? No. Effects not simultaneous…"

"Cerberus has already conducted several investigations as to how the Collectors attack the colonies, Professor," Miranda interrupted. "I've had all the samples forwarded to us from some of the colonies that were attacked once we became aware of the Collector threat."

Shepard turned to Miranda in surprise. "Another colony was attacked?"

"Ferris Fields. I was only just received the reports when we returned to the Normandy," Miranda confirmed. "Now that we know whom we're up against, Cerberus investigators managed to procure a few samples just hours after the attack. They're en route as we speak. We should receive them in about two hours or so."

Nodding at her, Shepard turned his gaze to Mordin. "We'd like you to analyze them and figure out how counter the attack," he requested.

"Yes. Of course. Analyze the samples," Mordin quickly agreed. He turned toward the door before turning on his heel to face everyone. "Going to need a lab."

"There is a fully-equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus," EDI informed.

Mordin began glancing around quickly, seeking the source of the voice as EDI continued. "If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order."

"Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesized voice. VI? No. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be… no. Have to ask." Mordin stopped his pacing and started tapping his chin. "Is that an AI?" he slowly inquired as he stopped looking around and looked directly at Shepard.

Shepard nodded. "This ship is equipped with an artificial intelligence. Her name is EDI."

Still tapping his chin in thought, Mordin's eyes narrowed as he continued his habit of speaking his thoughts out loud. "An AI on board? Non-human crew members? Cerberus more desperate than I thought."

"The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we have to do to find and stop them," Jacob said with conviction.

"Yes. Of course," Mordin agreed, nodding his head before shaking his head right after. "Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples." He turned around and took a step toward the door before turning around again. "Which way to the lab?" he asked.

Shepard glanced at Jacob.

Nodding his head, Jacob walked toward the exit while gesturing to Mordin to come with him. "Follow me, Professor."

After they both left, Miranda turned her head toward Shepard. "Well, he's certainly interesting," she commented, getting his attention. "I'll grant him officer's security clearance. He'll be noted as the science officer, if that's all right with you?" At Shepard's agreement, she smiled and continued. "Well, I also have to send a report to the Illusive Man. Jacob will give your biotics lesson later this evening." Giving the commander a nod of her own, Miranda left.

**~o~O~o~**

Leaving through the armory and noting that Jacob wasn't there yet, _probably still with Mordin in the lab_, he thought. "EDI, ask Jacob to begin modifications on Garrus' weapons when he gets back."

"As you wish Shepard. Logging you out."

That said, he left the armory and to the CIC and bridge to talk to Joker.

"Hello Kelly," Shepard greeted as he left the armory. The yeoman looked up from the holopad the she was typing from. "Oh! Commander, I'm sorry. I didn't see you come in…"

"It's fine," Shepard casually said.

"I was just revising the psych profile on Professor Mordin Solus," she explained. Looking a little dazed as she recalled the short tour with the salarian, she said, "His profile warned of hyper behavior, but he is like a hamster on coffee." Shaking her head and smiling, she couldn't help but comment, "He's going to be a very productive member of the team."

Easily remembering his few encounters with Mordin, Shepard privately agreed.

"Is there anything else I can do for you Commander?"

Pulling away from his thoughts, Shepard shook his head. "No, as you were, Kelly."

Continuing his trek up the bridge, Joker spun his chair around to face Shepard.

_He must really love that chair._

"So are we finally leaving, Commander?" Joker asked. "It's not that I don't like Omega or anything, but sleeping with my pistol in my hand every night kinda makes me a bit jumpy."

"I'm here to let you know that we'll be leaving the moment our resupply is complete. I need to send someone to resupply our armaments and supplies. Considering the last two dossiers, we might not be docking at civilization for awhile," Shepard informed him.

"Saying that implies that we're **at** civilization. That was the Citadel. Here: dirty, smelly, and bullet-ridden usually means demilitarized war zone," Joker retorted. "The only thing that makes it different is the fact that you can go clubbing here too."

Before Shepard could offer a rebuttal, EDI made her presence known from her pedestal on the starboard side of the cockpit. "Commander, Aria T'Loak wishes to speak with you. I have her on standby at the Comm room."

Turning his attention from Joker to the glowing blue orb on his left, Shepard nodded. "Got it EDI."

"Alright, see ya Commander," Joker said as his chair rotated again.

**~o~O~o~**

"_Well, I did say you were interesting. Now I mean it. Seems like I have to do a little cleaning in my organization."_

Shepard said nothing as he looked at Aria's holographic projection coming from the center of the room.

The oblong table was placed in the room for briefings. It appeared wooden, the lengths of the table were slightly curved, with the center hollowed out and set with glass. Underneath the table was a holographic projector that usually portrayed the Normandy just above the glass setting. Once communications had been established, the table descended into the floor to allow life sized projections similar to Shepard's previous meetings with the council.

Aria crossed her arms. _"While I appreciate the heads-up, no one on Omega would do this for free. What do you want?"_

Shepard shrugged. "Nothing." At Aria's disbelieving look, he elaborated, "For now. Since you're 'Omega', I figured if you owe me a favor, I can collect if I need it."

Aria glared at Shepard a little while longer before nodding her head. _"Fine. Just don't push your luck." _

"Then that's it for now. Don't worry, we'll be leaving soon," Shepard responded.

Aria smiled at him, though it didn't reach her eyes. _"I appreciate that you kept this private. Now do yourself a favor and get a nice girl to keep you warm. You look like you could use it."_ With those parting words, she shut down the link.

**~o~O~o~**

Leaving the Comm room, Shepard entered the Normandy's lab to speak with Mordin. However, the lab itself appeared completely empty. Confused, Shepard looked around a little more for any sign of him before leaving the room. _Maybe Jacob is giving him a tour?_

Deciding to get dinner, he entered the crew deck to find Jacob eating at the tables and the Medical Bay door open, with Mordin inside. Now curious, Shepard walked in to find Dr. Chakwas engaged in conversation with Dr. Solus.

"Evening," Shepard said, announcing his presence.

"Oh. Good evening Commander," greeted Chakwas from her chair. "I was just speaking to our newest crew member."

"Was looking for supplies. Needed to properly prepare for experiments," Mordin explained from his seat across from her. "Dr. Chakwas had what I needed. Decided to engage in professional conversation." He paused to take a breath. "Found her very knowledgeable."

"She's one of the best I've served with," Shepard agreed.

"You're too kind Commander," Chakwas graciously said. "But the Professor is quite skilled himself. He was kind enough to help me with my hangover. After his treatment, I feel much better. It's nice to have an extra set of experienced medical hands around here."

Shepard smiled at her before turning toward Mordin. "Jacob giving you a tour then?"

"No, no. Left me at the lab. Said he was getting dinner. Informed me of the location. Wanted to get started right away," Mordin answered.

"Is the lab sufficient enough for your purposes?"

"Quite satisfactory. Found a few surveillance bugs. Destroyed most of them. Returned expensive one to Miranda before coming here," he cheerfully said with a small laugh. "Nothing unexpected."

Shepard couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance and jealousy at Mordin's quick discovery of the surveillance bugs while it took him an hour to remember and locate them himself.

"Also did inventory of lab supplies. Which is why I'm here. And to talk with my new colleague," Mordin continued, giving a nod and a smile to Chakwas. "Now just need more samples. More Collector data, tissue sample. Anything you get, I can use. Find new tech." Mordin stopped to take a breath as he looked around the Med Bay. "Impressive medical bay. Impressive laboratory setup. Missed working for operations with a budget. AI in particular very helpful. Best setup since work with Special Tasks Group."

"Was it ever frustrating?" Chakwas inquired. When Mordin turned to face her, she clarified, "Working on Omega I mean, especially with limited facilities and resources."

Mordin offered her a grin. "No! Loved it! Limited facility presents challenge. Save greatest number of people using limited resources," he said with obvious gusto. "Security threats, gangs, mercenary groups add additional difficulty. Quite enjoyable. Plague stretched abilities to limit. Couldn't have asked for more," Mordin finished with relish.

Chakwas' face had a cross between surprised and incredulous as she listened to the difficulties Mordin seemed to enjoy tackling. "Well," she finally managed to say, "That's certainly much more excitement than anything I've encountered." She shook her head ruefully as she looked at Shepard. "And here I thought I'd been through much as a starship doctor. It appears that I've met my superior."

"Superior?" Mordin asked. He shook his head and waved his hand empathically. "No, no, no. Simply another doctor."

"No need to be modest Professor," Chakwas replied with a smile. "It's obvious that you're no mere doctor considering your wide range of talents in other fields. I, on the other hand, am only well-versed in saving lives. Past that, I can't say that I have such an interesting… variety… of skills."

Mordin offered a small smile of his own. "Well, also enjoy saving people. Helping the helpless, greater good. All that, too. Nice retirement after STG work complete," he said softly.

Chakwas gave Shepard a side glance. "Well then. It appears that we all have something in common."

"What kind of work did you do for the Special Tasks Group?" Shepard asked curiously as he walked over to the nearest bed to sit down.

"Many things. Research. Several recon missions. Covert, high-risk. Served under young captain named Kirrahe. Studied krogan genophage. Took water, tissue samples from krogan colonies," explained Mordin.

"Kirrahe… that name sounds familiar," Chakwas said as she furrowed her brow in thought.

"Virmire," Shepard reminded her. "We worked with an STG captain named Kirrahe. His team and mine worked together to destroy Saren's cloning facility there."

Mordin sat up straighter in his chair. "Heard he was part of that! Jury-rigged explosive?" Leaning back in his chair, Mordin look up as he recalled his experiences with Kirrahe. "Hmph. Always got job done with limited resources. Good captain." Then Mordin frowned a bit. He sat up in his chair again as he began his habit of speaking his thoughts out loud. "Bit of a cloaca, though. Loved his speeches. Hold the line!" Mordin imitated, shaking his hand like Kirrahe. "Personally prefer to get job done and go home. Probably military bravado. Jargon, chest-pounding," he said, just before he remembered his audience. "Uh… no offense," he apologized while holding his hands up in supplication.

"Why would the STG need to study the genophage?" Chakwas asked curiously.

Mordin bowed his head. "Krogan Rebellions bloody, dangerous. Nearly as bad as rachni attacks." Looking at the two humans, he explained, "All species evolve, adapt, mutate. If genophage weakens, need to be prepared."

"What was the STG preparing to do?" Shepard asked.

"Military schematics for likely krogan population growth. Political scenarios for attack points," Mordin answered neutrally. "Genophage reduced krogan numbers. Species aggression unchecked. Population explosion would be disastrous. STG helped check Krogan Rebellions. Needed to be ready to do the same. Simple recon. Nothing to worry about."

Something about Mordin's statement seemed off to Shepard, though Chakwas appeared satisfied with his answer.

"_Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple."_

_They wouldn't need a scientist of Mordin's caliber to 'study' the genophage. Not unless they found some sort of evidence that STG __**needed**__ Mordin's help…_ Shepard thought.

"What can you tell me genophage?" Shepard casually asked.

"Bio-weapon designed by salarian science team. Deployed by turians against krogans to end Krogan Rebellions more than a thousand years ago. Affects every cell of krogan body. Commonly and incorrectly considered a sterility plague," Mordin responded in a lecturing tone. "Actually adjusts viable fertility rates to compensate for high krogan birthrate. Stabilizes to pre-industrial population growth levels."

"In other words, the genophage is meant to manage the krogan population to more acceptable numbers," Chakwas translated. "If the plague was intended to kill the krogan, it would have been done the first time."

Mordin nodded. "Salarians wished to help galaxy. Help krogan. Ultimately and unfortunately, genophage was only option." Bowing his head, he said, "Would argue against using it if I could." Shaking his head, Mordin grabbed several boxes on the table next to him and stood up. "Should get back to work. Need to study. So much to do," he said, his fast-paced speech sounding even more rushed. "Be in the lab if you need me. Wonderful to meet you Dr. Chakwas."

"Yes, of course Dr. Solus. And I'm sure Daniel will handle things just fine," Chakwas said from her chair.

Remembering saving Mordin's assistant, Shepard asked, "Will he alright?

Mordin turned back from the door. "Quite well. Safe and secure. Neighborhood mostly quiet with plague and mercenaries gone. Left him the security mechs, just in case. Can't be too careful. Also tired of mechs. Noisy. Never used them in STG."

"Judging by the latest quarantine reports, the plague has been completely eradicated, Dr. Solus," EDI suddenly informed. "Your assistant has been helping any patients with complications."

Mordin grinned. "Excellent. Knew he could do it," he proudly said.

Letting the matter drop, Shepard looked out of the Med Bay's windows to see Garrus eating with Jacob now. "You don't want to get dinner first?"

"Already ate before arriving. Anxious to get to work," Mordin said before turning around and leaving, but in better spirits it seemed.

"Well, I must admit, I'm much more optimistic about this mission now, Shepard," Chakwas commented. "And it'll be nice to have someone to talk to."

Turning to the doctor, Shepard smiled. "I'm glad to see that you're looking okay. I thought hangover would still have you down a bit."

Remembering last night, Chakwas looked abashed as she looked Shepard in the eye. "Commander, I very much enjoyed sharing that ice brandy with you, but I hope I wasn't too unprofessional," she said before shaking her head. "Brandy goes straight to my head."

"Don't worry about it Doc. It's nice to see you let your hair down," Shepard easily said.

Chakwas sighed in relief. "Guess I hadn't realized how much those feelings needed airing. But I didn't give you much of a chance to vent." Leaning forward, she asked, "So tell me now – what do you think?"

Though Shepard shrugged, his face was serious. "Everyone is depending on us. We won't let them down," he simply said.

"They just don't make them like you anymore, Shepard," Chakwas said, smiling. "Well, promise me we'll share a bottle every year. The next on is on me."

"Deal."

**~o~O~o~**

After receiving his meal from Rupert, Shepard sat down next to Garrus and across from Jacob at the Common Area.

"We leaving Omega Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"First things first. I need you get some more grenades, thermal clips and other supplies we'll need. We're not going to be docking for a while," Shepard said. "If you need help, I'll get some crewmen to go with you."

"Got it," Garrus answered as he ate out his MRE.

"We leave as soon as you come back, so if you want out quickly, shop quickly," Shepard said as he began eating.

Polishing off his dinner, Jacob stood up. "I'm going ahead downstairs. Get a light workout. I'll see you there, Commander."

After Jacob left, Shepard looked down the hall of the Crew Deck and toward the Main Batteries. "Have you had a chance to acclimate to the Normandy's armaments?"

"Oh yeah," Garrus suddenly said. "I wanted to talk you about that. It looks like Cerberus upgraded what the ship carried before. Should have a bit more kick." Turning serious, he turned in his seat to face Shepard. "I still don't like our chances against a Collector ship though. Not unless we upgrade the guns."

"Sounds like you have some ideas for those upgrades," Shepard noted.

"A few, yeah," Garrus answered before hesitating. "I'll talk to you about that later. After you're finished with your business with Taylor and I'm done shopping, alright?"

Shepard raised his eyebrow at that. Garrus wasn't one to beat around the bush. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Garrus could only shrug in response. Finishing his meal, he stood up. "I'll see you later, Commander," he said before leaving.

Turning to his meal, Shepard listened to the conversations around him. Several crewmen were sitting or standing at the table next to his. They appeared to be comforting Crewman Hadley.

Seeing Shepard's gaze, the other helmsman, Hawthorne, explained. "Hadley has a brother at Ferris Fields."

Shepard furrowed his brow at the news. Looking at Hadley, Shepard also saw Miranda step out of her office.

Upon hearing his name, Hadley looked up to see Shepard looking at him. Just then, Matthews came into the Common Area. "Damn, Hadley. I just heard the news. Any news on your brother?"

Hadley didn't answer immediately, opting to look down at the tabletop. Gabby answered for him. "Everyone's gone," she said gently.

"Gone. They're all gone…" Hadley repeated, as if trying to wrap his head around that fact.

"Damn it. Don't worry Hadley, we'll get them back," Matthews assured, patting his friend on the back. "Shepard and Lawson are on it. We'll get your brother back and make sure the Collectors pay for taking him," continued Matthews, unaware that Miranda was behind him and Shepard sitting at the next table over.

Ken jumped in, also unaware of the commanding officers nearby, "That's right! We're going to make those dirty buggers pay!"

Deciding to remain quiet, Shepard turned back to his meal.

Miranda took the opportunity to retrieve some dinner of her own and sit across from Shepard. However, her movements caught the attention of Rolston.

"Ma'am! Director Lawson!" Rolston called out, getting her attention. Moving around his table, he approached Miranda as she looked up from her seat. "Um… New Canton… It's not far from Ferris Fields… my wife and daughter…" he trailed off, running his hand through his hair. "My mother-in-law is giving us grief. She's pretty stubborn. I mean… is my family going to be okay? Will they get to the transport?" he asked in a rush.

"Calm down, Crewman," Miranda firmly, but gently said. "I understand what you're going through. I truly do. Rest assured, if I have to order the transport team to physically drag them away, I will. Your family will be safe. You have my word on that."

Rolston sagged with relief. "Thank you, ma'am. I didn't want to bother you, but…"

"It's fine Crewman," Miranda said. She looked around and noticed that the others were openly staring at both Shepard and herself, finally aware that they were talking about their commander officers, right in front of them. "Don't worry," Miranda said to the crew at large. "We're doing everything we can to stop this threat, right Commander?" Miranda asked, bringing Shepard into the limelight.

Shepard looked at the various assembled crew. "We're **all** going to do what we can to stop them. All of us. Make no mistake about it. These attacks will be answered. We're not going to let them continue as if they have free reign to do whatever the hell they want. Just do what you're trained to do and show them why they made their last mistake."

The crewmen all cheered in response and looked much better than they did a few minutes ago. Rupert even broke out a bit of brandy to pass along to Hadley.

"Are you going to be okay?" Shepard asked the stricken crewman.

Hadley managed to look him in the eyes. "Yes, sir. I'll do my job. You can count on it. We're the only ones that can stop these bastards."

Nodding in acceptance, Shepard left it to Hadley's friends to keep his morale up. Turning his gaze to Miranda, he caught her observing him.

"I must say, I'm impressed, Shepard. So far things have gone exceptionally well," she praised. "As Cerberus operations go, this is one of the best I've been a part of."

Shepard gave her a small smirk. "Maybe that's because this** isn't** a Cerberus operation."

Miranda shrugged in response. "Not to you maybe. But I report directly to the Illusive Man. And I'm here because he wants me to be." Looking directly into Shepard's eyes, she advised, "Cerberus gave you a second chance, Commander. Maybe you should do the same for us."

Shepard hummed indifferently. "Hmm… Cerberus gave me a second chance because they had a use for me, not because they were being nice," he pointed out. "I'm here right now and I'm going along with this mission to the end. That's more than enough. Especially since everyone is aware of our odds. I'm not about to join Cerberus and I'm not about to compromise myself or my beliefs for them."

Miranda studied Shepard for a few more moments before nodding. "Fair enough," she acquiesced before returning to her dinner.

They ate in companionable silence, letting the various conversations wash over them. Shepard chanced a glance at Miranda near the end of his meal, trying to understand the enigmatic woman in front of him.

"Something you wanted to ask?" Miranda queried without looking up. Evidently, she picked up on his body language.

"What you said to Rolston," he began, watching her body language now. Miranda brought her head up to focus on him. "You said that you understood what he was going though. 'Truly' I believed you said. Did you mean it?"

She nodded. "Of course."

Shepard tilted his head to the side in thought. "You talked about your father. You weren't close to him." Miranda merely raised an eyebrow at his statement, obviously wondering where he was going. "If you understood what Rolston was going through, does that mean you have other family?" Shepard asked quietly, getting to his point.

Miranda's eyes widened just a bit, almost imperceptible, but Shepard was looking for it.

"I believe I already told you about what my father did, Commander," Miranda said evenly and calmly. Too calmly.

_Sounds really personal. Interesting._

"Sorry Miranda. Forget I said anything then. I don't want to pry into your personal affairs," apologized Shepard.

Another subtle shift in her body. _Guilt perhaps?_

"It's fine. I understand that I can be a bit… distant. I supposed you were just curious why I would put so much effort for Rolston," Miranda evasively said.

"Contrary to what you believe, I think that there's definitely something different about you. You're much more than what you let me see so far, something interesting, maybe something intriguing," Shepard said. Smiling he added, "Feminine mystique perhaps? You've certainly nailed the femme fatale attitude."

She offered him a smile. Placing her utensils on her tray, she crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward, locking gazes with him. "Try as you might, Commander, I'll –never- tell." Sitting up and picking up her fork and knife, she continued to eat, but not before adding, "Not unless I feel like it."

_Definitely something interesting about her. Wonder who __she's hiding?_

**~o~O~o~**

Emerging into the docking bay, Shepard walked down the stairs quietly. Moving around the various boxes stacked around, he spotted Jacob glowing with the familiar sight of dark energy. Unlike his or Shepard's usual displays though, where it seemed to extend out like an aura, this appeared more concentrated. It looked as if Jacob was trying to wrap the dark energy around him.

Standing as still and as quiet as possible to avoid disrupting Jacob's concentration, Shepard observed as Jacob grit his teeth and scrunched his face in concentration. However, after a few more minutes, Jacob gasped and the energy dissipated.

"Damn it!" Jacob cursed.

"That was Barrier, wasn't it?" Shepard asked, announcing his presence. He'd seen Kaiden use it enough to identify what Jacob was attempting to do.

Jacob whirled around in surprise. Seeing Shepard, he looked embarrassed. Coughing lightly in an effort to hide it, he nodded. "Yeah. I've been at it for a while. I still can't get the hang of it." He looked up at Shepard. "You know it?"

Shepard shook his head. "No, but I recognize it. Mass-raising, right?"

Crossing his arms, Jacob nodded. "Yeah. Opposite discipline from Pull. I'm having a hard time manifesting the ability to be lasting and sustaining." Seeing Shepard confused look, he explained. "You create a Barrier; you essentially create a temporary high-gravity mass effect field around yourself. The trick is to do it so that it sustains itself. You make it, but you don't have to focus or keep your concentration or attention on it. It's self-sustaining." At Shepard's nod, he continued, "Next you have to have it sustain itself for a reasonable amount time. As a rule, anything less than 10 seconds is a waste of time and effort to try." Jacob's face took on a dark look. "I can't even make five seconds so far."

Shepard said nothing; He merely waited for his 'teacher' to come to terms with his failed attempt.

After getting himself under control, Jacob turned toward the commander. "Right, let's work on Pull some more. You were doing good back on Omega, but you don't have any fine control yet. I figure we should work on that. Start by lifting small things, heavy things, and finally, objects of different sizes. You'll notice that you'll need to change how much power you have to put into different objects of size and mass."

And so Shepard training continued. For the next few hours, Jacob ran him through his paces, using his biotics on objects close by and far away. They started with pillows and weights, before moving to miscellaneous objects, such as wrenches and hammers. Then into more obscure or fragile items, the weight bench, holopads, and finally, a glass cup.

"Looking good there Commander," Jacob commended as he stood near the cup. Shepard stood 20 feet away, holding the cup level at Jacob's shoulder height and trying to keep it steady without it wobbling or shaking.

Jacob threw up his arms. "Still learning as fast as usual. Damn, you got a real knack for this." Walking back toward Shepard, Jacob said, "Alright, let's do something a little different now."

"Different?" Shepard repeated as he continued breathing slow and steady, keeping his focus on the glassware ahead of him and determined to ignore his own biotic glow.

Standing next to Shepard, Jacob crossed his arms. "Combat is tough. Gotta learn to keep focused through the distractions," he said with a shrug.

"You're going to distract me?" Shepard tersely asked, still holding the cup in the air.

"Yep." Jacob stood silent for a few moments, before he starting speaking again. "You ever see a naked krogan?" he asked in a casual tone.

Shepard's eyes widened and his biotic glow wavered as he tried to hold back his laugh. The cup fell a bit before rising back to its original height.

"I mean, four testicles? Damn, it has to be crowded or something down there, huh?" Jacob continued with a straight face. "And I don't even wanna know what the females look like. Probably more harrier than the males. Definitely more scary."

Shepard resolutely ignored his comments, maintaining the cups height, though it began shaking a bit.

"And you have to wonder how the asari do it. How flexible are they? Do you know?"

The cup flipped upside down as Shepard lost motor control, but he still managed to keep it in place in midair.

Jacob stayed quiet as he watched to cup flip upside down, but remained in the air. As Shepard slowly turned the cup right-side up, Jacob spoke up again. "You going to see that new extranet film, the one with Blasto, the hanar Spectre?"

Shepard finally choked out a laugh as he lost focus causing the cup to fall, but managed to arrest its descent half an inch from the floor.

As Shepard set the glass slowly to the ground, Jacob burst out laughing. "Oh, man. You should have seen your face."

Shepard laughed as well, easily shrugging off the tension he felt earlier. Calming down, he couldn't help but ask, "Blasto?"

Jacob laughed again. "Yeah. I can't remember the title off-hand. I do remember that the hanar are pissed off about it. Well, as pissed off as they get. Some of the lines are hilarious though."

Shepard gave Jacob an incredulous look. "You're serious?"

"It's all over the extranet if you want to find out, Commander," Jacob answered. He moved toward the mess they'd created around the hanger and began to clean up. Shepard hastily moved to help.

"_Commander,"_ Joker called in from the intercom. _"Garrus just reported in. He and his team are coming back soon."_

Putting the weights back in the corner, Shepard habitually put his hand to his ear to use his radio. "Got it Joker. If I'm not in still in the hanger when they arrive, let me know."

"_You got it."_

Jacob cleaned up the last remnants of their exercises. "We're clear Commander. They shouldn't have any trouble off loading the supplies here." Looking around the hanger one last time to see if he missed anything, he turned back to Shepard. "You know, I have to say, you run this ship tight and we're getting things done," he conversationally said. "We keep on track and maybe we'll figure this out, cause I'm not looking forward to the debrief if it all goes to hell."

Finished with his own inspection, Shepard turned toward the Cerberus operative. "Tell me a little about yourself."

"Is there something specific you wanted to know?"

"I like to know my crew. Forget procedure," Shepard answered.

"Informal, huh?" Jacob nodded. "I'm Ex-Alliance, like you. No Reapers or anything, but I got swept under the rug, too. The good you do, the less they want to admit that something needed doing."

"What led you to Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

Jacob crossed his arms and shrugged. "The Alliance sidelined me after Eden Prime. Ended up on job with Miranda that Cerberus treated like an audition and here I am."

Surprised, Shepard asked, "You were at Eden Prime too?"

"Yeah, with the 242. Got a good look at Sovereign. Suppose I should thank you for saving my life. If you hadn't disarmed those bombs…" Jacob said before shrugging again.

"You don't seem like a 'results at all costs' kind of guy," Shepard commented. "Cerberus' history doesn't bother you?"

"The Alliance is all politics. Somebody has to take down the bad people. Cerberus keeps that line, I'm on their side," he answered.

"So what was your proudest career moment?" Shepard asked as he leaned against the bulkhead.

"The job I'm proudest of wasn't for the Alliance or Cerberus. I was actually a civilian. Nobody really knows about it…" Jacob began before seeing the look on Shepard's face. He elaborated, "It happened after I left the Alliance and before I joined Cerberus."

"That audition you were talking about," Shepard guessed.

"Yeah. A batarian group was plotting to release a weaponized virus and kill the Council. Miranda and I stopped it. Took us out to the Nemean Abyss and back," Jacob explained.

Shepard racked his mind for any information, but couldn't ever remember any reports of any attacks on the Council. "Strange that it wasn't bigger news," he speculated out loud.

"The real work doesn't get publicized. You know that," Jacob answered. "They say its better that people don't know how fragile the system is or how close the bad guys can get. So it never happened. Like you and the Reaper. And that's why I'm here."

"How'd you get involved in the attack if you were a civilian?"

"My old C.O. looked me up on the Citadel. Said he needed someone who isn't restricted by Alliance protocol," Jacob answered.

"You mean someone the Alliance can disavow if you screw up or get caught," Shepard translated.

Jacob just shrugged again. "Probably, but no different when I was a Corsair."

"What was Cerberus' stake in it though? Why save the Council?" Shepard probed.

"No idea. Miranda never told me, much less the Illusive Man," he answered.

Shepard leaned against the bulkhead more, thinking about what he heard. Shelving his thoughts for another time he turned his attention back to Jacob. "You make no apologies for doing what you had to do. I admire that," Shepard praised.

"I couldn't go back to the Alliance, not after the cover-up. The whole thing was hushed, like they're good at doing, but I know what I did and I'm proud of it. They did the same to you. General public never knew you were dead or heard the real story of the Citadel," Jacob explained. He started pacing slowly in front of Shepard. "Did you know they used you on recruitment ads?" Jacob snorted. "You were the human ideal for like six months. Then they replaced you with a composite image they invented." Stopping in front of Shepard, he couldn't help but add, "Guess you didn't focus test right. You were actually the Alliance poster boy, and they still dumped you."

Shepard merely shrugged it off. "We'll rub it in their faces when we save their hides again."

Jacob smiled. "Sounds good. Add that to the list of reasons to make it out alive. Besides not wanted to die."

"Again," Shepard candidly added.

"Heh, fair enough," Jacob agreed.

Any further conversation was halted as Joker reported over the intercom that Garrus' team is docking with the Normandy. Minutes later, the hanger door opened, allowing the Kodiak Drop Shuttle to enter. Both men stood to the side as Hawthorne docked the ship and shut down the engines.

The hatch opened and Garrus stepped out with two others. "Alright! Let's get this stuff squared away!" One crewman yelled out.

Garrus turned and saw Shepard and Jacob nearby. Both men walked up to help. "Commander. All finished?" Garrus asked.

Remembering about Garrus' idea for the Normandy, Shepard turned to Jacob. "Can you handle things here? I have to talk with Garrus."

"No worries Commander. I got this," Jacob answered.

Nodding to him before gesturing Garrus to follow, they left the hanger.

Entering the Comm/Briefing Room, Shepard turned toward his friend. "I'm really not going to like this, am I?"

Garrus shrugged. "Maybe. If it means anything, I think it's a good idea."

"I trust you Garrus," Shepard easily responded. "What's up?"

"Okay, it's like this. After the Battle of the Citadel, there was a huge clean-up effort, right?" After seeing Shepard nod, he continued. "Well, some of the turian 'volunteers' were from the Office of Technological Reconnaissance. They sent in recovery specialists looking to get Sovereign's main weapon and its eezo core if they could."

"You're right. I wouldn't like this," Shepard answered bluntly. "You're telling me that they have Sovereign's main cannon? That same cannon that destroyed eight Alliance cruisers? And they didn't tell anyone they have it?"

"Yeah. The weapon wasn't working of course, but they managed to create something like it after a year or so of development," Garrus said.

Shepard sighed. "A weapon built from Reaper tech. If something like that falls into the wrong hands…"

"I know. Believe me, I know," Garrus sympathetically said. "But in our hands, we could hold the advantage over the Collectors for sure."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. "Tell more about this cannon."

"I won't bore you with the technical specs. To put it simply, it supposed use an electromagnetic field to suspend, shape, and fire a slug of liquid iron-uranium-tungsten alloy at an incredible velocity. Something like a fraction of the speed of light," Garrus explained. "They've called it the Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Weapon or the shorter version, the Thanix Cannon."

"And you can get us one of these?" Shepard skeptically asked.

Garrus nodded confidently. "I know someone pretty high up in the Office of Technological Reconnaissance. I've worked with her a few times. With your permission, I'd like to call her and see if we can't set something up."

Shepard couldn't help himself. "She?" he asked with a smirk.

Garrus cleared his throat. "Well, let's just say I have ways of extracting information that doesn't require bullets," he evasively answered.

"I'm sure," Shepard agreed. Looking serious again, he asked, "Will it work for us? It sounds pretty high grade."

Garrus crossed his arms and sighed. "In proof-of-concept testing, it works. They've fired it a few times and it does the job. In real life, they're encountering problems. The weapon works fine in lab settings and the prototypes they've created do very well, but they can't seem to find a way to install them on current models of turian ships."

"Why not?"

"Because it uses a lot of power," Garrus bluntly answered. "One test evidently reported that the core almost overloaded. Another said that life-support system failed, forcing the crew to evac."

"And you want to put this thing on a frigate?" Shepard asked.

"Well, it's designed for frigates," Garrus responded. "There's something wrong proportionally. As the cannon gets bigger, the draw becomes exponentially larger. It's why they can't outfit it on a cruiser. No eezo core big enough. Not just turian ships either, pretty much all models out there."

"And dreadnoughts?"

Garrus shook his head. "Unbelievable power draw. While no one doubts the power a dreadnought could create using the Thanix, there was no way we could make an eezo core big enough to handle it. Considering the power of the main cannon on a dreadnought anyway, no one thinks the payoff is worth it." Pacing, he continued, "Analysts believed that frigates were the best balance between firepower and power needed to use it." Stopping in front of Shepard, Garrus shrugged, "Except that it's still too much for frigates to handle." Leaning against the table, he said, "I was thinking that the Tantalus Core of Normandy might do the job, though."

Shepard could see what Garrus was thinking. "The Tantalus Core is proportionally twice the size of any ship's core… How powerful did they make it?"

"We should rival a cruiser's firepower. I understand that the cannon itself can reliably fire every five seconds, more or less," came the answer.

Shepard nodded. "Make the call," he ordered, before smirking again. "Would you need to take some leave?"

Coughing lightly, Garrus glared at him. "Very funny, Shepard."

"Let me know when you get an answer," Shepard said. Still smiling, he turned around and left.

Moving quickly to the CIC, Shepard stepped up to the Galaxy Map to select their next destination. Eagle Nebula, Imir System, Korlus.

"_Aye, aye, Commander. Destination locked. We're finally leaving Omega."_

**~o~O~o~**

_That voice was speaking again. _

_More pictures. Battlefields. Wars. Enemies._

_More words. Perfection. Soldier. Legacy._

_Now they're repeating this again._

_I hate this tank…_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Still here and still moving along, in spite of the fact that I'm completely absorbed in Resonance of Fate. Great game…

Right, generally, I don't think that answering reviewer's questions belong here since it adds so much unnecessary space. However, since many have noted it, I suppose I owe an explanation or two. Be aware this will be the longest AN I've written so far.

First off is Shepard's personality. Especially in regards to chapter six, Archangel. Some people say he's too ruthless or too unbelievable. My response? I respectfully disagree.

To answer the ruthless naysayers, it's Omega. EDI mentions that there's a huge death toll there. Daily. It's dangerous, violent, and only the strong survive/thrive. Doing things nicely to the wrong kinds of people there sounds like a fine way to get shot and robbed from some random thug. On the other hand, if you prove you're tough or strong enough, then people will respect and fear you. This would allow Shepard to move around Omega relatively unhindered. With regards to Aria's man and the grenade, it had many layers there. It was a show of force, a show of nerve, or a show to prove that Shepard wasn't going to be pushed around by her. A standing of peers or equals. Not some lowlife looking up at the "queen" of Omega. Also, I think it followed Sun Tzu's **Art of War**, considering that Aria's people were pointing guns, I wanted to establish that any victory they might get is a victory not worth having. Y'know, shooting someone only to get blown up doesn't seem like it's worth it.

To those that believe he's unbelievable, I actually have an explanation for that. **Warning:** Psychological explanation ahead. Be prepared for psycho babble talk. This is also a generality, as in the majority of the populace as dictated by statistics. It does not mean a personal attack against anyone. If you think you're different, live it up. It's absolutely great to be different.

Most, I say again, **MOST**, not all, but most will live static lives. Static meaning relatively unchanging. What I mean is that people personalities really won't change or deviate significantly. Again, by significantly, I mean living heterosexual all your life and then suddenly becoming homosexual without rhyme or reason and vice versa. This is usually dictated by genetics (Still under debate) or environment. For the sake of simplicity, we'll just work with environment and keep genetics off the table. The simple argument is that you live in one place for years. You learn the technology as needed; either you live in a city in which means you have to become well versed or the country, meaning not so much. You learn the social cues and contracts. You'll develop a personality that best reflects you as well as the ability to work within this environment. So long as the environment remains static, your personality remains static, because there is no reason to change. If the environment changes, say by natural disasters, then it's the people who have a hard time changing will have it the worst. Others will show a more dynamic personality and do things they would never able to do. Some will be heroes, going above and beyond what they generally do. Others… they might change for the worse. Looting or other despicable acts, all because the environment changed forcing change on people.

This goes on to my point. While most have static personalities, some people require a dynamic one. That is to say, an ever-changing personality. A quick and dirty example people would know is the show **Burn Notice**. As a spy, Michael Westen assumes a **lot** ofidentities. One moment, he's a rich business man; next, he's acting like a junkie. He's able to change the way he needs to because his environment is always changing.

Shepard has it pretty rough. He could be a soldier one moment, a mediator the next, only to play politics after. I believe a man (Or woman) like him could only have survived by adapting very well to his ever-changing and dynamic environment. I'm not saying his personality is a lie, just very complicated.

Thanks to "THE reader" for his kind review regarding this.

Next, my use of the game script. What can I say? This is my first story and I'm a new author. ME2's script acts like my skeleton, supporting this story, keeping the pace and allowing all of you to know where I'm going. It also helps that it was well-written and I'm sure many will agree, makes it difficult to improve on. I'm adding my own flavor as I become more confident, so bear with me.

To the reviewer "Jemma": If you think you can do better, you're more than welcome to try. New and creative is extremely difficult and if I had that kind of skill, I'd apply to be a writer at BioWare and get started on ME3.

Finally! On to the story explanations. In ME1, barrier started out lasting only 10 secs. So I gave it that. In ME2 though, Barrier can last up to a minute at level 1.

And last, but not least, I offer fellow ME author, "Stradivarium" his due credit. He kindly gave me permission to use a bit of his work **Moments** in my fic. Thanks again!


	10. Correspondence II

_**To: Whoever This Is**_

_**From: Jonn Whitson**_

Hey, Aria gave me this address. I think I met you at Afterlife on Omega. You stopped me from joining up with those mercs that were trying to take out Archangel.

Man, I was so pissed off at you. I got blind drunk that night, and it was a few days later before I got it together enough to check the news vids and saw that almost all those mercs had gotten killed by Archangel.

I don't know who you are or if you got out of there alive yourself, but thanks. I felt really stupid when I heard the body count, and how I could have been part of it. I'll make the most with what you did for me.

Jonn Whitson

_**To: Jonn Whitson**_

_**From: A Friend**_

Glad to hear that you're alright. I managed to get out myself.

You know how lucky you were this time, but what about the next time? If you're dead-set on being a merc you should realize that dying is something that might happen. There's no way around it, even with the biggest guns or the toughest crew. If that's something you're uncomfortable with, don't be a merc. If you're dead set on risking your neck, do it trying to make a difference.

Good luck out there kid.

* * *

_**From: Shepard**_

_**To: Aria T'Loak**_

I don't know how the hell you got my extranet address, but I'm giving you a fair warning. If I end up getting crap messages because of you, I'm bringing that miserable rock down on your head. If you think my rules end with my ship, I'll prove to you how wrong you are.

_**From: Aria T'Loak**_

_**To: Shepard**_

Touchy, touchy.

If this is about the young man you helped out, I simply thought you would like to hear from a fan. Relax Shepard. In my line of work, information is a commodity and passing it around for free is not in my character.

That said, watch your tone. I like you and I'm aware how formidable you are, but I'm sure I can still find ways to make your life miserable. Whatever arrangements we have, I want to keep profitable.

Believe me: I'm not looking to make enemies. If I wanted to be your enemy, you'd know.

* * *

_**From: Nalah Butler**_

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

My husband was one of the men serving on Garrus' team. I don't know how much Garrus talked to you about what happened. I don't know the specifics myself, only that my husband died in a trap set by those bastard gangs. I know Garrus blames himself; he took every shot fired at his squad as a failure on his part, and it was clear when he sent me the message about my husband that he thinks it was his fault.

You're his commander now. Please, if you can, help him stop blaming himself. And please don't tell him that I sent you this. Thank you.

Nalah Butler

_**To: Nalah Butler**_

_**From: Commander John Shepard**_

I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you, but the circumstances that led to your husband's passing were more complicated than gang activity, and for Garrus the matter remains unresolved. To him, not taking the deaths of his men as hard as you have observed would be would be another failure he cannot accept.

Believe me when I say that I also share your concern for our mutual friend and that I will do everything in my power to help him. For now, what Garrus needs is the opportunity to ensure that your husband and the rest of his team did not die in vain.

I promise that our conversation will remain confidential.

You have my deepest condolences for your loss. I know Garrus, and I know that anyone he worked with would have been someone I would be honored to know.

With respect,

John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

* * *

Author's Notes:

Just a few emails here. Since only a few things happened, they aren't too important. I've had plans for Shepard to send messages off just as much as he was receiving them, but this one here was inspired by Wyl. Credit goes to him.


	11. The Warlord

_**Location: Eagle Nebula, Imir System, Orbit above Korlus, Normandy**_

"All right. According to our scans and transmission intercepts, Okeer is somewhere around here," Shepard stated as he walked into the briefing room. Waving his hand at the table signaled EDI to change the hologram in the middle of the room from the standard visual of the Normandy to a three-dimensional map of a ruin/junkyard. "According to EDI, the transmissions are encrypted, but the encryptions themselves are likely to be from the Blue Suns," he said from his spot at the head of the table.

About three hours before the briefing, Shepard issued an order for all the squad members to ready themselves with full armor and weapons and to wait in the briefing room. Having finished their prep quickly, they found themselves sitting or standing around the table, waiting for the Spectre to arrive. During their wait, they overheard EDI give out a general message throughout the ship stating that the stealth systems were engaged. Finally, the commander himself walked in, outfitted in full gear and went straight to the matter at hand, not even breaking stride until he reached the head of the table.

"So this entire area is a Sun's base?" Jacob asked he stepped closer to the map to study the image.

"Yes," confirmed Shepard with a nod of his head. "Scans have identified several GARDIAN laser turrets around the perimeter," he continued to inform. Several red dots appeared on the map, signifying the positions of the anti-air turrets. "As it stands, we're running silent. As far as we know, they have no idea we're here. We're going to use the Kodiak to drop in here…" he trailed off as he started tapping his omni-tool. A white box appeared, showing the landing zone.

"I'm sure we're going to be expecting trouble," Garrus commented from his place against the wall. "How much is the question," he finished as he crossed his arms.

"A lot. So far, scans show at least 20 and that's just topside," Shepard deadpanned. "However, it seems that they aren't well equipped against a dedicated ground force and it looks like the mercs are busy," he added, finally giving a bit of good news.

"Busy?" Mordin asked, also leaning toward the map to memorize the layout as much as he could.

"From what I have been able to tell, the Blue Suns are engaged with a significant amount of krogan forces," EDI supplied, updating their intelligence.

"Krogan? Here? Is it the Blood Pack? Are they after Okeer?" Miranda asked the AI.

"I'm afraid I have no information regarding the identity of the attacking force, Executive Lawson. While there are numerous krogan outposts on Korlus, none of them seem aware of this particular mercenary base. However, I have begun to decrypt enemy transmissions. Judging from the level of encryption used and the average number of transmissions in use currently, it does not appear that they are engaged in any kind of war or battle," answered EDI.

That news confused the soon-to-be infiltrators. If there was a mercenary war going on, transmissions would be flying all over the place. Heavy encryption would be needed to ensure privacy during communications.

"So… the Suns are fighting a horde of krogan, but they're not worried about it?" Jacob asked, summing up the thoughts of the group.

"Curious. Peculiar. Perhaps Blue Suns wish to maintain secrecy? No. Krogan presence would negate stealth. Expecting attack? No. Would have reinforcements. Maybe…" Mordin theorized as he began pacing.

"What kind of conditions can we expect down there, Shepard?" Garrus interrupted.

"Korlus is where ships go to die," Shepard bluntly answered. "Where we're landing is pretty much a scrap yard. Expect blind spots, uneven footing, ambushes, and traps. Add the chaos of the attacking krogan and we have our work cut out for us."

"Do we have any idea where Okeer is?" Miranda asked, leaning on the table.

"Not yet. EDI's still working on getting us ears on the Suns. Until she does, we're going to have to get on-site intel," Shepard answered. "We don't know if Okeer is here by choice. Since this base is meant to be secret, I doubt we'll be welcomed. Assume hostiles," he cautioned.

"Great. So we're assaulting a fortified mercenary base that's under attack by krogan for a krogan warlord that may or may not come with us. Good times," Garrus sarcastically said.

Having no more questions, Miranda nodded before turning to Mordin. "Are you coming with us?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes. Running tests currently. Expect some time before results. Collector tech unsurprisingly advanced. Decided to help in the meantime."

Shepard studied the salarian while he talked. He looked to be dressed in the same kind of armor he saw the STG forces wore on Virmire and armed with the new submachine guns developed around the same time thermal clips were introduced. If his memory served, it was the M-9 Tempest developed by Elanus Risk Control Services. A solid weapon all-around though lacking in range and weak against armor. Shepard was sure the doctor had several more tricks up his sleeves besides a SMG though. Turning his gaze away from Mordin and looking at everyone else, he nodded decisively.

"Move out."

* * *

_**Dossier: The War**__**lord**_

_Dr. Okeer_

_Millennia of combat and strategic experience  
_

_Rumored familiarity with Collector technology  
_

_A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown._

* * *

_**Location: Eagle Nebula, Imir System, Korlus**_

"_If you can't handle something like this, then you don't deserve to be here!" _a female voice screamed in from the loudspeakers around the base.

Okeer looked up from his terminal, his face set in a scowl. "Annoying pest."

Rana Thanoptis merely glanced at him from the corner of her eye before looking back at her own terminal, reviewing the scans to see if their latest attempt is taking to her program. "He seems to be assimilating well," she reported.

Okeer checked his terminal once last time before walking in front of a large tank. "Yes… this one is different from all the others… I can feel it!" Turning to his assistant, he asked, "How much longer?"

"The mental imprint routine is working, but it's best that we take our time. I don't want to destroy his mind," Rana cautioned.

"_You will know combat! You will know pain! You will survive this if you wish to join the Blue Suns!_"

"Perhaps I can work a little bit faster…" Rana said as turned back to her terminal.

Okeer merely grunted in annoyance at the Jedore's voice, taking one last look at the tank, before turning back to his own terminal to monitor vitals. _Hmph. A coward, hiding behind all that screaming. She and her pitiful fools would not last against you. My legacy…_

* * *

The shaking of Kodiak ceased as it finally cleared the atmosphere. Hawthorne put the shuttle into a rapid descent to get under any radar or sensors as they approached the base.

"_Commander, I have intercepted several unencrypted transmissions from the mercenary base," _EDI announced.

"What do you have EDI?" Shepard prompted as he and his squad did last second checks on their equipment.

"_The commander of this outpost is called Jedore. According to Cerberus intelligence, Jedore is considered mentally unfit for command, but was given her post due to monetary influence,"_ EDI said.

"Meaning she bought her way up," Jacob simplified.

"_A crude, but apt description of Jedore's career, Operative Taylor,"_ she agreed.

"Perhaps mission will be easier," Mordin guessed. "Weak commander means weak troops. Should be able to take advantage. Am curious as to why she's here."

"Is there anything else of note?" Miranda asked, getting the last second briefing back on track.

"_There are two quarian vessels in low orbit near the mercenary base. So far, the Blue Suns have yet to engage in any hostilities with them,"_ EDI announced.

"Probably collecting salvage," Miranda surmised.

"Should we warn them, Shepard?" Garrus asked. "If they get too close, they might open fire with their GARDIAN turrets and if EDI's information is right, this Jedore doesn't sound too stable."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "You're probably right." Tapping into his radio he called the Normandy helmsman. "Joker, you there?"

"_I'm here, Commander."_

"Two quarian vessels are near our AO," informed Shepard. "Tell them that there are GARDIAN turrets in the vicinity manned by mercs and get them out of here," he ordered.

"_Two quarian vessels near the Area of Operations. I'll warn them Commander. Normandy out."_

Hawthorne chimed in from the cockpit,_ "One minute!"_

"How long before you can crack their encryption, EDI?" Miranda asked the AI as she gripped her Pulse Rifle.

"_I will require a few more minutes, Executive Lawson. I will forward their communications directly to your radios once I have completed."_

"_30 seconds!" _Hawthorne called out as he piloted the shuttle around some debris toward their LZ.

"Helmets on!" Shepard ordered. He secured his own helmet and sealed his suit. Once the HUD reported all green, he said, "_Radios only. All voice modules off."_

Hearing several affirmatives, they waited silently until Hawthorne dipped down and landed the shuttle quickly. The moment the hatch opened, Jacob and Garrus jumped out, weapons ready for any sign of hostiles as they moved to secure their landing zone. Miranda and Shepard followed their example with Mordin close behind.

"_All clear!"_ Jacob reported.

"_Taking off. Good hunting!"_ Hawthorne responded as the shuttle lifted off as quickly as it landed.

Shepard moved forward, taking point for the group as everyone began to follow. The sounds of the battle were easily heard from their position. The sounds of a female voice through several loudspeakers prompted Shepard to glance up, allowing him to catch sight of one of the two quarian ships in their proximity. He was relieved to see the ship change direction and gain altitude away from the merc base.

"_There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal!"_

"_Broadcasting orders over loudspeaker? Charming,"_ Miranda disdainfully said.

Jacob snorted in disbelief. _"Canned orders over loudspeaker… Who does that?"_

"_Someone that likes the sound of their voice," _Garrus replied.

"_Stay focused, people__. Remember, we're looking for a krogan warlord,"_ Shepard reminded as he held up his assault rifle.

"_Warlord, huh? Somehow I doubt he'll be as pleasant as Wrex,"_ Garrus commented. Shepard couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or honest about their old krogan squadmate.

His radio beeped. _"Commander, I've successfully tapped into the Blue Suns communications. I'll forward their chatter__ to you soon," _EDI declared.

"_Being hired is merely the beginning. You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building!"_

"_Hold on,"_ Shepard called out. He pulled up close to a corner and peered around. _"Five."_

"_Lookout position, equipped for combat,"_ observed Mordin when he peeked around Shepard.

"_Garrus, you and I will __start the party. The rest of you assault their position. Be quick so they don't radio our presence. Try to leave one alive though so we can ask some questions.__ Let's go," _Shepard commanded as he put away his assault rifle in favor of his sniper rifle.

Miranda led the other team, firing on the unsuspecting mercs with Jacob and Mordin following close behind. After a heavy use of tech, biotics, and bullets, all five stood over four dead mercs.

"_We're missing one," _Shepard declared as he did a quick count.

"_I'm pretty sure I wounded him, Shepard,"_ Garrus said.

"_Commander, got a blood trail here," _Jacob announced.

Shepard ran up to Jacob. _"I see it." _

Following the trail, he heard a male voice gasping in pain. "Shit. Shit! It won't stop bleeding… I'm gonna… son of a bitch!"

Leading in with his assault rifle, Shepard looked over a pile of debris to see a merc sitting on the ground, holding a deep wound on his left flank. _"Nice work, Garrus."_

"_Doesn't look that bad, actually,"_ Miranda observed as she kicked the merc's gun away while still keeping her pulse rifle trained at him.

"_He doesn't need to know that,"_ Shepard quipped before he engaged his voice module.

The merc stood up slowly as he used his free hand to wipe the blood and shrapnel from face to see who he was dealing with. "I knew it wasn't berserkers," he bit out. "You're mercs. Or Alliance. I'm not… I'm not telling you a damn thing."

"That mean you got some information worth dying for?" Shepard said menacingly. "You're not in the best bargaining position."

"Shit…" was the all he had to say.

"We're looking for a krogan named Okeer," Shepard prompted while holding his rifle in a non-threatening manner. The others followed his example. Threats and intimidation were enough for this merc, especially since he was surrounded, unarmed, and injured.

The human merc looked confused. "Who? You already know more than I do. I just kill krogan. The old one in the lab dumps crazy ones down here all the time."

"What do you mean by 'crazy ones'?"

"Jedore hired him to make her an army, but the krogan he creates are insane, so we use them for live ammo training. It's all crap; I don't get paid enough to goddamn bleed out!" he griped.

"_Ah. Would explain why they're engaged with krogan. Artificial with mental instabilities. Could see why they use for combat training," _Mordin speculated out loud.

The team's radios crackled as they began to receive EDI's decrypted communications. _"Outpost Four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that krogan pack."_

Garrus immediately pointed his rifle at the merc, to prevent him from giving away their position.

"What's he talking about?" Shepard asked with an even tone.

The mercs eyes widened as he realized that they were tapped into his communications. "Um… Jedore runs a Blue Suns outlier and she's making krogans for an army. But they all come out crazy. Tough as hell, but just insane."

"_Doesn't make sense. Breeding facilities too expensive. Not worth the cost," _Mordin argued.

"_He's just a grunt. He probably didn't know anything anyway,"_ Jacob responded.

Ignoring their exchange, Shepard gave a nod at the merc. "You heard the man on the radio. He needs directions."

"I… I don't have the info they want. You showed up before I could get my normal sightings," he stammered.

"You have other problems," Shepard replied in a dangerous tone. Garrus reinforced his point by poking the merc in the back with his rifle.

"Patrol, uh, pack sighting east of Station Two?" the merc tried. Another sharp poke from Garrus told him to do better. "Yeah, that's where they are. We see'em," he said.

"_Copy. East of Two."_

The merc cursed. "Son of a bitch. They'll run blind into krogan."

"Is the lab heavily guarded?" Shepard demanded.

"There are big guns to keep ships away. We're not outfitted to fight goddamn commandos," he answered.

"_Hence the training, probably," _Miranda remarked.

Sounds of another firefight broke out in the distance. Shepard glanced at the direction of the sounds to judge the distance before turning back to his prisoner. "What is Jedore planning to do with all these krogan?"

"Replace us probably," the merc answered bitterly. "I sure wouldn't want to see an army of them coming at me. Only she can't control them. They aren't supposed to be crazy, but they're krogan. How smart are they to start?"

"_He doesn't know anything else,"_ Garrus said.

"If you start limping now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out," Shepard coldly said, nodding at the merc's wound.

The merc's eyes widened again. He turned away from the group, clutching his wound as tightly as he could. "Shit. Shit!"

"_Was scaring him like that necessary?"_ Jacob asked.

Disengaging his voice module, Shepard shrugged unrepentantly. _"Maybe not. Felt good though. Garrus, disable is radio so he can't call for help."_

"_I thought the scare was a nice touch myself," _Miranda quipped as Garrus used his omni-tool to jam the merc's outgoing signals.

"_I thought so," _he agreed. _"Come on. Our warlord is somewhere in Jedore's lab."_

The group moved ahead, wary of any mercs and krogan. Jedore's voice continued to blare overhead. _"Training is part of your contract. Failure to perform means liquidation, legal and otherwise!"_

"_Damn, she just doesn't shut up," _Jacob complained as they turned a corner.

"_Hostiles ahead. Watch it,"_ Miranda warned.

"_Elevated positions. Impossible to sneak past. Have no choice but to fight,"_ Mordin declared.

Shepard saw at least seven Blue Suns standing atop makeshift catwalks and bridges. _Damn. They probably just shoot at the krogan from up there._ Looking further on, he spotted at least three more in the distance. None of them seemed too concerned about the gunfire in the distance. _"Garrus, support us from back here. The rest you, follow me. Looks like we're doing this the hard way."_

"_I got you covered," _Garrus assured.

Shepard moved ahead slowly, keeping his eye on the mercs above. They hadn't seen them yet, so the element of surprise was still theirs. Crouching behind a fallen metal beam and waiting for the others, he started picking targets of the greatest threat as he prepared to unleash his biotics. _"Do it."_

* * *

"_Team Four, do you read? Team Four!"_

Okeer narrowed his eyes at the radio transmission. He had a gut feeling that something was different about it. Turning the volume up, he listened in on the merc's call. _"Comm, tell Jedore we have a problem. Patrols are going dark. Either the krogan are pushing or we're being raided!"_

"Rana. Did Jedore place any cameras outside?" Okeer asked his assistant.

"Um…" Rana stalled as she turned away from their latest krogan attempt to check. "No. Only inside the compound."

"Hmm. It makes sense I suppose. Too much trash outside for cameras to be effective…" Okeer mumbled to himself as he considered the implications.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"I believe we have guests and I believe they're here for me," he rumbled as he continued to work.

Rana's eyes widened at the news. "You're not worried?"

Okeer only gave her a grim smile, characteristic of the krogan species. "I've lived long enough to understand the nature of battle. The only thing that matters now is my legacy. Hurry, we must finish and prepare to leave."

Tapping several commands, Okeer watched as a countdown began before all the krogan he'd created would be released en masse.

* * *

_Damn it!_

Shepard tried to shake the ringing in his ears as he tried to crawl to new cover. He's barely avoided two missiles that destroyed his previous cover and taken a good chunk of his shields. Not to mention the headache… _"Two mercs! Right-side on high! They're heavies! Take them down!"_

Miranda and Garrus turned and launched their Overload tech at the indicated mercs. _"Scrambling their systems!" _Miranda reported.

The mercs were brought to their knees as their shields and weapons broke down from the energy backlash. Shepard climbed to his feet slowly behind an archway of twisted metal and looked around. Three mercs were left and the one lone krogan they'd encountered was still firing enthusiastically at the one merc that was still hiding behind cover.

"_Should burn nicely!" _Mordin declared as the launched a plasma round from his omni-tool. The two mercs above were still recovering from Miranda's and Garrus' tandem Overload when they burst into flames. Screaming, they ran around trying to put out the flames, only to fall off the catwalk and hit the ground with bone-breaking impact.

"_Get over here!"_ Jacob yelled. The last merc found himself flying over his cover as Jacob Pulled him into the air. The krogan and Shepard wasted no time and fired their respective weapons, shotgun and assault rifle, over and over until the floating merc went limp.

Feeling the effects of nearly getting blown up fade away, Shepard approached the krogan carefully.

The krogan himself seemed to be interested in Shepard as he tilted his helmeted head in a curious manner. Turning around to fully face the human, he walked closer to stand within inches, still holding his shotgun loosely in his hands.

Garrus, Miranda, and Jacob raised their weapons at the krogan, but were understandably surprised when their commander raised his left hand, silently telling them to stand down.

The krogan began sniffing Shepard's chestplate. "You… are different. New. You don't smell like this world." He stood up and took a few steps back to fully look at the human. "Seven night cycles and I have felt only the need to kill. But you… something makes me speak."

"_He's only a week old?"_ Miranda asked out loud.

"They must breed them full-size, ready to kill. Not much improvement over regular mercs if they need training," Shepard said through his voice module. He was looking at the krogan to judge his reaction or answer.

"Bred… to kill? No. I kill because my blood and bone tell me to. But it's not why I was flushed from glass mother," the krogan corrected.

His speech sounded simple, but more articulate than Shepard would have guessed from a week-old krogan. He spoke haltingly, as if trying to find each word in a sentence, but clearly enough for everyone to understand.

The Tank-Grown Krogan continued his explanation. "Survival is what I hear in my head. Against the enemy that threatens all my kind. But I failed even before waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here."

"Okeer's voice? Did he speak to you while you were in your tank?" Shepard asked.

"I heard the voice. Not like now, with ears. Inside," the krogan tried to answer. "I called it 'father'. It liked that. But it was disappointed. I am not what it needs me to be."

"A breeding program. Trying to escape genophage effects?" Mordin asked the krogan.

"Or cure the genophage altogether?" Garrus added.

The krogan turned his head to look at them, confusion coloring his body language. "Escape? Cure? They were never whispered. Survive. Resist. Ignore."

"Ignore the genophage?" Shepard repeated. Turning to his team, he asked, "How does Okeer expect these krogan to ignore the genophage if not by curing it?"

"No idea," Jacob said.

"Uncertain," Mordin added. "Likely irrelevant. Appears Okeer has had no success."

Turning to their unlikely ally, Shepard asked, "How did you disappoint the voice?"

The krogan shook his head. "I don't know. It was decided before I left tank mother. I was not perfect."

"If mercenary was correct, krogan prone to mental instability," Mordin stated.

"I don't know. This one doesn't seem to be too bad," Garrus said.

"I don't know why. But I am not perfect," the krogan repeated.

"How can you speak so well when you're only a week old?" Miranda curiously asked.

The krogan raised his hand to rub his helmeted head. "There was a scratching sound in my head and it became the voice. It taught me things I would need: walking, talking, hitting, shooting." Dropping his hand and bowing his head, he continued, "Then the voice said I was not perfect and the teaching stopped. And now I am here."

"Taught him enough for… something. But what?" Jacob asked.

"Interesting. Raised, then rejected. Control group? Failed test?" Mordin speculated.

The krogan only shook his head. "I don't know, but I am not perfect," he repeated.

Decided that they'd learned all they could from the krogan, Shepard looked around the arena they were in. "Can you show us the laboratory? I need to speak with Okeer."

The krogan pointed at a wall. "The… glass mother. She is up. Past the broken parts. Behind many of you fleshy things. I will show you."

Shepard and his group followed as the krogan walked toward a large metal plate up against the wall. They watched as he gripped the plate tightly.

"Grrrah!" the krogan grunted as he lifted the plate off the wall and threw it to the side.

"Brute strength. Key aspect of krogan," Mordin said appreciatively.

Jacob didn't share his sentiments. "I'm just glad he's on our side. For now."

Shepard peered in to see a tunnel running under the Blue Suns base.

"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way," the Tank-Grown Krogan observed.

Turning his head away from the tunnel, Shepard asked, "You could have run or tried to fight your way back to the labs. Why stay here?"

"I am waiting. The voice told me. If they come, I fight. But I will not run and I will not follow," he answered before turning away to leave and find more mercenaries. "I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I must wait until called. Released," he said as he left.

Letting the krogan go, Shepard and his team turned back to the tunnel.

"_Not a lot of room to maneuver," _observed Jacob.

"_Or cover,"_ Garrus added.

Leading everyone in, Shepard couldn't help but note the dead merc near the entrance.

"_Don't like the look of that. Stay alert," _Miranda advised.

The group cautiously made their way down the tunnel. After a few minutes of tense silence, a scream reached their ears. "They're loose! Run for your damn life! They're all free!"

"_Open fire,"_ commanded Shepard as two mercs ran right around the corner and into a hailstorm of bullets.

"_Likely more krogan nearby,"_ Mordin stated.

"_I doubt they'll welcome us as much as that last one," _Jacob commented.

Rounding the same corner the mercs ran from, Shepard saw a vast cave with a network of metal plates serving as bridges to cross from one stone platform to another. For the unwary or clumsy, a deep chasm waited with the bottom too far down to see.

All of this was noted and filed away as Shepard saw four krogan running right at them. _"Incoming! Spread out and take'em down!"_

Everyone scattered, taking different bridges and platforms as they engaged the krogan, careful not to get each other in a crossfire or crowd themselves in a single place.

Trading his HMWA for his shotgun, Shepard began firing at the approaching enemy as Jedore's voice echoed over the loudspeaker.

"_Who authorized that krogan release? Okeer? I will have order in my compound!"_

The sledgehammer round inside his HMWSG tore through the krogan's armor and blew off a leg. Shepard's victim went down with a roar of pain and fury.

"_Now let's finish you off!" _Miranda shouted as she used Warp to take out the prone krogan.

Sweeping the cavern for the others, the Spectre saw that everything was under control. One krogan was flying through the air and over the abyss. Another krogan was rolling around trying to put the fire on his armor. The last was shooting against the combined fire of Garrus and Mordin and was losing badly. Shepard and Miranda started crossing bridges to regroup with everyone else.

They managed to get to Jacob just as he reignited the fire the krogan tried to put out with another shot of incendiary ammo, finishing it off. _"Clear, Commander."_

"_All clear here, Shepard,"_ Garrus called out.

"_Move out. They'll know we're here soon if they haven't already."_

"_Krogan on our six! Copy, Goddamn it! Where's Jedore and her personal guard?"_

"_Seems Cerberus intelligence was right on the ball. Jedore doesn't seem like a competent commander," _Shepard said after listening in on the transmission.

"_More importantly, the Blue Suns are still unaware of our presence,"_ Miranda added.

After navigating the dark cavern and fighting off several more krogan, the squad finally reached a locked door. One quick bypass, courtesy of Garrus, and they were climbing up a set of ramps, hopefully to the surface.

Reaching the top, everyone flanked the door and entered, only to find it empty. It was just a common room of a ship, but just as derelict as the ship itself. The staccato sounds of automatic rifle fire could be heard through the door opposite.

Flanking the door again, everyone prepared themselves as Jacob opened the way and charged in. The lone merc firing on the krogan below took a shotgun blast directly into his back and fell over the railing. Jacob took cover immediately as the mercs on the opposite side of the killing grounds saw what happened and opened fire.

"_Missiles incoming!" _Jacob warned.

Shepard and Garrus cleared doorway and ducked behind the railing while Mordin and Miranda waited. Looking down the aisle they were on, Garrus spotted an open archway. _"Doorway ahead! Watch for incoming hostiles!"_

"_Jacob, we'll hold that door! Garrus, you take everyone else and get those heavies!" _Shepard ordered. Waiting for pause of enemy fire, Shepard ran toward the opening. Jacob was already there, exchanging fire with whoever was inside.

"_I do not pay for failure. Do your jobs, I want them dead!"_

Running to the opposite side of the doorway from Jacob, Shepard counted at least five inside when he peeked inside. Thrusting an arm out, three mercs were blown back from his biotic attack.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Jacob ran in and tossed a grenade at the group of mercs before taking cover.

After the explosion, Shepard followed him inside, firing a quick burst from his rifle as he did so. Ducking behind the remnants of a counter, Shepard looked up to see another door at the far-left side of the room open, admitting four more mercs into the fray. Suppressing a groan, Shepard called out, _"Four more incoming. Garrus! Are you done out there?"_

"_One left! I can handle him! Lawson! Solus! Go and reinforce the Commander!"_

Shepard leaned out of cover and began suppressing the enemy as they fired on Jacob's position. Another missile impacting against the counter forced him to duck back down.

"_Deploying tech overload!" _Miranda called.

The Blue Suns Heavy staggered as shields and weapon failed only to scream as Mordin used his Incinerate tech.

"_Wish I was standing downwind!" _Mordin simply said as the merc ran around flailing.

Jacob took the opportunity to fire with his own missile launcher. While Shepard and Miranda began suppressing the enemy with their assault rifles, he leaned out and fired straight through the middle of the room. The missile appeared the fly right by the merc's positions without hitting anyone when it suddenly curved and moved around the cover they were using and exploded.

Pressing their advantage Shepard led the way deeper in, using his biotics to Pull mercs out of from cover and letting Mordin or Miranda finish the job. His radio crackled as the mercs soon found their numbers thinning against superior skill.

"_Concentrate on the krogan charge or we're all dead! Who was the genius who gave them arms?"_

Ignoring the crack of a sniper rifle and the merc that was rocked back by Garrus' shot, Shepard led his team deeper in. Another intercepted radio transmission came in:

"_What the fuck? I think we have commandoes inside! Repeat! We're tracking an unidentified commando unit inside our base! Over!"_

* * *

"_I paid for competence! Kill the trespassers! I will deal with the traitorous Okeer!"_

Rana turned away from her work. "Sir?"

"I heard her Rana. Everybody did. I've already sealed the lab," Okeer said without hesitation.

"No sir, not that. This," Rana corrected as she typed some commands on her terminal.

Okeer watch as his screen changed to the security cameras scattered inside the base. "That's…"

"Agent Shepard, a Spectre," Rana whispered. While she couldn't see his face, she recognized the armor and weapons. Understandable, since he stood before her in similar gear two years ago. Shepard saved her from becoming indoctrinated only to leave her to outrun a nuclear blast. It was hard to tell if he was a savior or a villain in her eyes.

"Shepard," Okeer nodded. "I see…" Turning to the asari, he said, "Disable the cameras. Mask their approach. Then proceed to wipe the data."

Rana's face showed confusion. "Are you sure?"

"If he was merciful enough to spare you, then I'm sure he and I will have business to speak of."

Nodding her head, Rana began disabling the security cameras around the lab as well as any along the way toward the shuttles.

With Shepard around, it's always best to have an escape plan.

* * *

"_Berserkers are going down, but the outsider commandoes are still incoming! Repeat, still coming!"_

Another blast of biotics sent three mercs over the railing and far below into the pits where the krogan were stalking. The infiltration team continued their advance toward the labs, the waves of mercenaries failing to stop their charge.

"_I need everyone out of the labs to fight this! Every floor, every outpost! Move!"_

"_Suppressing fire!" _Shepard ordered. Everyone began firing down the wide bridge holding back the flood Blue Suns. Bringing out his Blackstorm, the weapon began its familiar whine as it prepared to release it's deadly payload. Three seconds later, the miniature black hole traveled down the length of the bridge. Mercenaries began screaming as they were pulled from their hiding spots. Some were even firing at the singularity itself hoping to detonate or destroy it as it floated toward their positions. Soon, the black hole settled in the middle of their room, pulling in all the mercs hidden within.

The loudspeakers crackled to life again. _"No more! I command that they be killed! What is so hard to understand?"_

Shepard's team waited for the subsequent explosion before rushing in to sweep for any more threats.

"_What do you mean Jedore's holding the mechs? She'll lose all her toys if we don't get backup!"_

"_Sounds like we might deal with some heavy mechs soon," _Miranda noted.

"_Even so, anybody get the feeling that this is really unfair?" _Garrus joked. Shepard could tell the turian was smirking underneath his helmet.

"_I thought it was getting __a bit one-sided," _Jacob agreed with an exaggerated nod.

"_Undisciplined. Unprepared. Training wasn't very effective. Or leader is inexperienced. Or incompetent. Either way, little trouble,"_ Mordin concurred, probably in all seriousness.

"_Enough. Cut the chatter. Combat radar says there are still some hostiles left," _Shepard declared.

"_We're probably almost there. The next area will have the highest concentration of mercs if they've been falling back from our attack," _Miranda said.

Everyone readied themselves and took whatever munitions were lying around. Thermal clips, grenades, and power cells were definitely in abundance.

"_There are five of them! Five! Anything can be killed if you do your damned jobs!"_ the loudspeaker blared out.

"_Jedore! Damn it, someone get her off the speakers and out here!"_ a merc screamed into the radio.

Miranda couldn't help but agree with Garrus' earlier assessment, even if he was joking. _"This really __**is**__ unfair,"_ she said with aversion at the voice on the speakers.

Despite trying to maintain his professionalism, Shepard still silently agreed. Flanking the door, everyone prepared to clear the next room. Jacob stood ready with a flashbang while Garrus stood opposite.

"_Go!"_ barked Shepard.

Jacob opened the door and threw his grenade. The moment the flash was seen, Garrus rushed in, using the sounds of the screams to find enemy positions and silence them.

They five spread around the large room they were in, hiding behind whatever defilade they could find and began exchanging gunfire with the mercs.

"_Trespassers are topside! Tell Jedore we can't hold them and the krogan! We're getting slaughtered!"_

The radio description was accurate. Jacob released another salvo of missiles, his superior ML-77 launcher capable of taking mercs out even in cover. Garrus utilized his Tactical Cloak to take out enemy positions with grenades before firing away with his M-8.

"_Concentrate fire on my position! Concentrate on – Argh!"_

The merc's orders were cut off by a short burst from Shepard's rifle as he sprinted from location to another, using biotics or conventional weaponry when needed.

"_Squad Four? Outpost! Damn it! Have to do everything myself!"_ Jedore ranted.

Using Overload by Miranda to disable a Blue Sun's shield followed by Incinerate tech from Mordin secured their victory.

Everyone regrouped at the far door and prepared to enter when EDI's voice chimed in. _"Commander. According to thermal scans, the room you're about to enter carries a significant amount of heat sources, likely caused from heavy machinery. Probably suggests that you're about to enter the lab."_

"_Thanks EDI," _Shepard said gratefully to the AI.

"_Radar says there are only two inside, Commander,"_ notified Jacob.

Turning back to the door, Shepard equipped his pistol, prompting everyone to do the same. _"Miranda, start the bypass. Get us in there," _Shepard said. Stepping forward and turning on her omni-tool, she started to remotely rewire the lock. In the matter of seconds, the display changed from red to green.

Opening the door and peeking in, he saw an asari dressed in a lab uniform looking at him in expectation and a krogan that hadn't turned away from his terminal. Cautiously stepping and sweeping the room with his HMWP identified no other threats.

"Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" the asari shouted out when she saw him raise his pistol.

_She does seem a bit familiar… "Clear!"_ Shepard called back to his team.

Everyone entered the room with weapons drawn and spread out, inspecting the laboratory in their own ways. Garrus and Jacob conducted their own sweeps to double-check for any threats while Miranda and Mordin eyed the equipment around them with some appreciation.

"Here you are. I've watched your progress," the krogan rumbled.

Shepard lowered his pistol as he approached them.

Taking that as her cue, the asari continued talking. "I shut down the security cams as soon as we saw it was you." Offering the Spectre a smile, she joked, "Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad it's you shooting up the place." Noticing that he hadn't put his weapon away, she turned serious. "Sorry. Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. Had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance."

"I remember her now," Garrus said.

Shepard remembered too. What was just as interesting as finding her in another krogan breeding facility was the fact that she was apparently working for Okeer. "I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab."

"She is helping me perfect my legacy," Okeer interrupted. Turning to face the group at last, he gestured to the tank next to him. Unsurprisingly, the tank contained a krogan.

"Don't worry! I'm not wasting the chance you gave me!" she jumped in. "My work here – strictly beneficial!"

"She creates the mental imprints for my krogan. It doesn't matter," Okeer interrupted again. "What matters is that my soldier must live. The batteries on this tank will not wait while you play with these idiotic mercs."

"Not the smartest way to greet the heavily armed group that just kicked in your door," Shepard said in a low tone.

"I'm sure whoever sent you doesn't want me dead. No one looks for me without a motive. Certainly not the deceased Spectre Agent Shepard."

Shepard glanced at Rana out of the corner of his eye.

"She was kind enough to tell me the story," Okeer said, confirming Shepard's suspicions. Raising his arms up in a grand gesture, he continued, "Such a tale! Saren, the Spectre traitor, threatens the return of the krogan horde by curing the genophage." He pointed a finger directly at Garrus and then at Mordin. "Undoing the gentle genocide of the turians and salarians." Pacing in front of Shepard, Okeer pointed at the human next. "But before Saren can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard, securing victory through nuclear fire." Taking a breath, he stopped pacing to look directly at his 'guests'. "I like that part. It has weight."

The subject of Okeer's story merely crossed his arms. "What are you doing here?"

Okeer snorted in contempt. "Helping these mercenaries make the same mistake Saren made. I approve of your actions on Virmire. Saren's pale horde were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider."

"Jedore's on a power trip. She wants a private army, but Okeer mostly ignores her," Rana added.

"Bah! I gave my rejects for her army," Okeer dismissed. "But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

"Personal issues irrelevant," Mordin said.

"We're here about the Collectors. Nothing more," added Jacob.

Rana's eyes widened when she heard about the Collectors. Okeer just nodded. "I see. Yes, Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere," he said as he walked toward the lone tank. "I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored."

Rana gasped. "So that's it. I know you wanted to help your people, but you weren't doing anything to cure the genophage."

"You're not curing the genophage?" Shepard asked him.

"Contrary to what survivors claim, the genophage does not produce strong krogan – the only quality it filters is the ability to survive the genophage," the warlord answered. "For every stillborn, too many weaklings live. Every survivor is branded as precious. That's produced more coddling than your collective human teats!" Okeer said in disgust.

Okeer wasn't the only one disgusted. It was only thanks to his mask that his expression was hidden. Shepard really didn't want to know how the warlord knew so much about human anatomy and physiology.

"I say let us carry genophage! Let a thousand die in a clutch. We will defeat it by climbing atop out dead. That is the krogan way."

Miranda stepped forward after inspecting the krogan inside the tank. "What did you get from the Collectors? We need all information we can gather on them."

"They are strange," he described. "So isolated, yet very available when your sacrifice is big enough. I gave them many krogan."

Shepard couldn't tell if he meant the tank-grown krogan he created or real krogan he'd defeated over his long lifetime.

"I may have information for you, but the tech was consumed in my prototype. After I determined how to use it without killing the subjects," he added dispassionately. "Their deaths were unfortunate, but I only need one success to start the process."

"Your search for the perfect soldier created a lot of 'failures'. You don't care about them?" Shepard asked dangerously. He still remembered the one krogan that helped him gain entry into the compound.

"I failed no one," Okeer corrected. "My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for. She simply lacks the ability to command," he defended.

_That's an understatement, _Shepard thought.

Okeer continued his tirade. "They are strong, healthy, and useless to me. I need perfection. If a few thousand are rejected, so be it. My work will purify the krogan. We will not be restored - we will be renewed." Okeer voice almost took on a maniacal tone as he lost himself in his dream of grandeur. "We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to fear the lance."

"You're an unfeeling, heartless zealot," Shepard growled.

"Better add insane for good measure," Garrus added, his hand gripping his pistol tightly.

"Perhaps," Okeer responded. Whether he was referring to Shepard, Garrus, or both, no one could say. "But I will restore the krogan and my soldier will not provoke a nuclear response as a "cure" or "horde" would. My legacy is perfection, with each pure krogan reaching higher by standing on our dead. They will exceed, but not forget."

"Enough," Shepard said, reining in his temper. Looking at Rana, Shepard nodded his head at the door. "You, leave."

Rana nodded her head in agreement immediately. "Right. I'll just run like hell before you blow the place up or something. I learned how you work."

After Rana left, Garrus spoke up. "I'm all for second chances. Not so sure on third ones."

Mordin nodded. "Should have killed her. Too much knowledge without ethical boundaries."

"If you feel that strongly about it, I'm sure you can chase her down and shoot her," Shepard said. Turning to Okeer, his eyes narrowed, though the effect was lost behind his mask. "As for you, you're coming with us. I'm sure Cerberus has interrogators who can figure out if you're useful or not."

"Any group that spent enough to rebuild you won't care what it does to me," Okeer said.

"Then for once, they and I have something in common," Shepard coldly said.

"Perhaps we can strike a deal," the warlord negotiated. "One that secures my prototype. It is key."

Before Shepard could tell Okeer what he could do with his prototype, the doors to the lab suddenly closed and locked themselves.

Jedore's voice returned through the loudspeakers again. _"Attention. I have traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course."_

The krogan stomped his way to the nearby window and looked down. Following his example, Shepard walked over and finally saw the woman behind the voice. At the bottom floor, past all the laboratory tanks, a telltale glow of Tech Armor revealed Jedore. She was short, around 5'6" with dirty-blond hair and a permanent scowl etched on her face. She was pacing around the tanks agitatedly and speaking into a headset. _"I'm calling 'blank slate' on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"_

Soon after her proclamation, a hissing sound filled the room. White gas could be seen coming in from various vents lining the laboratory.

"Damn! Everyone check their seals! Make sure your hardsuits aren't damaged!" Shepard barked.

"I'm good, Commander!" Miranda confirmed.

"All good, Commander!" Jacob reported.

"I'm fine," Garrus simply said.

"Suit functioning normally!" Mordin declared in his usual fast manner.

Shepard checked his own hardsuit to find that everything was all right. Looking over at Okeer, however, revealed that he could not say the same. He was in armor, more elaborate than any Shepard had ever seen, but sans helmet.

Okeer growled. "She's that weak-willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve!" Turning to the Spectre, he offered his ultimatum, "Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

Shepard smirked beneath his mask. "Sorry, 'doctor', it appears your position has just weakened."

Okeer growled again before turning to face the tank with his 'legacy' inside. Placing his hand against the glass, he finally nodded. "I understand. But you'll have nothing if she poisons us all," he said with a tone of resignation. "Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. Kill her. I will… stay and do what must be done."

"_Let's go,"_ Shepard said through the radio. Mordin ran over to the door opposite from the one they entered and started the bypass, Jacob right behind with a shotgun. The moment the door opened Jacob went in to confirm that it was clear.

Shepard followed to find another set of ramps leading toward Jedore's floor.

"_I don't care who they are, I want them dead! This is my world! I'll poison them all!"_ Jedore screeched.

"_I think she's talked enough,"_ Miranda said with finality.

"_Agreed,_" Shepard said with a nod.

Everyone moved quickly, but carefully down the stairs. Approaching the door, Shepard spoke up. _"Remember, she's horded all the mechs. So expect stiff resistance. And don't underestimate her. Just because she has a big mouth doesn't mean she can't fight."_

After everyone responded to his warning, he opened the door and peaked in, before jumping back. A second later, a missile screamed right by and impacted against the far wall.

"I have more where that came from!" Jedore yelled.

"_Yeah? Me too," _Jacob growled. Pulling out his own missile launcher, he simply aimed in her general direction and fired a missile of his own. It curved around the room and headed straight for the Blue Sun's commander. She screamed as the missile struck her and fell over, but her Tech Armor absorbed the damage easily.

Seizing their chance, the team ran into the room and took cover. The mechs surrounding Jedore set about trying to kill all the intruders. Several LOKIs and two YMIR mechs began firing all at once at the scattered squad.

"Damn you!" Jedore yelled. "See if you like this!" Activating her omni-tool, she opened all the tanks in the room, flooding the area with krogan. "Break them, kill them! I'll create more!"

_Aw, hell_, Shepard thought. _"Drive the krogan toward the mechs! They get caught in the crossfire, the krogan might finish the job for us!"_

Garrus jumped from his cover and ran, causing some of the LOKIs to track him and attack. Letting his shields take the punishment, Garrus ran right past a krogan who was assaulted by the friendly fire. Roaring in rage, krogan turned and starting firing on the mechs as Garrus used his Tactical Cloak to vanish from sight.

The room erupted into chaos. Other krogan saw their brethren fighting the mechs and decided to attack them too. Shepard's team was running from cover to cover, taking advantage of the situation by firing on any target of opportunity. The mechs programming identified that they were under attack by the krogan and labeled them as foes. Jedore was screaming at the mechs and the krogan to attack Shepard and his team.

Jacob fired a trio of missiles at one of the YMIR's, finally breaking through its powerful shield. The krogan horde roared as they mindlessly attacked both of the heavy mechs, even as the mechs fired rockets of their own, killing several berserkers.

Garrus and Mordin worked on tackling the smaller LOKIs utilizing Overload, Incinerate, and their rapid fire weapons to cut their way through the smaller mechs.

Miranda stealthily crossed the impromptu battlefield and managed to catch Jedore by surprise. Using Overload to damage Jedore's Tech Armor before thundering away with the phasic rounds in her pulse rifle, Jedore staggered back from the onslaught, her shields breached, but her armor holding.

Jedore tried to bring her missile launcher to bear against the Cerberus operative only to scream in pain as Shepard fired his shotgun at her flank as his cloak disengaged.

Unable to handle the dual attack, Jedore fell dead as Shepard and Miranda fired several more bursts from their respective weapons, the Tech Armor failing and her armor penetrated.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shepard turned to see that the rest of his team had everything well in hand. The LOKIs were destroyed in short order and the krogan numbers were whittled down from the YMIR mechs. Once the heavy mechs were destroyed, Jacob finished off any krogan chargers with liberal use of his shotgun with incendiary rounds.

Once the cacophony of battle gave way to silence however, another set of alarms started blaring.

"_Alarms in the lab! Damn it, what's Okeer doing back there?"_ Miranda said.

"_Commander, the lab alarms coincided with a systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected and I have gained limited access," _reported EDI.

"_What's happening?"_

"_According lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins and Okeer's personal life signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste."_

"_Damn it! Everyone check your seals! Let's go!" _Shepard called out as he rushed to the doors and ramps that led back to the labs.

As everyone reported no damage to their hardsuits and regrouped, an automated announcement sounded around them. _"Contamination detected. Emergency vent in progress. Contamination detected. Emergency vent in progress."_

Reaching the door to the lab, they found it was locked again. Shepard knelt down and started the bypass again. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal the remaining traces of toxic gas being sucked away in the overhead vents.

Stepping inside the room, he saw Okeer's body slumped over his console.

Mordin ran up and scanned the body with his omni-tool. "Too late," he said out loud after a few seconds of scanning.

Shepard walked up to the body and noticed the console had a message address to him. Tapping the commands to play it, Okeer's face appeared on the screen. _"You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans, I would tell you. But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This… one soldier, this grunt. Perfect…"_

As Okeer's final message played out, everyone gathered around the tank he tried desperately to protect.

"Okeer wasted his life to save this single krogan?" Miranda asked incredulously.

"I'm surprised too," Garrus admitted. "Given that Okeer was willing to sacrifice other krogan so easily, I didn't think he was capable of self-sacrifice."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Shepard said. "Given how fanatical he was about this one and how much he sacrificed for it, he was probably capable of anything."

Mordin shook his head. "Delusional. Unlikely one krogan, however strong, could have impact Okeer wanted," he said before looking at Shepard. As if realizing something he added hesitantly, "Am… almost certain. Suggest leaving it."

Shepard tilted his head at the salarian. "Afraid he'll make your genophage obsolete?" he asked neutrally.

"No," Mordin said in a neutral tone of his own. "But krogan genetically dangerous. Socially dangerous as well. Have enough enemies without adding this."

"Can't be worse than Okeer and if he's tough, we need him," Jacob argued.

"We won't know until he's out. Which is too late if there's a problem," warned Garrus.

"Wrex did well with us before, Garrus. We could always use another heavy hitter," responded Shepard.

"If he'll help. I doubt anyone's asked for his opinion," Garrus said.

"Then we'll ask. Nicely or not-so-nicely depending on the situation," Shepard said, ending the discussion. Tapping his omni-tool, he hailed Joker.

"Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval. And he's a big one."

* * *

***ENCYRPTED***

_**Dossier: The Warlord Mission Report**_

_Clone facility destroyed._

_Okeer dead, but his "son" was recovered._

_Loss of Okeer could be a problem._

_Will allow Shepard to decide whether to activate the krogan._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yay! Another chapter done! Thanks to all that reviewed and to those that didn't, don't be shy.

I've already started Jack's recruitment and I like it. Expect it soon.


	12. Interlude IV

_**Location: Unknown**_

_Approximately five days before the events of Omega_

"So we have a deal then?"

Warden Kuril nodded. "Yes. Transfer the funds…" he trailed off as he typed some commands into his omni-tool. "Here."

"I'm afraid my client will be unable to transfer anything until we are sure that the prisoner is in good health," Kuril's customer countered.

"The prisoner is currently in cyrostasis. I can guarantee good health," Kuril pressed.

"That will not be good enough. We are sending a representative. He will pick up the prisoner and determine whether or not she will be purchased."

"Very well. Who am I expecting?" Kuril said, suppressing a sneer at the young human in the monitor, though his mandibles were moving agitatedly.

"A vessel will approach Purgatory identifying itself as the Normandy SR-2. The commanding officer will inspect the prisoner himself," the young man answered.

"Very well. Transmit these codes to him so we'll be able to identify his approach," Kuril responded. Nodding to one of his technicians, he waited for the information to be sent.

"Received. Thank you for your time, Warden Kuril," the Cerberus negotiator said before closing the link.

* * *

Typing another series of complicated commands, the negotiator for Cerberus prepped the highest level of encryption he was given and prepared himself for his next meeting.

The head of Cerberus appeared on his screen. "Is it done?" he asked once communications were confirmed secure.

The young man nodded as he answered. "Yes, sir. The Warden has finally agreed on our price along with the stipulation that Commander Shepard is to meet with Subject Zero to determine if she's fit to join his squad."

"Well done. I've sent you your next assignment. I hope to hear continued good news from you," The Illusive Man praised before closing the link.

The Cerberus negotiator smiled, glad to have completed his assignment to the Illusive Man's satisfaction. Tapping his screen, he began looking over his new orders. Mission parameters, funds, and a deadline were all listed.

_Locate the assassin, Thane Krios, and attempt to recruit him for us. You have one month. The listed amount is what we're willing to pay._

* * *

_**Location: Normandy, En Route to Purgatory Prison**_

_Present time_

As the shuttle docked with the Normandy, various crewmen scrambled about with their assigned tasks. Some were to refuel the shuttle, others for maintenance, and a few were armed with shotguns. The latter was a relatively new role within the hanger.

The Kodiak's hatches opened and Shepard calmly walked out with Miranda and Jacob following closely behind.

"All right people! Move that tank to the port-side cargo room! And be careful!" Jacob yelled out.

Various affirmatives were returned as Mordin jumped off the shuttle and walked quickly toward the elevators, presumably to check the results of his experiments. Garrus left the shuttle at a more sedate pace and stood next to Shepard.

"Miranda, Jacob, I'll meet you in the Comm room for debrief later. I need to oversee this," Shepard said as everyone watched the crewmen bustle about.

"You sure you got this, Commander?" Jacob asked.

"I'm sure it's…" Shepard started to reassure before a shout of surprise interrupted. Turning sharply at the sound, he saw Ken flat on his ass staring at the new piece of salvage they picked up. The krogan tank was carefully being pulled out of the shuttle via crane with the occupant still locked in stasis. Though sealed, the krogan within the tank still cut an intimidating figure.

"Fine…" Shepard finished. Sighing and glaring at Garrus when he chuckled, Shepard walked over to Ken and helped him to his feet before directing the others to unload the shuttle, including Gabby, who wouldn't stop ribbing Ken for his 'courageous' shout.

* * *

"Waking this krogan is bad idea," Miranda said, placing her weapons inside her locker. Jacob and Garrus were also stowing their weapons away in armory while Shepard remained below decks. After stating her opinion, she turned to look at Jacob with an even look. "I can't believe you actually want to wake it."

Jacob just shrugged at her. "Shepard's worked with krogan before and an extra gun couldn't hurt."

Garrus turned to both humans, his tasks complete. "Wrex was a disciplined warrior. For all intents and purposes, this krogan is still a kid and according to Okeer, he's a kid that's also a genetically enhanced super soldier."

"Exactly," Miranda agreed. "We don't know anything about it. We don't know his mental health, his loyalties -- if he even has any at all."

"Well, it's still Shepard's call," Jacob reminded. "Maybe he wants to study it,"

"He wouldn't bring that thing up here if he didn't intend to open it," she pointed out.

Garrus crossed his arms. "I trust him. He knows what he's doing. I may not like it, but if there's anyone able to command a krogan, it's him. If he's able to convince Okeer's 'perfect' krogan to help us out, more power to us. If not, well…" he trailed off, shaking his head and shrugging. "We've killed plenty of krogan before," he finished. Giving a nod to both Cerberus operatives, Garrus turned around and left.

Miranda started to massage her brow to stave off the incoming headache. _I knew the odds weren't favorable, but this…_ "I definitely have concerns about this…" she said out loud to Jacob.

* * *

After securing the tank inside the cargo bay and interfacing the controls with EDI to prevent any mishaps, Shepard swiftly made his way to Deck 2 and the Comm room, not even bothering to take off his weapons.

As he reached the door, he could hear Miranda talking Jacob. "Look, what I'm saying is that bringing the krogan aboard for study makes sense, but I still have concerns about waking it."

"Yeah, you've said that a few times now," Jacob said with a touch of exasperation.

Stepping into the room, Shepard stopped at the head of the table and leaned on it. Miranda continued her tirade. "A normal krogan is dangerous. This one is was created, and likely educated, by a madman."

"I see everyone's enjoying the new paperweight," Shepard commented. "Concerns?" he asked in all seriousness.

"We don't know anything about it, Commander," Miranda cautioned.

"I know. You don't find that interesting?" he answered with a smirk. Jacob shook his head, suppressing a smile of his own.

Turning serious again, Shepard said, "I want to give him a chance. We can't just leave him in the cargo hold. If we're willing to through all that trouble to pick up Okeer, then we should at least see if his tank-grown krogan was worth the effort and time to retrieve."

"Krogan fight well at close quarters. Perhaps awakening him in a confined space wouldn't be prudent," she warned.

"Noted," Shepard said to her. "The cargo hold is safe enough in the meantime."

Shaking her head in exasperation, Miranda left. Jacob shrugged at Shepard before turning to leave himself.

Standing alone in the Comm Room, Shepard looked at the display panel on the cherry wood table between his hands. "EDI."

EDI's display materialized before him. "Commander?"

"Tell Garrus that I'd like to see him here, if you will," Shepard requested.

"As you wish, Commander. Also, I was asked to convey the gratitude of the quarian ships within the area of operations to thank you for your warning. Logging you out."

During the next few minutes, while waiting for his friend to show up, Shepard continued to think about his newest dilemma. His thoughts drifted toward Wrex and wondered what he would think of Okeer and his tank-bred krogan army. _Wonder what Wrex would do? _

Garrus' voice intruded into his thoughts. "Something up?"

Turning to face the turian, he nodded. "Arm up Garrus. We're going to see if this krogan is as any good as Okeer claims."

* * *

The trip to the cargo bay was made in silence. Both men knew what their roles were. Shepard would see if the krogan would be willing to help and Garrus would shoot it if it proved itself dangerous.

"_Is it true we have a pod containing a baby krogan down in the cargo hold?" Kelly had asked when Shepard and Garrus stepped into the CIC and headed for the lift._

_Garrus snorted as he checked over his rifle._

"_Not a baby. He's a full-grown super soldier ready for combat," Shepard corrected._

"_Please be careful if you're going to… err… birth him? His personality is completely unknown," she fretted._

"_Relax, Kelly. Garrus is coming with me. We have the situation under control. What could go wrong?"_

_Yeah… What __**could**__ go wrong?_ Shepard sarcastically thought to himself as they descended to Deck 3. Once there, both turian and human walked down the short hallway to the entrance of the port-side cargo bay. "Just wait here until I call. I don't want to antagonize him if I have the situation under control," Shepard said.

"By call: do you mean through the radio, the door, or when that thing starts tearing off limbs and you start screaming?" Garrus said with morbid humor.

"Whichever one you feel like answering," Shepard deadpanned though his smile belied his tone. Turning serious, he looked Garrus straight in the eye. "I mean it though. Give me a chance with him first. You don't come until I say you do and if I do, don't think, just shoot."

"You gonna be alright in there alone?" Garrus said seriously.

"If it comes down to it, I still have my biotics. I can buy time if I need it," Shepard said confidently. Giving a reassuring nod to the turian, he stepped into the cargo bay.

"EDI, status," Shepard called out as the door closed behind him.

"The subject is stable, Commander. Integration with onboard systems was seamless," she dutifully reported.

Looking up into the tank, the krogan eyes were open, but eerily unblinking. "Can he see anything in there? Does he know where he is?"

"Unlikely. Current neural patterns indicate minimal cognition. Barring ship-wide power loss, the nutrients in the tank could sustain him for over a year."

"What can you tell me about this guy? Anything unusual?" Shepard asked, curious why Okeer would call this his 'perfect legacy'.

"The subject is an exceptional example of the krogan species, with fully formed primary, secondary, and tertiary organs, where applicable. No defects of any kind, aside from the genetic markers of the genophage present in all krogan. I cannot judge mental functioning," EDI listed off.

"So we have no idea how dangerous this guy is aside from the obvious?"

"He is a krogan, Commander. If you are asking whether he is actively hostile, I don't have the necessary data to answer," she informed.

"Any guesses then?" Shepard asked.

"Okeer's technology could impart data, not methods of thinking. The subject may know of his views, but would not necessarily share them."

"Very well. Stand by. I'm going to open the tank and let him out," Shepard decisively said.

"Cerberus protocol is very clear regarding untested alien technology," EDI informed.

"I'm not Cerberus, EDI," Shepard responded. "I don't care about their rules and protocols. And I won't be second guessed on my own ship, by my own ship. He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now."

"Very well, Shepard," EDI complied. "The controls are online. The switch – and consequences – are yours," she warned.

_Here's hoping that he'll be as pleasant as Wrex_ Shepard sardonically thought to himself, repeating Garrus' earlier words during the mission. He approached the console and with two taps, the nutrient fluid inside the tank began draining. Shepard took a few steps back to better see who he was about to deal with.

The moment fluid finished draining, the pod moved slightly forward to eject it's occupant as the doors opened. The krogan blinked once before falling to his knees and coughed out some of the viscous nutrient fluid right at Shepard's feet.

Taking another step back from the slimy discharge, Shepard distantly noted that the process really was like birthing a krogan. The rest of his mind processed the large, intimidating alien standing in front of him as he stood his ground.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, his eyes finally focused in the bright light of the room he was in. He had no name. He had no identity. All he had were words and memories that he didn't care about. But he was free from the tank. Anything else can come after. Looking down from the tank, he saw a human dressed in black armor standing before him. Letting out a roar, the krogan charged the human and picked him up before slamming him against the wall and pinning him. The human let out a grunt, but still turned his head to meet the krogan's unnatural blue eyes unflinchingly.

"Human. Male. Before you die, I need a name," the krogan rumbled evenly.

The human glared as he answered, "I'm Commander Shepard and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest that you relax."

"Not your name. Mine," the tank-born krogan corrected. "I am trained, I know things, but the tank… Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow." Words flashed through his mind's eye. "Warlord, legacy, grunt… grunt. 'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do." Holding his arm against the human's throat, 'Grunt' tilted his head as he regarded his captive. "I am Grunt. If you are worth of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

The human continued to show no apprehension with his predicament. Grunt couldn't even smell any fear emanating from him. He simply asked, "Why do you want me to kill you?"

His words sounded confident, as if that was the only outcome if they should fight. Grunt narrowed his eyes as he pondered the question. _What do I want?_ He had no answer, only a goal. "Want? I do what I am meant to – fight and reveal the strongest. Nothing in the tank ever asked what I want. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. That imprint has failed. He has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other." Brining his face closer he grimly smiled. "Might as well start with you," he growled.

"Is it that easy for Okeer's perfect krogan to abandon his mission?" the human asked. There was something within his tone though. Contempt? Approval? Grunt couldn't tell. Through it all, he still didn't look bothered.

Okeer. Grunt couldn't feel anything at all for the aged warlord. He didn't care for his ideals. He didn't care for his goals. He didn't care that he's dead. He probably wouldn't care if he was alive. "Okeer is just a voice in the tank. If his imprints are true, then he created something stronger than him. So he's not worth of me. And if his hatreds aren't strong enough to compel me, they've failed, too. I feel nothing. I have no connection."

The human continued to stare directly in his eyes. Grunt couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. His glare seemed to be uncompromising, unrelenting and unafraid. "I took you and I released you. You'll either follow my command or I'll space you. You come with me and you'll find purpose or die trying."

Though he said it in a neutral tone, Grunt still felt the veiled promise and threat within. This was different. "Nothing in the tank imprints indicated humans could be so forceful. You command as though you've earned it." _What was his name again…? Shepard?_

"My enemies threaten galaxies. Everyone on my ship has earned their place. I'm still deciding if you're worth bringing along, if you're as strong as you claim," Shepard responded.

_He challenges me. Interesting._ Grunt could feel something now; the anticipation before a battle, a sudden rush of rage and the thrill of challenge. If Shepard was telling the truth, the fights ahead could prove worthwhile. "Hmph! That's… acceptable," Grunt said. "I'll fight for you."

He saw Shepard smile, but it wasn't in victory nor did it seem pleasant. It looked as vicious as any krogan.

"I'm glad you saw reason," Shepard said as he pressed the barrel of his pistol on the underside of Grunt's chin.

"Hmm?" Grunt took a step back as he felt the cold barrel under his jaw. _Bastard had that on me the entire time…_ Another image from the tank imprint flared into his consciousness. Words of wisdom from one of the many krogan warlords used to shape him. "Ha! Offer one hand, but arm the other," Grunt said, voicing his thoughts out loud. "Wise, Shepard." Grunt almost smiled. "If I find a clan, if I find what I…" Grunt hesitated as he drew a blank. He still felt no desire beyond combat. No desires of his own. "What I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you," he finished.

Shepard merely nodded as he lowered his pistol. "We'll see what happens, but I'm sure it'll be interesting."

Grunt turned away and began to survey the room he was in. _It's already interesting._

* * *

Shepard left the cargo bay, his mind trying to assimilate what he'd just learned.

"Well, you look like you're still in one piece," Garrus said as he gave a cursory glance at Shepard, then inside the cargo bay where Grunt was looking around.

"All my limbs are still attached. No screaming," Shepard joked. Continuing toward the lift, he waited until Garrus stepped in before heading toward deck 2.

"He's coming along for the ride then?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah. He doesn't feel anything except the desire to fight. He's definitely different," Shepard said, still thinking about their newest squad member.

"Ignoring the fact that he's less than a month old, educated by a lunatic, and a genetically enhanced killing machine. I kinda see your point," Garrus cheekily said.

Shepard laughed as they reached their destination. Stepping out, they both trekked to the armory to deposit their weapons. "I was referring to his mental differences. I really wasn't expecting him to be like Wrex, but he doesn't seem to think like a krogan. I'm not sure how to explain it."

Garrus shrugged as he handed his rifle to Jacob who took it with a nod. "Well considering that Okeer didn't think like most krogan, that's expected. As long as you can keep him in line and away from something delicate, we'll have no problems."

"Delicate. Like the engine? Or the engineers?" Jacob said as he logged in Garrus' equipment on his terminal.

"Relax. It'll be fine," Shepard assured as he stowed his weapons inside his personal locker.

Jacob shook his head. "I wish I had your confidence, Commander," he said as he ran his omni-tool over Garrus' rifle.

"Speak your mind, Jacob. I like talking with my crew," invited Shepard.

Jacob didn't look up, but he smiled. "If you want, Commander. Cerberus has ranks, but it's not the Alliance. No rules about fraternization."

"As far as I know, that rule seems to apply only to humans. No other species really cares about issues like that," Garrus observed.

Jacob shrugged. "Yeah. The Alliance can be real sticklers for that kind of thing. Here though, Shepard's boat, Shepard's call." Turning to the Commander, he nodded his head in acceptance. "You want to get friendly with everyone, that's your business."

"Relax, Jacob. I'm just interested in what makes you tick," Shepard said.

"Ha! Anyone else said that, I'd walk away. Most Cerberus people try to play like the Illusive Man, hiding bullshit behind a smile," Jacob said.

Garrus shook his head. "That's probably why I liked the first Normandy. None of the Alliance personal there were liars or manipulators. If they did or didn't like you, they didn't really hide it," he said as he crossed his arms. "Present company excluded," he amended, nodding at Jacob.

Jacob waved it off. "I know what you mean. Probably one of the few things I liked about the Alliance myself. You guys though – I like what I've seen. I'll give you two a shot. What do you want to know?"

"Anyone waiting for you back home?" Shepard asked, deciding to keep his queries simple.

"Only child and no extended family," came the prompt answer. "Never settled down. Didn't seem fair with this job. But, you can't miss what you never had."

Garrus nodded in agreement. "I've seen relationships fall apart pretty badly with some of the officers in C-Sec. Some of them were lucky enough to make it work though. Others…" Garrus trailed off with a shrug. "You've never had a relationship though? Not even when you were Alliance?"

"I've had a couple. Nothing lasting or worthwhile," Jacob modestly said. "You?"

"A few. No rules about fraternization in the turian military, so most of my relationships happened there. In C-Sec, not so much," Garrus answered.

"You seem okay taking a risk with us. Can I ask why?" Shepard asked before they could get on the topic of his love life. Thinking about Ashley constricted his heart and it was topic he wanted to avoid until he could get in touch with her again.

"Soldiers like us know how trust is to the crew," Jacob said matter-of-factly. Garrus and Shepard both agreed easily since it was one of those things that didn't need saying. "I'm not used to seeing it on a Cerberus ship. Definitely not from the people they put in command," Jacob explained.

Garrus snorted in contempt at Cerberus military doctrine, but didn't say anything else.

Jacob smiled, showing that he didn't take any offense. Looking at Shepard, he continued, "But you focus on more than the job. A threat this big, you can't just throw people at it blind. They need inspiration."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot riding on this, but we can't give up everything," Shepard said, his thoughts drifting back to Ashley.

"Not always a choice we get to make. Good to try, though," Jacob agreed. "I gave it my best back in the Alliance. Got labeled a troublemaker. They were always on the lookout for disruptive types."

Shepard suppressed a smile as he gave Garrus a pointed look. Garrus just shrugged as he looked unrepentant about his actions.

Jacob noticed. "You too?" he asked the turian.

"All the damn time," Garrus answered. "Not really that bad in the military…" he said ignoring Shepard's snort. "But in C-Sec? I'm surprised that I wasn't ever suspended or reprimanded. I'm sure I came close a few times though and my file will show that I'm not the model C-Sec officer. Too much politics involved, it kept pissing me off."

"I know the feeling," Jacob said. "Cerberus isn't really any better. They just put more effort into hiding how much they spy on you."

"They'll have something to see by the time we're done," Shepard confidently declared.

"No doubt. We'll be right in the middle of whatever goes down," Jacob agreed.

"Probably because we're going to be the ones that'll cause whatever happens," Garrus added.

All three soldiers shared a laugh. Garrus straightened up. "I'm getting some food from the mess hall. It was good talking to you Taylor."

"Likewise Garrus. You too Shepard. Let's do it again sometime."

Shepard smiled and nodded before following Garrus out the door. As Garrus stepped up to the lift, he asked, "Going down?"

Shepard shook his head. "I need a shower first. You go ahead."

Garrus just shrugged before boarding the lift, stepping around Hawthorne, who was just entering the CIC to assume his shift.

"Commander," Hawthorne acknowledged with a salute before heading down the bridge.

Kelly gave a friendly nod to Hawthorne before stepping up to Shepard. "Are you all right?"

"We talked Kelly. It was more civil than I thought. He's agreed to help us."

"I don't know what to feel about our newest crew member. My psych reports were for Okeer. We have no guarantees that he's mentally stable," she fretted.

"His name is Grunt and it's actually something interesting Kelly. I get the feeling he's a cross between an adult and a child. He hasn't learned to care about anything yet, but he's more intelligent than most would give him credit for," Shepard explained, tying to convey his thoughts about his short meeting with the krogan. "He doesn't have any passions, or personal goals. He hasn't really grown or lived long enough to have anything regarding personal feelings. All he really feels right now is the urge to fight… or maybe just kill. Thankfully, that means he's interested in our mission. On the other hand…"

"It could mean he's a danger to the ship and crew," Kelly finished.

Shepard shrugged. "I'll keep an eye on him. For now, we should be okay. Who knows? Maybe he'll grow to like us."

Joker limped up to them at that exact moment. "You collect cats as a kid?" he asked rhetorically. "Because we really needed a mega-krogan, so thanks for dragging him home," he jibed, shattering Shepard's assurances.

"How long to Purgatory?" Shepard asked, ignoring the joke.

"Our ETA toward Purgatory Prison is approximately 2 hours, 9 minutes," EDI answered from the nearby display panel.

"A hop, skip, and two mass relays away, with a short burst of FTL," Joker said. "Hawthorne can handle that. It's pretty much letting the computer do 98% of the work while he presses a color light once in a while." He hobbled to the elevator. "Me? I want food."

Shepard shook his head at Joker's antics while Kelly giggled. "Well, Commander, I need to create a new psych profile on Grunt then."

Shepard nodded and dismissed her as he waited for the elevator to return so he could finally get to his cabin and take a long hot shower.

* * *

_**Location: Shadow Sea, Iera System, Horizon**_

"Damn it!"

An unladylike string of curses continued to follow from a decidedly feminine voice. Pounding the console in frustration, Operations Chief Ashley Williams looked over the diagnostics report, trying to decipher the gibberish to find out why the GARDIAN laser turrets weren't functioning.

"Still not working?" a colonist asked sympathetically as she approached.

"Not yet, Lilith. Looks like the targeting software wasn't calibrated correctly. It's gonna take me a while. Guess I'm staying for a few more days," Ashley responded while glaring at the holomonitor in front of her.

"Sorry to hear that," Lilith said as she gave the Alliance marine a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I know everyone isn't comfortable with you here, but I'm glad you're making the best of it."

Ashley turned her head to give Lilith a wry smile. "I'm a marine. Out in the Terminus, I'm usually not welcome anywhere."

Lilith laughed a bit. "Would you like something to eat? Maybe you just need a bit of time," she offered.

"I'd like that, yeah. Thanks."

* * *

_**Location: Unknown**_

"**We have Shepard's location. Set your course to the human colony of Horizon."**

There was a flurry of activity before another order was perceived throughout the minds of the crew.

"**Preserve Shepard's body if possible."**

* * *

Author's Notes:

Shorter than most, but considering that they're speeding their way to the next mission, no rest for the weary and little time for characterization.

I played and finished the new DLC, Kasumi's Stolen Memories. Great mission, great character, and great addition. Unfortunately, I will not be able to enter her into my fic. First, it came too late. Second, while her dialogue integrates her with the crew a lot more than Zaeed, I can only get a bit at a time and this fic is already proving to be rather long. Third, I'd be really, really tempted to write a Jacob/Kasumi pairing. While some may wonder why that's a bad thing, bear in mind that I've never written any fic before. I am unsure how my ability to portray romance with Shepard/Miranda, my favorite characters, much less other characters that I like (a step down from favorite).

Still, I don't wanna be tyrannical with my work and several people have either asked in their reviews if I'm adding DLC characters or have PMed me about the subject. So, I'll be posting a poll on my profile. Zaeed, while awesome, is still out. Nothing is changing my mind about that. Kasumi, also awesome, may still have a chance to enter my fic. Having checked my outline, there is a point where I can enter her realistically without everything coming apart. And yes, I have an outline that reaches the end of ME2.

Here's the rub though. If only 10 people vote, it's not really enough incentive for me to push hard on the subject. The minimum vote is 100. From there, I'll look at the majority and go along with your decision. Less than a 100 and I'll assume people don't care one way or another.

Finally, I'm inviting you all to read Ronnie James Dio's work: Immortality

Unlike my work, he's focusing on key moments of the game. Some of the things he's writing are better than mine, which is actually helping me improve my own novice talents just to match.

In particular, I really love the way he portrays any Jack/Miranda interactions and the characters themselves, specifically Jack, Garrus, and Grunt. Go ahead and give his work a try and be sure to review!

Thanks for reading!


	13. The Convict

_**Location: Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, En Route to Purgatory Prison Ship, Normandy**_

"Report," Miranda ordered as she entered the CIC in her Cerberus Assault Armor, carrying her helmet held loosely in her hand.

"_Ma'am. We're approaching Purgatory. They've queried us,"_ Hawthorne reported from the helm.

"Put them though," Miranda said as she stepped up to the raised platform that overlooked the deck. The status of the Normandy was currently displayed in lieu of the galaxy map.

"_Aye, aye, Ma'am. Establishing contact,"_ Crewman Matthews responded.

"_Approaching vessel, this is Purgatory Control. Identify yourself,"_ an operator demanded.

"This is Normandy SR-2. I am Executive Lawson. We have a business arrangement with Warden Kuril," Miranda answered.

"_Stand by Normandy,_" the operator said.

Miranda waited for several minutes before another voice called her. _"Executive Lawson? Transmit your given clearance codes."_

Stepping off the platform, she moved to the command terminal and sent the codes the Illusive Man attached with Jack's dossier.

After another minute of waiting, the operator cleared them. _"Codes verified. We're transmitting vectors to you now."_

"What's the status of the prisoner?" Miranda asked.

"_I'm afraid you'll have to speak to the warden about that, Normandy,"_ the operator answered.

"Then put the warden on," she insisted. "I don't like wasting time and money."

There was a moment of silence before image of the Normandy changed to an image of a turian in Blue Sun's uniform and armor. _"This is Warden Kuril. To whom am I speaking to?"_

"Executive Lawson, second-in-command of the Normandy. I want the status of Jack," requested Miranda as she walked back up to the platform to stand in front of the projection.

"_Jack is in cryo-stasis. We've been monitoring vitals ever since we've entered negotiations with Cerberus. The prisoner is in good health, you have my word on that," _Kuril assured. _"I understand that the commanding officer wishes to personally inspect the merchandise?"_

_Merchandise… nothing but bloody slavers in the end,_ Miranda thought in disgust as she maintained a neutral façade. "Yes. Once he's established that Jack is fit to travel, we'll transfer the funds. His is the final say on the matter."

"_Then to whom should I be greeting?"_

"That doesn't matter," Miranda promptly said. "He checks Jack and determines whether we pay or not. You don't need to know more than that."

"_I'm afraid that I can't simply allow anyone to board my vessel without some knowledge of who they are… not unless he's coming aboard as a prisoner. We have strict security measures in place and I will not comprise our operations for your need of secrecy,"_ Kuril challenged.

Miranda narrowed her eyes as she tried to judge Kuril's intentions. _He might recognize Shepard anyway, but there's something off about this…_ "Spectre Agent Shepard is the commanding officer and he will be coming aboard."

The warden's eyes widened before he quickly adopted a neutral look. Miranda still caught his surprise though and had an uneasy feeling about this particular mission.

"_Understood. Please inform Agent Shepard that he is not allowed to carry arms aboard my vessel and that he is to come alone. We will escort him to inspect the merchandise. Once he is satisfied, we'll await confirmation of the agreed payment before releasing Jack into your custody."_

"I'll pass your message along," Miranda said evenly.

"_I'll look forward to meeting him in person,"_ Kuril said before he cut the link.

"Helm, initiate docking procedures. EDI, inform Shepard that he's wanted in the CIC and that I wish to speak with him immediately. Finally, call Garrus and… Grunt, to the armory," Miranda commanded.

"_Initiating docking procedures. Aye, Ma'am,"_ Hawthorne acknowledged.

"Understood, Executive Lawson," EDI acknowledged.

"EDI? I want you to tap into their security network as well and be subtle. I want eyes and ears into everything that goes on in there," Miranda added.

"Understood, Executive Lawson. Logging you out."

* * *

_**Location: Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Purgatory Prison Ship**_

"Shepard…" Kuril mumbled to himself. "I thought he was dead."

"He probably faked it. Some sort of deep cover operation or something," one of the Kuril's subordinates speculated.

"Didn't the Shadow Broker have some sort of bounty on Shepard some time ago?" another guard asked.

"Yes. Yes he did," Kuril said. "He hired our group a few years ago to recover Shepard for him. I don't know what happened to that team though."

"How much was the bounty worth?"

"I don't know," Kuril snapped. "But find out. If the Shadow Broker was interested, then he's worth a lot of money. More than Jack, I'm sure…"

"Found it!" a Blue Sun's technician yelled out. "It's right here… uh… wow…"

Kuril stepped up to the holo-monitor and perused the relevant information. He could see why the techie was rendered speechless. It was a standing bounty that Shepard can be taken alive **or **dead and the amount was at least 20 times more than what Cerberus was paying for Jack. Kuril's mind whirled with the new information and the possibilities. "Change of plans. Since Cerberus hasn't bought Jack yet, we have no obligations or business with them. Let's greet our new 'guest'."

* * *

_**Location: Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, En Route to Purgatory Prison Ship, Normandy**_

"What do we have?" Shepard asked when he exited the lift, clad in full armor sans helmet.

"We'll be docking with Purgatory momentarily. Warden Kuril is expecting you…" Miranda reported before she trailed off.

Shepard noticed her brow was furrowed in worry as she tried to find the right words for her concerns. Gesturing that she follow him, Shepard made his way to the armory. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Kuril asked that you go alone and unarmed."

Stopping momentarily to glance at his executive officer, Shepard shook his head and snorted. "Like hell," he said before moving again.

"I know. Considering our last mission and our encounter with that particular mercenary group, I doubt his intentions are anything honest," Miranda commented. She hesitated again before adding, "He seemed rather interested in you."

Entering the armory and greeting Jacob with a nod, Shepard turned to face her. "How interested?"

"More than I'd like," she answered.

"Why would he care about me, anyway?" Shepard asked. "We're here to pick up a prisoner, not cause trouble."

"I'm not saying you're going to cause trouble, I'm saying that you're going to walk into it," Miranda corrected. "He seemed much more interested in our conversation the moment I told him that **you** were coming aboard his ship." Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair before leaning on one of the tables next to Shepard's weapons locker. "Look, recovering your body for the Lazarus Project wasn't actually easy. To be honest, we weren't the first," she admitted.

"Wait, what?" Shepard asked with confusion evident in his tone.

"The Shadow Broker wanted your body first. He hired the Blue Suns to retrieve you," she explained.

Jacob crossed his arms. "Never trust a mercenary," he said. "So you're thinking that they might want to cash in now?"

"I don't know. I just think that we should proceed with caution," she advised.

"Fine. I'll take Garrus and Grunt with me."

"Kuril won't like this," Miranda warned.

Shepard smirked. "They're mercs. They want money. Either from Jack or from me. They're not going to turn us away just because you forgot to pass on his 'request'."

Jacob chuckled while Miranda smiled. "Well, then. Orders, sir?" she asked.

Shepard opened his locker and started to check over his equipment. "Only Garrus and Grunt are coming along. You have the Normandy in the meantime."

Miranda frowned. "Just the three of you?"

The door opened, admitting Garrus and Grunt into the armory.

"Arm up, both of you," Shepard said. Turning to Miranda, he explained, "You said it yourself. Kuril didn't know it was me until now. Any trap he makes will probably be half-assed or just made-up on the spot." Equipping his weapons, he continued, "If there's any trouble, the three of us can probably fight our way through the ship, take Jack and blow through whatever he throws our way."

"Wait," Garrus interjected. "Did you say 'Kuril'?"

Shepard turned to Garrus curiously. "You know him?"

"Barefaced bastard," Garrus muttered to himself before explaining. "Ignoring the fact that Purgatory is run by the Blue Suns, C-Sec launched a few investigations into Kuril himself."

"What kind of investigations?" Jacob asked.

"Slavery, torture, extortion; that kind of thing," Garrus listed off. "Buying prisoners isn't something new on Purgatory, but with a few legal loopholes, they can cover their tracks if they're selling slaves too. C-Sec hasn't had any luck so far making any charges stick."

"Considering we've just destroyed a Sun's base, our welcome will probably wear out quick, if he knows it was us," Shepard speculated.

"I'll say," Jacob agreed. "What does 'barefaced' mean anyway?" he asked Garrus.

"It's turian slang and an insult really," Miranda answered when Garrus looked preoccupied with his M-8. "Turians tend to have their colony origins designated by elaborate markings on their face, such as you see with Garrus."

Garrus looked up when his named was called to show his clan markings before returning to his prep.

"Turians without such markings are turians that can't be trusted in their culture. Thus the term 'barefaced' was born," Miranda finished looking thoughtful. "Come to think of it, Kuril didn't have any markings on his face."

"Bah! Who cares? Are we fighting them or not?" Grunt asked.

"That depends how greedy and how stupid Kuril is," Shepard answered as he stood up, his preparations completed.

"Considering he's a merc, the answer is yes. To both," Garrus said to Grunt, as he completed his own prep.

"Good. I've been waiting for this," Grunt said in anticipation as he equipped an M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle and an M-23 Katana Shotgun.

"If Kuril has a surprise waiting for us inside, then he'll definitely try to make a move on the Normandy. I'll leave it to you to decide how best to handle the situation. You, Jacob, Mordin and whatever crewmen that's able to fight ensure that they don't get her," Shepard said to Miranda.

"I don't know how much help Mordin's going to be," Jacob said as he glanced at the door leading to the lab.

"Something wrong?" Shepard asked, concerned.

"No. He mentioned something about a breakthrough and asked not to be disturbed. Then he locked the doors," explained Jacob.

"We should leave him be," Miranda declared. "We still need the countermeasures against the Collector's seeker swarms." Grabbing her rifle from her locker, she added, "I've asked EDI to begin hacking into their security network, so we should have the advantage."

Shepard nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Miranda."

"_We're docking with Purgatory now,"_ Hawthorne called.

"All hands, stand by for docking procedures," EDI added.

"EDI, give me ship-wide intercom," Shepard requested.

"Intercom on, Commander."

"All hands. This is Commander Shepard. Report to general quarters. I repeat: all hands report to general quarters," he ordered before gesturing to EDI to close the comm.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right by yourselves?" Miranda asked.

"It's fine. If worst comes to worst, it's still a prison, which means they have to be careful or any fight might set off a riot. That'll definitely keep them busy," Shepard smirked. "Let's go and no helmets. I don't want to look we're on our guard, at least nothing out of the ordinary. Let them think they have the upper hand over us," Shepard said to his away team. Before he left the armory, he turned and looked Miranda directly in the eye. "Someday, we're going to talk about what hell happened during the last two years."

Miranda had a small smile on her face, the kind that told him that she knew more than he could ever guess. That smile irritated him to no end. "We'll see."

Shepard gave her a mock parting glare before turning around and leaving.

* * *

The Normandy slowly approached the former 'ark ship'. Purgatory was massive, with a long cylindrical main body and 10 arms jutting out from the port and starboard sides.

After reaching the designated dock, magnetic clamps attached themselves to the frigate, securing, or shackling, her in place. Almost as if the Normandy herself just became a prisoner of Purgatory.

* * *

_**Dossier: The Convict**_

_Jack (No last name known)_

_Exceptional biotic ability_

_Note: Criminal background, currently in custody_

_Jack is rumored to be the most powerful human biotic ever encountered. Very little additional data regarding Jack is available, except that the subject has a history of violence and should be approached carefully. Currently, Jack is being held on the turian prison ship Purgatory. Cerberus has negotiated for the prisoner's release._

* * *

_**Location: Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Purgatory Prison Ship**_

Shepard and his team stepped out of the airlock and made their way down the docking bay. Ahead, they could see a trio of armed guards that were waiting to greet them.

The middle merc stepped forward. "Welcome to the Purgatory, Agent Shepard. Your package is being prepped and you can claim it shortly," he said.

Shepard had to suppress a sneer when the merc said 'package'. Since he wasn't wearing a helmet, he had to be careful not to show any expressions that might be misinterpreted. _Damn slavers._

The guard looked over Shepard and his team. "You were told to come alone and leave all weapons behind. As this is a high-security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed. The other two must turn back."

As quick as any gunslinger, Shepard had his pistol out and trained on the merc in front of him. Garrus and Grunt followed suit almost as fast with their own pistols. The three mercs looked startled at the sudden show of force, but still had the presence of mind to raise their weapons as well.

"I'll relinquish one bullet," Shepard threatened. "Where do you want it?" he said evenly as he pointed his pistol at various body parts.

The door behind the mercs opened and another turian entered the room. "Everyone stand down," he ordered.

_A turian without markings. This must be Kuril…_

"Agent Shepard," the warden greeted with a nod of head. "I'm Warden Kuril and this is my ship." He stopped behind his subordinates and observed the Spectre. "You weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just standard procedure. As for your friends…"

"I'm not surrendering my weapons and they're here to help me keep a reign on Jack. I don't give a damn about your procedures," Shepard growled.

The warden of Purgatory and the Spectre agent glared at each other, their gazes locked in a silent battle of dominance. Finally, Kuril's mandibles open and closed slowly in agitation. "Let them proceed," he eventually said. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests." Kuril turned around and started for the door. Shepard holstered his pistol and followed, keeping a wary eye out for anything amiss. "We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way." Stopping at the door, he turned sideways to regard Shepard. "If you'll follow me to Outprocessing for the pickup, Agent Shepard."

"After you," Shepard said coolly. _Miranda was right. This guy needs a bullet or two._

* * *

"Cellblock Two. As you can see, we keep tight control over the population," Kuril said as he gave a brief tour of his prison.

They were in a long hallway, long sheets of framed glass serving as walls. They passed by several Blue Suns mercs standing at a myriad of posts inside the hallway, overlooking the cellblock.

Looking out the window, Shepard could see mechanical arms reaching out and grabbing containers, only to move them to various locations. _Cells, probably._

Kuril confirmed his suspicions as they moved along the tube. "Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained, modular unit. I've blown a few out the airlocks as an example," he stated remorselessly. "The ship is made up of 30 cell blocks identical to this one – we house thousands of criminals." Stopping, he turned around and placed his arms behind his back. "We can put the whole place in lockdown on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here."

Shepard maintained his poker face throughout Kuril's speech. _For your sake, you better not mess with me or I'll be the first to change that._ Crossing his arms, Shepard regarded the warden and tried to figure out his motives. "How did you end up running this ship?"

Kuril turned to look out over the cell block before he answered. "I was in law enforcement in Palaven and got sick of seeing criminals escape out into the galaxy to carry on with their crimes. Bounty hunters aren't dependable." He gestured to the cellblock, as he continued. "Eventually I hit upon this idea. Keep the criminals in space and the galaxy is a safer place. "

"So you do this because you think it's necessary?"

Kuril's jaws and mandibles twisted into a turian version of a sneer. "Every day I see the worst sapient life has to offer. Governments are soft, unwilling to make the hard choices. Someone had to stand up and make the galaxy safe."

_I can't believe he's actually trying to spoon feed me that line of bullshit,_ Shepard thought incredulously. _He almost sounds like he believes it._ Glancing out the window Kuril was gazing through, Shepard causally remarked, "Maintaining a population this size can't be cheap."

"We can cut corners that governments can't," Kuril replied. "And each prisoner brings in a fee from his homeworld. These individuals are violent and their home planets pay well to keep them here."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "And if the homeworld doesn't want to pay?"

"We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help, so we'll be forced to release him back onto his homeworld," he answered before adding, "At an unspecified place and time."

_And there goes his 'stand up and make the galaxy safe' speech. So much for 'getting sick of letting criminals escape'._

"Huh. So you scare the homeworlds with the prisoners," Grunt said with touch of appreciation.

"An extortion racket then," Garrus said succinctly, his tone at odds with the krogan.

Kuril glared at his fellow turian. "You don't have to agree with my methods, but don't question my motives. These are despicable people and I'm keeping them locked up," he defended.

Shepard was glad that Garrus' expression remained neutral. _We all have questions about your motives, 'Warden'._ "What can you tell me about Jack?" Shepard asked.

None of them were prepared for the look of fear that crossed Kuril's face. His mandibles began opening and closing agitatedly. "Cerberus hasn't told you?"

Shepard frowned. "No," he simply said.

"Jack is the meanest handful of violence and hate I've ever encountered. Dangerous, crazy, and very powerful. You'll see soon enough."

Despite Kuril's less-than-kind words, there was a disturbing reverence, maybe even admiration, in his tone that actually made Shepard doubt if he wanted Jack on his squad. _If we're here, we might as well go all the way…_ "Let's get on with this." _Famous last words._

"I bet people try pretty hard to get out," Grunt commented as the group moved through the corridors.

Kuril snorted. "We're in space – they have nowhere to go and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution. These are dangerous individuals."

As if to prove his point, he gestured at the window to point out two prisoners arguing. A batarian guard nearby used his omni-tool to activate a nearby force-field projection tower to separate the prisoners before things could get out of hand.

"We have many ways to control the population," Kuril smugly added.

As they passed through a doorway, Kuril stopped and turned to Shepard. "Outprocessing is straight down this hallway," he directed, pointing down the hallway. "Jack will be there. Once you're satisfied, I'll release the prisoner into your care after I confirm that the funds from Cerberus have cleared. Just keep going past the interrogation rooms and the supermax wing." Turning to leave, Kuril gave the Spectre one last parting glance. "I'll catch up with you later… Shepard."

Shepard merely nodded. _Not very subtle._

The trio moved down the corridor as directed, passing by several more guards that watched their every move. After a few minutes, they heard the sounds of pained screams, each accompanied by the sounds of a savage beating.

Rounding a bend, Shepard saw a line of rooms to his right. Each one was occupied by a prisoner. In the first room he came across revealed the sources of the sounds. A turian guard was working over a prisoner with a club. The prisoner was curled in a fetal position and screaming as the guard continued his thrashing.

Grunt actually looked disgusted at the display. "Bah, let him die on his feet at least."

Garrus shook his head. "You don't even get good information that way – after a point, victims admit to anything to make the pain stop."

Shepard did his best to remain stoic in the face of the brutality – for the benefit of his squad as well as ensuring that the guards around them don't perceive any signs of weakness. Turning away, he said in an even tone, "What makes you think that they're interrogating him?"

"You think they're not?" Garrus asked.

Continuing toward their destination, Shepard said, "I doubt most of the prisoners here have any real information the Blue Suns are interested in. 'Interrogation Rooms' is probably just the official name. I'm betting they use these rooms for corporal punishment."

"Prisoner gets out of line and the guards will take'em somewhere for a lesson," Grunt translated.

"Probably," Shepard said, ignoring a prisoner's pleas to buy him or the other prisoner's insane mutterings.

"I'm not sure what's worse then. Torture for information or torture for obedience," Garrus said with revulsion.

"I don't see the difference," Shepard said quietly to him. "It's still torture and I despise the idea entirely. I actually find myself agreeing with Grunt. They should give these people some measure of dignity."

"If these idiots are going to attack us, it'd better be soon," Grunt growled. "I actually want to tear this scum apart."

As they approached the door to Outprocessing, EDI finally called Shepard. _"Commander, I've successfully tapped into the security network of Purgatory and I have bad news."_

"Thrill me," Shepard deadpanned as they entered a large room. A single technician was working at a nearby console.

"Outprocessing is through the door on the far side of the room," he informed them.

"_Reports indicate that they have not moved Jack from cryo nor is there any activity indicating that they intend to do so," _EDI reported.

"So we're just wasting our time here," Garrus whispered, wary of the cameras tracking them.

_"Also, they have just conducted a search regarding a bounty for you, dead or alive, issued by the Shadow Broker minutes before your arrival."_

_Aw, hell._ They stopped in the middle of the room. "So they really want to cash me in, huh?" Shepard stated quietly.

"_They have security teams amassing for an assault on your position should you attempt to resist, Commander. Another group is near moving toward the docking bay where the Normandy is currently at."_

"Garrus," Shepard said, before pointing at the tech.

Garrus understood immediately and walked over to the only other soul inside the room. Grabbing him roughly by the collar and ignoring his frantic cries, Garrus threw him under the nearest table. "Keep your head down. We don't want you to take a stray bullet or get caught by the explosions."

"W-w-wha…?" the techie stammered.

"All right, Kuril! I know you're watching me!" Shepard called out.

"_My apologies, Shepard. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer," _Kuril responded via intercom.

The door on the far side of the room opened to reveal yet another cell.

"_Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."_

_Threatening me nicely is his grand plan? I think was more afraid of Jedore…_

"How about you give me Jack and I won't kill you and your guards. If I'm still a good mood, maybe I won't destroy your damn ship too. I think that's more than generous."

"You're outnumbered, we have automated turrets tracking your every move, and we have your ship and crew hostage. You don't have much choice here, Shepard," Kuril threatened.

"_He is bluffing, Commander. I have disabled much of the defenses within the ship and Executive Lawson reports that the primary ambush team has failed to take the Normandy moments ago,"_ EDI said.

"If I had the time Kuril, I'd lock you up in your own prison just to watch the convicts rip you apart, but since I don't, I'll settle for tearing my way through whatever guards or mechs you have before killing you myself," Shepard taunted. "Congratulations, I'm now officially in a bad mood."

"_Activate systems!"_

"EDI," Shepard called quietly into his radio, "I need you to disable the cameras. And take control of the docking clamps on the Normandy. We may need to leave at a moment's notice. And get Jack out of cryo."

"_Understood, Commander. Disabling cameras now. Be advised, several mercenaries are converging on your location."_

"Firing concussive shot!" Garrus warned as he pulled out his sniper rifle and aimed it at the door.

Five guards stormed the room only to be blown back by Garrus' attack.

Grunt roared in glee as he finally engaged in his first battle. He charged forward, pumping his shotgun at the scattered mercs. They attempted to get back up to return fire, only to be shot down as Shepard covered Grunt's advance.

Grunt rushed forward and pressed his gun against the closest merc and blew a gaping hole in his chest at point blank before headbutting another merc and bringing his boot down on his neck. He looked around only to see that Shepard and Garrus took down the other three.

"Damn, Fenrir mechs incoming!" Shepard warned, before firing on the dog-like mechs charging into the room.

Garrus and Shepard began mowing down the mechs as they charged their positions. Grunt merely grabbed one before it had a chance to charge him and lifted it up to eye level before he pressed his shotgun against the mech and destroyed its inner mechanisms and then tossed the remains at the others. "Weaklings!"

"_Reinforce Outprocessing! Shepard is loose!"_ Kuril yelled.

"_Commander, I am unable to access the cryo prison remotely. To free Jack, you must manually disengage the locks yourself," _EDI reported.

"Where do we go?" Shepard demanded as he and his team stacked up against the door and prepared themselves for more resistance.

"_Take the next left and proceed down the hallway. Past the supermax wing is the cryo wing. Jack is in the third cryo-cell."_

"Move!" Shepard ordered. All three stepped out and began exchanging fire with the guards from the opposite side of the hallway.

* * *

"_Second wave incoming!"_ Miranda warned as she, Jacob, and crewmen's Patel and Rolston held the docking bay to prevent entry into the Normandy. The other, less experienced, combatants inside was still equipped to repel any invaders should Miranda's team be overwhelmed.

"_I see them ma'am!" _Patel responded as she readied her detonator.

As soon as the next wave of mercs crossed the threshold, she triggered the explosives around the entryway and ended the threat quickly.

"_EDI, status," _Miranda said as she kept a watchful eye for any more Suns.

"_The commander is currently making his way to the cryo wing. He has encountered resistance, but probability suggests that the mercenaries stationed ahead are not skilled enough to stop him. I have gained full control of the security network and have disabled much of the Blue Suns capabilities to engage us. As per the commander's orders, I've taken full control of the docking bay. We can leave whenever he wishes. Finally, I am detecting at least 10 mercenaries closing on your position. At least four are armed with missile launchers."_

"_Jacob, Rolston, you're up,"_ Miranda ordered.

"_Got it." – "Yes, ma'am."_

Both men prepared their own brand of heavy weapons as they watched the door carefully, on guard for any grenades, bullets, or missiles their opponents might use to charge their positions.

"_Commander Shepard has reached the cryo wing, Executive Lawson," _EDI reported.

Miranda mentally sighed to herself. _I hope this Jack is worth all this effort._

* * *

"Shepard is here! Repeat, Shepard is in the cryo wing! Get people down here!" a technician yelled as gunfire rained on his cover. He and one last merc were hiding behind a table and exchanging fire with Grunt and Shepard.

Any reply he might have received wasn't heard when Shepard used his biotics to throw the entire table into both of them. The sounds of snapping bones indicated that both were unable to fight, one way or the other.

"Garrus, you alright?" Shepard asked, his expression one of concern.

"Yeah. Little medi-gel and I'll be alright. Lucky shot, that's all," Garrus dismissed as he tended to the wound on his arm.

Shepard was about to ask Grunt the same thing when he noted that the krogan was already healing quickly, as per the norm of his species.

Satisfied that his companions were both combat ready, Shepard turned to the console in front of him and began typing. After a few minutes, Shepard nodded. "This is it. Jack's right here."

"How much longer?" Garrus asked from his position near the door.

"Lot of security here…" Shepard mumbled to himself. "Not surprising since this is a prison. If it wasn't for the program Kenn gave me, I don't think I could have hacked my way in this far."

"What the hell does all that mean? Can you do it or not?" Grunt tersely asked.

"Almost there…" Shepard said, typing rapidly into the console. "Got it."

All of them looked through the window from the observation booth above Jack's cryo-cell. A mechanical arm extended and reached down to grasp the cell as the four locks holding it in place retracted. The arm lifted the cell, revealing the convict they were after.

Shepard was gobsmacked. _She's the one we've been looking for?_

"**That's** Jack?" Garrus asked, sounding as shocked as Shepard felt.

"Huh. That's a small looking human," commented Grunt. "Can that scrawny thing even fight?"

The convict Kuril seemed to be so afraid of, the convict Kuril deemed necessary to lock into cryo, turned out be a young woman.

Shepard saw her gasp as she woke up. She began struggling against her restraints as four doors along the walls of the room opened, revealing four YMIR mechs.

Immediately, Shepard typed the commands into the console to release her.

* * *

The shackles suddenly unlocked and Jack felt herself falling. Catching the side of her cell, she started coughing and shook her head to clear away the after effects of the cryo. The sounds of mechanical motion prompted her to look up.

_Fuck._

Four YMIR mechs were stomping toward her.

_I'll be damned if I'm going back in this shithole!_

Already, she could feel her eezo nodes tingle as she started glowing. After all this time, it was practically an instinct to her. Screaming in primal rage, she rushed at the mechs, her fist cocked back and charged with concentrated dark energy.

* * *

The control booth shook from the impact of Jack's attack. Several smaller explosions were heard following afterward. All three men looked through the window again, but couldn't see anything through the smoke and fires. Moments later, more explosions were heard, travelling away from their location.

Grunt started laughing. "Oh, I want to see this! Let's go!" he said before running off.

_Looks like his opinion of her has changed,_ Shepard idly thought. Not that he could blame him, since Shepard had similar thoughts about his soon-to-be recruit. Suppressing a sigh, he nodded wearily at Garrus. The duo turned to follow Grunt in search of their wayward convict.

"_Commander…"_ EDI started before Shepard spoke up.

"More bad news, EDI?" Shepard interrupted as he and Garrus caught up to Grunt at the stairs.

"_I'm afraid so. The explosions caused by Jack have triggered Purgatory's emergency response system."_

Shepard halted at the door and held his rifle ready. "Speed it up, EDI. We're having something of a crisis here," he hissed.

"_The cells within the cellblocks were to remain closed and locked during an emergency. However, due to my interference with disabling Purgatory's security network, the cells have all opened instead. A mass riot is now in progress."_

"Beautiful…" Garrus groaned.

Opening the door, Shepard's eyes quickly swept the room for any signs of trouble. The only things he saw were four wrecked YMIR mechs. _Wow._

Grunt laughed again. "Let's move! I want to see how long she'll last!"

This time, Shepard couldn't suppress his sigh.

* * *

"_Warning, warning,_" an automated voice droned.

Jack ignored the voice and the bullets striking her cover as she biotically reached out and grabbed one of the arms that were used to transport cells. Tearing it out from the ceiling she threw the massive hunk of metal on the mercs attacking her. Feeling satisfied at the sounds of their screams of fear and pain, she continued her rampage toward the bridge.

_That fucking warden thinks he's so smart. Keep me trapped in space and I'll have nowhere to go, huh? How about I kill him and all __the other bastards __in the way __and steal the entire prison ship? Bet that fucker didn't think of that!_ Jack thought gleefully to herself.

She turned a corner and saw some other prisoners standing over some mercs, grabbing whatever weapons they can. Snarling, she let her rage bubble over as she prepared to rip into her next victims.

_And no one is stopping me this time!_

* * *

"_All guards: restore order! Lethal force authorized! But don't kill Jack! Techs: lockdown! Lockdown!"_ Kuril yelled.

"I wonder why he cares so much about Jack?" Garrus asked as they followed the trail of destruction she left behind.

"I got a few ideas and I like none of them," Shepard snarled, his opinion of Kuril hitting rock bottom and more.

Pushing forward, they carefully moved through what looked like a utility tunnel. Pipes and walls were twisted and warped, exposed wires were sparking erratically, and the bodies of guards and convicts alike were littered all over the place.

Finally coming to a gaping hole in the wall, Shepard cautiously peered out. _Wow,_ he thought again. He could see the remains of an automated arm that transported cells now lying in a pile of twisted metal on the far side of the cell block. Above, in one of the hallways, Shepard could see some of the mercs fighting with the escaped convicts. Severed wires were dangling from the remains of the various transport mechanisms, electricity arcing out dangerously from the exposed power cables. Another automated arm suddenly fell right next to them, forcing them to duck down.

"She's blowing everything up! I like her!" Grunt grinned.

Gunfire and shouts were heard past some debris. Shepard stayed down and instructed his team to do the same. "EDI, can you tell me where Jack is?"

"_Jack is two cell blocks away from your current location, Commander, however, your progress is impeded by a significant amount of debris. You will need to take an alternate route if you wish to reach her."_

"I'm open to suggestions," Shepard invited as he listened to the sounds of combat. He instinctively started to judge enemy numbers, types of weapons used, and distance.

"_There are a number of utility tunnels you can use to circumvent the cell blocks. Be advised: while it is not likely the prisoners are aware of these tunnels, the Blue Suns are. They are currently using these tunnels to fortify several chokepoints throughout the ship."_

"Any idea where Jack is going?" Garrus asked.

"_Her movements appear random. I believe she is lost," _EDI answered.

"Is she alright?" Shepard asked.

"_I detect no significant injuries. It appears that her biotics are __actually growing stronger. She has likely recovered from being placed into cryo-stasis."_

"Keep an eye on her for us. We're on our way," Shepard said.

"I have to admit, this girl is powerful, but she lacks subtlety," Garrus commented as he observed the destruction around them. The mechanical arm nearby shifted a bit more as it finally settled from its drop.

"_All prisoners: return to your cells immediately or I'll open every airlock on this ship!"_ Kuril yelled from the intercom.

"Sounds like he's having a bad day," Shepard grinned.

"We didn't bring helmets. We going to be okay?" Garrus asked.

"EDI won't let him do that, we're fine," Shepard assured. "Let's go."

All three moved closer to the sounds of the battle nearby. Climbing over some of the wreckage, they saw some convicts fighting guards that were backed up with an YMIR mech.

Shepard saw Grunt grin out of the corner of his eye and put a hand on his arm to restrain him. "Not yet."

Grunt growled at the command, but held his position. Satisfied that Grunt wouldn't charge into the fray, Shepard turned to Garrus. "We'll take the YMIR out first, then the guards. The cons won't have shields, so they should be easy pickings."

"Got it, Shepard," Garrus nodded.

Garrus climbed higher to get a nice perch while Shepard and Grunt made their way down. "We'll be handling the heavy mech. Wait for their numbers thin first before we move in."

"Where's the fun in that?" Grunt grumbled.

"I guess it was too much to think that Okeer implanted you with combat tactics," Shepard retorted. "You want to be an idiot? Rush in there and see what happens. Garrus and I will wait."

Grunt glared at him for a moment before turning to survey the battle just in time to see a prisoner get blown up by one of the YMIR's missiles. Turning back, he saw Shepard's challenging look remained unchanged. Growling softly, this time to himself, he settled down, but held his shotgun ready.

They both watched as the guards and the mech easily subdued the convicts. The mercs left their cover to inspect the bodies to ensure their kills with their mech obediently following.

"Garrus?" Shepard called softy through his radio.

"_Ready,"_ Garrus responded.

Shepard glanced up and saw several large electrical cables still hanging from where one the automated arms used to be attached. Using his biotics, he grabbed one of the cords and threw the severed end at the mech. The mech froze in place as its shields were drained instantly, its inner mechanisms fried, and its sensors rendered inoperable; then it exploded right next to the mercs.

_That had to be the mother-in-law of overloads._

"Okay, Grunt. Charge," Shepard simply said, before rushing out of cover first to fire on the disoriented mercs. Hearing Grunt's roar and a distant crack of a sniper rifle, Shepard knew they had things well in hand.

* * *

Garrus saw one last merc trying to desperately run from Grunt as the krogan enthusiastically, but erratically, fired his shotgun in pursuit. "Stand still!" he yelled. Leading the target slightly to compensate, Garrus fired a clean shot right into the merc's head, downing him instantly.

Grunt stopped running and looked up at the turian hidden in the debris. "He was mine!"

"You were taking too long!" Garrus called back as he climbed down to regroup.

"I would've got him!" Grunt growled.

"Then write your name on him or something beforehand," Garrus taunted.

Grunt was about to reply with something scathing when a scream interrupted him.

Garrus looked up to see a merc floating in the air before a burst of automatic fire silenced him. Looking around, he spotted Shepard holding his HMWA loosely in his arms.

"If you're both done, we still have a convict to chase and a ship to abandon," Shepard said evenly, but Garrus could detect a hint of warning beneath his tone.

"_Warning: power plant damage has led to overload. Core systems failure imminent,"_ a VI informed, reinforcing Shepard's point.

"_Why aren't we locking down the cellblocks?!"_ Kuril screamed.

"_Commander, I have Kuril's position. He is in the next cellblock over from your location,"_ EDI said.

"Looks like we're going through the warden then," Garrus said.

Grunt grinned. "Good. I wanted a piece of him."

Garrus didn't know if he meant that figuratively or literally. Judging by the maniacal grin the krogan's face though, he was willing to bet the latter.

"_The hull has been breached in Sectors 12, 14, and 30. No survivors,"_ the VI reported.

"Time to go," Shepard called.

All three sprinted the length of the cell block and stopped at a sealed door. Shepard got down and began bypassing the locks. In a matter seconds, the door opened and Garrus darted in with his assault rifle.

"Clear!"

As Shepard and Grunt entered, screams were heard from the other end of the utility tunnel. The trio moved as one toward the door, their weapons up and ready for anything.

Garrus paused at the door and listened closely for anything amiss. "I think I hear another heavy mech."

Shepard remained silent, trying to confirm his friend's report. "Hydraulics and explosions. That's a heavy all right."

"I hear Kuril too," Garrus added.

Grunt stepped up next to the door. "Sounds like he's pissed," he grinned.

Garrus opened the door and peered in.

"It's Kuril and he has Tech Armor. He's also got an elevated position," Garrus reported. He saw Kuril gun down two convicts with an assault rifle model he only saw once or twice on Omega. The rest of his guards coldly executed a third prisoner.

Shepard shuffled up to the open door. "There's some cover over there. Go!"

Garrus ran from the doorway, firing his M-8 wildly in the Kuril's general direction. He could hear Shepard and Grunt do the same behind him. The moment the mercs returned fire, Garrus threw a trio of grenades before using his Tactical Cloak to vanish from sight. "Fire in the hole!" his voice echoed.

The grenades did the trick. The mercs ran and scattered from their positions as their makeshift defilade fell apart from the explosions.

"Damn you, Shepard!" Kuril cursed. "You're just as valuable dead!"

"Which is more than what I can say for you, Kuril!" Shepard yelled. "You're a two-bit slave trader and I don't have time for your bullshit!"

Still invisible, Garrus moved to a higher position and readied a concussive shot in his assault rifle while Shepard kept Kuril distracted.

"I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to do! This is for the good of the galaxy!" Kuril yelled back.

"A son of a bitch like you doesn't get to lecture me about what's good for the galaxy!" Shepard said before he used Throw on large crate and tossed it at a group of mercs.

Garrus took that as his cue to use Overload on Kuril before firing away with his assault rifle. Grunt saw more guards trying to flank their position and ran directly at them, picking up the body of a convict and using it as a projectile to knock the mercs over as he closed the distance. "I'll put them down!" he declared.

Garrus cursed when the Tech Armor held up against his attack, but the concussive rounds knocked Kuril over the railing and down on the lower floor.

A missile exploding on the wall nearby reminded Garrus of the YMIR. Ducking down, he spotted the mech marching toward him, firing its massive guns and forcing him to stay down. "Shepard! This thing has me pinned!"

Shepard looked up and saw the YMIR advancing on Garrus, still firing a nearly endless stream of bullets. In order to reach Garrus though, the mech had to move across a bridge linking the raised platforms.

Garrus checked his omni-tool and cursed. He still couldn't use his cloak yet. Another missile impacted his cover. Chancing a look, Garrus peeked over and saw the mech was still closing in on him. "Shepard! I could really use some help here!" he called out as he blindly fired his M-8. The mech's shields easily held up as it stomped across the bridge. Cursing, Garrus was about to toss the rest of his grenades at it when he saw the telltale glow of dark energy.

The bridge began warping and twisting with the YMIR still on it. The clumsy mech tried to regain its footing, but it was too slow. Garrus watched as the bridge was torn out from both sides and collapsed, bringing the mech down along with it. Looking down, he saw the mech on its back amidst a pile of scrap metal, futilely moving its limbs in an effort to stand up.

Shepard jumped on the helpless mech's chest and shoved a grenade inside its chest before ducking down as Kuril started firing at both the Spectre and the YMIR. Using Tactical Cloak, Shepard vanished just before the grenade and mech exploded.

Shepard reappeared moments later, shooting back at Kuril.

"Thanks!" Garrus called out. Leveling his own assault rifle at Kuril, Garrus starting firing as well, prompting Kuril to duck back down. A flicker of movement above caught Garrus' eye. When he looked up, he spotted Jack running through one of the hallways. "I see Jack! She's right above us!"

"Garrus! I'm going after Jack! Can you handle him?!" Shepard called from across the room as Kuril fired down on their positions.

Garrus answered him by placing his M-8 Avenger on the ground while smoothly drawing his M-79 Viper and stepping out of cover in one smooth motion before firing. Kuril's shout of surprise and the sudden pause of gunfire told Shepard that his friend hit the mark.

"Do you even have to ask?!" Garrus yelled back, picking up his assault rifle and firing on some mercs near Grunt while Kuril shouted out orders to his subordinates and insults toward his attackers.

"You two take care of this group then!" Shepard shouted to both aliens. "Good luck!" he added before using his Tactical Cloak to continue his pursuit of the young woman.

"Cover Shepard!" Garrus shouted to Grunt.

Grunt just roared as he jumped from cover, heedless of the enemy attack and began firing his M-23 Katana at anything holding a weapon.

Garrus shook his head in exasperation as he picked up his sniper rifle again and scoped out more mercs, taking note of the assault rifle Kuril was holding. _That's a nice piece…_

* * *

Two more mercs stood in her way as Jack continued her assault towards the bridge. Using Throw to bring them both to the ground she lifted one up and slammed him into the window, satisfied at the wet crack of his broken spine before doing the same to the other.

Turning away from the fresh corpses, she noted the frigate outside the window and focused on the emblem stamped on the nose.

She recognized it immediately. She'd recognize it anywhere.

_Fucking Cerberus! HERE!!!_

Rage filled her as the memories flooded back. Every moment remembered and relived, every emotion felt, and everything she'd ever hated about the shadowy organization ran rampant through her mind that she forgot where she was. She screamed in fury as she paced in front of the window in a frenzy, thinking of the ways she would destroy the vessel and everyone in it.

The sound of a gunshot broke her vengeful thoughts. She turned to her right to see a Blue Suns merc go down. Turning to her left, she saw a man in black armor holstering his pistol. _He ain't a merc and he ain't a prisoner. Motherfucker has to be Cerberus, _she thought, a smile of glee crossing her face.

Jack didn't know or cared who he was nor did she care why he saved her or put his weapon away. All she saw was her next victim. Pushing electric impulses through the appropriate eezo modules, Jack rushed at her next target.

* * *

Shepard had a bad feeling when he saw the grim smile on Jack's face only moments before she glowed with dark energy… then she disappeared. Less than an eye blink later, he felt the wind knocked out of him when the smaller girl rammed him. Flying several feet back and landing painfully on the deck, Shepard thrust out his arm at his attacker as he slid backward, his attack catching her square in the chest and forcing her to fly back and land painfully on the deck as well. He noted that beyond the landing, his intentionally weakened attack didn't hurt her. _Gotta make sure not to injure her too badly. She's no good to us crippled._

Getting up immediately, Shepard was relieved to see his shields and armor held against her charge. See her glow again, Shepard called out, "I'm not here to fight you!" She responded with a glare and snarl. "Stand down!" he ordered. "I don't want to hurt you!"

_Damn. Looks like she wants to injure me plenty… Maybe I should've brought Grunt along after all…_

* * *

_Fucking son of a bitch!!!_

Jack was completely caught off guard by the biotic talent her opponent had. The actual attack didn't really hurt, but sliding across the deck topless wasn't particularly pleasant.

Getting up, she saw him prepare himself for her next attack.

"I'm not here to fight you!" he called out.

_Bullshit. Whatever you're here for, it's probably worse_, she viciously thought, glaring at him and growling.

"Stand down! I don't want to hurt you!" he said as he shifted his stance.

_That's your fucking problem, not mine._

Throwing her arm into the air, she tried to lift him off the deck, but his shields disrupted her attack. His biotic counterattack curved around and behind her, missing her completely. Changing tactics, she was about to try to pick something up and use it to slam his head against the nearest bulkhead when a crate slammed into her unguarded back, throwing her face first into the floor again as her concentration broke.

"Bastard! I'll kill you!!!" Jack screamed from the ground as she moved her arm in a wide arc.

Small orbs of dark energy flared into existence around her adversary just before they began exploding. His shields took the brunt of the attack, but the effect was enough to stagger him.

Getting up, she used the same crate he used and biotically threw it at the stranger. He managed to use his own biotics to blast the crate away before he retaliated with Warp. Unarmored and unshielded, Jack fell to her knees screaming as she felt like she was being ripped apart. However, growing up with a lifetime of pain allowed her to use it as a weapon, clearing her mind and focusing her own abilities. Gritting her teeth, she threw her arm out, creating a full-powered Push, breaking the shields and sending him down the length of the hallway. Shaking her head to clear away the pain and regain her focus, she saw him stand up immediately from her attack.

_Stubborn asshole! Just fucking die already!_

Summoning several crates around her, she threw them all at the same time. With a cascade of flotsam bearing down on the man, he managed to push a few away, but had to run and dodge the others. Jack kept up her assault, throwing larger and larger objects at him, even the two corpses nearby. She was caught off guard when he used his biotics to rip a piece of the bulkhead next to her and slammed it against her head, disrupting her concentration and allowing him to push everything away.

_Fuck this!_ Deciding on the direct approach, she rushed forward, slamming her next biotic assault directly against his. The moment their respective attacks met, a pulsing sphere of dark energy was created between them. Jack pushed hard against the creation, looking to beat him down through sheer power.

Slowly but steadily, the ball of energy was being forced on her foe, the forces Jack was exerting far greater than what her opponent could fight against.

_I got you now!_

* * *

Shepard knew he was in trouble. On top of holding back to avoid injuring Jack, the differences of experience were beginning to show. Every biotic attack he needed to make had to be thought out and prepared, forcing more tactical or smarter decisions on his behalf. Jack definitely had more time to develop her abilities considering the way she was hurling attack after attack with less effort than breathing. So far, the only thing keeping him in one piece was the fact that he had armor and most importantly, shields.

Now, locked in a battle of dominance, his novice talents couldn't hold against her considerable power. In a fair one-on-one match, he definitely didn't stand a chance. Unbidden, his mind recalled one of his N7 instructors:

_We're the best the Alliance has! When everyone else fails, we don't! We don't train you to fight fair! We train you to win!_

Struggling against the storm of biotic energy bearing down on him, Shepard reached into his grenade pouch.

* * *

_Almost there…_

Jack could feel victory at hand. Another push and she'd watch him explode from the mass effect fields produced from their combined conflict. A metallic clinking sound at her feet prompted her to glance down. Her eyes widened as she identified the source.

_Fucking bastard!_

Her lapse in concentration cost her. The man seized the opportunity from her distraction to take control of the dark energy and released some of its power against her. The resulting explosion knocked her off her feet and slammed her body against the bulkhead. After the energy washed over her and dispersed, Jack slid painfully to the deck, barely conscious and barely aware of anything but the pain.

Struggling to fight back against the darkness, against her enemy, and against her weakness, she looked up to see her enemy bend down and pick up his grenade. His inactive grenade.

_That fucking, shit-eating, son of a…!_

Jack struggled to her feet, intent on paying him back when a gunshot and a ricochet next to her head prompted her to stay down.

Looking up again, she saw him holding his pistol and aiming it directly at her.

"Don't move," he growled.

Jack bared her teeth at him, but stayed on the deck. All she needed was a few minutes to recover and one mistake from her opponent before she'd kill him…

"I told you before: I'm not here to hurt you."

"Fuck off! What the hell makes you think I'd do anything with Cerberus?!" Jack screamed back. She prepared to give him another Throw, probably not enough to break through his regenerating shields, but enough to knock him back, maybe even drop the gun.

Without warning, the man began shooting around her, striking the bulkhead and the deck, next to her head, arms, body, and legs, prompting Jack to tuck in her limbs toward her body to avoid further injury. After several warning shots, he stopped and pointed the gun squarely at her head.

"_**Don't move!**_" he barked.

"Motherfucker!" Jack cursed in return. It was all she could do. _This smug bastard is worse than that scarred, one-eyed freak that caught me._

* * *

Shepard glared at his 'prisoner'. She appeared to be around twenty, completely topless while wearing standard issue pants for the prisoners on Purgatory. She had a shaved head crowned with tattoos and from the neck down, her chest, arms, and presumably the rest of her body was also covered in intricate and elaborate tattoos. She could have been considered pretty by some.

_If you're into the whole bad girl look anyway,_ Shepard thought.

"I said that I don't want to hurt you. What I want and can still happen are two different things, so don't try it," Shepard warned, savvy enough to pick up on her body language. Noting that his shields finally regenerated, he kept a wary eye the girl sitting on the ground as warning alarms continued blaring around them. _Appearances really are deceiving. Hard to imagine that she almost did all this herself._

* * *

"What the fuck do you want?" Jack snarled.

"I'm recruiting people for a specific mission, the best and the brightest and the toughest and the meanest," the stranger coolly explained. "You fit the latter to a T."

"What the fuck makes you think I'm going to help you? You're Cerberus," Jack spat out. She saw a turian and a krogan walk up behind him.

"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy," he threatened.

For a moment, Jack actually thought he looked hot when he looked angry. She viciously pushed the feeling away since he had at gun at her head and he was Cerberus.

"They have a way of dying," the turian commented.

"Shepard is good at this. Pay attention," the krogan rumbled.

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere," Jack sardonically said. "You think I'm stupid?"

"This ship is going down in flames and I've got the only way out. I'm offering to take you with me, so you tell me what I'm supposed to think," the human, Shepard, responded in a similar tone.

"We could knock her out and take her," the turian suggested.

"Or we could just shoot her and patch her up on ship," the krogan sadistically said.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to see you try."

"It might just come to that," Shepard said.

"You'll have to kill me."

Another gunshot next to her told her how close death might come. "Don't tempt me," Shepard said in a low tone. "I didn't go through all this effort for a corpse."

Outwardly, Jack glared. Internally, she actually felt conflicted about her situation.

She was sitting on the deck with legs tucked up against her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs. She despised looking so helpless. Looking up at her 'recruiter', though, she couldn't help but feel a little attracted. She despised her feelings.

"Alright. Let's say I go with you. What's in it for me?" Jack asked slowly.

"We complete the mission, you go free. Anywhere you want, no questions asked. I'll even take you there myself," Shepard answered.

"What's the catch?" Jack asked.

"Our odds of surviving are slim to none. During the course of the mission, you follow my orders. This is a Cerberus mission, so you'll be working with Cerberus personnel. Finally, you have to behave yourself, because while I'm a patient man, you look like the type to cross certain lines that I won't like," Shepard listed off.

"A Cerberus suicide mission," Jack sarcastically said. "I think I liked prison more."

Shepard shrugged, but still kept his eye on her and his gun ready. "If you like."

Jack resisted the urge to get up and try to kill Shepard again.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, you'll have some freedom before we go on the mission, which is a still a ways off. I'm not going to tell you when to eat, sleep, or go to the head. You're free to make those choices. If you avoid any conflict with any of my crew or the ship itself, you have free reign to go to most areas on board," Shepard offered. "I'm not treating you like a prisoner, just another member of my squad. You'll get your own clothes, armor, and weapons. It's better than what you've got now. Plus, the food's better there."

Jack actually paused at that. Thinking carefully about his offer, she really didn't see any other problems or options. Then, something clicked in her mind. "I thought Cerberus was a human group. Why are they with you?" she asked, nodding her head at Shepard's companions.

"I'm not Cerberus," Shepard replied. "I'm just heading up the mission. Cerberus is supplying the funds and resources."

Jack licked her lips. "I want something else."

"I'm already offering you freedom. Don't push it," Shepard said, but his tone lacked any bite, so Jack took it as an invitation to continue.

"That's your ship?" Jack asked.

Shepard nodded.

"I bet it has lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team, let me go through those databases," she bargained.

She saw him looking at her carefully, obviously thinking about something before he turned toward the turian. "Surprise, surprise. The Illusive Man knows her and he lied to us." He flicked his pistol upward, signaling that Jack could stand up. She did so quickly, but was surprised when he put his pistol away too. "You were one of Cerberus' biotic experiments, weren't you." It wasn't a question, so Jack didn't bother answering.

Shepard looked thoughtful. "I'm already offering to let you go in exchange for your help. You want access? I want you to teach me those techniques you used in our fight. That first attack you used and the other when you made explosions come out of nowhere around me."

"You want me to teach you how to do Charge and Shockwave?" Jack asked skeptically.

"You want access or not?"

Jack stared at bit before nodding. "Fine. You better be straight-up with me."

She fought the urge to flinch when Shepard stepped closer to her and brought his face down so they were almost nose-to-nose. "Only one way to find out." Standing straight, he turned back to the two aliens. "Move out."

Jack blamed her hormones when she thought he looked hot again.

* * *

"_Miranda? We have Jack and we're returning to the Normandy,"_ Shepard reported.

"_Understood, Commander. We still have the docking bay. We're ready to leave anytime." _Miranda responded._ "There are no problems with our newest recruit, I trust?"_

"_No. __**She's **__agreed to come with us,"_ Shepard answered, subtly telling her the correct pronoun. _"We'll be there shortly. We're just taking a small detour. Any problems over there?"_

"_Not if you count the mercenaries, convicts, and mechs,"_ Miranda said dryly._ Jack's a female?_

"_I don't. See you soon,"_ Shepard quipped before signing off.

"_Looks like we're almost done here,"_ Jacob commented from his post.

"_It seems so,"_ Miranda neutrally said, as she kept vigil for any more threats.

"_Wonder where they're going though. I mean, a detour? During a riot?"_ Jacob asked.

Miranda didn't answer. _Just leave it to Shepard. Walking into a trap? No problem. Fighting through a ship full of mercenaries? Too easy. Survive a full-scale prison riot? Piece of cake._

Not that she was jealous. Why should she be jealous of someone who is working a complicated and difficult mission less than a month after he was 'dead'? Or recruit people that, she, herself, would never have imagined working with?

Miranda sighed. She really wasn't jealous, but she did envy him a little. While she was respected within Cerberus, there was something about Shepard that seemed to be magnetic. First, he managed to convince a tank-borne krogan to follow him despite his dubious origins or upbringing and now this Jack… Miranda was sure that she wouldn't be able to get similar results. _Maybe that's why the Illusive Man wanted him in charge and not you,_ a small part of her observed. Not for the first time, she wondered what made her and Shepard so similar, but so different.

* * *

"Why does it matter if I'm with Cerberus, anyway?" Shepard asked.

"They've been on my ass for years. Anytime I get free, they put a huge bounty on me. That's why Warden Kuril figured he'd struck gold when I was delivered to him," Jack explained. The distant sounds of alarms made her smile. "It didn't work out too well for him, did it?" she smirked as she perused equipment of the armory they were in.

Their detour was for Jack. She had insisted that they stop so they could get her some armor and weapons. Currently, she was wearing a tight, sleeveless leather top that she pilfered off a dead female prisoner and was holding an M-27 Scimitar Shotgun. Grunt liked the ability of the M-27's rapid fire and grabbed one himself.

"Grunt, grab those duffle bags over there," Shepard directed. "Why don't we just take everything we can?"

Grunt stopped admiring his new shotgun and looked around the armory they were in before nodding enthusiastically and started to take everything off the racks.

Garrus chuckled, prompting Shepard to glance at him. Noting the new weapon attached to his back, Shepard commented, "Nice rifle."

Garrus' mouth shifted into a toothy grin as he expanded the gun to show it off. "Kuril didn't need it anymore. M-76 Revenant LMG. I saw a couple of criminal bosses on Omega equipped with these. Accuracy is something of a problem, but I'm hoping Taylor might do something about it."

Shepard was about to comment further when Jack suddenly whistled appreciatively. "What is this?" she asked.

Garrus and Shepard walked over to the armor section of the room and saw what she was looking at.

Garrus nodded in appreciation. "Terminus Assault Armor. As the name suggests, it's really popular out there since it isn't really legal in Citadel space." At Shepard's questioning look, Garrus shrugged. "A couple of guys on my squad packed similar gear."

Shepard looked over the armor. It was black with a slight red trim, thick armored plates and it looked menacing. "Doesn't look to be your size," Shepard observed.

"Fuck that," Jack scoffed. "I'll get it adjusted."

"We have someone on board that could probably do that," Shepard nodded.

Jack quickly packed the armor its case. "All right, if your krogan is done, I'm good to go whenever."

Shepard looked to see Grunt practically carrying the entire armory on his back. At least seven duffle bags were filled to capacity. "Let's rig some grenades so the mercs or cons can't use the rest of this stuff," Shepard suggested.

Garrus set about preparing to make another explosion on Purgatory as Shepard called Miranda.

"We're done here. Prepare for departure."

* * *

***ENCRYPTED***

_Recruited prisoner known as 'Jack' for the team_

_Purgatory's betrayal of Shepard unacceptable_

_May have to take steps against Blue Suns to demonstrate consequences of betrayal_

* * *

With his summery of EDI's initial report complete, the Illusive Man closed the file as he waited for Miranda's official report.

His console started beeping. Tapping his ever present cigarette into his ash tray, his other hand tapped a button. "Yes?"

"_Sir, incoming communication for you. Gamma level clearance,"_ an aide reported.

"Put it through," the Illusive Man ordered.

An image of a blonde, pretty, and most importantly, human, female face appeared on a screen in front of him.

"_Sir!"_ the Cerberus officer said, sharply saluting him. _"Captain Dawn of the scout ship Gravitas, sir!"_

The Illusive Man merely nodded in return. "Report, Captain."

She finished her salute, but maintained her professionalism. _"Sir, we're currently out in the edge of the Iera System conducting long range reconnaissance as per your orders. We've just received reports that the human colony on Horizon just went dark."_

Though the Illusive Man's face didn't change, there was something about his unblinking stare that made Dawn shuffle a little, even when he took a smoke. "No communications at all?" he pressed, exhaling a thin cloud.

"_None, sir. No long range, short range, or even extranet comms we could detect. We sent a few transmissions via drones to see if anyone was listening. So far, nothing,"_ Dawn answered.

"I see. Good work, Captain. Report to me in exactly one hour if the situation remains unchanged. However, if communications has been reestablished or you detect any anomalies of any kind, report back to me immediately," he commanded.

"_Sir, if you'd like, we could move in closer to get a better read on the situation,"_ Dawn suggested.

"No. I don't want to put you or your crew in unnecessary danger," the Illusive Man said smoothly. "Remain at long range and stay away from the mass relay. I'm sending another, more… specialized team to handle the situation."

"_Understood, sir. Gravitas, out."_

Closing the link, the Illusive Man raised his cigarette to his lips and took another breath before exhaling. For all intents and purposes, it appeared as if he was merely appreciating the star that burned in the background of his office as he waited. And plotted.

* * *

Author's Notes:

First off, I want to thank reviewer Annara Ren for inspiration about Jack/Shepard meeting. When s/he said that s/he was waiting eagerly for Shepard and Jack to meet a few chapters ago, I knew I needed to make it special and different. Thus, this was created. Besides, the comparisons between Kuril and Jedore were too much. I needed a new 'boss fight'.

Thanks Annara Ren!

I thought it was strange that Kuril's motivation for Shepard was money, but with no specific reason. So I looked to the new comics to make one.

Also, since Miranda is supposed to be a capable leader, I thought I should give her a bit of a shot, but I really couldn't help but note the differences when I write Shepard compared to when I write Miranda.

Finally, the poll on my page is still up! Keep voting people; there are a few more votes to go. Do you want Kasumi or not?!

Oh, yeah. I also created a cameo here. Can anyone guess who it was?


	14. Interlude V

_**Location: Normandy**_

"Okay, just take that stuff over to the Armory, Grunt," Shepard directed when everyone boarded the Normandy. "EDI, unlock the Normandy. Hawthorne… I mean, Joker," Shepard corrected when he glanced into the cockpit. "Get us out of here. Head for the relay, I'll see what our next destination is soon." Turning to Jack, Shepard said, "Just hand over your equipment to Jacob. He'll set it up for you."

Jack turned to see Jacob approach when he heard his name called. Narrowing her eyes at the Cerberus operative, she wordlessly handed the shotgun and armor case over to him. She still kept her M-3 Predator heavy pistol, though.

Shepard decided to let her keep it. It was against regulations to carry arms aboard a vessel since there was always a chance of altercations turning violent, but in Jack's case, death by gunshot might be better than death by whatever she could do with her biotics. "Let's go," Shepard said to her.

Moving toward the Armory and Briefing Rooms, Shepard noted that Miranda fell in step with him as well.

Entering the Armory and moving to the door on the left, Shepard called out to Garrus, "Make sure you see Dr. Chakwas about that wound."

"Got it," Garrus responded distractedly as he placed his new assault rifle on the table and started talking to Jacob about modifying it.

Reaching their destination, Shepard stopped at the table and turned around to regard his newest crew member.

After Miranda placed her helmet on the table, she turned to face Jack as well and started with the introductions. "Welcome to the Normandy, Jack. I'm Miranda, Shepard's second-in-command," she began. "On this ship, we follow orders," she pointedly added.

Jack leaned on the bulkhead lazily and glanced at Shepard. "Tell the Cerberus cheerleader to back off, Shepard. I'm here because of our deal. Both of them."

Shepard crossed his arms. "Miranda will get you access. Let me know what you find."

"Hear that, precious?" Jack mocked in a tone reserved for children as she stood straighter to face Miranda. "You, me, and every embarrassing little secret."

_This might not go well,_ Shepard thought worriedly.

To her credit, Miranda didn't look fazed at the insult. She merely crossed her arms and glared, but held herself professionally.

"I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic," Jack said when it was apparent Miranda wasn't rising to her baiting.

Shepard nodded.

Satisfied that he was holding his end of the deal, Jack turned to the door. "Keep your people off me. Better that way," she said before she left.

Miranda whirled around to face Shepard. "You weren't authorized give her access to anything," she said angrily.

"She has a history with Cerberus, Miranda," Shepard defended. "If she didn't want to know, I would." When Miranda didn't say anything, he continued, "I'm going out on a limb here and guess that she was part of the more clandestine operations Cerberus conducted on biotics. She's powerful, but she's young, so I can't help but wonder how much help she had?"

Miranda narrowed her eyes. "I wouldn't know," she honestly said.

Shepard shrugged, expecting that answer. "You wouldn't, but the Illusive Man would. I'm positive he knows about her and he still gave me her dossier anyway, while conveniently omitting the fact that Cerberus has tried to recapture her more than once." Shepard stepped closer to Miranda. "How much does he know about her situation anyway?" he asked rhetorically. "Because I think he knows way more than he lets on. Can you tell me that this wasn't an outcome he expected?"

Miranda sighed, but didn't refute any of his points, for which he was glad. There was loyalty and there was idiocy. "Just give me the holo-pads on any information regarding her and only her. I'm sure the Illusive Man will allow that much. I'll give it to Jack myself."

"Very well, Commander," Miranda acquiesced before she picked up her helmet and headed for the door.

Before she left, Shepard added, "And let the crewmen know that they should avoid Jack as best they're able. I'm not asking that they go in the opposite direction of her, but they should try not to start any kind of trouble. I'll talk to Jack and let her know that the crewmen are going to avoid her, but this is my ship. I won't let her cause trouble either."

Stopping at the door, Miranda offered a small smile. "Understood."

Shepard offered a tired smile in return. "This mission is getting… interesting, isn't it?"

"Recruiting doesn't seem like the right word for what we've been doing, hasn't it?" Miranda teased.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Just once, I want things to be simple. I really do."

Miranda shook her head as she left. "With you, I wonder if things ever are simple," she said as she left.

* * *

An hour later after dropping off his weapons in the Armory, his armor in his room, a long hot shower, and a change of clothes, Shepard finally felt relatively human again. _Destroying two Blue Suns'__ bases in two days… not too shabby, _he thought tiredly. Making his way to the Crew Deck to get some food, his elevator stopped at the CIC to let Garrus and Kelly in on the way down.

"Oh! Commander, Garrus and I were just talking about Jack," Kelly said as they both entered the lift.

"Nothing too bad, I hope," Shepard said.

"Nothing that wasn't true, Shepard," Garrus answered.

"Her tattoos are beautiful; as colorful as her past, I'm sure. I have concerns with her temper, though," Kelly commented thoughtfully.

Shepard nodded absently, knowing that Kelly was creating a full psychological workup on Jack. _Concern. That's a mild way of putting it. A full psych profile is probably impossible. Her life story easily transcends everything modern psychology is capable of dealing with. She really has no idea what she's getting herself into,_ Shepard pessimistically thought. "Such as?" Shepard asked obligingly when the elevator began moving.

"Well, I know she'll be solid under fire, but her attitude suggests deep personal issues," Kelly started.

Garrus tried to suppress his snort, but failed miserably if the glare Kelly was giving him was any indication.

Clearing her throat meaningfully, she continued as the elevator reached their destination. "She pushes people away, yet approaches sex casually. I don't think she understands her own motivations," she theorized. "I wouldn't be surprised if she makes advances on you. If you want her respect, think twice."

Shepard nodded as they all stepped off the elevator and moved toward the common area. "I'll do my best not to piss her off."

"Please warn me if you fail. I want a chance to hide," Kelly joked.

Shepard smiled at her before reaching behind himself and grabbing Garrus by the back of his armor when the turian tried to make a beeline for the forward batteries. "Not so fast," Shepard said before pulling his captive toward the med bay. "Go," he ordered, giving Garrus a hard push from behind.

"Yes, mother," Garrus mocked sighed as he headed toward Dr. Chakwas.

Shaking his head in exasperation at his friend's stubbornness and Kelly's giggle, Shepard walked to the galley to pick up his meal.

"Here you are, Commander," Rupert greeted with a tray full of food.

"Thanks Sarge. Smells good," Shepard gratefully said, taking the tray.

"Not a problem."

As Shepard ambled toward a table, he heard Matthews talking to Hadley. "So Hadley, how're you going to spend your next furlough?"

Hadley snorted. "You really think we'll have another shore leave?" he asked cynically.

"Of course! Shepard's forming the best team this galaxy has ever seen. We're going to kick some ass!" Matthews confidently declared.

"I'm sure you're right," Hadley said distantly.

Shepard stopped behind the two men. "How're you holding up, Hadley?"

Both crewmen started at Shepard's voice and looked up. They moved to stand at attention when Shepard waved them off. "Uh… I'm fine, sir," Hadley answered hesitantly from his chair.

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked empathically.

Hadley sighed morosely. "Just thinking about my brother, sir," he answered truthfully. "I just want to know when we'll finally kick Collector ass. I know getting the team together is important, but those bastards are still flying around out there."

"Their time is coming," Shepard said, injecting confidence in his voice. "Just hang in there until then, all right?"

Hadley took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, sir," he said with conviction.

Giving the crewman a rallying pat on the shoulder, Shepard moved to the next table over and sat down across from Ken. Greeting the engineer with a nod of his head, Shepard started eating as Gabby approached with a tray of food of her own.

"Commander," Gabby greeted.

Shepard nodded again in greeting, preoccupied with his chow.

Gabby sat down next to Ken and started eating. After a minute, she turned to her cohort. "So, Kenneth, did Executive Lawson tell you that we've got a crazy woman squatting down in the sub-deck?"

Shepard almost choked on his food and took a discrete drink to cover up his surprise.

Ken's head snapped up at the news. "What? If she touches anything, I'll kill her," he declared.

"Oh, and the only thing she wears from her waist up is tattoos," Gabby added as if she just remembered.

Ken looked much more interested at that bit of news. "Oh! Maybe I should go down and welcome her aboard."

Gabby smiled evilly. "And she's a murderer. Has biotic powers that could crush you in a blink. Hates everyone in Cerberus," she listed off, finally twisting the proverbial knife.

Ken leveled a glare at her. "Damn it, girl! Stop toying with me."

Shepard snickered at their banter. Gabby flashed a victorious smile at him and a self-satisfied grin at Ken before returning to her food.

"I see you've informed Engineer Donnelly about Jack," a cultured voice interjected.

Shepard looked up to see Miranda take a seat next to him. Placing her tray on the table and acknowledging both of the engineer's greetings, she turned to face him. "Here is the data you requested, Commander," Miranda said.

Shepard took the holo-pads and glanced at them before placing them inside his pocket. "Thanks, Miranda."

Miranda nodded before giving a pointed glance at Ken and Gabby. The latter got the hint immediately. "Come on, Kenneth," she said, grabbing his arm.

"What? But I'm not done yet!" he complained.

"Then take it with you! Come on!" she said, trying to drag him away.

Ken looked across the table and realization dawned on him. "Oh! Uh… sorry," he apologized, standing up and gathering his food.

Miranda waved off his apology. "Its fine, Mr. Donnelly," she said before giving a grateful look at Gabby.

"Come on you lazy ass," Gabby ribbed as they both moved to the next table over.

Shaking her head at their antics, Miranda turned toward Shepard. "It appears that you were right. The Illusive Man had the information ready, well in advance. It was forwarded to me the moment I asked."

Shepard frowned. "Asked? It wasn't here on the Normandy?"

Miranda shook her head. "We keep operations separate. If the Normandy were to fall into the wrong hands, at the very least, the data inside wouldn't compromise all of Cerberus… just a large portion."

"Right," Shepard said. Taking one of the datapads out, he gave it a quick glance. "Any of this go through the censure's pen?"

"The data appears legitimate and unaltered if that's what you mean," Miranda assured.

"Anything interesting?"

"I know why she was placed in cryo."

Shepard looked up, giving her his undivided attention.

"I found it strange that she needed to be in cryo-stasis when all the warden had to do was confiscate her biotic amp. Turns out that her amp isn't removable. It's completely custom made, just for her and only for her. It's also why she's so powerful. Her entire system of implants was designed specifically for her. To boost her talents well above the norm," she explained. "Some of the results those researchers produced were used to give you your biotics actually."

"You sound like you're surprised," Shepard observed.

"Biotics was a field that I was never involved in for Cerberus. You were my first, actually," Miranda admitted, poking at her food.

"I'm sensing there's more to the story," Shepard probed.

"I feel I should warn you, the reports are a little… off," Miranda deflected.

Shepard looked at the datapad in his hand again. "Off, how?"

"It seems like the researchers were intentionally leaving certain results out, omitting news, or simply skipping their daily reports altogether," Miranda said. "I may not have a high opinion of Jack, but I suspect something was very wrong about their methods. That the personnel crossed lines that shouldn't have been crossed, certainly nothing I would ever resort to."

Shepard sighed. He shouldn't be shocked, he really shouldn't, but he still felt a chill when he thought about what Cerberus could be capable of if they really wanted results. "I'll ask her."

"If you're sure. Jack strikes me as the type to keep the past buried as deep as possible," Miranda noted.

"There's only one way to find out."

"Just be careful."

* * *

Shepard entered the sub-decks to see Jack sitting on a cot, surrounded with four trays, each laden with food. She was shoveling as much as she could into her mouth, pausing only to drink something, and breathe. That last point seemed to be a minority in her list of priorities.

"Glad to see that you're enjoying my hospitality," Shepard said by way of greeting.

Jack mumbled something, but continued eating.

"Here's the data you wanted," Shepard said, holding out the holo-pads.

Jack stopped eating and looked up. See the datapads, she reached out, grabbed them, and hid them under her cot. "Thanks," she mumbled through a mouthful of food. Swallowing, she pointed at the trays with her spoon, "And thank for the food. Way better than that crap I got in prison."

"Just remember to bring the trays back up to the mess sergeant. Everyone pulls their weight on this vessel," Shepard reminded.

Jack rolled her eyes and kept eating.

Shepard took the opportunity to study her. She was cleaner, probably from a shower, and dressed in a new set of clothes: Dark blue, low slung jeans and a black tank top. She was still wearing the prison-issued shoes though. "Nice look," Shepard commented.

Jack swallowed her last bite and put down her first tray. "The red-head, Kelly something or other, gave me some of her 'civilian' clothes. I didn't like any of her shoes, though," she explained as she grabbed the next tray. "That other guy, Jacob, said that he could score me a pair once he's finished with my armor."

"Glad to see that you're adjusting well-enough," Shepard said approvingly.

"Red creeped me out. You won't believe the different things she wears when she's not in that shitty Cerberus uniform. And Jacob doesn't know who he is, but that's not my problem. He's useful enough I guess," Jack said before she started eating again.

"So how'd you get caught?" Shepard asked, making conversation after a few minutes of silence.

Jack scowled. "This one old, one-eyed, bastard; He was tough and stubborn as hell. He hunted me for a month without stopping. Managed to drug me and wire me up with explosives if I tried to use my biotics. Then I had to spend time in a cargo hold with him in some crap ship, listening to his fucking war stories about his stupid rifle or how he wanted some Blue Suns merc dead before he dropped me off at Purgatory." She shook her head. "Then he goes on saying how he could have used a 'destructive little bitch' like me on some job he had." She snorted. "Bad enough he caught me, but he didn't need to torture me after."

Shepard suppressed his grin by clearing his throat. "Whenever you're ready, I'd like to learn those biotic techniques."

Jack glanced at him from the corner of her eye, before picking up two of her trays. "Get the last one and my water bottle," she said.

Shepard obliged her. "This way," he said.

Guiding her to the hanger where he practiced his biotics, Shepard called out to the various crewmen mulling about inside. "Clear the area!"

In no time at all, the Cerberus crewmen shuffled out of the hanger, leaving Shepard and Jack alone. Placing her tray and bottle on a nearby crate, Shepard turned to his new 'teacher'. "So?"

Jack sat down on the same crate next to her tray and placed the other tray down next to it. "I'll start with Shockwave. Blowing shit up is easier than trying to figure out Charge and I want to see if I'm wasting my time," she explained with her mouth full.

"So? How do you 'blow shit up' then?" Shepard asked.

Jack glared at him. Leaving her spoon on her tray; she moved her arm out in a wide arc, almost casually. At the other end of the hanger, small orbs of dark energy manifested in a small empty area. Moments later, the spheres exploded, though less violently than their earlier fight. "You know Warp, which helps, most biotic moves need you to aim and shoot. Shockwave is different from most in that you make dark energy appear where you want it. No signs or warning. You just make a crap load of unstable dark energies, kinda like Warp, and let them explode around the area you want."

Shepard studied at the area where Jack did her demonstration looking pensive. "Show me again," he requested, studying the ex-convict this time.

Jack rolled her eyes in annoyance. Polishing off her second tray, she swung her arm out again, still from a sitting position.

Despite the ease in which she used her biotics, the effect was still the same. A dozen small spheres of dark energy appeared at varying heights and distance, all contained within a small area. Moments later, the dark energy detonated.

Shepard's gaze was piercing at both her movements and the effect. "One more time."

Jack huffed in irritation. "Are you going to do anything?"

"One more time," he repeated.

Jack glared before she stood up and swung her arm out aggressively. This time, instead of dark energy appearing at a set location, a small trail of explosions started a few feet in front of her and traveled the length of the hanger before violently erupting into larger explosions at the same place she demonstrated.

"That's it. Your turn," Jack said smugly as she sat back on the crate and picked up her third tray.

Shepard didn't answer her. He looked fixated on the target area they were practicing on. Suddenly, Shepard threw his arm out similar to how Jack did her last demonstration.

Her eyes widened and her spoon fell onto her tray as she saw around five or so tennis-sized balls of dark energy appeared before they blew up with enough force for the deck to rattle a bit. She sharply turned her gaze to Shepard. "How the fuck did you do that?"

Shepard swayed a bit and sat down on the nearest crate. "Whoa…" he said, holding his head in an attempt to stem the vertigo. Spots were dancing in and out of his vision. Taking a deep breath, looked up at Jack, still a little disoriented. He reached out with his biotics and took Jack's water bottle and began guzzling the contents.

"Hey!" Jack protested before she used her own biotics to take the bottle back. Checking to see how much water was left, she glared at the Spectre. "How the fuck did you do that?" she repeated slowly, as if Shepard suddenly became mentally impaired.

Shepard shook his head as the water cleared his thoughts. "Just lucky, I guess," he shrugged modestly.

"Bullshit," Jack retorted.

"I'm complicated," Shepard deflected. "I think we should hold off on more lessons until I get this one down."

Jack glared a bit more before shaking her head. "Whatever."

They stayed silent for a while save for the sounds of Jack's eating and Shepard's deep breaths.

"What are you looking for in those files anyway?" Shepard asked suddenly.

"Your friends at Cerberus are into some nasty things," she answered after she finished her third tray. Picking up her last one, she looked to see Shepard was unsurprised. "You knew already, didn't you?"

"Let's just say that we've crossed paths a few times before and we weren't friends then," Shepard said.

Jack smirked at his answer. "I'm going to find something I can use. I just know it," she declared quietly.

"What if the answers aren't what you expect?"

"I'm not looking for answers," she corrected. "I'm looking for names, dates, places."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "What happens when you find what you're looking for?"

She smiled grimly. "I go hunting. Anyone who's screwed with me pays. Their associates pay. Their friends pay. The galaxy's going to be a lot emptier when I'm done."

Shepard found himself conflicted. He really couldn't decide if she was justified in her actions against Cerberus or if she was just thinking about another killing spree. He resolved to wait until he had more information.

Jack picked up on his reticence. "I'm here for your mission. After that, what I do is my business," she warned.

Shepard adjusted himself on the crate. As soon as he was comfortable, he boldly asked, "What's your history with Cerberus?"

Jack stopped eating. Placing the half empty tray on her crate, she stood up and faced away from Shepard. For a moment, he thought she was going to leave when she spoke up. "It's like what you said back at that prison. I was an experiment. They raised me in a research facility. I escaped when I was a kid. Been on the run ever since. And they've been chasing me ever since. But soon, I'm going to chase them," she explained as she started glowing with dark energy.

"You think about this a lot, don't you?" Shepard asked, standing up and crossing his arms.

She turned around and met his eyes uncaringly. "I go to sleep with this. I wake up with it. Everyone I kill, I pretend it's the ones that did this to me."

_Obviously not budging on this particular issue,_ Shepard observed to himself._ There's no way Kelly's psych-eval will be anywhere near the mark._ "You sure want to sleep in that pit?" he asked, deciding on changing the subject.

"It's dark, quiet, and hard to find. That spells safety to me," she responded. She walked up to Shepard until they were standing within inches of each other. "You know, this ship is a powerhouse. You could go pirate, live like a king," she smirked, before adding, "I could help."

"You just want to screw Cerberus over. Stealing one of their top frigates sounds like one of the best ways to do that," Shepard said, neglecting to tell her that he had already salvaged credits and weapons from mercs, pirates, and the occasional criminal syndicate. Not to mention the millions of credits he had in his account already.

"When this is done, we'll either be dead or out here, in space. With this ship," she replied. "Think about it: lots of creds. Freedom to go wherever you want. And all the mayhem and fighting I could want."

Shepard shrugged with disinterest. "Sounds like my job as a Spectre."

Jack snorted in aversion. "Nothing but a government pawn. That ain't freedom."

Shepard shrugged again. "On the other hand, if we do things your way, one-eyed bounty hunters catch you and you end up in prison. So I guess we both have our little problems."

When Jack glared, Shepard asked, "What is it about killing that fascinates you so much?"

"I figure every time someone dies and it's not me, my chances of survival go up. Simple," she said shortly.

A rumbling laughter startled both of them. They turned around to see Grunt approaching them. "I like that answer," he grinned, proving that he eavesdropped on the tail end of their conversation.

"How're you doing, Grunt?" Shepard greeted with a nod of his head.

Grunt looked around. "The hold is too open. Not enough cover. Armor is limited," he listed off before shaking his head. "Warlord Granth would target here to scatter heavy cargo, and then focus on engines." Looking around again, he snorted. "Shows what he knows."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Just checking how accurate my tank imprints are," he said. "It's how I learned – old pictures where memory is."

"Grunt is a tank-borne krogan," Shepard explained to Jack. "A genetic super-soldier experiment we picked up yesterday."

"Huh," Jack simply said. "How the hell does that imprint stuff work?"

"It doesn't," Grunt growled in annoyance. "Like holding a book for a child. Just 'remember this,' picture after picture. No help with finding a reason to care."

"What other human info is floating around in there?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Less than a finger deep to sever your spine," Grunt said, pointing at Shepard and Jack for emphasis. "You're soft. Salarians, asari, all soft. Quarians, not so much. Turians, you have to work the blade, I guess. Don't see much point to it though," he shrugged before chuckling. "Heh, 'much point'," he said while miming quotation marks. "Ah, never mind."

"Huh," Jack repeated. "I gotta remember that."

"Something must move you," Shepard said. "You're as genetically krogan as you can get."

"I see suffering, the dead, and I think 'weak'," he answered.

"I have to agree with that," Jack nodded as she sat back down and started eating again.

"I'm supposed to be strong. My guts were grown from thousands more worthy," he continued, pacing away from them. "The dead were weak. If they were strong, I wouldn't be needed. I don't know why Okeer started teaching… When he turned on the tank for the first time, I screamed. Weak, pitiful."

Shepard noted that Jack was scowling into her tray. _Probably similar experiences._ "So you started small. But you became what you are. Not everyone gets that chance," Shepard said to the krogan, though Jack looked up as well.

"I'm built for strength, but didn't earn it," he refuted. "I just am. Those dead were strong enough to try, even if they lost," he said with a tone of respect.

_That almost sounds like something Wrex would say,_ Shepard thought.

"I'm the perfect krogan. Ignoring what made me. No strength in that. Even that little human had to fight harder for strength than me," he said, jerking his thumb at Jack. "That was some nice work you did on that ship," Grunt said to her with grudging respect.

Jack gave a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to her meal.

"What did Okeer want you to feel about this stuff?" Shepard asked.

"Hate," he said shortly. "He spent all his time on old hatreds." Grunt turned around and started stomping toward the cargo bay. "I'll take another look at what happened to the krogan. Find a reason to care about it."

After Grunt left, Shepard turned around to see that Jack left too, taking her trays with her. Sighing in resignation, Shepard looked around the empty cargo bay one last time, before turning to leave.

After one step though, EDI called him. "Commander? The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you."

"The comm. room?

"Yes, Commander. He's currently waiting for you."

"Thanks, EDI, I'll meet with him now."

"Understood, Commander. Logging you out."

Turning around, Shepard glowed briefly as he swung his arm out in a wide arc. This time, eight spheres of dark energy appeared before detonating forcefully. Feeling only slightly dizzy, but much better than his first attempt, Shepard nodded in satisfaction before leaving.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Wow. I'm on some kind of groove here!

I know the chapter is a bit on the short side, but Horizon is just on the horizon, so things move forward.

Expect the next chapter… semi-soonish. It's proving a bit difficult.

For all that caught the Zaeed reference, I figure if there was anyone tough enough to catch Jack, it's him.

Also, don't forget to vote on my profile page if you want Kasumi in or not.


	15. Horizon

_**Location: Unknown**_

Shepard found himself back in the darkened office of the Illusive Man, humanity's self-appointed emissary. The Illusive Man appeared to be comfortably seated and was facing Shepard's projection. He was smoking casually with the star behind him and myriad of holo-monitors providing the only sources of illumination within the room.

The Illusive Man took a smoke before speaking. "Shepard. I think we have them!"

Shepard's posture was alert when the Illusive Man said 'them'.

A miniature galaxy map appeared at the Illusive Man's left. It zoomed in to show a garden planet. "Horizon – one of our colonies in the Terminus Systems – just went silent," he said. "If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?"

"I don't know. He said he made a breakthrough and locked the lab," Shepard responded, making a mental note to ask EDI for geological maps of the colony in question.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure," the Illusive Man said. "There's something else you should know."

Shepard crossed his arms as he waited for the Illusive Man to tell him.

Pausing to inhale from his cigarette, he continued. "One of your former crew, Ashley Williams – she's stationed on Horizon."

Shepard tilted his head. "Ash is with the Alliance. Why is she out in the Terminus Systems?"

"Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies," the Illusive Man answered.

"And unofficially?" Shepard asked when his host stopped speaking.

"The Alliance is up to something. And if they sent Chief Williams, it must be big," came the short and uninformative answer. "Perhaps you should take it up with her," he suggested.

Shepard shook his head. "The Collectors just happened to pick a colony with one of my former crew? I don't buy it."

Tapping his cigarette into his ash tray, the Illusive Man said, "It shouldn't be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they're working for the Reapers." He looked up and met Shepard's eyes. "They might be going after her to get to you," he ominously added.

"We should send a message to the Citadel. The Alliance can give us reinforcements," Shepard suggested.

"Not until you investigate. I don't want the Alliance getting in our way," the Illusive Man promptly responded.

"The Collectors tore the Normandy apart last time. I don't want to take any chances," Shepard shot back.

"Once you have the situation under control, I'll send the message personally," the Illusive Man said. "We need any information we can get; otherwise, the Collectors will continue to have the advantage of secrecy. You've been most successful against them so far, I'm hoping that trend will continue."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, but knew if the Alliance got there first, any investigation they would attempt could take months. Shepard nodded slowly, accepting the Illusive Man's words reluctantly. "Fine. Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."

"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard," the Illusive Man said. "Good luck."

Tapping a button, he cut the link.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Near the Mass Relay, Normandy**_

After the projection of the Illusive Man and his office faded away, Shepard called out to the ever present AI and his XO via intercom as the cylindrical scanner retracted into the floor. "EDI, battle stations. Miranda, access the galaxy map and set course for Horizon. I've got to go see the professor."

"_Understood, Commander. Setting course for Horizon,"_ Miranda acknowledged.

"Understood, Commander," EDI chimed in.

Throughout the ship, both on-duty and off-duty crewmen looked up as EDI relayed Shepard's orders. "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man their battle stations."

The Normandy was a flurry of activity as everyone reported to their duty stations. Anxiety ran high since the only reason they could conceive for their sudden alert status in-flight was their primary mission against the Collectors was about to begin.

"_Commander,"_ Joker called as Shepard left the Comm. room. _"Course is set for Horizon. ETA: Two hours."_

Using his authority to unlock the lab, Shepard walked in to see Mordin observing a single seeker drone inside a plastic case. Walking up to him, Shepard looked into the case as well. "How did you get this?"

"Cloned. Studied Collector tech for any weaknesses. Managed to derive a seeker swarm from genetic material," Mordin said without turning his gaze from the observation box.

"Tell me you have something," Shepard said.

Mordin stood up and turned to face him. His triumphant grin spoke volumes. Turning to his terminal, an image of an inter-weave for their armor was projected.

"This is it?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, yes," Mordin said proudly before he started to explain how to use it.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, Horizon**_

Ignoring the less-than-subtle hostile looks from the various colonists, Ashley looked for the only redeeming person on Horizon. "Lilith!" she yelled.

"Still can't calibrate the targeting matrix?" Lilith asked when Ashley ran up to her.

"Those defense towers are useless if we don't figure it out," Ashley said, bumping shoulders with another disgruntled colonist.

Lilith glared at the man and he quickly scurried away. "Sorry, Chief. Getting our comm. systems back online takes priority," Lilith apologized.

Ashley nodded her head in acceptance. "Yeah, okay. Surprised people haven't tried to blame that one on me, too," she said without malice.

"People out here don't trust the Alliance. It's nothing personal against you."

Ashley smiled before frowning when a flock of birds started screeching and flying away in a panic. Moments later, a low rumbling sound was heard, almost right above them.

"What is that?" Lilith asked as she squinted to find the source of the disturbance.

Ashley pulled out her M-8 and used the built-in scope to scan the clouds above them.

What began as a shadow soon became a shape that grew larger and more menacing as she watched it come into view. Everything suddenly became clear for Ashley and she realized what had broken through the clouds was a ship that she had seen in a report two years ago. It was the report that had delivered the final verdict on Commander Shepard's fate. The cruiser that had destroyed the SSV Normandy SR-1 and ended his life as detailed in that report was similar to the cruiser that was now bearing down on the settlement.

"Get everyone to the safe house," Ashley ordered calmly. Seeing a flying swarm of bugs coming straight toward them, Ashley started firing without hesitation. "I'll cover you! Run!"

The various colonists ceased their gawking and started running and screaming as the swarm descended upon them.

Ashley continued to fire into the thickest part of the flock, even when the bugs started to scatter and attack the civilians around her. Hearing Lilith scream, Ash glanced behind her to see Lilith on the ground trying to get back up. Turning around, Ash bent down and hauled Lilith to her feet quickly. "Run!" Ashley yelled before letting out a grunt of pain. Reaching behind her neck, she grasped the bug that stung her and threw it to the ground before stomping on it. She tried to raise her rifle again when she felt her muscles freeze completely. _Goddamn bug must've injected me with some sort of toxin!_ Ashley thought frantically. She tried in vain to get her body to respond, but it wouldn't obey. All she could do was watch as human after human fell prey to their attackers.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Collector Space Station**_

Within the confines of a control room, one lone Collector managed numerous terminals and consoles. It was different from its brethren in more ways than one. The head was larger, the body shorter, and it had a multitude of limbs to operate the command interfaces that surrounded it. Its eyes glowed with a sinister golden light.

Scuttling around the central group of consoles, a powerful, ancient, and familiar voice resonated within.

"_**ASSUMING CONTROL."**_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, Horizon**_

A Collector was moving through the colony, checking to see if there were any humans that managed to escape the seeker swarm when it stumbled. It bent over, as if it was in pain before jerking around in an apparent seizure. Trails of glowing orange and yellow lines emerged along its entire body. Bursts of energy randomly surfaced, almost appearing like a cross between fire and lightning. The carapace grew darker and the Collector arched its spine as it floated several inches from the ground. One last surge of energy exploded out before the Collector landed on its feet.

The various Collectors tasked with gathering the humans continued to work, completely ignoring or were oblivious as one of their kind underwent its transformation.

Eerie glowing eyes observed the paralyzed humans.__The voice of their master echoed through the minds of the Collectors.

"_**WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF THEIR PERFECTION. PREPARE THESE HUMANS FOR ASCENSION."**_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, En Route to Horizon, Normandy**_

"This is where we're going," Shepard said without preamble the moment everyone entered the Briefing/Comm. Room.

The miniature holographic image of the Normandy situated at the center of the table changed to the planet of Horizon, before zooming into the human colony stationed there.

"EDI, give us a quick rundown of the colony were going to," Shepard requested as he readjusted his armor.

"The colony of Horizon was founded in 2168. Since then, the colony itself has only been attacked once by pirates, but the colonists were able to repel the attack. Horizon boasts a population of 654,930 civilians. Records show that the Alliance has recently fitted the colony with GARDIAN lasers," EDI reported.

"Wait, hold up," Jacob interrupted. "GARDIAN's? Then the colony should be able to defend itself, right?"

"Not unless the Collectors disabled it before they attacked. Remember, all the other colonies had their defenses and communications disabled before their disappearance," Miranda reminded him.

"According to the Illusive Man, communications just went silent. Either the colony is under attack or it soon will be. We'll have to assume that the turrets are down. If we can get them working, then we'll have the advantage," Shepard said.

"According to Alliance reports submitted by your former squad member, Operations Chief Ashley Williams, the targeting matrix is malfunctioning, Commander," EDI inputted. "In order to activate the turrets and target the enemy ship, the most expedient way would be to uplink the main control terminal of the GARDIAN turrets to the Normandy. I will then make the necessary corrections."

Shepard nodded. "Got it, EDI."

"Hold on," Garrus interjected. "Can't you just hack your way into the network or something and do it all remotely?"

Shepard turned to Mordin. "Professor? If you'll explain."

"Ah, yes. Studies show that seeker swarms emit mild disruption fields. One seeker, no problem. Small swarms, small problems. Large swarms, large problems. In any case, expect disruptions in communications," Mordin listed off quickly.

Jacob fiddled around with the collar of his Cerberus Assault Armor. "In other words, if there are a lot of those flying bugs, we can't communicate with the Normandy?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes. Depending on number of seeker swarms, individual radios may not function."

Garrus shifted his armor in an attempt to adjust it again. "And this armor weave is supposed to protect us from the seeker swarms? Will it really work?"

Unlike Garrus and the rest of the squad save Grunt, Mordin looked comfortable in his armor. "Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should cause confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms," Mordin explained before pausing. "In theory," he added as an afterthought.

Miranda shifted uncomfortably in her own Cerberus Assault Armor. "In theory," she repeated doubtfully.

"That sounds promising," Garrus grumbled.

Mordin shrugged. "Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Have to test them in person." He took a breath in anticipation. "Should be exciting."

Jack derisively snorted. "And people think **I'm** crazy," she said. Adjusting the chest plate and pauldrons of her new Terminus Assault Armor for the umpteenth time, she glared at Jacob. "This is the best you could do?"

Jacob was trying to adjust his own Cerberus Assault Armor with little success. "Hey, I had to size you up by eye and then I had to put in this new weave," he defended. "If I had more time, it might've been better but I don't. Deal with it," he shot back.

Jack snarled, but under Shepard's glare, she refrained from killing him.

"Look, we're all uncomfortable here," Shepard started.

"Speak for yourself," Grunt said, looking as comfortable as Mordin in his armor.

_Guess he doesn't feel it or something,_ Shepard guessed. "But it's better than the alternative. We'll make the proper adjustments after the mission," he continued as if he wasn't interrupted. "Does anyone have any more questions?"

"Is a Collector hard to kill?" Jack asked.

Grunt grinned at her. "Scared?"

"Fuck off," Jack retorted. "I didn't live this long by being stupid as a krogan."

Grunt growled and took a menacing step toward her before Shepard interjected. "Collectors are pretty much an unknown. We have no idea of the capability of their shields, armor, or weaponry. So we're walking into uncharted territory here. As far as the footage goes from Freedom's Progress, they're still sapient organics, just like us. Just fight the way you know how and we'll take it from there."

"Bah! They just look like giant bugs. We'll crush them like one," Grunt dismissed. "Just gotta find out the best way how."

"Commander," EDI said. Her avatar appeared in front of Shepard at the head of the table. "We're approaching Horizon now. Long-range scanners have detected what appears to be a cruiser on the planet's surface, right in the middle of the colony."

"A cruiser?" Miranda asked, startled.

"You're serious?" Garrus asked incredulously.

Shepard understood their shock, but wasn't really surprised himself. Cruisers were considered to have too much tonnage to be able to land on most planets unless it had very low gravity. Having seen Sovereign, a reaper that easily classified itself as a dreadnought class, land on Eden Prime, it wasn't difficult to comprehend that the Collectors could possess similar tech.

He cursed at the news that the enemy was already planet-side though. "That means the attack is underway. Are we running silent?"

"The IES Stealth Systems are engaged, Commander, but given that the Collectors were able to identify and destroy the SSV Normandy SR-1, I cannot say for certain if they have detected and are tracking our approach," EDI said. "At the very least, I can say that their ship has not reacted to our presence."

"Joker, maintain safe distance from the planet. We'll take the shuttle to the surface," Shepard ordered.

"_Roger, Commander,"_ Joker said. _"We're about 30 minutes out__."_

"Any last questions?" Shepard asked the group.

"Numbers?" Jacob asked.

"At our current distance, scanners are unable to provide accurate numbers, Operative Taylor," EDI answered.

"Your best estimate, then," Miranda requested.

"On the surface, expect approximately 500 Collectors. That is the minimum number I can provide, since it would take the equivalent 'human' personnel to capture so many prisoners on to a ship within a reasonable amount of time. However, I do not know if the Collectors have technology that would make the physical labor any easier or quicker. Within the Collector ship, I cannot provide any estimate without knowing the layout inside. It is probable that the Collector vessel could contain thousands," EDI answered.

"Good," Grunt said happily. "No shortage of victims."

"Just try not to get in our way," Jack said to him.

Grunt growled at her again.

"Enough. Let's get to the shuttle," Shepard said. As they all filed out of the Briefing Room, Shepard called into his radio. "Hawthorne, Goldstein, is the shuttle prepped?"

"_As you ordered, Commander,"_ Hawthorne, their shuttle pilot, reported.

"_I was stationed at Horizon, Commander. I know a good spot to land at," _the co-pilot, Goldstein offered. _"It'll be next to the colony's capital, Discovery."_

"From the navigational data Miss Goldstein uploaded, I would recommend that location, Commander. According to Alliance construction plans, the main control terminal for the GARDIAN turrets is in that vicinity," EDI concurred.

"Set the course," Shepard commanded as everyone entered the elevator and made their way to the hangar.

"_Roger,"_ Goldstein and Hawthorne acknowledged simultaneously.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Mission: Horizon**_

_The colony of Horizon is under attack by the Collectors. This is a chance to stop an attack, rather than investigate the results._

_Explore the colony and rescue any civilians._

_Head for the Main Control Hub of the GARDIAN turrets._

_Reactivate the GARDIAN turrets to repel the Collector vessel._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, Horizon**_

The shuttle skimmed close to the ground in an attempt to use the terrain to mask their approach and avoid enemy detection. The ship shuddered as it endured the subsequent turbulence from flying so low. The occupants inside were going through their final equipment checks before touchdown.

"_Sir, we're approaching the LZ. ETA: Five minutes," _Goldstein reported._ "We have a visual on the enemy ship. You should see it through the starboard __window, sir."_

Shepard turned his head to see what they were about to go up against. His eyes widened in shock. "I know that ship…"

"As far as Cerberus intelligence goes, that's the only class of vessel the Collectors use to fly through the Terminus Systems," Miranda said. "You may know of 'a' ship like that since it was the Collectors that destroyed the first Normandy, but we honestly have no idea how many ships they really have. For all we know, they could have an armada to rival all of Citadel space."

"Encouraging thought," Shepard said sarcastically, his gaze still locked on the Collector cruiser.

It was nothing like any ship he'd seen produced by any of the species in Citadel Space, or elsewhere for that matter. It appeared to be a hybrid of organic protrusions built into a metal superstructure. The cruiser was shaped cylindrically, with the organic constructs forming smooth points to cover the bow of the vessel, as if they were stalagmites in a cave. Hidden within the organic plates of the ship, Shepard knew that the powerful main gun of the Collectors was right in the middle. Currently, the cruiser was firmly planted on the surface. The bow was pointed at the sky, with the stern resting on the ground, making the ship look like a needle was placed right next to the colony.

Hawthorne's voice interrupted Shepard's study of the Collector cruiser. _"One minute!"_

Shepard took a deep breath and focused himself. "Helmets," he ordered before securing his own. Taking a look around the cabin to see if everyone was ready, he said, _"Coms check."_

"_Miranda here, I read you."_

"_Jacob here. Loud and clear, Commander."_

"_Garrus. I read you, Shepard."_

"_Yes, yes. Mordin here. Hearing you. Loud and clear."_

"_I hear you," _Grunt said impatiently.

"_Yeah, yeah. I heard you boss man,"_ Jack said.

Gripping their respective weapons, everyone waited in tense silence. The Kodiak lurched as it suddenly gained altitude before dropping rapidly. Shepard looked out the window again to see that they were now flying over farmland.

"_10 seconds!"_

The shuttle opened the hatch a few meters above the ground. Shepard and Jacob jumped out simultaneously and scanned their surroundings for any hostile forces.

"_Clear!"_ Jacob called out as he moved away from the shuttle before kneeling and keeping alert.

The others took that as their cue to disembark quickly with their weapons out and ready.

"_We're groundside,"_ Shepard said to their pilots the moment everyone was out.

"_Roger that. Good hunting!"_ Hawthorne responded.

The ground team moved several meters away from the shuttle as it fired up its thrusters and began leaving as quickly as it arrived.

"_All right. Move out," _Shepard ordered.

The troupe made their way across the grassy plain they had landed on toward the buildings and the Collector cruiser in the distance.

"_No seeker swarms so far,"_ Jacob commented.

"_So far, so good then," _Shepard replied. _"If they're not actively hunting us, they're ignoring us. Your countermeasure seems to be working, Mordin."_

"_Best test is the encounter seeker swarm. Must see if they become aware of presence visually as well,"_ Mordin excitedly responded.

Circling a wall, Shepard saw they were entering some sort of loading area. A truck was sitting in the middle of a field of crates. His gaze swept the area, but saw no one. His ears perked up when he heard a distinct buzzing sound. _"Anyone hear that?"_

"_I hear it… What is it?" _Miranda asked.

Looking around for the source of the strange sound, Shepard could swear that it was getting louder. _"It's coming closer. It sounds like wings I think."_

The moment Shepard said "wings", understanding rippled through all of them. Looking up, they finally saw the enemy they've been tasked to hunt.

Four Collectors were hovering nearby with more flying in. The wings on their backs were flapping rapidly, creating buzzing sound much like a bee or a fly would make. Given the advantage of altitude, the Collectors easily spotted them and opened fire first.

"_Take cover!"_ Shepard yelled.

Everyone scrambled behind the various crates and other materials lining the organized chaos of the cargo bay they were in.

Popping out of cover, Shepard used his HMWA to fire back. The Collectors weren't versatile enough in flight to avoid the counterattack and were getting shot down one after another. _"Return fire! They're easy targets up there!"_

A storm of bullets, biotics, and tech began dropping Collectors one after another from the open air, prompting them to land immediately and take cover themselves.

Shepard took the opportunity to shoot down one Collector Jacob had biotically lifted in the air, only to see several more Collectors land nearby. _"More incoming!"_ he declared as he took cover. Peeking out from the side, he saw Grunt had somehow managed to flank the reinforcements and was thundering away with his shotgun.

A stray shot nicked the krogan, inciting his rage and causing him to charge directly into the middle of the group, heedless of the danger. Mordin and Jacob ran after him, igniting any Collectors in their way with Incinerate tech and incendiary rounds respectively.

All of a sudden, a thunderous crash echoed around the battlefield. Shepard whipped his head around trying to locate the source. Jack was standing away from her cover, her biotic glow fading away. A large crate some of the Collectors were using to hide behind was now flush against a wall. Morbidly, a few bug-like limbs were sticking out from the sides of the crate.

"_Squish,"_ Jack commented victoriously.

Returning his attention to the battlefield, Shepard turned to assist Miranda and Garrus. Three more Collectors were left hiding behind the truck. Focusing his biotics, Shepard used Pull the moment Garrus used Overload to disable their shields. All three Collectors floated helplessly into the air. Between the three of them, they finished off the remaining Collectors easily, securing a temporary victory.

"_I think that's all for now, Shepard,"_ Garrus reported as he scanned the area.

A loud crunch was heard. Shepard reflexively raised his weapon at the source, only to see Grunt sauntering up to them after stepping on a Collector's head that was in his path. _"Just like bugs,"_ he affirmed. _"Anyone hungry?"_

"_Let's move. More will be coming soon,"_ Shepard said, ignoring the mutilated carcass and the krogan's comments. Mordin and Jacob subtly sidestepped the gory mess.

Everyone regrouped and trudged forward. They kept their ears open for the telltale sounds of wings and occasionally scanned the sky, now that they were aware that the Collectors can fly.

"_Well. At least we can confirm that the Collectors aren't beyond our ability to engage,"_ Miranda noted as the team moved past the various empty buildings.

"_Yeah. I was bit worried that their tech might be beyond us," _Shepard admitted. _"One step at a time though. Taking out infantry is one thing, but their ship is definitely going to require some creativity."_

"_Above us! Seeker swarm!"_ Garrus warned.

Shepard stopped and kneeled in the high grass, keeping his weapon trained on the dark cloud of bugs flitting about near them before instructing his team to do the same.

Everyone moved into the grass with him and knelt down to observe the swarm cautiously.

Sudden piercing sounds of static filled Shepard's ears. Hissing in annoyance, he shook his head, trying to clear the pain. Looking around, he saw everyone else experiencing similar problems. Jacob started using Alliance military semaphore to convey his message.

_-Radios disabled._

Miranda added a few gestures of her own.

_-Enemy is disrupting our communications._

Shepard nodded before using more conventional hand gestures for the benefit of the rest of his squad.

_-Stay down and stay silent._

Everyone nodded and watched as the swarms hovered over them for a few more moments before flying off.

Jacob spoke up first. "Looks like the weave worked," he said out loud through his voice module.

Everyone took that as their cue to reengage their own voice modules.

"Excellent work, Professor," Miranda respectfully said to the salarian.

Mordin accepted her praise modestly. "Yes. Thank you. Very exciting. Glad to still be alive."

More static bursts from the radio crackled in Shepard's ear though Joker's voice could be heard in small bursts. _"Comman… tting all kinds… ference. We can't maintain…" _he said before the signal faded.

"We're on our own," Shepard said before standing up and leading the squad deeper into the colony.

"Can we communicate with the Normandy at the control hub?" Garrus asked.

"We should," Jacob assured as he fell in step with the turian. "Our personal radios aren't that powerful and we still got a small bit from Joker. The transmitters at the hub are way more powerful. Should reach Normandy at least."

"I hear something," Jack suddenly said.

Shepard cocked his head, but didn't hear the sounds of flapping wings. Instead, he heard moaning. It was a sound he heard several times in his hunt for Saren and his geth. "Shit… husks!"

Running around a corner at full tilt were a dozen husks, shambling toward them in a reckless charge. Right behind them was a small group of Collectors, appearing even more armored than the earlier ones they fought.

"Jack, on me! Shockwave on the husks!" Shepard ordered. "The rest of you, suppressing fire on the Collectors!"

Both Jack and Shepard conjured their respective Shockwaves on the charging husks. The explosive biotic energies effortlessly destroyed or scattered the mechanical corpses. The difference of experience was clear however. Shepard's effort stopped right at the group of husks while Jack easily traveled the distance toward the Collectors, disrupting their charge and allowing everyone to push forward with their attack.

_I really got to work on my technique_ Shepard thought to himself as he began to appreciate the destructive power of Shockwave.

"More incoming!" Jacob called out.

Shepard ducked down as a rapid fire volley of energy beams struck his cover.

"Watch it! Heavy weapon!" Garrus yelled.

Shepard chanced a peek only to duck back as the heavy weapon the Collector was using appeared inexhaustible. He was saved with a crack of a sniper rifle and the cease-fire of the Collector heavy weapon. "Nice shot, Garrus!"

The last Collector was brought down with Miranda's Warp. It was crawled around feebly before Grunt stepped on its back, placed his shotgun on the back of its head and pulled the trigger.

Surveying the area carefully, Shepard couldn't see any more signs of trouble. "Those things look like the husks the geth used on Eden Prime," he said when his eyes fixed on the remains of a husk.

"The geth got that technology from Sovereign," Garrus commented.

"Then the Illusive Man was correct. The Collectors are agents of the Reapers," Miranda concluded.

"Shepard! Here! Observe!" Mordin called.

Shepard crossed the field and saw a husk that was still in one piece, more or less.

"Husks have human characteristics. Possible repurposed colonists?" Mordin theorized.

Jacob walked up, shaking his head. "No. On Eden Prime, they used giant spikes to turn people into husks. Marines started calling them Dragon's Teeth. I don't see any here."

"The Collectors must have brought the husks. They're taking the colonists alive for something else," Miranda speculated.

"Makes sense," Shepard said. "I doubt they'd go through all this trouble to take humans alive just to make husks. Besides, these aren't the same as the ones I fought on Eden Prime. They're more advanced. Evolved even."

"Still die when you shoot'em," Grunt said.

Stepping away from the husk, Shepard shook his head in frustration. "The Collectors must be experimenting on the colonists. What are they up to?" he thought out loud.

"Sounds almost worse than what Cerberus did to me," Jack commented with a pointed look at Miranda.

Miranda studiously ignored the jibe, opting to follow Shepard's lead and keeping her rifle up for danger.

"Move out," Shepard ordered. "We're not letting these bastards get any more victims here."

Jack shrugged before hefting her shotgun. "Whatever you say, boss man."

Everyone moved slowly around the walls and warehouses as they made their way to the residential area of the colony. After a few minutes, the silence felt pervading. It almost felt like their footsteps could be heard from miles away.

"Damn it's quiet. Peaceful. Usually takes a lot of chemicals for me to get this kind of quiet," Jack commented softly, as if her voice would carry all the way to the Collector cruiser.

"Yeah, all these empty buildings… it's unsettling," Garrus agreed quietly.

"Just like Freedom's Progress. Whole colony… gone," Jacob whispered.

Shepard kept his breathing even and steady, but it still felt loud in his ears within his helmet. Besides their earlier fights, there were no other signs of life, specifically human. Approaching the residential area, Shepard stopped at a corner and peered around carefully. "I see one. Probably more around the corner though," he whispered.

"Can we sneak by? Ambush them?" Jacob asked.

Shepard shook his head while keeping his eye on the lone sentry. "No. It'll definitely see us. Especially Grunt. We'll have to fight our way through. Garrus, drop him," he said before looking back at the rest of his squad. "The rest of you: get ready to run to that building across the way and dig in when I give the word."

Garrus brought up his sniper rifle while Shepard readied his Blackstorm. "Do it."

The moment the Blackstorm began to whine, Garrus squeezed the trigger, killing the lone guard and judging from the chattering noises, alerted the rest of the Collectors as predicted.

Shepard fired his heavy weapon just as several Collectors ran in to investigate the source of the gunshot. "Move!" Shepard yelled.

Jacob led the way, skirting the edge of the moving singularity. The Collector's were trapped by its influence were shooting wildly in every direction. "Hurry! It's gonna blow!"

No sooner than when Grunt cleared the doorway as the last one through, the miniature black hole exploded. A few of the remains flew through the open windows and splattered messily along the walls.

Shepard looked through his window before bringing his assault rifle up. "In the house across from us!"

Everyone stood up and ran toward an open window or door and started their attack. Several Collectors attempted to resist, but the Shepard's initial attack scattered their ranks. Many began to fall back into the house to regroup.

Shepard saw that Jacob was about to use his missile launcher to take them all out in one explosion. "Stand down, Jacob! We don't know if there are civilians inside!"

Jacob cursed his mistake and brought out his shotgun again.

"You and Grunt, on me! The rest of you, cover us!" Shepard yelled. Trading his assault rifle for his shotgun, Shepard carefully made his way to the door as the rest of the squad began taking down any threat that presented themselves. As soon as Grunt and Jacob shuffled behind him, Shepard nodded.

All three sprang from the doorway and rushed across the short, but dangerous road, firing at any Collector that was still standing. Coming up to the house, Shepard paused at the doorway and glanced inside before ducking back when the hostiles entrenched inside retaliated. "About five. Grunt, you lead the way. Jacob and I will cover."

Grunt grinned before dashing past Jacob and Shepard and charged headlong into the room. Shepard and Jacob followed the designated 'meat shield' and attacked the Collectors hard and fast. Three shotguns pounded away at shields and armor, the booming sounds interspaced with the squeals of the Collectors and Grunt's roar.

Panting slightly, Shepard quickly took stock of the bottom floor of the home they were in while Jacob and Grunt ran up the stairs to verify the immediate threat was cleared.

"Clear upstairs!" Jacob yelled.

Shepard strode over to the doorway. "Clear inside!" he called out to the others.

Miranda led the rest of the squad to regroup, keeping her eyes open for any Collector they might have missed, but her caution was unfounded. Everything was eerily quiet once again, a stark contrast to their gunfire and explosion moments ago.

"Commander, you gotta see this," Jacob ominously said from the back door.

Shepard strode forward and saw what caught Jacob's attention.

A human, male colonist was completely frozen. He was bent over, trying to help a young woman back to her feet. His daughter, if Shepard had to guess, given the likeness the two shared. Like her father, she was frozen as well. A strange, dark cloud hovered around them.

"Good call, Commander. Any high impact explosion might've killed them," Jacob acknowledged.

Shepard nodded absently as he stepped closer to the colonists. He jerked back involuntarily when the man's eyes darted back and forth before making eye contact. "He's still alive! Mordin!" Shepard said, calling the professor.

Mordin ran up and started to scan the colonist with his omni-tool. "Trapped in stasis field of some kind. Completely immobile. Cognitive functions still intact. Your hypothesis is correct. Still conscious and fully aware of their environment. Fascinating."

"Are they all right?" Miranda asked.

"Vital signs remain strong. Likely to survive," Mordin nodded.

"Is there anything we can do for them?" Garrus asked.

Shepard shook his head. "No. Leave them. They're safe for now. We can't waste time trying to figure out how to free everyone. Plus, having them running around with armed hostiles only makes things worse."

Garrus nodded in acceptance.

"Hey! Check this out!" Jack called back.

Shepard moved around the colonists and out the back door. He saw Jack hovering over an organic pod of some sort. The pod was sealed, but the top half of the lid was transparent, allowing everyone to see what was inside. A human female, frozen like the rest of the colony, stared back at them.

"This must be how they're getting all the people out," Jack commented. She began waving her hand over the trapped colonist's face. The prisoner's eyes were tracking Jack's every movement, silently pleading for help.

"Maybe that's what the husks are for then. Labor," Grunt said. "Moving all the people out one-by-one in these pods would take a while without help."

Shepard looked around and saw dozens of pods around them. Some were flat on the ground like the one they were crowded around; others were upright, leaning against various walls. "Move out," Shepard ordered, moving away from the pod.

Everyone cautiously made their way through the various houses, keeping out of sight as much as possible. Thankfully, no reinforcements appeared to be en route. They did pass by more colonists; each and every one of them was frozen, though their eyes were tracking the squad's movements. Some were hiding behind shelves, under beds and tables, or cowering in corners. Fear dominated all of their expressions.

"I swear, if I see any more of these creepy ass stares, I'm going to kill someone," Jack growled silently as they passed by a man with his hands over his head. He was watching them pass by to the next house unblinkingly.

"Take it easy," Shepard shot back. "They've probably been like this a long time."

"No more houses," Garrus whispered from the front. "Lots of open ground though."

"See anything?" Shepard asked.

"No, but I hear wings."

Shepard cursed silently.

"We're not far from the central hub," Jacob optimistically said. "We'll just blow through these bugs, husks and whatever else they throw at us, get the turrets working, help the colonists, and call it a day."

"You probably just fucked us by saying that out loud, you know," Jack pessimistically countered.

Shepard shuffled up to Garrus and took point. "Over there. Looks like a warehouse. We could make our way there."

"Door looks reinforced. Good place to hole up in. Might even have some colonists that are still kicking," Garrus concurred.

"Garrus, you stay with me. The rest of you stay here and get ready to move once we've established it's clear of hostiles or support us if we're under attack," Shepard said.

When everyone nodded, Shepard lifted up his assault rifle and treaded carefully through the open field with Garrus mimicking his movements. Shepard heard the telltale humming of rapidly beating wings which, unfortunately, grew louder.

"Shit," Garrus cursed.

Both prepared to run and fight when they saw only one solitary Collector land some distance away from them. The Collector stood up slowly, but didn't make any threatening gestures. Its strange looking rifle was held casually, but nowhere in their general direction.

Shepard and Garrus remained on their guard though and pointed their rifles at the Collector, a hair trigger away from killing it.

Suddenly, the Collector began staggering before doubling over. It appeared to be in the midst of a seizure. The Collector started to float several inches above the ground before arching its back. Fiery glowing lines manifested throughout its body before the Collector erupted with a sudden power neither human nor turian had ever seen.

"_**I AM ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."**_

Both men were stunned from the transformation as well as the voice emanating from the Collector. It didn't seem like the words were produced by vocal cords or a mouth. The words seemed to be produced from the Collector itself, as if it was projecting sounds from its body.

Shepard recognized the Collector in front of him. The appearance of fire that it produced, an aura of flames that burned around it.

_Like a biotic._ _This Collector is the same as the one from Freedom's Progress._

There was something about its voice though. The voice sounded ancient, but familiar. A voice that made everything it said sound like it was a fact, inevitable and unstoppable.

"Who are you?" Shepard shouted across the distance between them. He knew it was a gamble, but if this Collector could speak, maybe he could reason with it. _I hope._ Shepard could feel Garrus' incredulous look at the back of his head.

The Collector tilted its head, as if studying the two before it. It seemed indifferent to the weapons pointed in its direction.

"_**WE ARE HARBINGER."**_

"Are you the leader of the Collectors?"

"_**WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF YOUR ASCENDENCE."**_

"Ascendance to what? Why are you taking these people?" Shepard demanded. The rest of his squad left the building they were huddled in and spread themselves apart, but kept their weapons trained on 'Harbinger'.

"_**YOU DO NOT YET COMPREHEND YOUR PLACE."**_

"So tell me then! What don't we comprehend?"

"_**YOU ARE IGNORANT. WE ARE KNOWING. WE ARE YOUR GENETIC DESTINY. YOUR WORLDS WILL BECOME OUR LABORORIES."**_

"Why are you working for the Reapers? What do mean by 'genetic destiny'? Why are you attacking humanity?

"_**WE ARE THE BEGINNING, YOU ARE THE END."**_

Shepard sucked in his breath as comprehension dawned on him. He could feel Garrus tense up next to him. Similar words were spoken to them two years ago. "You're not a Collector… You're a Reaper…" Shepard whispered.

Harbinger's eyes, all four of them, bored into Shepard's helmeted face. It was searching for something, a confirmation of some sort. Apparently, it seemed satisfied with what it found because it cast aside its rifle and flared its fiery aura brightly.

"_**SHEPARD, YOUR INTERFERANCE HAS ENDED."**_

"Light him up!" Shepard roared.

Both Harbinger and Shepard thrust their arms out simultaneously. A dark red and a bright blue orb passed within inches of each other before striking their targets.

Harbinger merely staggered from Shepard's attack while the Specter fell to his knees screaming when the burning orb shattered his shields and dispelled its energies into him.

"Cover Shepard!" Miranda ordered.

Everyone executed their strongest attacks into the possessed Collector. Biotics, tech, and specialized bullets tore into Harbinger without hesitation. However, its shields absorbed the damage with little trouble, almost appearing inexhaustible.

Grunt was the next to go down. Harbinger's attack sent the krogan flying several feet back. Grunt growled and climbed to his feet slowly, pain etched into his face.

Shepard struggled to his feet, forcing adrenaline into his body to keep the pain at bay. He groaned to himself when the sounds of more wings reached his ears and stumbled to the nearest piece of defilade he could find.

"More giant cockroaches incoming!" Jack yelled from behind a wall, confirming Shepard's suspicions. She screamed in pain moments later when Harbinger destroyed the wall and blasted her to the ground.

Jacob and Grunt wasted no time. Jacob dropped his Eviscerator and pulled out his ML-77. He started shooting missiles indiscriminately at the approaching Collectors and Harbinger with Grunt supporting him.

Finally, the phasic rounds inside Miranda's Pulse Rifle breached Harbinger's Barrier and began impacting against its armor. Harbinger retaliated with a biotic Push that sent Miranda flying to impact against a wall with a sickening crack. She slid down the wall and groaned in pain.

Emboldened with Miranda's success against Harbinger's Barrier, everyone redoubled their efforts and continued the barrage against it. The shield around it flickered from the combined fire from Jacob's missiles, Garrus' Reverent, and Shepard's HMWA.

Harbinger turned its attention to Garrus and was about to launch its attack when a blast of ice obscured its vision, allowing the turian to scramble out of way.

"Shouldn't underestimate!" Mordin taunted. He fired away with his M-9 Tempest, the rapid fire bullets creating a staccato sound when they struck Harbinger's shields.

"Keep it up!" Shepard ordered as he tossed a grenade at Harbinger's feet.

The explosion rocked the assembled Collectors. Harbinger stood tall and prepared to attack again when another missile struck its weakened Barrier and shattered it.

"Got him!" Jacob crowed.

"Finish him off!" Shepard yelled.

Jack was already back on her feet and managed to launch her strongest Shockwave yet. The Collectors was scattered like leaves in a wind while Harbinger staggered from the force of the attack.

Miranda picked herself up and used Warp to try to break through Harbinger's armor.

Even as the unstable biotic energies crackled against it, it stood tall to face Shepard.

"_**YOU ONLY DAMAGE THE VESSEL, YOU CANNOT HURT ME."**_

"I can damn well try!" Shepard snarled.

Harbinger's rebuttal was to launch its Warp attack once again.

Abandoning finesse and taking a page out of Grunt's book, Shepard ran directly at Harbinger, using his own biotics to pick up a Collector and throw it in the path of the biotic attack and straight at the Reaper. Harbinger was knocked off its feet from unexpected projectile. Taking advantage of its prone position, Shepard mounted both Harbinger and the Collector and fired his assault rifle at point blank range.

The rest of the Collectors tried to converge on the Spectre but Mordin took the opportunity to throw another Cryo Blast in their midst. After a group of Collectors were frozen, Grunt followed up with his shotgun, shattering the last of the threats.

"_**RELEASING THIS FORM."**_

Shepard ejected his spent thermal clip before firing twice more into the mess that used to be two Collector's heads. The possessed Collector was still, the glowing lines fading away making the corpse left behind match the others littered about the battlefield.

Breathing heavily, Shepard stood up and looked over his team. "Is everyone alright?"

Jack walked to him and fired once into the Collector corpse of Harbinger with her pistol. "Yeah. But fuck, that shit hurt, even through my armor."

"Miranda? You okay?" Shepard asked.

"Fine. My armor absorbed most of the impact, but I'll feel it in the morning," she assured.

"What about you, Shepard? That attack looked like it hurt," Garrus asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shepard casually dismissed. "That was nothing like any Warp I've ever been hit with though."

"Not just Collector tech. Reaper tech," Mordin commented.

"They're supposed to be in dark space. Well beyond the borders of our galaxy," Miranda said in amazement. "To be able to communicate across such a distance… The level of technology they possess is unimaginable."

"And now they're trying to kill us with it," Jacob grouched as he checked how much ammo he had left in his missile launcher.

Grunt growled angrily before stomping hard on the former Harbinger's chest, caving it in and making a crunching sound followed by a gory squelch. "Tough bastard. They definitely need to die."

Shepard looked around again. Satisfied that his team was alright and the immediate area was clear, he marched toward the warehouse. "Locked. Surprise, surprise. Garrus."

Garrus walked up to the door and started the bypass. "Do you think we'll see Harbinger again?" he asked as he typed the commands into his omni-tool.

"With my luck, yeah," Shepard responded neutrally.

"Probability high. Suggested that it could control any Collector it wishes. Some form of remote control. Cybernetic implants perhaps? Hive mind?" Mordin answered before mumbling to himself as he theorized about Harbinger.

While Garrus worked on opening the door, Jack rounded on Jacob. "Just blow right through them, huh? I hope you're fucking happy."

**~o~O~o~**

Grunt and Jacob entered the warehouse first and swept the entryway for any threats. Miranda and Mordin stepped past them after they revealed no hostiles and started to check the interior for any signs of trouble.

"Company!" Miranda reported. She pointed her rifle at the back corner of room.

Shepard walked in and stopped next to her. "Come out! Hands in the air!"

Two hands slowly preceded a human male as he stepped out from behind a shelf.

"Possible civilian, hold fire. Continue to secure the area," Shepard ordered to his squad. "You, don't move," he said, pointing at the colonist with his pistol.

The man kept his hands in air and nodded nervously as Miranda stepped up and started to pat him down.

"All clear!" Jacob reported from the rear as Garrus closed and locked the door.

"Clear!" Mordin said after he finished sweeping the room and checking the other door.

"He's clean," Miranda added.

Satisfied that they were in no immediate danger Shepard asked the man, "You're all alone here?"

"You're… you're human! What are you doing here? You'll lead them right here!" the colonist said with a touch of hysteria.

"Relax. We took care of the Collector's so far. You're safe now," Shepard assured.

The man's eyes widened in shock before he turned away to face the wall. "Those things are Collectors? They're real?" he mumbled to himself.

_Must be in shock._

"I thought they were just made up. You know – propaganda. To keep us in Alliance Space," he continued before his head snapped up. "No! They got Lilith! I saw her go down! Sten, too! They got damn near everybody!"

"We need to know what we're up against here. Tell me everything you remember," Shepard demanded.

The colonist took a rattling breath. "We lost our comm. signals a few hours ago. I came down to check on the main grid. Then I heard screaming," he started with a shudder. "I looked outside and there was… swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I… I sealed the doors." He started to pace agitatedly. "Damn it – it's the Alliance's fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defense towers. It made us a target!" he declared angrily.

Shepard's eyes widened. It was the first mention of Ashley he'd heard since landing. Keeping his voice even, he asked, "Tell me about this Alliance Rep."

Garrus and Jacob both stepped forward, much more interested in conversation now.

"Chief Williams? Heard she was some kind of hero or something," he shrugged. "Didn't mean nothing to me though. Would've rather she just stayed back in Council Space."

"What is she doing here?" Garrus asked him.

"Supposed to be helping us get the defense towers up and running," he answered before scowling. "I got the feeling she was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe."

"The main transmitter is near us, right?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah…" the colonist answered cautiously.

Miranda nodded before turning to Shepard. "We should communicate with Normandy and get the turrets online ASAP."

"You'll need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right. The Alliance just gave us a bunch of giant guns that couldn't shoot straight. Stupid sons-of-bitches," he vehemently commented.

"Shut up," Shepard growled, tired of his complaints. He pointedly turned his back on the man to address his team. "Once we get to the towers, the Collectors will definitely know what we're up to…"

"If they don't already," Grunt interrupted.

"So expect heavy resistance," Shepard said before glancing at Grunt, "Either way."

Jacob walked up the other door and tapped on the nearby panel. He waited until everyone stacked up next to the door and the colonist ran and hid in another corner of the room before opening it.

"Let's go," Shepard said when the coast was clear. Taking point, he led everyone deeper into the colony.

Everyone remained tense since there was a constant buzzing sound in the distance, reminding them of the new potential danger of the Collectors. Even Grunt was quiet, his youthful arrogance curbed by a grudging respect for the strength of the enemy.

Shepard led his team through between alleys, inside buildings, and through the shadows. As they neared the industrial sector of the colony and their destination, Shepard distinctly heard ghastly moans nearby.

"Husks," Jacob said, confirming Shepard's guess. "Damn it. We're almost there too."

Sidling up to a corner, Shepard peeked around and saw a small group of Collectors managing a larger group of husks. Several husks were pushing pods in the direction of the Collector cruiser under direction from their masters.

_Looks like Grunt was right. The husks are here for manual labor._

In the center, Shepard could easily see the domed building that was definitely Alliance-make in comparison to the civilian structures of Horizon.

_That has to be it._

Shepard turned back to face everyone. "About six Collectors, but there might be more on the second floor. About 20 husks, pushing the pods. Most importantly, the central hub for the turrets is right there. " He paused a moment, frowning in thought before coming to a decision. "Grunt, Jack, you two take out the husks. Don't hurt the civilians," he warned. "The rest of us will focus on the Collectors. If Mordin is right, then Harbinger might make an appearance and ruin our day. We need to be quick and take them all down before that happens." When nobody questioned him, Shepard resolutely nodded. "Once the area is secured, I'll set up the uplink with Normandy and get the GARDIAN turrets up and running. Remember to check your fire," Shepard ordered. "Let's go Garrus. We'll snipe as many as can."

Both Shepard and Garrus pulled out their sniper rifles and picked out the farthest Collectors they could see. Jack and Grunt moved away from the group and started to make their way around the perimeter of the open courtyard toward the husks.

Miranda, Jacob, and Mordin stood ready next to the snipers.

"On your word, Shepard," Garrus said.

"Do it."

Both men fired simultaneously, dropping two Collectors before scoping out others and firing again, bringing the tally to four.

Aware of their presence, the four more Collectors came out of the building and started firing.

_Damn it!_

Miranda led her team against the sudden numbers as Shepard took aim at group of Collectors. Focusing as hard as he could, he called on his biotics and used Lift to send them all to the sky.

It became a shooting gallery for Miranda's team who took their shots without hesitation.

Inwardly pleased with the results of his progress in biotics, Shepard left Garrus' side and ran for the central hub. Upon reaching the building, he stopped next to the door and glanced around the battlefield to see that Jack and Grunt were systematically tearing their way through the husks. It almost looked like a competition between the two of them to see who could kill the most in the least amount of time. Miranda's team started to search the nearby buildings for any missed enemies with Garrus remaining at his perch, covering everyone within his line of sight.

Convinced that everyone had things well in hand, Shepard entered the building and locked the door before running up to the terminal.

_Standard Alliance security protocols… shouldn't be too hard._

In no time at all, Shepard accessed the hub's mainframe and established communication with his ship. "Normandy? Do you copy?"

"_Joker here. Signal's weak, Commander, but we got you."_

"I'm creating the uplink. Standby."

"_Uplink established… security clearance verified… I have successfully connected with the mainframe, Commander,"_ EDI reported.

Sounds of gunfire reached Shepard's ears, signaling that they were in for more trouble again. "The defense towers?" Shepard pressed.

"_Errors in the calibration are easily rectified, but it will take time to bring the towers to full power."_

Shepard scowled. "Time is something we really don't have here, EDI."

"_I am sorry, Commander. There is nothing more I can do. I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increased __generator output_."

"How long?" Shepard demanded.

"_I estimate 10 minutes."_

"Anything else I should know?" Shepard asked quickly. The sounds of gunfire became more pervasive, rather than fading, indicated that the battle outside was becoming more deadly.

"_Just one. Enemy reinforcements are closing in. I suggest you ready weapons," _EDI replied.

Shepard resisted the urge to hit the terminal and instead, picked up his assault rifle and ran for the door. "Joker! Call the Alliance and request reinforcements!"

"_Aye, aye!"_

"Damn it! Someone cover us!" Miranda shouted. "We have wounded here!"

Shepard ran out of the building to see Jacob carrying Mordin over his left shoulder and holding his pistol in his right. He was running as fast as he could with the wounded salarian toward Shepard's position.

Miranda exited the building a moment later, still firing at whatever was inside. The moment her rifle overheated, she pulled out a grenade and tossed it inside before rolling to the side. She dodged in the nick of time, as evidenced by a strange attack Shepard had never seen rushing through the doorway and through Miranda's last position.

The attack bore similarities to Shockwave, but instead of dark energy, it looked like it resembled crystallized energies of some sort.

Shepard pushed the door open and allowed Jacob to run inside. After clearing the threshold, Jacob carefully placed the professor on the ground and turned on his omni-tool to scan the injuries. Mordin appeared to be alive and conscious, but covered in what looked like dark blue crystals that were already fading away.

"_Bypassing fail-safes and attempting emergency power-up. Please hold the defense tower."_

"The hell…? It's still alive!" Garrus yelled.

Shepard looked back to see another surprise greet him.

_Today is definitely not going well._

A strange new kind of husk left the building Miranda had assaulted. It looked like an amalgam of various husks fused together.

"Grunt! On me!" Shepard ordered, calling for his heaviest hitter. Without waiting to see if Grunt was coming, Shepard started firing directly at the mutated husk that was lumbering toward him.

Two more assault rifles joined in chorus with his as Miranda and Grunt stepped into the fray and mercilessly tore into the husk.

The husk took their attacks in stride however and launched another Shockwave directly at Shepard.

Shepard jumped to the side, but was a bit late. Pain lanced up his leg as his shield failed instantly from the strange attack. Biting back his scream, he muffled his sound of pain with a grunt and continued to fire from his prone position on the ground.

"Garrus! Concussive shot at that thing's legs! Bring it down!" Shepard shouted.

Garrus tapped the appropriate commands into his sniper rifle to prep a concussive round before taking steady aim. Just moments before the husk attacked Shepard again, Garrus squeezed the trigger and shot the husk's knee causing it to kneel in an effort to keep balance.

Grunt exchanged his assault rifle for his shogun and started tapping commands into his weapon as well. To Shepard's surprise, the krogan fired a concussive shot of his own right at the top-heavy husk, toppling it over. Grunt roared and jumped on top of the husk before drawing his knife and stabbed it over and over again.

Shepard gritted his teeth and stood up, testing his leg. The crystalline energy faded away and he could sense nothing was wrong. Feeling combat ready, Shepard yelled, "We got more hostiles coming! Regroup!"

"They're already here!" Miranda yelled as she ran toward some crates nearby and took cover behind them.

Shepard cursed before turning to Jacob. "How is he?" Shepard asked as he guarded the doorway.

"He's alright," Jacob responded before standing up and joining the Spectre.

"Yes, be alright!" Mordin affirmed, slowly standing up. "Shields failed moments before! Caught full brunt of attack!" he explained, more quickly than usual. Taking a breath and shaking his head, he added, "Not pleasant!"

"We need to hold this room! We can't let the Collector's interrupt the startup sequence!" Shepard shouted over the sounds of combat outside.

"How much longer?" Jacob asked.

"_Sequential power-up initiated. GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 20%."_

"However long it takes!" Shepard barked.

"Fuck! That Harbinger thing is back again!" Jack yelled from somewhere outside.

Shepard cursed. "Mordin, you stay here! Let's go, Jacob!"

Shepard stepped out the door and almost bumped straight into a Collector. The Collector tried to raise its rifle before Shepard executed a quick right cross. As it staggered back from the blow, the Spectre raised the butt of his rifle slammed it as hard as he could against the Collector's head. The moment the Collector went down, Jacob ended it with a point blank blast from his shotgun.

Shepard's eyes scanned the area. Miranda, Garrus, and Grunt had fallen back inside the building and were engaging the Collectors through the windows. Jack was nowhere to be seen, which was cause for worry since she was the one that spotted Harbinger.

"_**YOU CANNOT STOP US, SHEPARD."**_

_Aw, hell._ "Move!" Shepard shouted to Jacob. Both men ran as Harbinger started its attack on them. They both barely leapt over a short wall to duck down behind when Harbinger's Warp struck.

"_**YOU WILL KNOW PAIN, SHEPARD."**_

"Damn, Commander. You're really popular with these guys, huh?" Jacob joked before they both popped up and started shooting.

"Must be my charm," Shepard grumbled, noting that its Barrier was as strong as ever.

"_GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 40%."_

The former marines were forced to duck down as Harbinger continued to utilize its unique biotics against them.

A grenade exploded right at Harbinger's feet, staggering it and allowing Shepard and Jacob a breather. They were prepared to attack it when Jack ran up to Harbinger from behind and used her shotgun at point blank range right at its back.

"Die, damn you!" she cursed at it.

Despite several shots, Harbinger stood up and made a retaliatory swipe at the ex-convict.

Jack barely ducked under the physical attack and shuffled backwards, still firing directly at the Reaper-Collector. "Fuck!" Jack yelled out in frustration. Partly from the tenacity of Harbinger and partly from the moment her shotgun overheated. She saw Harbinger preparing to attack her and used her Biotic Charge to shift away from it and appear next to Shepard behind the low wall.

"The fucking bastard is really pissing me off!" Jack growled as she cocked her Scimitar and ejected the spent thermal clip.

"_GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 60%. Syncing targeting protocols to Normandy's systems. Continue to protect the tower."_

"Shepard! We got a problem here!" Garrus shouted somewhere amidst the field.

None of them had any idea where Garrus was when he yelled out his warning, but they could see the problem easily enough.

"Day just gets better and better," Jacob growled.

It was a flying husk of some sort, descending on the battlefield. It was big and ugly, resembling a giant beetle with jagged looking claws.

_And it's flying right for us. Or me. _"Shit," Shepard said out loud.

"_**FACE YOUR ANNIHILATION."**_

Deciding on a course of action, Shepard stood and ran. Mostly it was for distraction, though no one could deny that he could be running for his life.

Shepard pushed more synthetic adrenaline into his veins. He could feel his heart hammering in his rib cage, his legs pumping faster, and his awareness increasing.

Harbinger attacked with its Warp, but Shepard easily outran the attack. The large husk fired some sort of beam weapon but by then, Shepard reached the safety of another building. The attack gorged the wall and the ground near him, but thankfully missed.

Shepard chanced a look to see that Jacob and Jack took advantage of the distraction and was throwing everything they had at the large beetle-like husk.

Expanding his HMWSR, Shepard put the scope over his eye and targeted Harbinger. The rifle bucked with recoil, but his aim was true. The explosive round rippled its Barrier. Harbinger attempted to counter-attack, but Shepard squeezed off another shot, the stopping power of his sniper rifle enough to disrupt Harbinger's movements.

"_GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 80%."_

Just as Shepard was about to fire again, another explosion caused the ground to tremble, spoiling the shot.

"Watch out for that thing!" Miranda shouted from somewhere. "Keep your distance!"

"_**AND NOW YOU STAND ALONE, SHEPARD."**_

Using Lift to pick up a large piece of debris, Shepard threw it directly at Harbinger.

It wasn't fooled this time. Harbinger merely raised its arm at the projectile and halted its momentum easily, letting the debris fall harmlessly to the ground.

"_**PITIFUL. YOUR ATTACKS ARE PRIMITIVE."**_

Harbinger stalked forward and rounded the corner of the building Shepard had taken cover in. There was nothing there.

Then he saw nothing.

"I don't know," Shepard quipped, his Tactical Cloak fading away. "I think I have to disagree with you on this. I always thought ambushes never go out of style," he said to the headless corpse as he ejected the thermal clip from his sniper rifle.

As Shepard turned away from the body to join the others fighting the giant beetle-husk, Harbinger whispered from the headless body.

"_**WE ARE NOT FINISHED…"**_

**~o~O~o~**

"_GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 100%. Preparing to fire on the Collector vessel."_

Shepard breathed a small sigh of relief. Popping out of cover from window of second floor of the building he was in, he fired his HMWSR at the giant husk before ducking back from its beam weapon.

Garrus took the opportunity for a shot of his own nearby when while it was distracted. "It's nice to be noticed, huh?"

Jacob had long since discarded his missile launcher the moment it ran out of ammo. He and Grunt had commandeered the Collector heavy weapons that were lying around and were continuously firing their beam weapons directly at the husk, culminating in most of the injuries it sustained.

The giant husk was flying unsteadily; it listing heavily on one side, making its aim was erratic and poor.

The husk crashed into the building Shepard and Garrus were in, causing them to stumble. Dropping his sniper rifle, Shepard jumped out of the window and landed on the back of the husk. Pulling out his shotgun, he started shooting at the joint where the head met body.

Jack used her Biotic Charge to land on top of the husk and joined Shepard in creating a hole on the back of the husk.

"That's it!" Shepard shouted over the sounds of the husk's screeching and the turrets attacking the cruiser. "Get your grenades!" he ordered.

Both of them collapsed their weapons and knelt down to keep their balance on the thrashing husk. They started stuffing their remaining grenades inside the hole they'd created as quickly as they could.

"Go! Go! Go!" Shepard frantically shouted.

Jack only offered a cheeky salute before using her Biotic Charge to leave Shepard alone on top of a ticking time bomb.

_I really have to learn that._

Shouting in a combination of victory, fear, and jubilation with just a hint of panic, Shepard leapt off the husk. Landing heavily on his feet and rolling with the impact, he and the rest of his team ran for any suitable cover.

Moments later, the husk exploded. Bits of gore and entrails littered the surrounding buildings and fields.

Breathing another sigh of relief, Shepard stayed down when the Collector cruiser ignited its engines, taking off and leaving behind some of its crew and resources.

_Bastards still got away with some of the colony!_ Shepard cursed, pounding the ground in frustration. Sighing again, he rolled out from under the truck he'd taken cover in and stood up. "Who's not dead? Sound off!"

Miranda and Mordin left the central hub.

"Miranda here. I'm fine."

"Mordin here. Fine, fine."

Jacob and Grunt picked themselves up from behind some crates. Both were covered in the remains of the husk. Judging from Jacob's expression through his transparent faceplate, he was more than disgusted with his situation. Grunt took it in stride.

"Son… of… a… bitch," Jacob said, shaking his arms to get some of the viscera off of him.

"Ah, quit your whining," Grunt said, but his tone had a touch of humor to it.

"Bite me," Jacob replied, but his grin belied his words.

Jack left one of the empty buildings next to Shepard. Sauntering up to him, she fell in step as everyone regrouped at the main terminal.

Shepard glanced at Jack and knew she was grinning under her helmet.

"Bet you wished you learned Charge first, huh?" she brazenly said, echoing Shepard's earlier thoughts.

He'd be damned if he was going to admit it though. "I'll live," he deadpanned. "Besides, Shockwave worked well against most of the husks," he said, keeping his voice from sounding defensive.

"Uh huh," Jack answered patronizingly.

Shepard chose to ignore her and turned his attention at the rest of his assembled squad. "Where's Garrus?" he asked. Everyone looked around, but couldn't find any sign of him. "Garrus!" Shepard shouted at the building he and Garrus were sniping from.

"What?" Garrus shouted back as he ran from the building and rejoined the group. "Stop yelling. I'm fine," Garrus said before handing Shepard a cloth bundle. "You dropped this."

Shepard took the bundle from him and unraveled it to reveal his HMWSR. "Thanks," he said gratefully to the turian.

Garrus shrugged. "No problem."

"No! Don't let them get away!"

Everyone raised their weapons at the source of the voice. The colonist that was hiding in the warehouse earlier stopped and raised his hands comically. It looked like he was standing in front of a firing squad.

"Stand down," Shepard said, before shaking his head in exasperation.

"What are you doing? They're getting away!" the colonist screamed, pointing at the fleeing cruiser.

"Well, what the fuck do you expect us to do about it?" Jack asked rhetorically. "We just killed everything in our way to save this colony while you sat in a corner taking a damn piss."

"But half the colony's in there! They took Egan and Sam and… and Lilith. Do something!"

Shepard put a restraining hand on Jack's shoulder before she tore into the distraught man again. Or killed him. "We didn't want it to end this way. We did what we had to in order to save as many people as we could."

"If it wasn't for Shepard, you'd all be on board that ship," Garrus retorted.

"Shepard?" the colonist said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Wait. I know that name…" He looked at the man in black armor with suspicion. "Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard."

The man in question snapped his head up at the voice.

Ashley was walking toward him, free of the paralysis from the seeker swarm. "Captain of the SSV Normandy SR-1. Hero of the Skyllian Blitz. The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel," Ashley listed off, stopping just at arm's reach to her former CO. She was smiling, her gaze studying him from head to toe.

Shepard took off his helmet and stared at her. Emotions and words welled up in his chest, but he couldn't find his voice.

Ashley turned back to glance at the colonist. "You're in the presence of a god, Delan." Ashley looked back at Shepard. "Back from the dead…" she whispered.

Delan snorted in contempt. "All the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures." He glared at Shepard and grew angrier when he saw that he was being ignored. "Screw this. I'm done with you Alliance types," he said, before turning away and stomping off.

Shepard didn't hear any of his comments. His attention was solely reserved for the woman in front of him. He continued to stare at his former lover, his mouth slightly open in shock and disbelief.

Ashley smiled wider and took a few steps forward. She reached under Shepard's jaw and closed it.

The action was enough to snap him out of his reverie and whisper, "Ash…"

Ashley wrapped her arms around him tightly. Shepard returned the gesture with equal fervor.

"I thought you were dead, Skipper. We all did," she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah… I heard that too," Shepard softly replied before inhaling her scent. Memories of their time together flooded back easily.

Realizing that there were others watching, Ashley reluctantly let go and stepped back to observe the assembled people before resting her gaze on another old friend. "Garrus," she greeted happily.

Garrus nodded stepped forward and extended his hand. "Chief."

Ashley shook it without hesitation. "You're traveling with Shepard again? You kinda disappeared after everything…"

"Yeah…" Garrus said, but didn't elaborate further.

Ashley got the hint and let the matter drop. Her expression changed to one of concern when her eyes rested on the cloth covering on the side of Garrus' face.

Garrus coughed and scratched his bandage. "It's fine. I had it looked at. And you? You alright? After what happened here I mean."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Those things sent some sort of bugs that sting you. Paralyzes you a moment later. I couldn't move or fight or anything. Looks like it wore off though," she said before looking at Jacob. "I think I recognize you…" she said, staring through his faceplate. Furrowing her brow in thought, she hesitantly asked, "Taylor?"

Jacob nodded. "Chief."

Ashley offered a salute. "The 210 on Eden Prime, right?"

"That's right," he said as he saluted back.

Shepard glanced around him before remembering their perilous situation. Taking charge, he turned to his squad. "Miranda, Mordin, you two help the civilians. As many as you can. Garrus, you take the rest of the team and sweep for any remaining hostiles. They left in a hurry, so there has to be some left. With the cruiser gone though, I doubt Harbinger will make an appearance."

"Our radios are working again," Jacob supplied. "We'll be able to stay in touch."

Shepard nodded. "Any trouble and you call."

Everyone broke into their teams and went about their assigned tasks.

**~o~O~o~**

Glancing at Ashley, Shepard pointed at the central hub building.

Ashley nodded and walked inside first with Shepard following her closely.

Once inside, he closed the door and waited for the inevitable questions.

She didn't disappoint. "How are you still alive?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes.

Shepard sighed. _The hardest question first… I'd rather she asked about the attack instead…_ "Cerberus," he succinctly said.

"You're with Cerberus now?" she asked incredulously. "No… the reports can't be right."

"They're not," Shepard replied quickly. "Did Anderson tell you?"

"Anderson knew?" Ashley asked.

"You first. What reports are you talking about?"

"Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind our missing colonies. We got a tip that this one could be the next to get hit," she explained.

_A tip? I wonder…_ Shepard thought, a suspicion already forming in his mind.

"I went to Anderson, but he wouldn't talk. But there were rumors that you weren't dead. Worse: you were working for the enemy," she continued studying Shepard's reaction.

"I talked to Anderson a couple of weeks ago. Him and the council. They're aware that I'm using Cerberus resources right now," Shepard explained. "They reinstated my Spectre status so I wouldn't be in any trouble." He looked around the room they were in, realization dawning on him. "Building the defense towers was just a cover story. The Alliance sent you here to investigate me, didn't they?" he asked bitterly. _Backstabbing me again… Unbelievable._

"I was sent here to investigate Cerberus, not you," Ashley defended. "I wanted to believe you were alive… I just never expected anything like this."

"Believe me… neither did I," Shepard said before sighing. "I couldn't even begin to tell you. I'm not even sure of all the details yet myself."

"So why Cerberus? And why didn't you try to contact me if you talked to Anderson? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?" Ashley asked, her questions spilling out.

"I was clinically dead, Ash. It took two years for Cerberus to revive me. I wanted to contact you. Contact everyone, really. But after the destruction of the Normandy, you all split up and moved on with your lives while I was just catching up to the fact that I lost two years of my life," Shepard said before leaning on the console. "I suppose the main reason I couldn't contact you was because I was working with Cerberus and you're investigating them. Anderson stonewalled me. He knew you were here, but he wouldn't tell me. 'Classified', he said."

"Cerberus brought you back?" Ashley asked skeptically.

"I don't know all the details," Shepard answered. "Chakwas might know more."

"Dr. Chakwas? She's with Cerberus too?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Not with Cerberus, with me," Shepard corrected. "Joker too."

Ashley walked over and sat next to Shepard. "What's Cerberus' take on this?"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted. "But I know I won't like where it's heading."

"Then why not come back to the Alliance?"

"Because they're not going to do anything to help me, just like the council. As hard as it was to admit it; right now, the only ones taking action is Cerberus," Shepard answered.

"You'd betray the Alliance?" Ashley accused.

"Who betrayed who?" Shepard countered. "The Alliance ignored everything I'd warned them about the Reapers and Saren. They're the ones that locked us down when we should've been chasing Saren to Ilos. Kaidan died on Virmire to stop that krogan cloning facility and they just complained about that nuke. And now they disbanded everyone on the Normandy and reassigned them. When was the last time you heard about the Reapers?"

Ashley stayed silent.

Shepard could guess the answer though. "The Alliance, the Council; no one is helping me." Shepard stood up and paced around the small room angrily. "Thousands of people are missing and they think its pirates and slavers? And then, the only time they even think it was Cerberus was when my name got attached!"

"Are the Reapers behind this?" Ashley asked.

Shepard nodded. "The aliens that attacked this colony were the Collectors. Like the geth, they're agents for the Reapers too. And yes, I'm sure," Shepard said, anticipating Ashley's next question. He stopped his pacing and looked directly at her. "One of the Collector's, it changed… it became something more… it was stronger, more dangerous. More importantly, it talked. Called itself Harbinger. It talked just like Sovereign."

"Is that why Cerberus brought you back? To fight the… Collectors?"

"Yeah. I don't care much for them. If you talked to the Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus, your opinion of them would drop even lower. But they have the means, resources, and drive to see this mission through. I can't let these attacks go, not if I can stop them."

"I noticed you were with Garrus and a krogan," she commented.

"Cerberus is still pro-human. But they realized that they need help if we're going to fight the Collectors. That means accepting help from people they would never consider," Shepard replied.

"And Jacob? He's with Cerberus now?"

"In short, yeah. But that's his story to tell. He's not into Cerberus' pro-human, crazy experiment, terrorist ideals if that's what you're worried about. He just hates politics more than you."

This time, it was Ashley's turn to sigh. "What are you going to do now?"

Shepard shrugged. "I'm a Spectre. The Alliance can't touch me and the Council doesn't care what I do so long as it doesn't cause trouble for them. For the time being, I'll have to work with Cerberus a little while longer." He sat back down next to her. "What about you?"

"I need to report back to the Citadel and the Alliance. They need to know what's going on," she replied.

"It's best if you leave out the Reapers for now. Until I get concrete proof, anything you say might be ignored at best. At worst, they blackball you from any other assignment," Shepard advised. "Just mention the Collectors, Cerberus, and me for now. There are enough witnesses here to vouch for you."

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea," she agreed.

"_Shepard, sweep is clear. Just a few holdouts. The defenses came back online and the security bots are mopping up the rest,"_ Garrus reported.

Shepard put his hand to his ear. "Understood, Garrus. Come back." Switching frequencies, he called his shuttle. "Hawthorne, we need a pickup."

"_Understood, Commander. We're tracking your signal. ETA: Two minutes."_

"I understand you got promoted. Congratulations. Your mom and your sisters must've been proud," Shepard commented.

Ashley was confused at the sudden topic change before smiling. "Thanks, Skipper."

"You deserved it."

"No, I really mean it. Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have," she elaborated. "Thank you."

Shepard smiled. "You're welcome." They both fell silent again until he asked hesitantly, "So what happens now?"

Ashley hesitated as well before sighed despondently. "I care about you, Skipper, but if you're with Cerberus, then I can't be with you."

"Because I'm a traitor?" Shepard asked evenly.

"No. Because it would make **me** one," she said. "You're doing what you think is right. You always have. But I need to do I think is right, too. I have my loyalties and **none** of them go anywhere near Cerberus."

"So we go our separate ways," he said softly.

"Yeah," she agreed sadly, standing up and facing him fully. "We're not cutting ties entirely. I'd like to stay as friends."

Shepard thought about the consequences of continuing their relationship. "I've already admitted that I'm working with Cerberus to Anderson and the Council. I suspect even Udina knows. If you're seen with me, you're done. You'll either get a dishonorable discharge or a full court-marshal. The Alliance can't do anything to me, but they have plenty to throw at you."

"Pretty much," Ashley said. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked quietly.

"I won't lie, Ash. The chances of surviving are… slim," Shepard admitted. "We don't know anything about the Collectors, except that they're working for the Reapers. That fact alone makes them dangerous, but after what my team and I encountered here…" he said before trailing off. "The Collectors travel through the Omega-4 Relay. No ship ever returned from that relay." Shepard stopped and looked into her eyes. She didn't want an explanation, just the truth. "Probably not, no."

She looked liked she wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out. They just stared at one another, unable to think of anything to say. Eventually, the moment was stolen by the high-pitched whine of the Kodiak landing nearby.

"Are we all right?" Shepard asked quietly.

"It's been two years. I've moved on," Ashley said before humorlessly chuckling. "But you… you make it damn hard."

"_Commander? Shuttle has arrived. Some of the colonists are injured, but alive. Most are still trapped inside the pods, but we don't have the means or numbers to free them," _Miranda reported.

"I need to go," Shepard said to Ashley. Standing up and putting his hand to his ear, he replied to Miranda. "I'm on my way."

Before he left though, Ashley stepped forward and embraced him again. "Be careful this time. Please?" she said into his ear.

Shepard hugged her back. "I'll try."

"At the very least, I'd like to stay friends. Distant friends, but I won't forget what you've done for me," she promised.

"I'd like that," Shepard said before releasing her.

They both stepped out to see the squad boarding the shuttle.

Ashley walked up to Garrus gave him a hug too. "Good luck on your mission Garrus. Take care of yourself, alright?"

Garrus looked started at the gesture, but returned it all the same. "You too, Chief. Take care."

Ashley gave a respectful nod to Jacob before giving Shepard one last parting look. No more words were exchanged between them.

Stepping into the shuttle last, Shepard banged on the door, signaling the pilots to take off.

**~o~O~o~**

***ENCYPTED***

_Collectors escaped with approximately one third of Horizon's population. _

_Front corporation will funnel supplies, monetary aid to colonial survivors._

_Collector leader, possibly remotely controlled by a Reaper, Harbinger, demonstrates a personal interest in Shepard. _

_Unclear whether his ability to possess his minions is cybernetic override, indication of hive mind among Collectors, or even Reaper technology at work._

_Salvage teams captured Collector bodies and husks for study._

**~o~O~o~**

Whew! I did it! I finally did it! I completed another story arc! Whoohoo! I'm actually rather proud of this one. Not to mention the fact that I made it this far.

I few references I need to make. **Immortality **by Ronnie James Dio, **Starship Troopers**, and **Star Wars: The Force Unleashed**.

I sincerely hope that you like the new interaction between Ashley and Shepard. BioWare often does an amazing job, but this was a low point for me. Your LI in ME1 just calls you a traitor, leaves and… what? That's it? Lame! Though the email was nice and very flattering. (Ashley's. Kaidan's was okay...)

Please read/review. I'd love to hear your comments and criticisms about this. If your concerns are valid, I'll add/remove/modify as needed and give the proper credit.


	16. Interlude VI

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, Normandy SR-2**_

Shepard remained silent on the flight back. He merely leaned back in his seat as much as his equipment allowed and stared out the window.

Evidently, his reticence was easy enough to read by the rest of his team, since they maintained a respectful silence. Even Grunt and Jack decided to give Shepard a bit of space. Everyone was content to rest, given the difficulty and relative success of their mission.

"_Initiating docking procedures. Stand by," _Goldstein reported.

Hawthorne brought the shuttle around to dock with the Normandy. The frigate was currently in orbit around the second planet, Prospect. It was far enough from both the relay and Horizon that neither the Collectors nor the Alliance would be able to detect their presence.

"_Docking procedures complete. We're back,"_ Hawthorne cheerfully said.

Everyone groaned as they stood up and filed out of the shuttle. With the rush of battle long since gone, injuries made themselves known with a vengeance.

Dr. Chakwas was already present in the docking bay with a look on her face that was a cross between disapproval and concern. "I hope I'm not going to have guests in my Medical Bay tonight?" she asked in a casual tone. Despite her statement, her trained eye was evaluating everyone as they stepped down from the Kodiak. "Executive Lawson?" Chakwas said, zeroing in on her.

"I'm fine. Mostly impact injuries. My armor protected me," Miranda dismissed.

Chakwas wasn't buying it. "Come tomorrow, the full extent of your injuries will be revealed. If you can't make it out of bed in the morning, don't say I didn't warn you."

Miranda sighed. "Very well. A quick examination, then."

Chakwas nodded in satisfaction. "Anyone else?"

Shepard shook himself out of his despondent thoughts. "Jack, Mordin, and myself," he said.

"What? Me?" Jack said indignantly.

"Harbinger tagged you with that attack. A quick examination won't hurt," Shepard responded.

"I'm fine," Jack argued.

"I'm sure I'm fine too, but I rather not wake up to see my limbs decay and fall off because of a bad mix of pride and stupidity," Shepard retorted. "We don't know what we were hit with, so we're heading for the Med Bay. Chakwas is good at what she does. If there's no problem, she'll discharge you quickly," he said with finality.

Jack looked like she wanted to argue before catching Miranda looking at her with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed. It was the look of a woman looking down on her. "What are you staring at, cheerleader?"

"I was just wondering how much more childish you can be," Miranda smirked.

Jack growled and prepared to say something before closing her mouth. Realizing that saying something would only prove Miranda's point, she turned her back to the Cerberus Officer and started taking off her armor.

Shepard found himself impressed with the show of restraint. With Jack's back turned, she failed to notice the surprised and approving look from Miranda too.

"Um… what are you doing?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

"Taking off my armor. What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?" Jack said shortly. Removing the gauntlets and tossing them at Jacob, she started removing the pauldrons next.

Jacob barely had the presence of mind to catch the gauntlets. "Wait, you're taking them off here?"

"They're too damn uncomfortable," Jack replied. She finished in short order and tossed everything at Jacob's feet. "You said you could adjust it, so do it," she demanded, ignoring the various stares from the assembled people. She was standing in the hanger wearing only a tank top and panties, but was holding her shotgun and pistol in each hand. Thankfully, both were still in their compact state.

_Obviously not one for modesty._

"I got it," Jacob growled irritably as he picked up Jack's Terminus Assault Armor off the floor.

"And do it right this time," Jack added.

"At least I got the chest plate right. It wasn't too tight, was it?" Jacob smirked.

Jack's eyes widened momentarily at his insinuation before narrowing dangerously. Before she could do anything drastic, Miranda spoke up first, beating Shepard to the punch.

"Watch it Jacob. If she doesn't kill you, I will," Miranda threatened. "And I promise, unlike her, I can make it last."

Jacob looked shocked for moment before his brain caught up with his mouth. He looked around to see Garrus shaking his head, Shepard looking on disapprovingly, and the various female crewmen, Goldstein, Gabby, even Chakwas, looking angrily at the proceedings. Deciding that silence and discretion was the better part of further stupidity, he turned around and made a beeline for the lift as quickly as his dignity allowed.

Shaking his head in amusement and sympathy for his fellow man, he looked over at the people inside the hanger. "Enough," he ordered to the crowd at large. "EDI, stand down from general quarters, but keep an eye out for any Alliance ships nearby."

"Understood, Commander," EDI responded.

"The rest of you, back to work," he said before nodding his head to the various teammates still standing around. "Let's go."

"Of course, Shepard," Chakwas said, recovering her professionalism. She led the way for her new patients, but only Shepard, Miranda, and Mordin were following.

Jack was staring at Miranda with an unreadable expression on her face before realizing she was being left behind and ran to keep up, hauling her weapons with her.

Grunt followed them up the stairs before turning and headed back to the cargo bay. Garrus continued follow since his destination was on the deck above theirs.

"Grunt!" Shepard called out.

Grunt turned around and looked at Shepard questioningly.

"Your weapons," Shepard reminded, nodding his head at the krogan's armaments.

Grunt growled in annoyance.

"I'll take them upstairs for you," Garrus offered.

Grunt took off his shotgun, assault rifle, and pistol from his weapon's harness and handed them to Garrus before leaving.

"Hmm…" Mordin said once they reached doors to the elevator. They were waiting for it to return after Jacob's departure.

"Something on your mind, Professor Solus?" Chakwas inquired.

"Oh. Nothing. Thinking about mission," Mordin distractedly answered.

"What about?" Shepard asked.

"Colonists. After Collector retreat, paralysis wore off. Seeker swarms ceased working as well. Even managed to establish radio contact. Curious. Must investigate," Mordin said, nodding to himself.

"The professor has a point. Many of the colonists were awake and moving after the Collectors retreated. Unfortunately, most were trapped inside those pods. They were quite terrified, but otherwise unharmed," Miranda said.

"It sounds like your mission was a success," Chakwas noted.

The elevator arrived and they all stepped in. Shepard pressed the button for Deck 3 and turned to Chakwas. "They managed to get some of the colonists. I'd hardly call that a success."

"It's more than what most have done so far, Commander," Miranda said.

"I'm in agreement with Executive Lawson. One could say that Eden Prime is not a success if we were to entertain your standards. Many civilians and marines died there, but you did save the colony and its denizens by preventing its destruction," Chakwas comforted. "This road won't be easy, but that's why we're looking to you. I won't presume to speak for everyone, but I believe and trust that you'll see us through this somehow."

Shepard offered her a small smile. "Thanks."

Reaching Deck 3, Garrus reached around and gave Shepard a good-natured shove out of the elevator.

"Thanks, mom," Shepard muttered, grinning at the turian.

"It's only fair, Shepard," Garrus said. "Now get going."

Shepard shook his head and smiled at his friend's antics. He was grateful though, since it temporarily lifted his melancholy mood. "We're going, we're going," he said dramatically before grinning evilly. "By the way, thanks for volunteering."

Garrus blinked. "Volunteer for what?"

"Taking everyone's weapons back to armory. I'm sure they appreciate it," came the easy reply.

Jack grinned and tossed her shotgun at the turian's feet.

Mordin nodded in appreciation. "Yes, yes. Thank you," he said seriously, handing Garrus his SMG and pistol.

No one present could tell if he understood the joke or if he really thought Shepard and Garrus were serious.

Miranda sighed in exasperation before leaving her weapons on the floor of the elevator. "Might as well. Thank you, Garrus," Miranda said. Despite her tone of gratitude, it was obvious she was fighting to smile at his predicament.

Garrus looked down at the pile of weapons at his feet. "That's not fair," Garrus said to Shepard.

"Perk of being the CO of a warship," he quipped.

* * *

The examination for Jack, Mordin, and Shepard was indeed quick. Blood and tissue samples were taken; generic questions about health and an in-depth description of both Harbinger and the husk's attack were all noted. Afterward, Chakwas let them go with a promise that she'll inform them immediately if something was amiss. Miranda had to stay a little longer to ensure there were no hairline fractures or internal damage done from her impact against a wall.

Mordin and Shepard rode the elevator to Deck 2. Greeting Kelly and the other various crewmen in the CIC, Shepard trekked his way to the armory while Mordin split up and briskly walked to his lab.

In the Armory, Shepard saw Garrus and Joker inside, with Jacob typing at his terminal while examining Jack's armor. He was doing his level best to ignore the occupants inside his work area.

"Ah, don't worry about it Jacob," Joker said from his seat on one of the tables in the Armory. "I'd watch out for her too. We can hold only so much crazy on this ship."

Garrus chuckled good-naturedly while Jacob kept his back at them. Shepard's position at the doorway allowed him to see a ghost of a smile on the former Marine's face though.

Shepard moved up to his locker and began putting his weapons away. His actions caused the trio to be aware of his presence.

"Hey, Commander," Joker greeted, though he sounded a bit uncomfortable.

Shepard turned his head and nodded before turning back to his locker.

"That's… uh… that's pretty crazy the people you can run into out here, huh?" Joker continued, squirming a little on the table. "I mean, it was probably a setup or something, but it was still good to see Ash, right? Operations Chief Williams, wasn't it?"

Shepard sighed, before turning around and giving Garrus a questioning look.

Garrus shrugged. "Sorry. I thought Joker deserved to know about Chief Williams' presence on Horizon."

"It's fine," Shepard said to him before turning to Joker. "We talked, but things have changed. We let it go."

"Oh, good, because I was not looking forward to your mood if that went bad. There's a reason I don't date crew, Commander," Joker said in relief.

"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard muttered as he turned back to his locker.

"Oh, sorry," Joker said quickly.

"If I have a problem Joker, I'll deal with it on my own time. I wouldn't take it out on the crew," Shepard resolutely said. He finished storing his weaponry and turned to Jacob. "About what happened in the hangar…"

"I'll take care of it, Commander," Jacob answered immediately.

"It's fine. We males have a long, sad, and ugly history of saying stupid things to the fairer sex. And paid for it dearly many times over," Shepard said. Nobody knew if he was talking about his meeting with Ashley or not. "I was about to tell you to avoid Jack for the time being. I'll apologize for you and try to clear things up during our next biotic lesson."

Jacob looked up. "I was actually thinking of going back down to apologize to her myself," he admitted.

"Oh, boy," Garrus muttered, while shaking his head.

"Wow… that's pretty brave move there Jacob," Joker commented. "You do know that she hates anything Cerberus, right?"

"I'm not going unarmed," Jacob said before reaching under his table.

Shepard thought he was going to pull out a shotgun or his missile launcher. He was surprised when Jacob picked up a pair of small-sized combat boots instead and put them next to Jack's armor.

"I'm bringing gifts."

That made everyone laugh. "That might work. Maybe. You really can't tell with Jack, can you?" Joker replied.

"I'm not sure that would work, Taylor," Garrus said. Once the humor passed, everyone could tell the turian was a bit worried.

"I'm with Garrus on this," Shepard agreed. "Last thing I want is to see either of you injured."

"I know, Commander," Jacob said. He turned back to work on Jack's armor. "But I still have to do it."

"What reason could you have to invite death by… whatever Jack will do to you?" Joker asked incredulously.

"We're going to be working together. If she's going to be part of the team, I've got to smooth things over," Jacob explained. He paused in his work and sighed before turning around and facing them. "Besides, if there's one thing my old man taught me, it's to always own up to your mistakes, even if you keep making it."

Shepard nodded approvingly. "Good lesson to learn."

"Yeah, well, he made no apologies, I gave him that much," Jacob said neutrally.

Shepard noted that Jacob used past tense and filed that information away for later. "If you're set on this, then tell me before you go down there. I want to be present, to mediate, if things get out of hand. Last thing I want is a hole in my bulkhead."

Jacob nodded. "Fair enough, Commander."

Garrus stepped behind Jacob. "You need help up here? I finished my calibrations in the main batteries a while ago, in case the Normandy engaged that cruiser, so I have some free time."

"Yeah, I could use the extra hands," Jacob said gratefully.

"Alright. I'll start with the assault rifles," Garrus said, moving to another table and turning on a terminal.

"I'll get out of your way," Joker said. He got off the table and hobbled out of the armory.

Shepard walked back to his locker, secured it, and prepared to leave when Miranda called.

"_Commander?"_

"Go ahead, Miranda," Shepard acknowledged.

"_Some of the off-duty crewmen have asked me if they can __do something a bit different than usual with their free time."_

"What are they asking?"

"_They want a party to celebrate our first victory against the Collectors."_

"That sound like a good idea," Jacob commented.

"Alright," Shepard said. "Let them have it in the Port Observation Lounge. Be sure to have a restriction on the number of drinks they're allowed to have as well, three or so. We might leave at any time and I won't have an inebriated crew manning a warship when their shift comes around."

"_I'll pass that along, Commander."_

* * *

After changing out his uncomfortable armor, taking a shower, putting on a set of 'civilian' clothes and having Kelly take his armor back down to the Armory to get it readjusted; Shepard finally sat back down at this desk and relaxed. Turning his head, he saw the picture of Ashley and felt his despondent mood return. Determined to get a drink, Shepard trekked his way through the decks of the Normandy and entered the Port Observatory Lounge. Inside, much of the off-duty crewmen were taking advantage of the lounge to celebrate humanity's decisive first victory against the Collectors. Several people saw Shepard enter and raised their glasses to toast him.

"Commander!" Rupert Gardner boomed from across the room. He was tending bar at the back. Judging from the various crewmembers' surprise and praise, it was another hidden talent they didn't know he had. "Come on in! Get yourself a drink!"

Accepting their gratitude as gracefully as he could, Shepard moved through the lounge until he reached the bar where he grabbed the nearest bottle of bourbon.

"Aw, come on, Commander! I can whip you up something better than that!" Rupert laughed.

"Sorry. I got reports to finish," Shepard lied.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind. I'll make something special for you!"

Shepard smiled as best he could and left.

"Commander, the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you," EDI said the moment Shepard re-entered his quarters.

"Later," Shepard said as he flopped on the couch and poured himself a generous helping of liquor.

There was a brief moment of silence, during which Shepard finished two glasses, before EDI said, "The Illusive Man insists to speak with you, Commander."

"Good for him. Now tell him that I'll talk with him when **I'm damn well ready!**" Shepard snarled.

"Understood, Commander. Logging you out," EDI responded in her neutral tone.

"Wait. EDI… I'm not mad at you, just him. I just want to get that clear," Shepard clarified. He didn't know why he was explaining or excusing himself to an AI, but for some reason, he didn't want to hurt the AI's… feelings, for lack of a better term. "You were big help today. We wouldn't have succeeded without you."

"I understand, Commander. Logging you out," EDI said.

Noting that EDI said, "I", Shepard assumed that he was forgiven… if there was anything to forgive. "Strong stuff," he said out loud as he stared at the glass in his hand. _I must be getting drunk if I'm seeking forgiveness from an AI…_ Shrugging to himself, Shepard drained the glass and poured himself another when the door to his cabin beeped. "Who's there?"

"It's Miranda."

Sighing, Shepard said, "Come in."

Miranda stepped into his cabin and stopped at the archway separating Shepard's desk from the living area. "Celebrating by yourself I see," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

Shepard laughed humorlessly. "I was until you showed up. You okay?"

"Chakwas cleared me with a clean bill of health. You don't want to come down? You deserve a break after today."

"Not in the mood," came the short reply.

Miranda looked at him in concern before turning to see Ashley's picture on his table. Understanding dawned on her and she walked in and sat down opposite to Shepard. "Mind if I celebrate with you?"

"Go ahead," Shepard said uncaringly.

Miranda picked up a glass off the coffee table and poured herself a moderate amount before leaning back and taking a sip. "You and Chief Williams were close?"

Shepard shrugged, but didn't answer. He occupied himself with pouring another glass.

"I'm sorry," Miranda offered sympathetically, after taking his silence as confirmation. "What happened?" she asked.

"We went our separate ways. She stays in the Alliance and I stay here. She's not too keen on the idea of me working with Cerberus."

Miranda shook her head. She couldn't help but say: "Typical Alliance attitude."

Shepard looked up from his drink to glare at her. "You don't know her situation, so don't judge."

Miranda looked startled at the sudden defense.

"Ash's family has been military for four generations, three of which has been in the Alliance, including her," Shepard explained.

Miranda recalled Shepard's dossier from his first mission as a Spectre and the related information she studied for two years. "Her grandfather was General Williams of Shanxi, right?"

"Yeah. Her family was blacklisted from the military after that, but they still serve regardless," Shepard said. Taking a gulp of bourbon, he continued, "Her father didn't even get past serviceman 3rd class. She's trying hard to restore her grandfather's name, but that goes out the airlock if she signs back on with me. Helping the first 'human' Spectre is fine, but helping Cerberus? It'll end her career and her family's chances of ever coming back into service." Sighing morosely, he took another drink. "Family is important to her. Even if she asked to come along, I probably would've said no."

Miranda stayed silent for a time. She leaned back and took another sip as he thought about his words. "Perhaps I was too hasty in my opinion. I apologize," Miranda said.

Shepard waved her off. "It's fine. It's not like the Alliance or Cerberus are friends or anything."

"I know, but Chief Williams was **your** friend. I should've respected that."

Taking another drink, Shepard looked over his glass at her. "I've got tough skin, no worries." Shepard shook his head. "It's better this way. I know I hurt her when I… 'died', and now I'm back only to be on a suicide mission?"

Miranda stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

Shepard continued. "High-risk missions never stopped me before, but those threats were tangible. Creditable intelligence, known threats, general locations, that sort of thing. Reapers, Collectors, we don't know a damn thing that's helpful. Not the kind of mission I'd sacrifice her career for." Shepard snorted. "Or sacrifice her family ties for." He looked up at Miranda and smile morosely. "Not that we'd know anything about family."

She looked at him in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know anything about my family and you hate your father. Ash always stayed close to hers," Shepard explained.

Miranda covered her hesitation with another sip before coming to a decision. "I may hate my father, but I do love my sister."

Shepard knocked back the last of his glass and started to pour another. "So it was a sister, huh?"

Miranda's head snapped up. "You knew?"

"Just now," Shepard said, leaning back on the couch and taking another gulp. "You mentioned to Rolston a while ago that you understood his worry for his family and I was pretty sure you weren't lying. That meant you might've had family that you're looking out for too. At least, that's the conclusion I came up with."

"How much have you had to drink?" Miranda asked, looking into Shepard's eyes to judge how drunk he was.

"More than a little, but not nearly enough," Shepard answered. As if to prove his point, he took another gulp of bourbon. "Tell me about her. Is she in Cerberus too?"

Miranda sighed. "No. She's on Illium. She's living a normal life, safe and hidden from our father," she answered.

"Normal as in…?" Shepard prompted.

Miranda stayed silent, sipping her bourbon.

"You don't know, do you?" Shepard asked shrewdly, despite getting increasingly drunk.

"It's complicated," Miranda said tersely.

"Yeah. I'm started to get the impression family usually is," Shepard nodded in exaggeration. "Garrus is at odds with father for quitting C-Sec, Wrex killed his, Liara had to help me fight her own mother, Tali was under pressure from her own father, Grunt doesn't give a damn about Okeer, and even Jacob might have an issue with his… Family really is complicated, isn't it?" he observed before leaning back and frowning at the ceiling. "Or maybe it's just the circles I travel in," he mused.

"Perhaps," Miranda allowed after a pause. She appeared to be in shock hearing the litany of familial problems Shepard was privy to.

"So, your sister. You really don't know anything about her?"

"I don't like discussing personal matters," Miranda said.

Shepard shrugged. "If you like," he allowed.

Miranda stared at him before rolling her eyes in annoyance. Taking another sip, she answered, "She's my genetic twin. We're identical. She doesn't know about Cerberus, our father's plans, or what I'm doing. One of us deserves a normal life and I promised myself she would get it, no matter what."

"So you take care of her at a distance, then?"

"I've tried to keep her hidden without impacting her life. I don't want for her what our father has done to me," she resolutely stated.

"How is she doing?"

"I placed her in the care of a very nice family. They're good people. None of them are involved in anything clandestine," she said.

Shepard chuckled. "Normal, huh? I wonder what that feels like…?" he said.

Miranda gave a small laugh of her own. "Alright. If not normal, then happy. I'll accept that as well."

"That's very admirable," Shepard praised, raising his glass at her in salute.

They sat in comfortable silence, a better mood surrounding them than the depressing one Shepard was filling his cabin with earlier.

Miranda finished her drink and stood up. "I should head back down to the party and ensure the crewmen are behaving. We may need to leave at a moment's notice," she said, echoing Shepard's earlier instructions.

"Tell the Illusive Man: I'll talk to him when I'll talk to him and not a moment sooner," Shepard suddenly said.

Miranda looked flabbergasted. "How…?"

Shepard chuckled and poured another glass for himself. "I assumed after I told EDI to tell the Illusive Man to piss off, he'd contact you. Don't worry, you're just the messenger. And I feel a bit better after talking," he answered. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Commander," Miranda said, still trying to recover from her shock. "I won't even put it in my report. But, about my sister…?"

"I won't say anything unless I have your unconditional permission first," Shepard assured, taking another gulp. "You have my word on that."

"Thank you. Get some sleep," she advised before leaving.

Shepard sighed after she left. He couldn't help but think about the directions his life took ever since joining the Alliance. He made his career by standing his ground and making the most difficult or even impossible choices. Choices people would shy away from, choices people would run from.

Some choices tested his character; _Joining the Alliance and leaving Earth._

Some choices tested his conviction; _Committing treason by stealing the Normandy and chasing Saren to Illos._

Some choices tested his ability to define right and wrong; _The rachni queen on Novaria._

Some choices tested his resolve; _Sacrifice the Council and focus on Sovereign or save the Council and sacrifice human lives._

Some choices tested his compassion; _Wrex_

Some choices tested his soul; _Kaidan_

Some choices tested his conscience; _Cerberus_

Shepard knew that his next choice would test his heart. Finishing off his drink, he stood up and walked back to his desk. He studied Ashley's picture one last time and sighed. Reaching out, he grabbed the top of the frame and placed the picture face down on his table. Turning away, he proceeded to get ready for bed.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, this is probably the most original chapter I've written since I've started. I'm so proud of myself. It's also the other chapter that I might get the most criticisms about, the other being 15, Horizon.


	17. The Engineer

_**Location: Unknown**_

"I am not in the habit of being ignored, Shepard," the Illusive Man cautioned.

Shepard crossed his arms in contempt and glared. "Given our **relationship**, are you surprised? At what point was I supposed to give a damn?"

The Illusive Man tapped his cigarette in his ash tray a little harder than necessary, but otherwise showed no other outward indication that Shepard's words affected him. "I think I've been more than fair to you thus far, Shepard."

"I think you should go to hell," Shepard retorted. He stared down at the man sitting casually in front of him. "I'm willing to bet that you had something do with that attack and the loss of life of everyone on Horizon. And I don't make bets lightly."

Far from being angry, the Illusive Man smiled thinly. "Very perceptive of you, Shepard. Yes, I released a few carefully disguised rumors that you might be alive and working for Cerberus," he freely admitted.

Shepard clenched his jaw at the enigmatic man sitting in front of him.

"Remember, it was only a suspicion that the Collectors or the Reapers were looking for you or people connected to you. Now we know for certain," he said. "It was a risk, but I couldn't just wait for them to take another random colony. I simply provided bait that was too good to ignore. You understand."

"So what's the next move?" Shepard said slowly, reigning in his temper.

The Illusive Man raised his cigarette and took a smoke. Exhaling a small cloud, he looked directly into Shepard's eyes with his own unnatural ones unwaveringly. "I'm devoting all resources to finding a way through the Omega 4 relay. We have to hit them where they live." Shifting a bit in his chair, he casually added, "Your team will need be strong… As will their resolve. There's no looking back." He nodded his head at him. "The same goes for you. Can I assume you've put your past relationships behind you?"

Despite how innocent he tried to make it sound, Shepard found his anger rising quickly again at the Illusive Man. "That's none of your damn business."

"If it affects the mission, better you leave it behind," he advised while tapping his cigarette into his ash tray again.

"Thanks for the pearl of wisdom," Shepard sardonically replied. "But if I want to talk to someone about my relationships, I can do a lot better than you."

"Shepard. Once we find a way through the Omega 4 relay to the Collector homeworld… There's no guarantee you'll return," the Illusive Man warned. "To have any hope of surviving, you – and your entire team – must be fully committed to this."

"They're my responsibility. You just do your job and find us a way to the Collector homeworld," Shepard said.

The Illusive Man nodded. "I just want to be up front about your odds. You'll need everyone at their best. I've forwarded three more dossiers. Keep building your team while I find a way through the relay. Also, my best lab technicians and biologists are currently studying the Collector remains as well as those new husks Miranda reported seeing on Horizon. I'll forward their results to you once they have something. And be careful, Shepard. The Collectors will be watching you."

* * *

_**Location: Shadow Sea Nebula, Iera System, in Orbit around Prospect, Normandy SR-2**_

"I guess we're really gonna do it. Hit the Omega 4 relay, take the fight to the Collectors in person," Jacob commented when Shepard left the cylindrical scanner and found himself back on the Normandy.

"Only way to stop them," Shepard said.

"Looking forward to the action," Jacob stated. He sighed and rolled his head. "After seeing what those bastards did on Horizon, though… makes you think."

"Something on your mind?" Shepard asked.

"No, just… There's a good chance we're not coming back, even if we get it done," he replied. "Gonna go take care of a little unfinished business. I imagine everyone else is, too – getting some closure, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Shepard said.

"I'm going down to apologize to Jack. I don't want there to be too many hard feelings between us," Jacob said.

Shepard nodded. "Alright. Let me see these dossiers and get a destination before we head down."

"Sounds good, Commander. I got to get her stuff anyway."

Shepard followed Jacob into the Armory. While he was busy packing Jack's armor into its case, Shepard engaged his omni-tool and started checking his newest potential recruits. "EDI, get Joker to the helm. We're leaving," he called as he checked the dossiers.

_Given how hard Harbinger and those new husks were, we could use the help._

"Calling Mr. Moreau to the helm, Commander. Logging you out."

His eyes settled on a familiar picture and name, causing him to smile. He almost felt guilty for snapping at the Illusive Man now after seeing his quarian friend added to the roster. Almost.

Jacob finished collecting Jack's armor and boots and walked up to Shepard. "Ready," he said, as if he were a condemned man heading for his execution.

Shepard grinned at him and walked into the CIC and walked up the short ramp to the galaxy map. He inputted their newest destination and waited for Joker get to the helm to confirm their course.

Joker entered the CIC moments later and yawned. "Morning," he mumbled as he walked past Shepard and Jacob toward his station.

They waited until he was settled and prepped. Minutes later, Joker called in from the intercom. _"Dholen System. Coordinates locked, course plotted. We're on our way. Looks like a straight shot from here to the Far Rim Cluster and Dholen, but we still have to avoid Alliance ships from here to the mass relay. ETA: 6 hours."_

Turning to Jacob, Shepard nodded. "Let's go."

Jacob nodded back and followed Shepard to the elevator and down to Deck 4. All too soon for Jacob, they reached Jack's little niche in the Normandy.

Jack was already awake and eating breakfast out of two trays while perusing the Cerberus data Shepard got for her some time ago. Looking up at the sounds of their boot steps, she saw Shepard and was about to greet him when her gaze landed on Jacob. "He – What the fuck are you doing down here?" she said, standing up and facing him. Her biotics manifested into an aura surrounding her.

"Here," Jacob said, unperturbed by her hostile show of dark energy. He walked forward and placed the armor case and boots next to her and stepped back.

Jack glanced down to see what he gave her before snapping her gaze back up and continued to glare.

"I want to apologize for what I said yesterday," Jacob started. "I meant to get a rise out of you, but I crossed a line that I shouldn't have. That was my mistake and I should've known better. I'm sorry." He nodded his head at his 'presents'. "I'm pretty sure I did your stuff right. If the armor's still off, come back and I'll fix it up. I even upgraded your shotgun a bit, in case you're curious."

Jack let her biotics dim as she stared at Jacob, as if she was trying to judge his sincerity. She looked at Shepard. "You put him up this?"

"Hey, I'm down here trying to make peace," Jacob protested. "The Commander's got nothing to do with me being here. He just wants to make sure I leave in one piece."

She turned back to stare at Jacob a bit more before snorting. "Fine. Whatever." She sat back down and picked up her new boots. "About fucking time you got me some new shoes," she said, inspecting her new foot wear. "What the hell took you so long?"

Maybe it was Shepard's imagination, but her tone seemed to lack any real hostility behind it or maybe it was just less than usual.

Jacob shrugged. "Modifying your armor seemed a bit more important, that's all. We good?"

Jack glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before ignoring him and trying on her new boots.

Jacob glanced at Shepard, who nodded back. Accepting the fact that he was allowed to walk away unharmed as an acceptance of his apology, Jacob turned around and left without further incident.

"Huh. They actually fit. He's got a good eye," Jack said appraisingly once he was gone. She stood up and walked around a bit, testing her new boots out. "I don't think I even told him my size."

"What are you up to, right now?" Shepard asked.

"Just going over that stuff you got me," Jack replied. She slid the armor case under her cot and picked up her second tray and continued eating.

"I was wondering if you're up to teaching me Charge," Shepard said.

Jack looked up. "How did you learn Shockwave so fast? You try learning it before?" she asked with her mouth full.

It took Shepard a moment to decipher what she was saying. "I studied up on biotics for a bit," he said evasively. "Maybe you're a good teacher?"

Jack barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Bullshit."

Shepard shrugged, but offered nothing more.

Jack ate quickly, polishing off her second tray in no time. "I'm done. Let's go."

Shepard nodded and led the way to the hangar. Inside, there was no one around. Most of the crewmen were probably recovering from their antics last night, though the other shift woke up and were manning their posts as scheduled.

They stopped in the middle of the hangar. "Charge is hard to learn. Most can't do it, so I'm not getting my hopes up," Jack said. "The point of Charge is to use your biotics to create mass effect fields that make you faster and stronger," she lectured before smirking at him. "Of course, you can also use it to get the hell out of danger fast.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "I managed to get away in time, didn't I? And I wasn't covered in guts when that husk blew."

Jack shrugged. "Well, there's your way and sure, it worked. My way? I did it style. Right, watch carefully."

Shepard studied her profile, stance, and movements as she prepared to demonstrate. Her biotic aura manifested around her as she put one leg back and bent slightly at the waist. Her arms were spread and elbows bent. It looked as if she was preparing to tackle an unseen opponent. Just like before, well beyond his trained eye could perceive, Jack was gone from her starting position and appeared only several feet away. The only evidence that she had stood next to Shepard was the crack of displaced air, not unlike a gunshot.

"A few things you should know. The more powerful you are, the farther you go," she explained as she walked back up to him. "Biotic Charge also means you're travelling fast enough to set off kinetic shields, so only the air pressure you generate will knock someone off their feet, but their shields will protect them against any real damage. I wouldn't try using this on things like heavy mechs. You're better off shoving Warp right inside their armor and into something more breakable."

Shepard thought back to her fight back on Horizon. "I saw you go through the wall during our fight with Harbinger. You appeared right next to me."

"Yeah. Advanced users can actually 'phase' through stuff," Jack shrugged. "Some things, but not everything. Something to do with how thick an object is or how dense. You have to be careful about that part of Charge or you'll either run head first into a wall or you charge halfway into a solid object and kill yourself." She shrugged again. "Guess it depends on either how powerful you are. Or how stupid."

"Nice," Shepard muttered, frowning at the mental pictures. "Can you show me again?"

"Not this time. I wanna see what you can do," Jack said. She walked over to a crate, sat down and crossed her arms.

Shepard mock-glared at her and settled into a similar stance she demonstrated moments ago. He tried focusing on his biotics to achieve the same result she did, but all that happened was his own biotic aura flickering to life around him and little else. Shepard stood there comically for several minutes trying to will himself across the hangar. He looked like a cross between a runner ready to sprint and a football player about to tackle someone. He could hear Jack snickering at him from her seat.

"Having trouble?" Jack sing-songed mockingly.

"Maybe more than a little," Shepard obligingly said. He figured Jack was testing how much of her antics he was willing to put up with.

"Like I said, this one is harder than most," Jack said.

Shepard stayed in his stance a little longer, dark energy still surrounding him before giving up. Standing straighter, he turned to Jack. "Can you show me again, please?" he asked as neutrally as he could.

Jack smirked at him again and hopped off her crate. "Well, so long as you said, 'please'." She stood next to him, settled into her stance and vanished with another crack. She covered far more distance than before. Shepard looked across the hangar to see her give him a jaunty salute before using Charge again to appear right next to him.

"That good enough for you?" she asked haughtily.

Shepard nodded and settled into the same stance she did. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize every nuance of her form just before she disappeared and reappeared. Even after he focused his biotics though, he still found himself unable to achieve any real results. He simply stood there, his aura flickering and not much more.

Bored of waiting, Jack was looking around the vessel appreciatively. "This is a nice ship. Wouldn't mind putting her through her paces when you're not around."

"I doubt Joker would appreciate that. At least while we're working," Shepard replied with his eyes closed.

"Relax. Joy-riding doesn't have the thrill it used to. Besides, if I wanted it, I'd take it," she said matter-of-factly.

"Is that a fact?" Shepard said, still concentrating.

"I've been around," Jack replied. "Ran with gangs, wiped out some gangs, joined a cult," she listed off. "Kept the haircut," she added as an afterthought. "I learned to survive and not be a victim."

Shepard opened his eyes, but continued trying to focus himself to execute Charge. Hearing that she once joined a cult piqued his curiosity. "It's hard to imagine you in a cult," he commented. "That usually involves a lot of rules."

"I was looking for answers. Drugs and sex and going to a better place," she answered. "A better place… right," she scoffed. She turned to face Shepard, who was still in his original stance, trying to learn Charge. "It was all about money. They wanted to take a colony, shake the suckers down to fund their spread. And guess who was their ace in the hole?" she asked rhetorically. She scowled. "They were just like the rest. Didn't give one shit about me."

The question left Shepard's lips before he could think. "What did you do when you found out?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

Jack knew he knew the answer. "What do you think?" she retorted.

"You must have met some good people," Shepard said, closing his eyes again and concentrating.

She scoffed again. "Everybody wants something. And because of that, everything is fair game."

It was a point Shepard couldn't argue with, considering the reason she was on this mission was in exchange for her freedom. He continued his attempt, though his focus wavered when he kept his attention on Jack.

"Murder, assault, kidnapping, drugs, stealing, arson. Done it all. And that's the boring shit," she bragged, ticking everything off on her fingers.

Shepard found himself slightly impressed by her litany of crimes and wondered how he had never heard of her before.

"Piracy, theft of military craft, destruction of a space station, and vandalism," she continued. She looked up and smiled at her last point. "Ha! That was a good one."

Shepard opened his eyes again and turned his head slightly to face her. He was still crouched and dark energy was rolling off of him in waves as he tried to learn his newest biotic technique. "A space station?" he asked skeptically. "You're pushing what I can believe."

She crossed her arms defensively. "Ain't saying it was easy. Not everything is spur of the moment. Sometimes, you got to work to give people what they deserve."

"And what exactly did they do to deserve 'destruction of a space station'?"

"Had some people I hung with for a while," Jack shrugged uncaringly. "Outlaw colony. Felt like they were like me. Guess that made us a nice target." She frowned. "Turians think they know something about a scorched earth response. Fuck'em."

Shepard turned away from her and closed his eyes again. "And a ship? Military's a hard target. Bet that made you some friends."

"Shouldn't have left the thing unlocked. Besides, parades are boring. I helped," she grinned.

"You mentioned pirate to me before," Shepard prompted.

Jack shrugged, though Shepard didn't see the gesture with his eyes closed. "Ties in with the kidnapping. If you hijack a passenger ship and don't kill everyone, anyway. Good lesson. Simpler to just kill them all."

Shepard sighed at his failed attempts and stood straight again. He turned to face Jack fully. "With your impressive resume, I'm surprised you'd even mention vandalism."

Jack laughed. "That's what the hanar call it when you crash that space station I mentioned into one of the moons and make a new crater. They really liked that moon."

Given what he knew about the hanar, vandalism is probably the closest they'd ever come to cursing. Shepard crossed his arms and regarded the young woman in front of him. "You ever wonder if you could have done things differently?" he asked, interested in knowing if she ever felt remorse for her actions.

"No," she simply said.

"Shouldn't you?"

"There's no reason I should be alive, but I am," she said. "You know why? Instinct. It's work for me so far and I'm not going to change."

"I wasn't asking if you should change. I was asking if you should adapt."

"Adapt? What the hell does that mean?"

Shepard shrugged. "Big difference between surviving and living. You already know how to survive. I'm not even going to question that. Ever consider trying to live?"

"What the hell do you know?" she scoffed.

"I ran with some gangs when I was younger. No parents, no home. I learned to survive, not like you per se, but I made it far enough that I wanted more. That's probably why I joined the Alliance. Got off-world, food, shelter, shoot things, and I didn't have to look over my shoulder all the time anymore."

Jack studied him for minute. She looked like she wanted to say something before changing her mind. "You know, no one's ever asked about any of this shit. It's strange to talk about." She brushed past him and made her way to the stairs. "So fuck you and thanks for asking," she said in her usual brusque manner.

Shepard sighed and tried to learn Charge again when Jack called back to him from the bottom of the stairs. "Charge requires all of the eezo modules in your body to work. The reason why most people can't do it is because they don't have enough eezo in them to begin with. It's not like flicking an arm or a leg like you're used to. It's using your entire body as a weapon. **You** can't do it is because you're using only some of the modules, not all of them. Sync them up and then try again."

* * *

_**Location: Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom**_

"We need to hurry. It's almost noon. There won't be any shade left," Tali'Zorah vas Neema said to some of the marines around her.

The various marines acknowledged her orders as they continued to search for more of their monitoring devices the sun hadn't destroyed yet while keeping a steady eye on their shields.

"This is a waste of time," one of them grumbled when he saw that the sensor he was holding was shorted out by the Dholen star.

"You have your orders, marine. Now do your job!" Kal'Reegar barked.

Tali smiled underneath her mask. She always liked Kal'Reegar. Honest, straightforward, and to the point, he's the kind of marine that held himself professionally, but can still be a steadfast friend. Even her father praised his attitude and commitment to his missions. It was a shame he wasn't with her on Freedom's Progress. Not only would that mission have gone better, but she would've liked to introduced Shepard to him as well. She had a feeling the two would get along just fine.

"Ma'am?" Kal said, getting her attention. "I think we've found all we managed to find today. We'll hit the observatory later this evening and place more sensors around there."

"Yes, of course," Tali agreed. "Just be careful of the geth," she reminded.

Due to the abundant radiation on Haestrom produced by its dying sun, the best time to move about was at night. Unfortunately, the geth took advantage of this fact as well and as such, deployed their heaviest concentration of patrols during the evening. This prompted the quarians to do most of their work during the day, since the threat from the sun is only slightly less than a firefight with the geth this deep in their space.

She paused when she saw something glint off the side of Kal's visor. She turned her head and cursed. "Geth Dropship! Get down!"

All the marines ducked into what little shade they've been using to hide from the radiation of the sun. Hopefully, it would also be enough to hide from the geth patrol ship circling the area.

The geth ship, modeled after their so-called "God" Sovereign, circled the area lazily. It continued to scan for any disturbances for several tense minutes before leaving the area.

"Did it see us?" Tali asked after a minute or so.

"I don't think so," Kal said. "We're almost out of shade. We should get back to camp, double-time."

_I hope this data is worth it…_ Tali thought worriedly. "Okay. Let's go back to base camp. I'm due to make another log anyway."

* * *

_**Location: Normandy SR-2; En Route to Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom,**_

Despite Jack's final instructions, syncing all of his eezo modules was something he'd never done before. After spending his entire morning trying and failing to emulate Jack's performance, Shepard called it quits and vowed to learn to utilize his entire biotic suite first before trying Charge.

_She was right. This is harder than anything I've learned before._

Slightly frustrated by his lack of success, he comforted himself by remembering that he wasn't a biotic a little under a month ago.

_Too damn arrogant. I've been picking up the other stuff so fast that I should've expected failure at some point._

He dedicated the next couple of hours to practicing the other biotic techniques he learned to be on par with other biotics he'd ever known. Kaidan, Liara, Miranda, and Jacob, even Wrex; Shepard recalled all the times they utilized their biotic powers and emulated their successes. Come lunch, he felt slightly better that his technique was greatly improving in other areas. Feeling ravenous, he hurried to Deck 3 and ambled over to the common area. Crewmen filled the various tables and were talking animatedly, leftover elation from their first mission against the Collectors.

"Damn. I haven't had a meal or drinks like that in a long time," Goldstein commented.

"I didn't think Rupert had it in him," Hawthorne chuckled. "Man knows how to throw a party."

"Afternoon, Commander!" Rupert greeted. "Hungry?"

"Famished," Shepard replied. "Damn, that smells good."

"Yep! Some of my best work. Enjoy," he said, passing a couple of trays to him.

Shepard thanked him and walked over to Miranda. Taking a seat across from her, he started eating as quickly as manners allowed, aware of how hungry he was.

Miranda simply took it in stride. "What's our next mission?"

Shepard swallowed before answering. "I was just given three more dossiers. We're off to pick up Tali."

"We're getting Tali?" Garrus asked, sitting down next the Shepard with a tray of his own.

"Yep," Shepard said.

"It'll be nice seeing her again," Garrus said thoughtfully.

"Where is she?" Miranda asked.

"Dholen system. Unfortunately for us, that's deep in geth space. I'm hoping this will be easy, but I doubt it," Shepard answered.

"What's Tali doing there?" Garrus asked.

Shepard shrugged. "I don't know. We saw her on Freedom's Progress, another human colony that was attacked by the Collectors. I asked her to join me, but she mentioned about a dangerous mission that she couldn't let anyone else do."

"Deep space espionage, perhaps?" Miranda suggested. "Study geth patrols or weaknesses?"

"No idea. We'll ask when we see her," Shepard stated. He turned to Garrus. "How's your food been?"

Garrus chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "He got better. It tasted like those MREs I was surviving on in the beginning, but it's not actually that bad now." He looked at Shepard shrewdly. "I'm sure Tali will like it."

Shepard grinned and took another bite, saying nothing.

Miranda shook her head in amusement. "Men. Is it always about food with you?" She took a drink before turning to Shepard. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"Nothing like being surrounded by friends to take your mind off your problems," Shepard said easily. "Besides, I already died once. I'm not going dwell on depression. It's not how I operate." Shepard smirked. "If you're asking if I'm hung-over, the answer is no. Gotta love these implants."

Miranda smiled before eating again.

"Hey, Goldstein," Rupert said while collecting her tray. "Didn't you mention once that you were stationed on Horizon?"

"Oh yeah," Goldstein said. "If I hadn't joined Cerberus, I'd probably be abducted by the Collectors by now."

"Yeah, she really dodged a bullet," Hawthorne said.

"Those Collectors creep the hell out of me," Goldstein added with a shudder.

Hawthorne shook his head. "Well, you're alright now. I got to report for my shift at the helm. Bye."

Hawthorne made his way to the lift, greeting Ken and Gabby as they passed by him.

"Hey, Rupert," Gabby said. She and Ken took their trays and sat down nearby. "These meals are getting better and better," she said to Ken at their table.

Ken scoffed. "Yeah, right. That scunner couldn't serve a good haggis if his life depended on it."

Both Shepard and Miranda choked simultaneously at Ken's declaration. Garrus looked up, confused at what their problem was.

Gabby looked a little green. "All haggis tastes like ass anyway, so does it matter?"

Ken smiled. "Aye, but in the right hands, it can taste like mighty fine ass," he stated wistfully.

"What ass tastes fine?" Joker asked as he passed by their table.

"Haggis, of course!" Ken said.

"Oh man. Could you not make me sick right before lunch?" Joker groaned.

"What? What's wrong with haggis?" Ken asked defensively.

"Uh… everything?" Joker stated. He hobbled up to Rupert, ignoring Ken's sputtering and took a tray. "This isn't haggis, is it?" he asked.

"Haggis? Why the hell would I cook that?" Rupert asked confused.

"Oi!" Ken shouted indignantly. Gabby laughed in his face.

Joker grinned before sitting at Shepard's table next to Miranda. "You gotta do something about that thing, Commander," Joker pleaded, all traces of his earlier humor gone.

"What thing?" Shepard asked confused.

"That thing that keeps sitting next to me," Joker whispered between his teeth.

Shepard was still confused. He thought about what was in the cockpit before shaking his head. "You mean EDI," he said in a normal tone.

Joker's eyes widened and he started making shushing noises. They might've paid more attention to his antics if his mouth was full at the time. Miranda looked fairly disgusted and moved her plate farther away from him.

Joker looked around. "I can tell when it's listening."

EDI's avatar popped up next to their table. "I am always listening, Mr. Moreau."

"I know!" he groaned.

"What's the problem now, Joker?" Shepard asked wearily.

"That thing," he accused, pointing at the avatar. "Wants to fire me over a joke!"

"That's it?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And maybe a prank or two," Joker muttered under his breath.

"Would this prank have something to do with 'personalization of workspace', Mr. Moreau?" Miranda asked, aware of EDI's report to her.

Joker hunched down and shoved more food into his mouth to avoid answering.

"What happened?" Garrus asked, curious.

"Cerberus regulations are clear, Mr. Moreau. 'Personalization' does not include grease on my bridge cameras," EDI answered.

Shepard and Garrus snickered while Miranda muttered something about Joker being 'juvenile'.

Taking heart from Garrus' and Shepard's response, he swallowed and looked up. "It's just mad that all its footage of me looks like a dream sequence."

"So you're being fired over that?" Shepard asked, smiling.

"I might've said something about flashing the AI core, but I was kidding!" he defended. "And we'd only lose a few systems. Nosey ones," he said while glaring at the avatar.

"To clarify, human resources adjustments are not actually under my authority," EDI said.

"Then why? Why are you always picking on me? Why not Jacob or Garrus or you know, anyone else, but me!" Joker complained.

"My replies were intended to provoke, though not to cause distress. Your reactions are atypical of most humans," EDI responded before pausing. "You are interesting," she added.

Garrus and Shepard burst out laughing at him. "She pushed your buttons and got a rise out of you," Shepard said.

"About time he was on the receiving end," Garrus chortled.

"Great," Joker muttered again. "I just got worked over by the intercom."

His mutterings caused Shepard and Garrus to laugh more. Even Miranda had couldn't suppress her smile of amusement.

"It was not my intent to breed hostility, Mr. Moreau," EDI explained. "But you did instigate our interaction."

"Fine. Think of it this way – shut up," he muttered, glaring at her and ignoring both Shepard and Garrus' laughter.

* * *

_**Location: Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom**_

"What happened?" Tali asked as several marines gathered around her.

"We've been discovered! We think the geth found one of our probes and backtracked it to our location. We need to get you to safety!" one of the marines answered.

"Where's Reegar?" Tali asked as she was being herded away from their camp. She looked over the various marines, but couldn't see the tell-tale red Kal'Reegar favored.

"He's heading up the counterattack at OP-1, ma'am!" the marine answered. He turned to the others. "Squad 3! Chokepoint here at base camp! Don't let the geth through!"

"How many are there?" Tali asked. They stepped outside and ran for the nearest shady spot they could find.

"Unknown. We don't think they called for reinforcements, but there are enough patrols here to leave us at a disadvantage!"

"We need to get off-world!" Tali shouted.

"They've cut us off! We're on our own!"

Tali cursed under her breath and readied her shotgun. "Where are we going?" she asked as the team started moving as quickly as they could.

"OP-2. It's the most heavily fortified structure we can think…"

One of the marines screamed and fell down. The group turned to see a gaping hole in his stomach as a Geth Prime stomped its way toward them.

_Oh Keelah…_

* * *

_**Location: Normandy SR-2; En Route to Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom**_

The Normandy cleared the relay sometime after lunch and was making good time to Haestrom. Shepard took advantage of the fact that they were still two more hours away to practice his biotics a little bit more. He was back in the hangar, except it was much busier this time around with various crewmen mulling about.

Jacob was taking advantage of a little down time to pump some iron in the gym at the corner of the hangar. He nodded in greeting to Shepard who offered a silent nod of his own.

Picking a relatively empty area and giving a general warning to the crewmen to stay away, Shepard stood still and focused on his eezo modules. This particular exercise was similar to what he did just before using Lift for the first time, but instead of focusing primarily on his arms, he remembered Jack's advice and focused on his entire body.

_Sync up all my modules. Gotta sync up all of them…_

A familiar tingling sensation ran up and down his spine as he touched on several eezo modules at once. First the familiar ones, the ones in his arms he used often for Throw or Warp. Then, he remembered Kaidan saying that he once did a full biotic kick to his old instructor at BAaT. That was the scandal that shut Conatix and BAaT down. Consciously pushing electric current down legs for the first time, the eezo modules reacted, causing an uncomfortable itch. He resisted the urge to twitch or scratch the affected areas and slowly pushed the feeling aside. Pushing more electricity into his modules, he was finally awarded a pleasant tingling in all four limbs. Unbeknownst to him, his biotic energies manifested even greater than before. Dark energy rolled off of him in thick waves.

The crew found themselves mesmerized by the sight, but still had the presence of mind to keep their distance.

Jacob got off the bench and wiped his face with a towel. He stood nearby, impressed with the progress Shepard was making with biotics and curious what he was attempting next.

Shepard kept his breathing slow and even, a lesson he learned as an Infiltrator. He moved on to his torso, seeking the eezo modules hidden there. Again, the modules mildly protested, but one by one, Shepard touched each one for the first time until he found the last of eezo nodes in his body. Next was the hard part. He started to use all of the modules simultaneously, to work in conjunction and manipulate them to do what he needed to do.

The entire hangar was silent as they were watching the impressive biotic display Shepard was inadvertently providing. The sudden silence was enough to draw Jack out of her 'room' and investigate what was going on. As she approached the door leading to the hangar, she saw the familiar light and color of dark energy. Her curiosity increasing, she poked her head around the door and her eyes widened in shock. "What the hell?" she breathed out.

Shepard could practically feel his eezo modules singing their readiness back to him. Slowly, he shifted his body into the same stance he had been practicing all morning and visualized his destination only five feet in front of him. Keeping his breathing steady and his focus sharp, he consciously pushed the proper electrical commands throughout his entire body. The effect was nothing like he'd ever felt and certainly nothing he could've prepared himself for.

An instant almost felt like an eternity as he felt himself move forward. It felt like he was being catapulted or shot toward his target in slow motion. Then time returned to normal with a jarring snap. Shepard found himself five feet farther from his starting point, but the sudden acceleration and deceleration wasn't something he was ready for. The moment his feet touched the ground, he fell forward and started bouncing head over heels before landing on his side and tumbling several more feet. Every time he hit the ground he grunted in pain before crashing into the base of a crane.

"Shepard!" Jacob shouted. He broke out his stupor and ran toward the commander with several other crewmen following closely.

Shepard moaned in pain as he tried to get his bearings. He rolled over until he was flat on his back and stared at the ceiling above him. Stars danced in and out of his vision as he tried to quell the feeling of nausea that threatened to regurgitate his breakfast. He blinked in confusion when a dark shape entered his line of sight.

"Sh… o… ight?" the voice yelled out, exacerbating the sudden headache he felt.

Shepard only offered another groan.

"Al… Dr… was… lift… m… up!"

"Stop. Shouting," Shepard ordered as clearly as he could.

Just like that, the yelling stopped.

Shepard took a deep breath and called on a small bit of adrenaline to fight back against the pain and dizziness. Already, he could feel some of his mental faculties return with the sudden rush of energy. "That really hurt," he slowly said out loud.

"You alright, Shepard?" Jacob asked.

"Probably. But I think I need help standing here," Shepard said.

"Alright, I got you," Jacob said. He bent down and slung an arm over his shoulders and picked him up off the deck. "Not your best moment, huh?"

"No. But I think I had worse. I just can't remember them right now," Shepard said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You need to see Dr. Chakwas, Commander. The way you rag-dolled, other people would've broken bones."

"I'm fine," Shepard bit out. He stepped away from Jacob and stood on his own, albeit a little unsteadily. "See?"

Jacob crossed his arms. "I can see that, Commander. What **you** don't see are the abrasions all over your back," he pointed out.

Shepard reached behind him and felt one of the cuts. His hand came back with a thin film of blood. "Aw, shit."

"Damn, that had to have hurt," came a female voice.

Shepard turned his head and nodded. "I think you left something out when you were teaching me this, Jack."

"You said I was a good teacher. I said, 'bullshit'," Jack retorted. "How did you learn that so damn fast?"

"I really wish I knew," Shepard replied through gritted teeth. "Yeah, okay. I'm going to Chakwas now."

"Commander," EDI chimed in.

"Yes, EDI?" Shepard said as he stepped around Jack and limped his way up the stairs. Jacob followed closely in case he needed help.

"We're approximately one hour away from Haestrom," she dutifully reported.

"Okay. Take us out of FTL and engage stealth systems. Inform the crew that we're going to general quarters. And keep a lookout for any signs of geth," Shepard ordered.

"Understood, Commander. Engaging IES Stealth Systems and alerting all crew to battle stations. I am also taking the liberty to inform Dr. Chakwas of your injuries. She will be expecting you. Logging you out."

"Thanks, EDI," Shepard mumbled. He turned to face Jack, who was glaring at him. "We're about to go groundside. Get your armor and weapons and meet me in the Comm. Room."

Jack scoffed and shook her head at him. "You're unbelievable, you know that? Fine, keep your damn secrets," she huffed out before stomping back to her cot.

"You sure you're up for this?" Jacob asked.

"I really am feeling better, Jacob," Shepard said honestly. The pain and nausea had already faded away and he could feel his headache change from a dull pounding to light throbbing. He gave a shaky grin. "Gotta love these implants."

Jack's head appeared at the door frame. "Next time you wanna stop, create some mass effect fields when you reach your target. That's what protects you from the impact when you hit something."

Shepard sighed in annoyance. _She just had to rub it in…_

* * *

_**Location: Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom**_

"Fall back!" Kal'Reeger shouted. "Sun's burning out our shields!"

The Migrant Fleet Marines acknowledged the order and proceeded to cover each other as they retreated against their relentless and fearless enemy. They finally reached the safety of an old corridor. Taking advantage of the temporary breather, the quarian marines conducted weapons checks on their equipment to ensure they were still functioning against the hostile environment of Haestrom. Most of the weapons they possessed were old and second-hand, but well-maintained and functional.

"Sir! I'm getting reports that the geth are attacking OP-2!" a radioman reported.

"Damn it! That's where Tali is!" Kal said.

"Geth must've flanked us. We don't have the numbers to engage them, Kal," a marine said.

"Squad 2, you hold them back here at OP-1! The rest of you, on me! We're going to OP-2!"

Before Kal could even lead his charge, the radioman screamed from a gunshot to his leg. Kal cursed and grabbed him by his arm and bodily hauled him to his feet. "Covering fire! Move it, marine!"

Kal only managed to drag him a few feet when a stray shot hit the back of the radioman's skull. "Bosh'tet!" Kal cursed at the geth. Dropping the body, he tried the secure the radio when several shots ricocheted around him, forcing him to abandon his efforts.

"Kal! We need to go!" one of his men said. He grabbed him and started pulling him down the corridor.

"We need that radio! It's the only one powerful enough to communicate with!" Kal argued.

"Hunter!" a marine shouted.

Kal's protests died when the distorted image of a geth moved from shadow to shadow in the dimly lit corridor, with two more Geth Troopers right behind it. "Get the rocket launcher! Take them out!"

* * *

_**Location: Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, En Route to Haestrom, Normandy SR-2**_

"Well. What manner of idiocy brought you back to my Medical Bay, Shepard?" Dr. Chakwas said neutrally. However, her smile and twinkling eyes took most of the sting away from her words.

It still didn't make Shepard feel any better, physically or metaphysically. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. "I fell," he said, purposefully understating his poor imitation of a tuck and roll in the hangar.

"Fell," Chakwas skeptically repeated. She led him to one of the beds and forced him to sit down while she examined his injuries. "And how many times did you fall?" she asked indulgently.

"We're less than an hour away, Doc. Can you do something or not?" Shepard asked, trying to deflect the question.

"If Executive Lawson's notes about the Lazarus Project are accurate, Shepard, then these injuries should be no problem for you," she stated. She poked and prodded some of the deeper scratches on his back. "Of course, if her notes are accurate, then getting these abrasions should have been quite difficult. Had it been anyone else, I'd probably be looking at lacerations. Possibly considering skin grafts. Which begs the question: What happened?"

Shepard inwardly cursed at her tenacity. "I was practicing Biotic Charge. Let's just say, going from 100 to 0 mph in no time at all means wearing armor next time I practice and creating the right mass fields to stop properly or else I get another nasty 'fall'."

Chakwas raised an eyebrow. "Or several falls in your particular case, I'm certain. Well, the only thing I can do is disinfect the wounds and let your body take care of the rest. The bleeding has already stopped while we were chatting about how clumsy you are. I suspect the wounds should be fully healed in two or three hours."

Shepard sighed and gave her a mock-frown. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Chakwas put her hand to her chest and leaned back dramatically. "Why, Commander! I would never take pleasure in my patient's pain and suffering!"

Shepard rolled his eyes at her act before smiling._ Yep. She's enjoying this._

Chakwas smiled too, probably to avoid laughing, as she picked up a cotton swab with a pair of tongs, dipped it in some disinfectant, and started dabbing his wounds.

Shepard bore her ministrations stoically.

"All done," she announced after a few minutes.

"Thanks, Doc," Shepard mumbled and left.

He hurried to his cabin to change into his armor and then rushed to the Comm. Room where the rest of the team was waiting for him, ready for their mission.

Garrus was about to open his mouth when Shepard pinned him with a glare.

"Not a word."

Garrus closed his mouth, but his mandibles were opening and closing in obvious amusement.

Shepard turned his glare to Jacob and Jack. Jacob just shrugged unrepentantly and grinned, while Jack was content with snickering at him outright.

Suppressing the urge to sigh, he stepped up to the head of the table with as much dignity as he could. "Alright, EDI. Tell us what you know of Haestrom and where Tali is."

"According to my records, Haestrom formerly contained a quarian colony dedicated to the study of Dholen, the system's parent star, 289 years ago. Dholen appears to be unstable, with the probability of erupting into a red giant prematurely. Since then, the geth have occupied this region of space and have constructed several space stations nearby, leaving the colony abandoned. Due to Dholen's magnetic eruptions and solar output, expect loss of communications via standard radios. I advise that you carry a portable transmitter with you when you reach groundside. Otherwise, surface to orbit communications will be impossible."

"And Tali?" Garrus asked.

"I am unable to determine Tali'Zorah's location at this time, due to Dholen's magnetic interference."

"What conditions can we expect on Haestrom?" Jacob asked.

"The sun has overwhelmed the planet's magnetosphere and is currently bombarding Haestrom's surface with lethal levels of radiation," EDI answered.

"Are we going to be okay?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Your kinetic shields should be sufficient to protect you for a few minutes in direct exposure to the radiation. To put simply, exposure to sunlight will drain your shields. The prevalent radiation on the planet's surface is within tolerance range for your shields, though the time to regenerate will be increased."

"So in other words, we need to stay in the shade to keep our shields up," Miranda translated.

"Correct, Executive Lawson. Should your shields fail, your hardsuits will not provide sufficient protection against the radiation for very long," EDI said.

Grunt growled. "Then we'll fight in the shade… but no hiding!"

"How long will our shields last down there," Garrus asked.

"Approximately three minutes or less," EDI answered.

"Wonderful," Garrus sarcastically said. He turned to Shepard. "Why is Tali down there again?"

"I don't know, but it'd better be a good reason," Shepard replied. "How about the dark side of the planet? Can we operate there?"

"Scanners show far less radiation levels in the evening, Commander. I would recommend your mission be carried out then, unless Tali'Zorah is operating during the day. In which case, I would recommend waiting," EDI advised.

"Before we do anything, we need to find her first. Is there…" Shepard started before the intercom beeped.

"_Commander! This is Crewmen Matthews, sir. I just picked up a distress call from Haestrom. It was brief and faint, but I swear it was there a moment ago."_

"Did you get a location?" Shepard called back.

"_No, sir. It lasted only a moment,"_ Matthews' reported.

"What did it say?" Miranda asked.

"_It's a bit garbled. I can say for certain that it's quarian, but not much more… I can try to clean it up a bit,"_ Matthews said.

"EDI, help him," Shepard ordered.

"Understood, Commander. Stand by," EDI acknowledged.

"Joker, what's our position?" Shepard asked while they were waiting.

"_We're almost in orbit and we're still running silent. So far, no worries yet, Commander," _Joker reported.

"Hawthorne, Goldstein. Is the shuttle prepped?"

"_Half hour ago, Commander. We're just waiting on you,"_ Goldstein reported.

"Commander, the message was too degraded. Crewmen Matthews and I were only able to retrieve this much of the distress call," EDI said before playing the message.

"…_eth… ttacking… elp! Tali… Keelah se…"_

"Geth," Jacob interpreted.

"They found Tali first," Shepard growled. "Are there geth reinforcements en route?"

"Our scanners do not detect any geth ships approaching Haestrom, Commander," EDI answered.

"Is there any way to find Tali? Any distress beacons?" Garrus demanded.

"Due to Dholen's interference, I cannot say for certain if she is trying to communicate from the surface, Mr. Vakarian."

Shepard narrowed his eyes as his mind raced to find a way to locate Tali before the geth… His head snapped up in realization. "Is there any way to track geth movements on the surface from here?"

EDI was silent as processed Shepard's request. "I have successfully located a large concentration of geth near one of the quarian ruins," she finally said.

"Can't be certain of quarian location. Supposition, educated guess, but if incorrect," Mordin warned.

"Then we'll end up fighting a bunch of mechs and find nothing," Jack finished.

"Launch some probes down on that location, EDI. We'll use those to boost any signals in the area and try to locate Tali that way," Shepard ordered.

"Launching probes," EDI reported.

"Let's hope we get lucky," Garrus said.

* * *

_**Location: Far Rim Cluster, Dholen System, Haestrom**_

"No good, Kal. They're all dead," a marine said.

Kal cursed under his breath. He looked around the base camp at the bodies of his marines and geth. "At least they managed to take some of them down."

"_Is anyone there? This is Tali. I'm under attack by geth forces at OP-2. I repeat: I'm under attack by geth forces at OP-2. Can anyone respond?_" Tali called over a general signal.

Kal's head snapped up. "Ma'am, we hear you. Are you alright?"

"_Reegar! Where are you?"_ Tali asked, her voice thick with relief.

"What happened to your escort?" Reegar asked.

"_They're outside, but they'll be overwhelmed soon. You have to help them!"_

"We're approaching your position! Stand by!" Kal said before turning to his team. "You heard her. Let's go!" He led his marines down the other door, but stopped and looked back. "Better shut this one and disable it. Make it hard for them for them to follow."

"_Reegar, I can hear geth trying to bypass the door. I'll do everything __I can to slow them down, but I'm safe for the moment. It'll take them time to break in. Please hurry, but don't do anything foolish,"_ Tali pleaded.

"Orders are orders, ma'am," Kal responded evenly. Again, he didn't bother mentioning to her that his orders came from Admiral Rael'Zorah himself. Orders he'd follow to the letter.

_Keep my daughter safe._

* * *

_**Dossier: Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya**_

_-Expert in combat tech, systems hacking_

_-Strong engineering background, familiar with the Normandy_

_Formerly listed as Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, the quarian engineer earned her adult name after helping Shepard defeat Saren two years ago. Tali is currently on a classified assignment for the Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board on Haestrom, deep in geth-controlled space._

* * *

Shepard gripped his assault rifle and mentally prepared himself for the mission at hand. He was confident of his abilities and experiences to fight the geth, but the environmental hazards added a complication he didn't appreciate. "Grunt, you have the transmitter?"

Grunt nodded and shifted the bundle on his back.

"_One minute!" _Goldstein reported.

"Remember, stay in the shade as much as possible to preserve your shields. If we engage the geth, we'll need every advantage we can get," Shepard reminded his squad as the Kodiak prepared to drop them off at the designated landing zone.

"After Horizon, this should be child's play," Garrus confidently said before turning to face Shepard. "When it comes to fighting geth, we're old pros in this."

Shepard smirked. "Geth really don't seem that bad now, do they?"

"_30 seconds!"_

"Helmets on!" Shepard ordered. After fastening his own helmet on and checking the seal, he looked around the cabin. "Coms check!"

Everyone secured their helmets and reported their status, one by one in their own manner.

"_Touching down!"_

"Secure the LZ!"Shepard ordered.

Jacob, Garrus, and Grunt leapt out of the hatch the moment it opened. After a cursory sweep, Jacob reported all clear.

The rest of the team disembarked and ran from the shuttle to give it room to take off. "We're groundside,"Shepard said.

"_We're off then. Happy hunting!"_ Hawthorne acknowledged.

"Whoa…" Jack commented with a whistle.

Shepard turned to see the largest space cockroach he'd ever seen. Comically, it ran away from the squad, only to cross into a narrow beam of sunlight where it burst into flames.

"Wow. That's…" Jacob started, before falling silent.

"That's like barbeque," Grunt chortled. "Let's finish this up quick. I'm getting hungry."

Shepard turned his gaze away from the burnt bug and down the slope toward the gate at the end. Double checking his shields, he addressed his squad. "Keep an eye on your shields at all times or end up like that cockroach. We got a large stretch of sun down there, so no lagging. Move!"

Everyone sprinted down the slope, crossing through sunlight and shadows created by the broken columns of the decrepit colony.

"Damn, this sucks!" Jack griped as they reached the bottom. "How much longer till sundown?"

"Four hours," Mordin supplied. "Mission shouldn't take longer than that. Unless something happens."

"Damn it."

"Quiet. I hear something_," _Miranda said. She pointed her rifle at the security office building to their right.

Shepard took point and slowly moved forward. The surface of his left boot suddenly felt different, prompting him to take a quick glance down with one eye. _"There's blood here. Trail goes right to the door," _he said, via radio.

The team tensed up as they approached the building. The sound Miranda heard was a voice, playing from an audio log.

"_Emergency log entry: The geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time."_

Shepard stacked up against door while Miranda took the other side. Jacob stood by with his omni-tool and prepared to open the door remotely. A silent count began before Jacob opened the door and Shepard darted in, checking the corners to the door on his side, while Miranda mirrored his actions on her side.

"_Anyone who gets this, find Tali'Zorah. She and the data are all that matters. Keelah se'lai._

Inside, there was a dead quarian, male, slumped against the wall next to a portable terminal. Amazingly, there was an inactive Geth Destroyer opposite to his body.

_Guy must've put up one hell of a fight._

"Shepard, there's a console here that will open the gate," Garrus said.

Shepard looked out the window and saw the dilapidated gate. "Stand by Garrus. Everyone, stack up and get ready. Something tells me that ancient thing is going to make a lot of noise."

Everyone filed out of the building and flanked the gate while Garrus stood next to the button.

"Do it."

The moment Garrus hit the button, the gate retracted into the ground with a horrible screeching noise. Shepard grit his teeth against the sound, but kept his attention to whatever might be waiting for them.

"Above us!" Grunt shouted. "Dropship!"

Shepard looked up to see the ship Grunt pointed out. Still modeled after Sovereign, the dropship flew in front of them and released several geth directly in their path.

"Light'em up!"Shepard ordered.

Rushing through the gate and taking cover as quickly as possible behind objects in shady areas, the squad exchanged fire with the synthetics. The Dropship was forced to place its payload into open areas, allowing Shepard's squad to drop a few geth within the first few seconds before they could even counterattack.

Shepard popped out cover and fired at a pair of Geth Troopers. He missed one, but managed to score a tight grouping on the other. What gave him pause was the Trooper he shot fell immediately. Its kinetic barrier didn't appear to block his shot or protect it.

The other Trooper engaged its omni-tool and tapped a few buttons. Its kinetic barrier manifested into a cyan light surrounding it, but the shield flickered strangely.

Shepard shifted his rifle slightly and managed to hit the other geth this time. Another tight grouping impacted against its shield before it suddenly faded away, leaving the Trooper open for a follow-up burst.

"_No more hostiles in sight!" _Mordin called out.

"Roger, that," Shepard acknowledged. He looked around the entrance of the ruins to double check if they missed anything before turning his attention back at the two geth he downed.

"I know I said this would be easy," Garrus said as he walked up to Shepard. "But even that felt a little **too** easy."

"They were standing in the sun the whole time," Shepard observed, pointing at the two geth in front of him with his rifle. "Their programming involves fighting organics in teams, but they probably don't take environmental hazards into consideration."

"Why wouldn't they?" Miranda asked, slightly perplexed.

"Artificial bodies. Even without shields, geth can survive on Haestrom. Lack frailties of organics. Also, may lack self-preservation. Probably will continue to utilize similar tactics regardless of conditions," Mordin theorized.

"So they don't care about the sun and because of that, their shields keep frying,"Jacob simplified. "Whatever makes this easy, I guess."

"Too easy. This is a waste of time," Grunt grumbled.

"Right until you run into a Geth Prime. Then we might some problems," Garrus reminded.

"Armor doesn't stand up to biotics. We'll unleash Jack on any Primes we see," Shepard responded.

"Ha! Whatever you say, boss man," Jack said. Despite the nonchalance of her tone, there was a hint of a swagger in her following steps.

"Alright, let's go," Shepard ordered. Taking point, he led the squad deeper into the quarian ruins.

Abandoning subtly and stealth for speed, they sprinted from one shady area to the next. While they were able to cover a lot of ground, their ability to perceive danger was slightly dimmed due to the frantic pace they were travelling at.

More than once, Shepard found his focus wavering. Between finding suitable places to run to, managing his fluctuating shield levels, keeping an eye out for possible geth ambushes, and the few bodies of quarians he came across, this mission was turning into a lesson on mental discipline. The one thing that was going his way was the fact the sun was setting, creating large shadows for them to safely run through.

_Can't imagine how tough this would be at midday…_

"Incoming geth!" Garrus warned.

Cursing his inattention, Shepard looked to where Garrus was firing at. A door on the far side of the ancient construction site they were running through was open. Some Geth Troopers were pouring through, but what really drew his attention was the geth painted in red. "Rocket Troopers!"

"I got'em!" Garrus said. He pulled out his sniper rifle and took aim at the red synthetics.

Shepard quickly looked around. The ground between their current position and the geth was bathed in sunlight. The geth remained at their end, crouching behind large boulders and rocks.

"Looks like they're creating a chokepoint at the door," Garrus observed, just before he shot one Rocket Trooper. "Ha! Scratch one!"

"We need to find an alternate path!" Jacob advised.

"I think there might be a way on the right!"Miranda reported.

Shepard ducked down when the first volley of missiles started exploding around them. "Miranda, lead everyone else through that path! Garrus and I will thin their ranks a bit!"

"_Roger!"_

Shepard found himself another shady perch and readied his own sniper rifle. Crouching and placing his rifle on a square cut piece of masonry, he peered through the scope at the defending geth.

"Rocket Trooper 105 meters, on your right,"Garrus said to Shepard. "Bet you 100 creds you can't hit it."

Shepard found himself grinning, despite his resolve to remain serious in the face of their situation. "You're on."

One shot, one decapitated geth, and 100 credits richer, Shepard couldn't help but think: _This really is too easy._

* * *

Kal grunted in pain and fell down behind his cover. He looked to see the puncture in his leg and checked to make sure his combat seals clamped down around the affected area. "Damn persistent bastards…"

Another explosion shook the ground underneath him as the Colossus tried to get a better shot. Gritting his teeth, he crawled away from geth tank and back toward the entrance. A Geth Trooper rounded the corner in front of him, but Kal managed to draw his pistol first and shoot its lightbulb head.

"_Reegar? Are you there?"_ Tali asked worriedly.

Kal grunted in pain again as he finally reached the entrance of the valley, but unfortunately for him, it was on the other side of where he needed to be. "I hear you, ma'am," he called back. He grabbed the first aid kit one of his marines dropped when he died and applied a liberal amount of medi-gel to his wound.

"_What's your status?"_

"I'm on the other side of the valley. Geth got me pinned down. My team is dead. I'll try to get the others here ASAP. Just hold tight," Kal said. He decided to leave out the part where he was wounded. No sense in worrying her.

"_Alright. Are you okay?"_

"I can still shoot," Kal assured. He reached over and picked up a rocket launcher and checked how much ammo there was left. Satisfied that it was still in working condition, he popped up and aimed at the Colossus.

"_Just hang in there, Reegar. I'm sure help will come soon_," Tali stated confidently.

* * *

Shepard scanned the construction site one last time before nodding to Garrus. Both of them stood up and collapsed their respective sniper rifles before picking up their assault rifles.

"Miranda, status?" Shepard asked.

"_We cleared a path and have made it across the site. You should see us coming now,"_ Miranda said.

Shepard looked up and saw the rest of his team running down a ramp and huddling in the shadow of a large column. "Alright. Secure the area, Garrus and I are coming to regroup."

After darting from one shady area to another, they met up with the rest of the squad and pressed forward. The group gave a collective sigh of relief when they stepped into a darkened corridor. Ambushes from the geth, they could handle. The same couldn't be said for Haestrom's sun.

"Hear something. Sounds like voices," Mordin said.

Shepard cocked his head and listened carefully.

"_Break-break-break. OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, do you copy?"_

"One of the quarians is still alive," Jacob said.

The group swiftly made their way through the corridor. Shepard stopped at a corner and peered around. He spotted two Troopers standing over a radio. Seeing their shields flickering, probably recovering from a jaunt in the sun, he decided to take a chance. Pulling back his arm and thrusting it out, he used Throw to send both Troopers flying down the hall to slam against the nearest wall. Both geth impacted the stone wall hard enough to make an indentation, white fluids spraying all over when they hit. As Shepard suspected, their shields were too weak to protect them from his biotics.

"_The geth sent a dropship towards OP-2. Tali'Zorah's secure, but we need backup."_

Shepard moved forward carefully when something flickered at his peripheral vision. He turned to his flank, rifle up, and saw a Geth Hunter slumped against the wall next to him. Its optic camouflage was the only thing still working, causing it to flicker in and out of sight.

"_We're bunkered up here. Can you send support?"_

Stepping up the radio, Shepard picked it off the dead quarian and studied it, trying to find the send button.

"_OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reeger, come in, over!"_

Finally figuring it out, he pressed the button and held it up to his mouth. "This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Can we provide assistance?"

"_Who…? Wait, Shepard? The Spectre Tali worked with? Don't know why you're here, but right now, any organic is a welcome sight. Did you see any of my marines?"_

"I'm sorry. You're the first survivor we've found," Shepard responded apologetically.

"_Damn. Alright Shepard, patch your radio into Channel 617 Theta."_

Engaging his omni-tool, Shepard tapped into the correct frequency for himself and his squad. Glancing around, he saw everyone placing their hands on their ears to check if they were receiving.

"_We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after, but the geth found us."_

One by one, everyone nodded when they heard the quarian's voice. Shepard turned off the radio and tucked it in a pouch.

"_They've got us pinned down. Can't get to our ship, can't transmit data through the solar radiation."_

"What's the status of your team? How many of you are left?" Shepard asked. He silently gestured for his squad to secure the corridor to prevent any geth from ambushing them.

"_We were a small squad. Twenty marines, plus the science team. Don't know how many are left now, but we made the synthetic bastards pay for it every step of the way."_

"What brought you this deep into geth-controlled space?"

"_You're asking the wrong person, Shepard. I just point and shoot. Something about the sun. It's going bad faster than it should. Some kind of energy problem."_

"This is a research mission?" Miranda asked quietly.

Shepard shrugged at her. "And the geth?"

"_One of their patrols found our monitoring equipment. Backtracked it to our location. Dropships started raining geth down on our heads before we could get off-world. System's under geth control. We knew they made planetary sweeps periodically. We'd hoped going low-emission would hide us."_

"We didn't detect any reinforcement on our way in," Shepard informed.

"_First thing that's gone right all day," _Kal grumbled. _"Their patrol ship hasn't lifted off again and you probably noticed that the radiation blocks all offworld communication."_

"How are holding up? We can be there in a few minutes."

"_I'm fine Shepard. Just take it slow and careful. You should already know that that direct sunlight fries your shields all to hell. It's probably the only reason we've managed to hold back the geth this much. Dumb bastards keep running into the sunlight."_

"What's your location? And Tali? Is she alright?"

"_Bunkered down at base camp across the valley. Tali's at a secure shelter. Getting her out is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you."_

Shepard furrowed his brow in worry. "You've got confirmation that the geth haven't reached Tali yet?"

"_I'm making sure of it personally, Shepard. Every marine on this rock is sworn to protect her. Long as one of us is still drawing air, she'll be safe."_

Shepard found his respect for Kal'Reegar go up a few notches.

"_I hear gunfire,"_ Grunt reported from his position at the end of the tunnel.

"Stand by, Reegar. I think we found more of your marines. Hold your position while we try to his their back ranks."

"_Dropship is back!"_ Jacob yelled.

"Move!" Shepard ordered.

Everyone dashed to the end of the tunnel to meet up with Jacob and Grunt. They were overlooking three quarians huddled behind a barricade, exchanging fire with geth forces occupying a building across from them.

Shepard looked to see where Jacob was pointing at and saw the Dropship moving toward the defending quarians. "Jacob, distract that thing. Take it down if you can. Miranda, assault the geth positions in the building over there. Jack, on me!"

The squad broke apart and executed their assigned orders. Miranda leapt off the precipice and led the squad, sans Shepard, Jacob and Jack toward the geth ground forces. Jacob pulled out his ML-77 and started firing at the Dropship, gaining its attention as the more dangerous threat over the quarians.

"Whatever you're going to do, Commander, do it quick. I got their attention and it looks pissed!" Jacob shouted.

Shepard and Jack leapt down as well. Seeing a large boulder, Shepard pointed at it. "Help me lift this thing!"

Jack looked at the rock and then at the Dropship. Comprehension dawned on her and she nodded. As the Dropship closed in on Jacob, Shepard and Jack used their combined biotics to lift the boulder into the air. When it hovered mere inches above their heads, they moved it so it was between them and the approaching ship.

"Steady… steady…" Shepard quietly said, keeping his focus on the hovering rock and the geth ship. "NOW!"

Both them used Throw at the same time, tossing the rock at the portside of the Dropship just before it fired it guns at Jacob, who was still firing missiles at it. The rock slammed in the ship and lodged itself inside. The ship lurched upward from the impact, its aim completely off the mark; the shot sailed upward into the sky. Explosions appeared up and down its hull as the ship started flying erratically, trying to compensate for the damage and the sudden mass it took on.

"Oh shit," Shepard said when the ship started flying toward the quarians. "**RUN!"**he bellowed.

The quarians didn't need to be told twice. All three got up and abandoned their positions just as the ship impacted against the building above them. It flew along the structure, creating a horrible screeching sound before crashing.

The impact the ship made when it met the building dislodged some of the weaker portions of the wall. Parts of the building came down on the quarians. Two were quick enough, but one was too slow and was caught in the raining debris.

"No!" One of the quarians shouted.

Shepard was about to help them when Miranda's voice came on the radio. _"We need some back up! Their shields are at full strength and they have a Prime and Hunter backing them up!"_

"We're on our way! Jacob, get down from there! Let's go!" Shepard yelled out. Seeing the surviving quarians were all right for the time being, Shepard, Jack and Jacob sprinted toward the geth occupied building.

Inside, Miranda's team was faring well against the geth. They were evenly numbered and the warehouse was large enough that it created a large shadow to protect everyone from the radiation. "They're coming from the ramp! Grunt, Garrus, Concussion Shot! Suppress them!"

"On your ass!" Grunt taunted when his concussion round scattered them.

"Hunter! Here!" Mordin yelled, pointed at the distortion coming right at them. "Enjoy!" he said before using his Cryo Blast.

Icy particles swept around the camouflaged geth, rendering its invisibility useless. Miranda used the opportunity to target it with Overload. "Night, night!"

The electrical discharge combined with the icy particles overwhelmed its shields and shut the geth down.

Shepard ran into the building and slid into the nearest available cover. Taking stock of the situation quickly, he started issuing his orders.

"Jacob, support Grunt and take out the geth at the ramp. Garrus! Overload the Prime!" Shepard ordered, before using Warp to try to disable its shields and armor.

Garrus tapped his omni-tool and sent his tech attack at the charging Geth Prime.

Their tandem attack worked, disabling its both shields and weapons. Mordin and Miranda followed up with Incinerate and Warp respectively, causing the Prime to stagger back from the onslaught. Jack saw her moment and got up from her cover to use Charge.

Shepard found himself studying her technique carefully. He watched when she vanished and reappeared in front of the Geth Prime, her mass effect fields exploding at point blank range, much like Warp. The Prime sailed across the warehouse and impacted heavily against the wall. It struggled to get to its feet when Jack ran up and jabbed her shotgun against is head and blew it clean off.

Shepard stood up slowly with his rifle up, checking to see if they'd cleared the warehouse out. "Report!"

"Clear here!" Miranda shouted.

"Clear!" Garrus shouted.

"This thing is toast," Jack said, poking the Prime with her shotgun.

"Clear up here!" Jacob reported.

After one last glance around the room, Shepard turned back to the two surviving quarians that were approaching him.

"Thanks for saving us," one of them gratefully said.

"Yeah. We could use the help," the other, female, added.

"No problem," Shepard nodded back at them. He turned to look at the blocked doorway. "I'm sorry about your colleague."

"He knew the stakes," the male quarian said neutrally, maintaining his professionalism. "We'll mourn our losses later. We need to get to Kal and Tali. Can you help us?"

"That's what we're here for," Shepard said.

"Keelah se'lai," the female quarian praised in relief. "I'm Syrin'Dana vas Tesleya," she said before introducing her fellow quarian. "This is Raz'Sela vas Tonbay, Migrant Fleet Marines."

"Shepard," the Spectre introduced himself before introducing the rest of his squad. One finished, looked over the two quarians. "Are you both okay?"

"We're fine," Raz assured. "We got split up from the rest of our squad when geth took us by surprise. We've been fighting for our lives ever since, trying to regroup with base camp. We almost made it too, except… well," he trailed off and gestured at the surrounding bodies of the geth.

Shepard nodded in understanding and left the warehouse to inspect the rubble that blocked their path. "Is this the only way?"

"There might be others," Raz said. "But this is the quickest way."

"We need something to clear the rubble. Didn't Tali use demolition charges?" Syrin asked her compatriot.

Raz nodded. "If we find more, we could blow our way though." He turned to Shepard. "There's one demo charge in the warehouse, but it won't be enough. We stored the rest across valley. We were planning on setting some equipment there tomorrow."

"Running around getting these charges will draw more attention from the geth," Miranda warned.

"Not to mention going through the sun again," Jack groaned when she looked across the lit valley.

"No need," Shepard said as he stood up from his inspection of the debris. "Everyone stand back. Jacob, Jack, help me out here," Shepard directed. He took several steps and started biotically glowing.

Jack immediately took the hint and started glowing herself. "Why the fuck didn't I think of that?"

Jacob stood on Shepard's other side and tapped into his biotics as well. "Ready, Commander."

"On three. One. Two. Three!" Shepard counted off before using Lift to try to move the biggest piece of rubble out of the way. Jack and Jacob added their efforts and the three of them started to shift the rocks out of the way. "Move it back…" Shepard grunted out from the strain.

They took a few steps back, bringing the blockage with them. Miranda stepped around and looked past the debris. "Okay, it's big enough to get through. Even for Grunt. You can put it down, now."

The three biotics relaxed, dropping the rocks with a resounding thud.

"Excellent work!" Mordin praised.

Shepard nodded. "Arm up and let's move out." He moved forward, respectfully moving around the body of the unfortunate quarian marine.

Syrin and Raz bowed their heads at the sight. "Keelah se'lai," they intoned mournfully before hefting their rifles up and following.

Inside the building, Shepard deduced that this was the quarian base camp. The multitude of supplies, equipment, bed rolls, and weapons was a dead giveaway. Sweeping the room, he identified both quarian bodies and geth remains. One geth was still active, but heavily damaged. Stalking up to the crawling geth, Shepard planted his boot firmly on its back, halting its progress. He lowered his assault rifle and put two shots in the back of its head. "Secure the room. Mordin, check for survivors," he ordered immediately.

"Yes. Of course. Understood," Mordin nodded before checking on the various quarians around them.

Shepard glanced at the door on the side of the room. "Jacob, can you do something about the door?"

"I don't know," Jacob confessed. "I'll try to bypass it, but it looks damaged and old. Very old," he pointed out.

"They probably were trying to stop reinforcements from following," Grunt guessed.

"Do what you can," Shepard said to Jacob.

"Aye, aye, Commander."

Everyone else checked to ensure the geth were inactive. Troopers, Rocket Troopers, Hunters, even a Prime and a Destroyer littered the room.

"Huh. They put up a hell of a fight," Grunt said approvingly.

"Yeah…" Shepard agreed. He spotted an active terminal and started checking through it.

_Tali's logs…_

Tapping a command, Tali's face appeared on the screen.

"_We need a core sample to get a timeline on the rate of radiation increase, but our equipment keeps dying on us. Shepard once used a mining laser to clear some rubble back on Therum so we could rescue Liara. Maybe I can do something similar with demolition charges."_

Shepard smiled at the memory. Tapping another command, he listened to the next log.

"_It's next to impossible to get accurate solar measurements. The radiation keeps burning out our equipment. This sun shouldn't be like this. It was stable a few hundred years ago. Stars don't die that quickly."_

Frowning at the possible implications, Shepard moved on to the next entry.

"_Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal back then."_ Tali's voice took on a tone of wonder._ "So much space. Walls of stone… It's amazing. I wish my friends could see it."_ She paused in her recording, before whispering, _"I wish Shepard were here."_

"You know, she always did look up to you," Garrus commented from behind him.

Shepard turned around and faced Garrus. He was being serious, no trace of humor at all. Of course, considering they were surrounded by some of Tali's marines, there was little to joke about. "I have to confess, I'm bit flattered," Shepard admitted. He looked around the ruins he was in with a different attitude, out of respect for Tali's feelings. As he was observing the ruins, he saw Tali's face on another console. Furrowing his brow, he pointed at the other console. "Over there."

Garrus fell in step with him as they moved to the other console and examined it. "Wait a second… This is Tali!" Shepard shook his head. "I mean, this is Tali trying to communicate with us!"

Raz and Syrin perked up and ran over to them.

Garrus moved to the nearby console and started fiddling around with it. "Looks like it took a hit in the firefight. Rerouting… Okay, you should be able to hear her… Now."

"…_rah to base camp. Come in, base camp. Tali'Zorah to base camp. Please! Is anyone there?"_

"Tali!" Syrin called out.

"_Can anyone hear me?"_ Tali continued.

"Damn. We can only see and hear her. Hang on, I'll try to establish communications," Garrus said.

"Miranda, help him," Shepard ordered.

Miranda nodded and walked up next to Garrus and started typing rapidly.

While they worked, Shepard glanced at Mordin.

Mordin silently shook his head and bowed.

Sighing, he turned to Jacob next.

"Sorry, Commander. We could try blowing it open," Jacob suggested.

"This structure is very old," Raz said. "If we used explosives, we might bury ourselves alive."

"Shepard! I got some magic happening here!" Garrus triumphantly said.

"_Hello? Is anyone there?"_

"Tali, its Shepard."

Tali jerked her head up in surprise. _"Shepard? I'm not complaining, but you show up at the strangest times! What are you doing in geth space? No, wait. If you're at my camp, is there anyone else with you?"_

"I have two marines with me," Shepard said, looking at the quarians in question. "Raz'Sela and Syrin'Dana."

"Raz, Syrin! I'm glad you two made it," Tali said in relief.

"Us too, ma'am," Raz nodded.

"_Did anyone else make it?"_

Both marines hesitated. Shepard spoke up for them. "I'm sorry, Tali. Any survivors must have fallen back."

Tali bowed her head. _"We knew this mission was high-risk. Damn it."_ She looked back up. _"So are you doing here, Shepard?"_

"Both Garrus and I were worried about you. Thought we could come by and see how you were doing," Shepard replied.

"_Garrus is here too?"_ Tali asked.

"Right here, Tali," Garrus said, stepping up next to Shepard. "It's good to see you again."

Tali nodded_. "You too, Garrus."_ She looked at the both of them. _"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to hear your voices,"_ she said. Her relief was palpable.

Syrin spoke up. "Ma'am, you know them?

"_Yes, I served with Commander Shepard two years ago,"_ Tali confirmed.

"Wait. You mean the Spectre agent you worked with? I thought he was…" Syrin said before trailing off. Both marines looked at each other before turning to stare at Shepard with renewed respect.

"What's your situation?" Shepard asked, silently enduring the awestruck stares of the two quarians.

"_I got the data I needed and I'm safe for now, but I've got a lot of geth outside."_

"Is anyone else still with you? Kal'Reegar?" Shepard asked.

"_The marines covering me are…"_ She trailed off. She swallowed and continued. _"I know Reegar is still alive. He's been in contact with me. He's trying to slow the geth down. I can hear him firing at the geth outside," _she said with a glance to the side.

"Ma'am, we need a way to OP-2, but the door is sealed and the console is damaged. Can you open it from your end?" Raz asked.

"_Let me see… Yes, I can do it. Here. Should be unlocked now," _Tali said.

Everyone looked at the door and saw the indicator turn green.

"_Be careful, Shepard, Garrus. And please, do what you can to keep Reegar alive," _Tali pleaded.

Shepard nodded. "You have my word. We'll do what we can. Sit tight, we're on our way."

"_Thank you," _Tali said gratefully.

Shepard turned to his team and two quarians. "Move out."

* * *

"Sounds like Kal is still giving the geth hell," Raz noted happily.

Explosions were echoing across the underground chamber they were in. Judging by the direction, the source of the explosions was coming from the direction they were heading toward.

"I always thought that bastard was too stubborn to die," Syrin commented thoughtfully.

Shepard sidled up to a corner and peered around. Seeing nothing immediately, he moved out only catch a distortion hovering in the air. "We've been spotted!" he warned. He thrust an arm out at the distortions, using Throw to scatter them. They were blown back and impacted against the columns lining the underground basement.

"Looks like the drones have an optical camouflage system," Miranda hissed.

"Eyes open! They know we're here now!" Jacob shouted. He aimed his shotgun at several more distortions and started shooting them out of the sky.

"Over here! Looks like we can go right and cut across without going through the sunlight!" Jack said pointing at the path.

"Go!" Shepard said as he pulled out his Blackstorm.

Everyone scrambled to go around the outside of the chamber. "Prime!" Mordin shouted. He was forced to duck behind a column as the rocket the Geth Prime launched at him exploded nearby.

"I got him!" Shepard said. "Cover me!"

Syrin lobbed a grenade at the Prime's feet as Shepard charged his Blackstorm.

"Coming from above! More drones!" Raz yelled.

"I got them!" Jack yelled, using her own biotics to scatter them.

"Firing!" Shepard warned. "Get back!"

The Blackstorm launched its miniature singularity down the length of the room. The drones lacked the power to resists it's pull and were drawn to it, either to be crushed by its awesome gravitational forces, or pulled along, away from the organic group. The Prime found itself being pulled by the traveling black orb as well and grabbed the edge of another column, anchoring itself from being dragged along.

Grunt aimed his shotgun and loaded a concussive round before firing. The Prime was rocked back by the blast and tumbled uncontrollably toward the black hole when it exploded.

"Hurry, let's go before more drones show up!" Garrus shouted.

"Keelah. What is that thing?" Raz said, staring at the menacing black heavy weapon Shepard was securing to his weapon's harness.

"Later," Shepard said curtly. He looked around the room for any more threats as Garrus took point and found the safest path through the room with the least amount of sunlight.

"We made it," Jacob said. He stacked up against a door opposite of Garrus and nodded.

Garrus nodded as well and prepared to enter the room. The explosions could be heard on the other side.

Mordin stood nearby with his omni-tool and remotely opened the door, allowing Garrus and Jacob to enter and secure the room.

"Clear!" they both reported simultaneously.

Shepard followed them in and swiftly made his way to the console. Locating the controls to open the locked door, he tapped the appropriate commands to allow them access. What he was unprepared for was the shutters opening as well, allowing everyone to see the valley separating them from the observatory. Unfortunately, the geth and worse yet, the Colossus was able to see them too.

"Oh, shit," was all Shepard could say as he stared wide-eyed at the hulking tank.

"Son of a…" Jack said, taking in her first look at the huge geth.

The Colossus reared back and charged its main cannon, mounted underneath its head.

"Down!" Shepard shouted, slamming his fist on the shutter button.

Everyone hit the deck as the armature launched its long-range siege pulse weapon at their room. Thankfully the shutters closed in time to deflect the bulk of the attack, though the room shook fiercely from the impact.

"Definitely like old times!" Garrus joked.

Grunt looked up at the turian. "You fought stuff like that before?"

"A few times!" Garrus replied.

Grunt grinned. "This is why I follow you, Shepard! Big things!"

"Presence of armature problematic! Not my area of expertise!" Mordin shouted over another explosion from the Colossus.

"Why the hell didn't that idiot Reegar tell us about that thing?" Jack shouted.

"Doors open! Go!" Miranda yelled.

Everyone scrambled out the door and down the ramp. "Contact!" Jacob said.

"Wait! That's Kal!" Syrin said, grabbing Jacob by the arm.

Kal turned his head at the sound of their voices, but relaxed when he saw it wasn't geth. "Over here! Get to cover!"

Everyone crawled out of the hallway and behind the barrier. The geth started firing at the new arrivals, forcing everyone to fire back.

"Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines!" he introduced before popping out of cover to launch another missile. "Which one of you is Shepard?" he asked when he crouched back down.

"Right here!" Shepard shouted over the cacophony of explosions. He shifted until he was closer to the red-clad quarian.

"Still got no idea why you're here, but this ain't the time to be picky!" Kal said, looking over his reinforcements. "Tali's inside, over there! The geth killed the rest of my squad and they're trying to get to her! Best I've been able to do is draw their attention!"

Shepard nodded and poked his assault rifle out to blind fire at the Geth Troopers.

"The observatory door is reinforced! Even the geth will need time to get through it! And it's hard to hack a door when someone's firing rockets at you!" he chuckled.

"Numbers?" Shepard shouted.

"Got one!" Grunt roared.

"The geth are near platoon strength, but the Colossus is the worst part! It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself!" Kal cautioned. "I can't get a clear shot while it's down like that! I tried to move in closer, but one of the bastards punched a shot clean through my suit!"

"You okay, LT?" Syrin shouted over her blind fire.

"I'm fine!" Kal assured her. He turned to Shepard. "Combat seals clamped down to isolate contamination and I'm swimming in antibiotics!" He paused when the Colossus fired on their position again. "The geth might get me, but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of a battle! That's just insulting!"

"Hoo-rah!" Raz and Syrin chanted.

Shepard found himself liking Reegar more and more. Poking his head out to look at the valley, he was forced to duck back down when a Trooper started firing on his cover. "Damn it! What can you tell me about the battlefield?"

"The right side's got a catwalk with a sniper perch! You could wreak some havoc from there, but none of my men made it past the geth! Too much sun fried their shields! The middle's got cover, but the damn Colossus has a clear shot at you the whole time and you've got geth coming in from both sides!" He paused again when rocket sailed high and exploded on the wall behind them. "The left gives you some cover from the Colossus, but your ass is hanging out for the Troopers! That's how I got shot!"

Shepard nodded in head in understanding and starting thinking rapidly on how best to handle the situation. "How much ammo do you have?"

"Got one!" Miranda shouted.

"I got plenty more! I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger and I got a rocket launcher that the sun hasn't fried yet! How about you move in close? I'll keep the Colossus busy; maybe even drop its shields! With luck, you'll be able to finish it off!"

Shepard shook his head. "Stand down, Reegar! You've done enough!"

"Wasn't asking for your permission! My job is to keep Tali safe!" he defiantly stood up and aimed his launcher. "This is…!"

Shepard grabbed him and hauled him away, deeper into the short hallway. "I wasn't asking you, I was telling you! Stand down, marine! That's an order!" Shepard roared, glaring into Reegar's faceplate and into eyes. "We'll take over from here!"

"I'm not going to stand here while you run into enemy fire! They killed my whole squad!" Kal argued.

"Then defend our rear!" Shepard yelled back. "Raz, trade up with Reegar!"

Raz crawled toward them and held out his assault rifle. Reegar looked like he wanted to argue more, but he reluctantly nodded instead. "Alright, Shepard. We'll do it your way." He handed Raz his launcher while taking the assault rifle. "Hit them for me!" he said to both of them. "Keelah se'lai!"

"Keelah se'lai!" Raz returned.

Shepard nodded. "Jacob! Raz! Both you hit the Colossus from back here!"

"On it, Commander!" Jacob acknowledged. He pulled out his ML-77 and waited for Raz to crawl back toward him.

"Garrus! Take up that perch on the right and cover us! Jack! You cover Garrus! Blow through everything in your way!"

"I got you covered, Shepard!" Garrus shouted.

"On it!" Jack yelled.

"Miranda, take everyone else! Draw their fire in the center and take out as many as you can!"

"Will do!" Miranda nodded.

"Roger! Will hold the line!" Mordin shouted back.

"I'm with you!" Syrin agreed.

"Grunt, you're with me on the left. We're charging the Colossus head on!"

Grunt let out a growl of approval. He gripped his shotgun and grinned.

Shepard pulled out his Blackstorm again. "After the explosion, you know what to do! Raz, Jacob, cover me!"

Both men nodded and stood up, launching several rockets at the Colossus. They staggered the geth tank and forced it to crouch down to repair.

"Garrus, Jack, go!" Shepard ordered. He pointed his heavy weapon at the center concentration of geth and charged up.

Garrus and Jack jumped up and started running. Jack unleashed her Shockwave at the geth in front of her, scattering them and clearing a path.

Miranda and her team held their positions and were firing on any geth targeting Shepard.

The Blackstorm whined as it finally completed its charge and launched its singularity down at the geth.

Taking cover, Shepard drew his assault rifle again and waited for the black hole to explode.

Several geth were caught in the accretion disk and were pulled into the gravity well. They were crushed to the size of a credit chit, while others flailed as they orbited the singularity. Eventually, it exploded, signaling the remaining organics to charge.

Miranda, Mordin and Syrin used everything they had at their disposal to reach the relative cover in the middle of the valley. Tech, biotics, grenades, nothing was spared for their charge. Garrus managed to reach a decent spot and was firing shot after shot at any geth that threatened the team in the middle while Jack utilized her biotics to keep the upper level clear of geth.

Shepard let Grunt take the lead, using the krogan as his roaring, charging, shotgun toting, shield.

"_Watch out! The Colossus is getting back on its feet!"_

"Cover!" Shepard shouted. He and Grunt ducked down behind an ancient crane as the Colossus turned and fired on their position.

"_We got you, Commander! Hold tight!"_ Jacob said. Several more missiles started striking the Colossus, drawing its attention, but not damaging it enough to activate its repair program.

A Geth Trooper rounded the corner next to Shepard and raised its rifle. Shepard responded by drawing his knife and ramming it in its throat, severing several tubes and wires and spraying white fluid all over place. Letting his knife go and letting the Trooper fall, he peeked around the corner and started shooting at the approaching geth. "Go! Go! Go!" he shouted to Grunt.

Grunt charged out again, his shotgun firing at any geth foolish enough to stand in his way. Shepard followed his moving defender closely, alternating his fire on the geth in front of Grunt or the geth assaulting Miranda's position. Eventually, they both managed to cross the battlefield and took cover behind a large, thick column.

"So how do we blow that thing up?" Grunt asked.

Shepard held up a grenade. "Same way we killed that giant husk on Horizon. It worked then, didn't it?"

Grunt grinned again. He poked his head around the corner. "It's still standing…"

"Watch out. It has machine guns mounted on its legs for close quarters. We need it to crouch down again," Shepard said.

"There are some red and white machines out there too."

"Rocket Troopers and regular Troopers. Take care of them, while I work," Shepard said. "Give me your grenades."

Grunt took off his grenade pouch and handed it to Shepard wordlessly.

Another set of explosions washed over them as Jacob and Raz continued their bombardment.

"It's down!" Grunt said before roaring and charging at the geth.

Shepard used his Tactical Cloak and silently ran up the armature and clambered up to its back. Once he mounted it, he reached down into its open joint between body and neck and threw his entire stock of grenades inside. Dismounting quickly, he used his radio to silently communicate to everyone, especially Grunt. _"Grenades planted and armed. 10 seconds! Go!"_

Grunt picked up a Rocket Trooper and used it as his shield as he ran back behind the column. Once hidden, he viscously slammed the geth's head against the unforgiving stone. And then he slammed it a few more times to make sure it was deactivated.

The explosions shook the ground underneath them, causing both of them to stumble.

"_Colossus is down! I repeat: Colossus is down!"_ Garrus crowed.

"And the remaining geth?" Shepard asked.

"_We got them, Commander. Area secured,"_ Miranda reported.

"Tali? Can you hear me?" Shepard called through his radio on a general frequency. "We've taken care of the geth."

A sigh of relief was heard. _"Just a second. I'm unlocking the door now."_

"Regroup," Shepard ordered. "Raz, stay with Reegar." He turned to face Grunt. "Set up that transmitter. If you need help, get Jacob. He'll know what to do. We need to get in touch with the Normandy and Kodiak ASAP." With his instructions finished, he walked up the short slope and to the door.

Tali opened it and stepped out. Spotting Shepard's N7 armor, she walked up and gave him a warm hug, which he returned. "Thank you, Shepard," she gratefully said.

"Hey, what about me? I helped too," Garrus protested good-naturedly as he walked up with Jack.

Tali giggled and gave Garrus a hug as well. "Thank you too, Garrus."

"Anytime," Garrus replied, patting Tali on the back.

Stepping back, she nodded at the both of them. "If not for both of you, I would have never made it out of this room." She sighed despondently. "This whole mission has been a disaster. I wished I'd joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky."

"What kind of research was worth all this?" Garrus asked.

Tali engaged her omni-tool and projected the Dholen star. It was glowing yellow, but red was becoming more and more apparent. "Haestrom's sun is destabilizing. Back when this was a quarian colony, it was a normal star. It shouldn't change that quickly."

"Any idea what's destabilizing the sun?" Shepard asked.

Tali shrugged. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was dark energy affecting the interior of the star," she theorized. "The effect is similar to when stars blow off mass to enter a red giant phase, but Haestrom's sun is far too young for this to be natural." Tali looked over Shepard shoulder, prompting him to turn around.

Miranda and her team were walking up to them, no worse for wear.

Seeing Syrin, Shepard turned back to Tali. "A lot of quarians lost their lives here," he stated quietly. "Was it worth it?"

Tali looked away. "I don't know, Shepard. It wasn't my call." She looked back up and met his eyes. "The Admiralty board believed the information here was worth sacrificing all our lives for. I have to believe they know what's best."

"I didn't ask what some Admiral thought. I asked what you thought," Shepard said softly.

She glanced at Syrin again. "A lot of people died here. Some of them were my friends. All of them were good at their jobs. That damn data better be worth it. The price was too high."

"Keelah se'lai," Syrin whispered.

"I'm glad you're alright Tali. Once you deliver that data, I'd like for you to come with me," Shepard said. He glanced at Garrus. "Just like old times."

Tali nodded. "I promised to see this mission through. I did. I can leave with you and send the data to the Fleet." She scoffed. "And if the admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell," she emphasized with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I just watched most of my team die."

"Most, but not all, ma'am," Kal grunted as Raz and Jacob helped him walk up to them.

"Reegar! You made it!" Tali exclaimed happily.

"Your old captain's as good you as said," Kal praised, nodding his head in respect at the Spectre. "Damn Colossus never stood a chance."

"If need be, the Normandy can get you out of here, Reegar," Shepard offered.

"The geth didn't find our ship. Long as we get out of here before reinforcements show up, we'll be fine," Raz assured.

"Actually, I won't be going with you. I'm joining Commander Shepard," Tali informed.

Kal nodded. He seemed to have expected it. "I'll pass the data to the Admiralty Board and let them know what happened." She's all yours now, Shepard. Keep her safe."

"I'll do what I can, but I learned that she could take care of herself, two years ago," Shepard replied before extending his hand to Reegar.

He shook it without hesitation. "You're all right, Shepard."

* * *

***ENCYRPTED***

_Recruited Tali'Zorah for the team._

_Though loyal to Shepard, Tali'Zorah's antagonism toward Cerberus necessitates observation._

_Also sending recon units to examine geth activities in case activities on Haestrom provoke action._

* * *

Author's Notes:

I introduced two more OC's! *Gasp!* OC's aren't usually my thing, especially if an author turns them into something unbelievable. (Too emo, too perfect, etc.) However, I got a bit tired of the whole, 'the situation is so serious that everybody died, good luck!' type of storyline. So I tried to make it like the Migrant Fleet Marines didn't all suck, notable exceptions being Kal'Reegar and Tali when she moonlights as a marine. I couldn't help but think of Freedom's Progress, Tali's loyalty mission, and I cringe.

I also want to apologize for writing a bit much about Kal'Reegar. My plan is usually write from the POV of the most relevant character, but he's so cool! Plus, I'm a quiet Adam Baldwin fan, mainly because of Serenity/Firefly. I really hope he returns in ME 3, maybe even as a squad member.

*Ahem* This is something I haven't thought I'd do as well when I started writing but the source material so funny that the plot bunny turned rabid. So without further ado… an omake.

* * *

**Omake:**

Shepard waited for the right moment to charge the Colossus. "Get ready!" he shouted. _Charging a tank on foot. We have to be crazy…_

The Colossus prepared to fire its pulse cannon again when a 20 kilo ferrous slug fired from some idiot cowboy who had been trying to "eyeball it" completely ruined its fucking day.

The assembled group could only watch in shock as the Colossus was plowed into the ground by sudden appearance of a dreadnought round.

"Huh," Shepard said after a few minutes of silence. "Good old Sir Isaac Newton."

Jacob nodded in agreement. "Deadliest son of a bitch in space."

* * *

The omake was based off a joke thread created at GameFAQs/GameSpot by **Ridleysbiggestfan**:

I was trying to beat Tali's recruitment mission on hardcore, to get the Geth pulse rifle, right? Well I have got to say that geth primes on hardcore are the most ridiculous BS I have ever seen, the amount of headshots they can just take in stride makes me want to come back later when I have the widow or something. Regardless, I had what I considered to be a pretty epic struggle, spending several hours trying to fight my way over there and beat this mission and get that rifle, I was finally about to get there. After dozens of tries I had finally defeated the colossus and was on my way to collect my prize, when some idiot who had been trying to "eyeball it" completely ruined my ****ing day.

To which my response was:

Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son of a bitch in space!


	18. Interlude VII

_**Location: Normandy SR-2**_

"Welcome to the Normandy SR-2, Tali," Miranda said from her side of the table. She, Tali, Jacob, and Shepard were all assembled in the Comm. Room.

Tali crossed her arms and nodded. She stayed close to Shepard and maintained a certain distance away from the two Cerberus personnel, silently telling everyone her where her loyalties were.

"I'm Miranda Lawson, Shepard's second-in-command," Miranda introduced, before gesturing to her colleague. "This is Jacob Taylor."

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah," Jacob commented. "We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering expertise will really benefit the mission."

Tali paced behind Shepard, drawing herself farther away from the Cerberus operatives. "I don't care who you are. Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice," she standoffishly stated.

"You're one of the best engineers I've worked with Tali. Most importantly though, I trust you," Shepard said gently, but firmly. "But I need their help. And I need yours. I know I'm asking a lot, but we need to cooperate with Cerberus, no matter how much we don't like it."

"Neither of us were part of the operation against the Migrant Fleet," Jacob defended. "But I understand your distrust. I hope we'll get past that as we work together."

Tali turned to Shepard. "I assumed you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you. Not for them," she said with a pointed glance at Jacob.

Shepard couldn't help but smile at how straightforward she was being in front of Miranda and Jacob. A stark contrast to her personality two years ago. "You have free run of the Normandy, Tali. Check her out. We've gotten a few upgrades."

"I've taken the liberty of setting up the necessary security clearance for her to access our systems. She can start whenever she wants," Miranda said. She appeared unbothered by Tali's frosty stance.

"Thank you," Tali said neutrally to her. "It's hard to be a part of your 'team' if I don't know how the ship works." Before she left, she turned to Shepard again. "Remember, Shepard. These people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea."

Shepard nodded. "I remember. Funnily enough, Garrus said the same thing too."

Tali nodded back. "I'll be in engineering."

As she left, Jacob spoke up. "Oh, yeah. Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ship's new artificial intelligence."

Tali froze at the doorway.

"Jacob!" Shepard barked out angrily.

Jacob snapped his head at Shepard when he heard his name. "What?"

Miranda shook her head wearily.

Jacob had to suppress a shudder when he saw Shepard level a glare at him that would've made Grunt fear for his survival. A flicker of movement at the doorway allowed him to tear his gaze away from his terrifying commanding officer. Tali had turned her head slightly and was looking right at him. Despite the mask, he could feel her icy stare and felt another chill go down his spine.

Eventually, Tali turned and left without another word.

Jacob let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He looked up and felt his lungs fail him again when he saw that Shepard hadn't even moved an inch. He was still leveling a stone cold glare at him that paralyzed the former Marine. "W-What? D-Did I do something?" Jacob croaked out.

"Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. I'm starting to worry about you now. One can't help but wonder if you'll survive this mission after all," Miranda chided.

Jacob knew she wasn't talking about the Collectors.

"Especially if you continue to say all the wrong things to the wrong people," she hinted heavily.

Jacob thought quickly about what he said that set them off before slapping his head. "Wait. I didn't mean it like that. I was thinking of her as an engineer and…"

"Enough."

Jacob closed his mouth immediately.

Shepard closed his eyes and mentally forced himself to calm down. "I'll talk to her. For now, return to your duties."

"Commander, I'd really like to…"

"Apologize," Shepard finished for him. "Yes, I know. But I know Tali and your apology won't be well received. I'll talk to her first and get her to calm down a bit. Then you apologize."

Jacob sighed. "Yes, sir." He looked back up and met Shepard's steely gaze. "I want to apologize to you too. I didn't mean it to come out the way it did."

Shepard nodded slowly. "Apology accepted. Dismissed."

Jacob snapped to attention, saluted, and then spun on his heel and left the Comm. Room.

"Let's go, Miranda. You have the bridge. Set a course for Illium," Shepard ordered.

Miranda nodded. "Of course, Commander."

"And I want Tali to be my Chief Engineer," he added. "Could you make the necessary adjustments?"

Miranda smiled. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Already taken care of. I suppose you want to break the news to her?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Thanks," he said, impressed with her thoroughness.

"I'm good at what I do, Commander," Miranda said confidently.

They both stepped out and decided to go through the lab, instead of the Armory. As they were passing through, Mordin started to talk excitedly. "Shepard! Oh! Executive Lawson! Excellent timing! Have something to show you!"

Both of them stopped and waited for Mordin's news. The salarian gestured for them to come closer to look at his terminal. Humoring the Professor, they walked up and started studying the data, though it seemed only Miranda could make heads or tails out of the information on the screen.

"This is interesting, Professor. Are you certain?" Miranda asked as she tapped the screen and started scrolling down, perusing Mordin's research.

"Oh, yes. Ran exhaustive tests," Mordin nodded.

Shepard stood up, crossed his arms. "I have no idea what either of you could be talking about," he bluntly admitted.

"It's about the paralysis effect of the seeker swarms," Miranda said, still staring at the screen. "If you know about…" she paused and shook her head when she remembered who she was speaking too. "Wait. To put it more simply, the seeker swarms appear to inject nanomachines into its victim, not a toxin. The nanomachines attack the central nervous system, creating the paralysis effect we saw on Horizon."

"Yes. Leaves host unharmed physically. No adverse reactions from toxins. All technology based," Mordin nodded.

Shepard shrugged and shook his head in confusion. "I still don't see the relevance."

"They're taking extra precautions to take humans alive, Shepard," Miranda explained patiently. "Using a toxin on someone who's allergic might lead to complications. If they're using nanomachines however, then there are almost no complications whatsoever."

"Nanomachines are controlled by ship," Mordin explained. "Once ship left, nanomachines self-destruct. Reason why colonists were able to move on Horizon."

Shepard remembered Mordin talking about that after they'd returned to the Normandy. "So… what? Can you interrupt the Collector signal or something so the nanomachines can't paralyze us if we do get stung?"

"Working on it now. Wanted to show how seeker swarms work. Finally solved it!" Mordin said proudly.

Miranda eyed the salarian respectfully. "This is excellent work, Professor."

"Thank you, Executive Lawson," Mordin said. "Must get back to work now."

Shepard shook his head and started for the CIC again, Miranda falling into step with him.

In the CIC, Shepard saw Tali was still on Deck 2, talking to Kelly. Miranda walked past them, acknowledging Kelly's greeting, and stepped up to the galaxy map to select their course.

Shepard ambled over to Tali and the yeoman. "Hello, Commander," Kelly greeted. There was something in her voice though, a slight reservation.

"Something wrong?" Shepard asked.

"I saw the reports on Horizon, Commander. What you did was amazing," she praised.

"We did, Kelly. I wasn't alone down there," Shepard corrected.

"Of course, Commander," Kelly nodded quickly. She bit her lip. "Um… The report mentioned that Ashley Williams was there. How did that go?"

"Chief Williams? She's here too?" Tali asked in surprise.

"I'm afraid not. She's still with the Alliance. Working with Cerberus is akin to treason," Shepard explained to her.

Tali nodded in understanding.

He turned to Kelly. "And it was good to see her."

"Did you have strong feelings for her?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the blunt question.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry," Kelly apologized.

"We're still friends," he said. "I'm happy to still have that."

Kelly nodded. "Well, I should let you two get reacquainted."

There was something in the way she said her sentence and the way she left that mystified Shepard. Like she knew some sort of secret he should be aware of. Shrugging the feeling off, he turned to Tali. "Come on. I'll walk you to the engine room."

"_Aye, aye, ma'am. Setting course for Illium. ETA: 20 hours,"_ Joker's voice sounded throughout the CIC.

As they waited for the lift, Shepard sighed. "Look, about Jacob…" Already, he could feel the temperature drop a few degrees. "He was trying to appeal to you as an engineer, not a quarian. Believe it or not, that really isn't the stupidest thing he's said."

"I'm sure," Tali said evenly.

"He's not that bad a guy once you get to know him. He's actually former Alliance," Shepard said.

"Good for him," she dismissed.

The elevator arrived and they both stepped inside. "He wants to apologize. Is it a bit much for me to ask you to be civil?" Shepard said, hitting button for Deck 4.

Tali sighed. "Very well. But only because I don't want to make trouble for you, Shepard."

"And I appreciate that," he said gratefully. "I want to apologize for him as well."

"That isn't necessary," Tali protested.

"He's under my command. That means I have to take some of the blame as well," Shepard stated. "Plus, you're a friend." He glanced at Tali's profile. "I like your new look," he commented.

Tali turned her head. "What?" she asked with confusion.

"Your new environmental suit. It looks good on you," Shepard complimented, hoping the ease her reservations about working on a Cerberus frigate.

Tali looked down at her clothes. "Oh, yes. The captain of the Neema gave it to me when I was welcomed aboard as a part of his crew." She turned away in embarrassment. "I gave the Colossus armor you bought for me to another quarian who was about to go on her Pilgrimage."

Shepard waved it off. "I'll get you a new one at Illium."

The elevator reached their destination. Tali looked around in surprise. "Wow. At least the lift is quicker on this Normandy than the last."

Shepard chuckled. "Yeah. Just another improvement," he joked. "Was your father proud of you? About your Pilgrimage I mean," he asked, his tone a bit more serious as they both walked on to Deck 4.

Tali shrugged. "I think so, but sometimes he's hard to read. He trusts me with some of the more vital missions for the Flotilla though. That must mean something." She turned to face Shepard fully. "Thanks for asking."

Shepard smiled. "Well, I should introduce you to your new coworkers down here," he said.

They both entered the engine room and walked up behind Ken and Gabby.

"As if running down the Collectors aren't enough," Gabby sighed. "But sharing our deck with a krogan…"

"I know. Isn't that peachy?" Ken sarcastically said.

Shepard shook his head at their antics. Shrugging at Tali, he stepped closer behind them and cleared his throat.

Both of them jumped in fright and turned around with wide eyes. "Whoa! Commander! We didn't see you there!" Gabby cried out with her hand on her chest.

"You scared the bejezzus out of me, Shepard!" Ken said, his Scottish burr coming out thicker than usual.

"Sorry," Shepard said, though he didn't sound it. He was too busy fighting his grin. "I wanted to introduce Tali," he gestured to the quarian standing next to him. "Chief Engineer of the Normandy and your new boss."

"What ? !" all three exclaimed at the same time.

"Shepard, are you serious?" Tali asked in shock.

"Of course," Shepard said to her before turning to Ken and Gabby. "She's fully qualified. She was on the engineering staff of the first Normandy where my old Chief Engineer had nothing but positive reviews about her knowledge and performance," he said before pausing. He tilted his head and crossed his arms at the two human engineers. "She's also a good friend of mine who helped me against Saren, the geth, and Sovereign two years ago. I hope you'll treat her well," he stated conversationally, but with a hint of warning.

Gabby saluted sharply and smiled. "Of course, Commander!"

Ken looked at Gabby before remembering his manners and saluted too, although it was a little sloppy. "Nice to meet you, boss!"

"Um… hello," Tali greeted uncertainly. She turned back to Shepard. "Are you sure about this?" she asked again.

Shepard nodded confidently. "If Adams were here, he'd say the same thing Tali. You're in charge of keeping everything running. I know you won't let me down."

What he could see of Tali's face through her opaque faceplate was crinkled, indicating that she was smiling. "Thank you, Shepard. I'll do my best to meet your expectations."

"Just do your best. You already met my expectations," Shepard assured. "Now try for yours, okay?"

Tali nodded.

"Right. Tali, this is Ken Donnelly, Power Control," Shepard introduced, gesturing the male half of the engineering duo before gesturing to the fairer half. "And this is Gabriella 'Gabby' Daniels, Propulsion Systems." He turned and gestured to his friend. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema."

"Tali will do," she said before sticking her hand out to both of them. Ken and Gabby shook it enthusiastically. "I hope Cerberus trained you well."

"Actually, both Gabby and I started in the Alliance, serving on the SSV Perugia," Ken corrected.

"She flew in the first wave at the Battle of the Citadel. We saw Sovereign first-hand," Gabby excitedly cut in.

"A cruiser," Shepard said to Tali. He looked at both engineers in a different light. "Why did you leave the Perugia?"

"After you… uh… died?" Ken said in confusion before looking to Gabby for clarification. Gabby only shrugged. "Right, um… Anderson lost political clout. The Council backslid on the Reaper menace."

Gabby continued, "They discounted Sovereign as an isolated threat, as a single –"

"Which was bullshit! They said your warnings of a greater danger were mistaken or delusional," interrupted Ken.

"We lost respect for Alliance leadership. We need to fight the real enemy, and only Cerberus seemed to be doing that," Gabby finished.

"So how did you two wind up in Cerberus?" Tali asked curiously.

"Once Shepard was gone, the Alliance brass descended like vultures, tearing apart everything he'd said," Ken answered before facing Shepard. "I was very public with my defense for you. I didn't hold back," he proudly said.

"That's an understatement. If Kenneth wasn't such a talented engineer, they'd have court marshaled him for insubordination," added Gabby.

"But it got me noticed by Cerberus. They made an offer, and here I am," finished Ken.

"Kenneth and I have been partners in crime since we graduated from tech academy. When he got the Cerberus offer, I insisted that it include me," Gabby said. She jerked her thumb at her cohort. "He'd fall apart without me."

"Thanks mum," Ken sarcastically replied.

"Also, I love engines, and Normandy is state-of-the-art. When I got the opportunity to work on her, I had to jump."

_These two are really different._ "What do you think about Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"Actually, we don't know much about the organization other than the Normandy team. We know our mission and who's in charge," admitted Gabby.

"We're off to kick the Collectors right in their daddy bags. That's enough for me," Ken said eagerly.

Tali nodded approvingly at them. She seemed much happier working with two Cerberus engineers.

"_Commander? I was wondering if I might have a moment," _Miranda asked. _"I need to speak with you in my office."_

"On my way," Shepard replied. He faced Tali. "All settled?"

"I'll be fine, Shepard. The structure is obviously different from the last Normandy, but the systems still look the same," Tali assured.

"Alright. I'll leave you to it then. I'll come by later," Shepard said before leaving.

* * *

"Shepard. There's something I wanted to discuss," Miranda said when Shepard entered and closed the door.

"Something up?" he asked.

Miranda gestured to one of the chairs next to her table. He obliged her.

"I wanted to know how long we'll be staying in Illium," she said.

Shepard leaned back in his chair. "You probably guessed already, but I'm planning on staying there for a while. Our two last recruits are there, but after that? No rush. Not until we get some actionable intelligence, anyway." He stretched in his seat, trying to relieve the stress he built up over the past month. "I was thinking of give the crew a bit of down time too and Illium sounds like a great place for it."

Miranda smiled. "I was hoping you were going to say that, but I recently learned that I should never operate on assumptions."

"Good lesson to learn," Shepard nodded sagely.

"Strangely enough, I learned that lesson not long after meeting you," Miranda admitted.

Shepard smiled. "I also need to speak to Garrus. He promised me some new tech for the Normandy. Something that'll help us get an edge on the Collectors," he confided.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Really? Interesting."

"How so?" Shepard asked.

"That's precisely what I wanted to talk to you about," she answered. "Do you remember back on the Citadel when Jacob and I left for the wards while you spoke with the Council?"

Shepard nodded.

"We were speaking to some of our operatives," she revealed. "These particular operatives were involved in a high risk, high reward mission. I can't tell you the details, but Cerberus has long been interested in the asari dreadnought, Destiny Ascension."

Shepard raised an eyebrow of his own and silently urged her to continue.

"We recently learned about an asari-made armor they used on the Ascension. It's why it survived the initial attack made by the geth," Miranda explained. "They call it Silaris Armor. Cerberus recently managed to acquire the knowledge on how to make this armor and have fashioned some for the Normandy."

"So you wanted to know if we're going stay on Illium long enough to put in for retrofits," Shepard reasoned.

"Exactly. The Ablative Armor we're equipped with is adequate, but you of all people know that we need all the advantages we can afford against the Collector cruiser if we're to stand a chance."

"And this… Silaris Armor will work for us, right?" Shepard asked.

"I've studied the specs of the armor myself. It's really quite ingenious. The reason for its strength is the carbon nanotube sheets woven with a diamond Chemical Vapor Deposition, which are crushed by mass effect fields into super-dense layers able to withstand extreme temperatures. That process also compensates for diamond's brittleness…" she lectured before stopping.

Shepard stared at her with a blank look on his face.

Miranda sighed tiredly. "The armor will resist tremendous heat and kinetic energy of starship weapons. Imagine having dreadnought armor on our frigate," she simplified.

Shepard nodded knowingly, as if he understood everything she said. "What I'm curious about is why aren't all asari ships made of this stuff?"

"Two reasons. The first is the oldest reason found everywhere in the galaxy: capital. Creating this armor is prohibitively expensive. Second, the armor must be attached to the ship's superstructure. Because of this, protection isn't 100% guaranteed. Shockwaves generated from a massive amount of force can still destroy metals beneath the armor itself, not to mention the crew within," she explained. "But chances are likely that whatever generates shockwaves that powerful will destroy the Normandy anyway."

"The Illusive Man has it ready for us?" Shepard asked.

"We just need a dock and some time to install the armor."

"How long?"

Miranda shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't given an estimate."

"Alright. Armor from Cerberus and a new main gun from Garrus and his friends," Shepard listed off. "We still need still need to do something about shields…"

"Garrus is providing new weaponry, then?" Miranda asked.

"He said he'd get in touch with some friends to see if they can't help us," Shepard answered before rubbing the back of his neck. "I haven't asked how that went. We've been so busy that it slipped my mind."

Miranda waved it off. "We've been under a lot of pressure. But you've handled it remarkably well."

"Thanks," Shepard said, a touch flattered.

"I'll need to inform the Illusive Man of our immediate plans then. If there's nothing else?" she asked.

"Actually, I need you to create lists for the crewmen taking leave. I want half staying on the Normandy at all times. We'll rotate the crewmen out to give the others a break as well."

"I'll get started and forward everything to you," Miranda nodded.

"Be sure to pass the word around so they'll be aware and plan accordingly so they can enjoy themselves. And let them know there will be repercussions for any trouble they get into. Fights, run-ins with the law, that sort of thing. Leave is revoked if they cause trouble or are late reporting back."

"Understood, Commander."

Shepard stood up. "I need to talk to Garrus. Thanks for letting me know about this."

Miranda smiled as she activated her console. "Anytime, Commander."

* * *

"Shepard. Need me for something?" Garrus asked when Shepard walked into the main battery.

"Have you got minute?"

"Just running some diagnostics. Killing some time, that's all. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk about that new main gun. The Thanix Cannon?" Shepard inquired.

"Oh, right. I wanted to talk to you about that for some time, but with all these missions…" Garrus said before trailing off.

Shepard nodded in understanding. "Tell me about it."

"I got in contact with my friend and she has everything set up. We just need a place to dock and install it," Garrus said.

"We're going to put in at Illium for a while. Give the crew some leave while we find our two last squad members. Cerberus is going to meet up with us to reinforce our armor during that time. Might as well get our guns upgraded as well," Shepard informed.

"Alright. I'll be sure to let her know. One thing though," Garrus said.

"What?" Shepard asked, uncertain if he should be expecting good news or bad news.

"There'll be… ah… some assembly required," Garrus hedged.

"Assembly," Shepard repeated in a deadpan voice.

"This isn't really isn't a favor, so much as she **really** owes me for something that meant everything to her. I helped her out, so she's willing to bend over backwards to help me," Garrus ambiguously said.

"You're being awfully mysterious," Shepard observed.

"Remember that this is strictly turian technology," Garrus said. "Top secret and all that. In order to transport the Thanix cannon, she has to send everything in pieces. All of it is labeled as junk, failures or simply inoperable. Instead of melting the materials into scrap, she'll forward the equipment to us."

"Will she be in trouble for this?" Shepard worriedly asked.

Garrus shrugged. "I told her if she ever got caught, she can invoke your name and say she was following orders from a Spectre for a top secret mission. Just deflect all the blame on you. She should be fine after that."

Shepard smiled and shook his head. "The Turian Councilor is going to love that…"

Garrus shrugged again, except he was looking at Shepard in amusement this time. "That's your problem, not mine. I'm just the facilitator."

"Thanks," Shepard sarcastically said.

"No problem," Garrus said without missing a beat. "Let me go up to the Comm. Room and let her know where to send everything."

"Alright," Shepard said. He stepped aside and let the turian walk a few steps before speaking up. "I'm sure this friend of yours was very **grateful** for your help," he smirked.

Garrus almost stumbled at the overt innuendo, but managed to continue without embarrassing himself.

* * *

After changing out of his armor, a quick shower and a change of clothes, Shepard trekked back down to the Armory. "Jacob," he called out when he entered.

Jacob put down Garrus' sniper rifle and faced him. "Commander," he greeted with a bit of anxiety.

"Relax, Jacob. I'm here to calibrate my equipment." Shepard stated as he walked over to his locker and started taking out his weaponry. After placing them on the nearest empty table, he gave Jacob a sideways glance. "And to let you know that you can apologize to Tali in person now."

Jacob sighed. "I kinda messed up there, huh?"

"Just a bit. But we've all gotten used to EDI being around. Well, everyone except Joker," Shepard amended. "She's been a big help." He smirked and looked at the nearby pedestal. "At the very least, you're much better to talk to than a VI."

EDI's avatar appeared at the pedestal. "Thank you, Commander."

Shepard turned to Jacob. "Just keep your apology brief and succinct. She's in a better mood now, so don't press your luck."

"Thanks, Commander," Jacob gratefully said. He turned to leave, but stopped when he noticed Shepard wasn't following. "You're not coming with me?"

"You'll be fine on your own this time," Shepard said without looking up from his calibrations. "Quick and to the point," he reminded.

"Right," Jacob nodded before leaving.

"At some point, I'm sure either you or Tail will instigate a conversation," Shepard said to EDI when they were alone. "Whatever the topic, I'm sure Tali's feelings for AI's will cloud her opinion and her words. Anything she'll say will probably be much like Joker, except it'll be a bit more personal. Can I ask you to **not** to provoke her like you do with him?"

"Understood, Commander. I will endeavor to befriend Tali'Zorah so that we might be able to create a conductive relationship," EDI dutifully acknowledged.

"Take it slow and easy," Shepard warned while scanning his HMWA. "She grew up… disliking AI's. A little patience is warranted I think."

"Understood, Commander. Is there anything else?"

"Just a little help with my calibrations."

* * *

A few hours later, Shepard finally walked out of the Armory after finishing his long overdue maintenance on his Spectre weapons. Stretching and yawning, he made his way toward the elevator, intent on getting some sleep on the large comfortable bed in his cabin.

"Hey, Commander," Joker greeted while Shepard was waiting for the lift to arrive.

"Joker," Shepard said.

"It's great to see Tali on board, Commander. Just like old times… it is her, right? I mean, because with the mask it's… ah never mind," Joker commented. "Man, I need some rack time."

Shepard almost groaned. He almost forgot to check on Tali and Jacob since he was preoccupied with his checking his weapons and chatting with EDI. Getting on the lift with Joker, he decided to put off sleep a little longer to make sure Jacob was okay. Especially since he hadn't returned to the Armory after he left to apologize.

After leaving Joker at Deck 3, Shepard descended to Deck 4 and wandered toward the engine room. Peeking inside, he saw Tali and Jacob talking amicably with Ken and Gabby hovering near them.

"Made peace, I hope?" Shepard said, revealing his presence.

Jacob turned around. "Hey, Commander. Uh… yeah. We're okay now. Tali was telling me a few things I could do to improve our weapons," Jacob said before shaking his head in amazement. "Damn, some of her ideas are pretty good."

"We have to make do with older and cheaper models of weapons," Tali explained. "Since we can't afford to waste money on weapons over more valuable supplies for the Flotilla, we have to upgrade and maintain them ourselves."

"Yeah, but… wow. I should try some of these ideas," Jacob said as he typed away in his omni-tool. "If this works, we should see significant improvement on our gear."

"Well, so long as we're all working together," Shepard said in satisfaction.

"We are," Tali replied.

Jacob looked at Shepard and Tali before realizing that he should make a discreet exit. "I should get some rack before trying these ideas out. It was nice talking with you, Tali."

Tali nodded. "You as well."

After Jacob left, Shepard turned to Tali. "So the new Normandy isn't giving you any trouble, I hope?"

Ken scoffed and answered before Tali could get a word in. "Trouble? Ha! You weren't kidding, Commander. She really knows her stuff."

Gabby had climbed up some nearby pipes to investigate something. "I think she knows more than our old instructor back in the academy. We learned more from her in a few hours than our…" Gabby trailed off when something caught her eye. "Oh hell. Kenneth! What the hell did you do up here ? !" Gabby screeched.

Ken paled and clambered up to Gabby as quickly as possible. "Sorry! I meant to have that looked at! I forgot!"

"How could you forget ? !"

"Well, with our new boss suddenly appearing and…"

"Just fix it!"

Tali pressed her hand on her forehead and sighed. "They're not bad, but…" she said before pointing at them.

Gabby was still shouting at Ken for something or other that Shepard couldn't make out.

"I suppose it's something I need to get used to," Tali shrugged. "Especially since you placed me in charge. It seemed like such an honor a few hours ago…"

Shepard grinned.

"As for the Normandy, everything is…" Tali started to assure before looking back at her coworkers. "I'm sure everything will be fine," she amended. "I'm a quarian. Give me a chunk of scrap, a circuit board, and some element zero and I'll have it making precision jumps," she stated confidently.

"What were you thinking ? !"

"I'm sorry!"

"I was worried about working with Cerberus engineers, but they know what they're doing, do as they're told, and they've been very polite…" Tali said, artfully ignoring the bickering couple.

"You're not sorry yet, Kenneth! Believe me, I'll make you sorry!"

"Ow! Damn it, woman! That hurts!"

"At least to me," Tali finished. "Though it helps that they're ex-Alliance and on your side."

Shepard had to fight back his laughter at the chaos around him. Instead, he made a show of looking around. "How's she running?"

Tali patted the bulkhead next to her affectionately. "Say what you will about Cerberus, they know how to build ships. The Normandy's running even better than before. I think Engineer Adams would love to work here."

Shepard looked up and saw Ken and Gabby still preoccupied with their work. Leaning in close to Tali, he quietly asked, "And our chances against the Collectors?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still checking. There are a few ideas I'm researching that might help," Tali said shifting her body slightly.

One thing Shepard learned about Tali, and quarians in general, during their journey together was reading her body language. To make up for their inability to see their faces and their expressions through their masks, quarians instinctively developed the most expressive body language out of any species Shepard had ever seen. Judging from the way Tali was standing and her slight fidgeting, he deduced that she was probably hiding something.

"Something else?" Shepard asked casually.

"No. Nothing," Tali replied, a bit too quickly.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed. Turning away from him and gesturing that he follow her, she walked deeper into the engine room until they were standing at the console underneath the Normandy's element zero core. "I do know of a technology that will be helpful. But it's strictly quarian. It's forbidden to reveal outside the Flotilla."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "That's fine. We'll just have to make do with what we have."

"If you knew what I did about this, Shepard, it would change your mind. I'm sorry," Tali said dejectedly.

"Its fine," Shepard assured. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze, he smiled. "I don't want you getting in trouble with your people. Maybe I'll ask the Fleet for permission or something, but we're fine for now." Stepping back, Shepard crossed his arms and regarded Tali. "Something the quarians made, I'm guessing?"

Tali nodded. "It's something that we've been developing for some time now. It's only used on frigates or smaller craft, but we're hoping to see it used on larger vessels in the future." She sighed again. "We really didn't have time to chat back on Freedom's progress or Haestrom, did we?"

Shepard chuckled. "Between the killer mechs, the murderous mercs, the geth, and my 'recruitment' missions, getting all of you together seems to take up all my time."

"Mercs?" Tali asked in confusion.

"Long story. Ask Garrus about it sometime. He and I didn't have time to chat either when I tracked him down."

Tali giggled. "You seemed to be able to make things harder than they should be."

"Or it's everyone else and I come in and make it simpler," Shepard argued good-naturedly.

Tali appeared to be smiling again from what Shepard could see through her mask before she sighed despondently. "I can't believe so many people died."

Shepard knew she was referring to the marines and scientists back on Haestrom. He offered her a sympathetic look. After all that's happened, she didn't really have time to mourn the losses.

"Thank you again for getting Reegar, Raz, and Syrin out alive," Tali said gratefully. "All for data about stars blowing up. I hope the Admiralty Board gets some use out of it."

"They're good marines," Shepard praised. "Have you heard any word about Reegar? Is he alright?"

Tali nodded. "He sent me a message. It looks like he'll make a full recovery." She started fiddling with the sleeve of her environment suit. "Any time you get suit puncture, it's a matter of luck. Reegar got out with a relatively minor infection."

Shepard smiled in relief. "Good to hear. If he was at Freedom's Progress, more of your marines would have fared better."

Tali tilted her head and observed Shepard with what he could only guess as a confused or strange look if he was reading her body language correctly. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tali said. "I was actually thinking the same thing yesterday back on Haestrom." She shook her head. "I wanted to introduce Reegar to you. I thought the two of you would get along."

"I respect him. He's proven himself capable and tough, ready to do what he can to see his mission through. Sentiments I share," Shepard said.

Tali nodded in agreement. "My father thinks the same thing of him."

"Speaking about your mission, any news on the data you sent?"

Tali shook her head. "I'm not likely to hear anything while." She made a show of looking around. "Or on an unsecured channel, for that matter," she said with knowing tone. "Still, with all its flaws, I missed being back here. I like the quiet. I miss all the old faces, though. Pressly, Engineer Adams, all of them."

Unbidden, Shepard's mind went back to the death of the Normandy. He couldn't shake the images of Pressly's face as he lied dead on the deck. He then started to remember what happened after. The painful constriction in his chest, the short gasps, the…

"It doesn't seem right having Cerberus in charge of this ship. Are you sure working for them is the right thing to do?"

Shepard shook himself free of the memories to focus on Tali's question. "I don't know. It wasn't an easy decision, but so far, Cerberus has actually helped me push back a Collector attack on a human colony on Horizon."

"Yes, Ken and Gabby talked about that. A lot," she said.

They both looked over to see Gabby was back on the deck, standing with her arms crossed and glaring, while Ken was still in the pipes fixing something or other.

"Cerberus gave me operational control of the mission, so right now, I'm calling the shots," Shepard stated.

Tali crossed her arms and settled into an aggressive stance. "So **you** ordered the listening devices and tracking beacons that are all over this ship?" she mockingly accused.

"Funny," Shepard deadpanned. "I'm not naïve, Tali. The Illusive Man wasn't going to give me a top-of-the-line multibillion credit warship without some strings attached."

Tali shook her head. "I know you need resources to fight the Collectors, but be careful, Shepard."

"I know, Tali. I know," Shepard assured. "But for now, one threat at a time, okay?" Shepard considered his quarian friend. "I remember what your friend said back on Freedom's Progress. Something about Cerberus launching an attack on the Migrant Fleet. Can you tell me more?"

"They attacked one of our ships, the Idenna," Tali spat out angrily. "It seems they were attempting to kill or control a young human biotic who was on the Fleet. I don't really know the details. I do know that Cerberus made an enemy of the quarian people."

"You allowed a non-quarian on the Flotilla?"

Tali shrugged. "He or she had information of some sort that Ysin'Mal vas Idenna, captain of the Idenna, was interested in. Not long after, the Idenna was granted permission to conduct long-term missions to look for new planets for us to settle on. Again, I wasn't privy to the details."

Shepard scratched his head. "I really missed out the last couple of years," he mumbled.

"You mentioned someone earlier. Is the 'Illusive Man' the one in charge of Cerberus?" she asked.

Shepard nodded. "Yeah."

Tali shook her head. "An… interesting name. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Shepard shrugged. "I fully expect them to betray us at some point. We just need to be ready when they do."

"I'm glad to hear that, Shepard. Remember, you're their best weapon right now. Their mistake is thinking they can control you. Just let me know how I can help," she said.

"A grenade would be nice," he joked.

Tali giggled. "I'll keep one on hand."

"You should get some sleep. You had a rough couple of days," he advised.

"I will. I just want finish familiarizing myself with the Normandy before I turn in. Thanks for your concern though," she said appreciatively.

They both started back down the short hallway. Shepard could now hear Ken's grumbling. "Bloody slave driver. So I forgot one little thing. She didn't have to hit me…"

"What did you say?" Gabby dangerously said.

"I'm almost done!" Ken hastily replied.

Shepard chucked and left the engineers to their work.

Tali walked up to Gabby. "What was wrong?"

As Shepard crossed the threshold of the doorway leading out, he heard Tali scream.

"What were you thinking ? !"

_Poor guy…_

* * *

"Commander, it is time to wake up."

After the fifth time, EDI's insistent voice finally roused Shepard from his well-deserved rest. "EDI?"

"You instructed me to wake you once we are four hours away from Illium."

"Right," Shepard said, forcing himself to wake up and roll out of bed. "Thanks, EDI."

"You are welcome, Commander. Logging you out."

Shepard stumbled into his bathroom and yawned. Looking closely at the mirror, he turned his head side to side and inspected his glowing scars.

_Looks like they're almost gone._

After conducting the usual morning routines, Shepard left his cabin dressed in civilian clothes for incognito travel through Illium. He marched into the lift and pressing the button for Deck 3, intent on getting his breakfast.

Upon reaching the Crew Deck, various crewmen were mulling about. The difference today was the atmosphere. Miranda had spread the word that the Normandy was going to dock at Nos Astra spaceport on Illium and the crew was given leave to relax at the exotic locale. Excitement was running high as the crewmen began making plans about what to do, see, or buy once they reached their destination.

Stepping into the line for breakfast behind Hawthorne and Goldstein, Shepard looked around the Common Area to see that only Jacob was the only officer in the room so far.

"You okay, Hawthorne?" Goldstein asked.

"Yeah, just a late shift. I'd get some rack, but I really want to eat," Hawthorne replied before yawning again. He looked at Goldstein a bit more closely. "Are you wearing makeup?"

"I get leave first," Goldstein said smugly.

"Thanks for ruining my morning," Hawthorne groaned.

"I've never been to Illium before. I can't wait to see what it's like," Goldstein gushed.

Shepard raised an eyebrow as he accidently eavesdropped on their conversation. He'd never imagined Goldstein acting that feminine considering how professional she held herself in contrast to Hawthorne's brash personality.

"Illium is on the fringes of Citadel space, right on the border to the Terminus. It's probably the only planet that follows Citadel conventions, but acts like any world in the Terminus Systems," Hawthorne said knowledgably.

"What do you mean?" Goldstein curiously asked.

"Just about everything on Illium is legal, except, you know, violent crimes," Hawthorne explained.

"Wow," Goldstein said.

"Commander! What are you doing back there? You're in charge! You don't have to wait in line!" Rupert boomed out.

Hawthorne and Goldstein jumped up and turned around. When they saw him, they stammered and were about to stand at attention when Shepard waved them off.

"Its fine, I can wait. I really don't mind," Shepard said disarmingly.

Gardner shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Jack sauntered in at that moment, slightly damp from her shower. She walked right past the line, ignoring everyone except Shepard, whom she gave a nod to, before stopping at the counter. Rupert seemed to have expected it and reached under his counter for two trays and handed them over.

"Enjoy."

Jack wordlessly took them and walked out, thankfully without incident.

Hawthorne frowned at Jack. He was about to make, in what appeared to be, a disparaging comment about her, when Goldstein hissed in warning. He stopped and remembered who was behind them.

Shepard looked at both of them neutrally.

Hawthorne stopped frowning and offered a shaky smile he hoped would win over his commanding officer.

The effect was slightly ruined when Shepard continued to stare him down silently. "The line is moving," he pointed out.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Hawthorne said immediately.

"Idiot," Goldstein said. She punched him in the shoulder and dragged him closer to the counter.

Shepard grinned at the action and moved up as well.

After getting a full tray he made his way to Jacob who waved him over with his spoon.

"Way to lay down the law, Commander," Jacob said.

"You'd know," Shepard replied jokingly.

"We all have our moments," Jacob nodded sagely, as if were imparting some grand wisdom. He grinned and took another bite. "It'll be nice to get some leave, but we'll probably be working, huh?"

"Not necessarily," Shepard responded. "I need to do some footwork to find out where our recruits are first. Illium's a big world and Nos Astra pretty densely populated. Might take awhile."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Jacob asked.

"Officers will stay on the Normandy for a bit. Grunt and Jack too. I'd rather not let them go out without some kind of supervision." Shepard looked up from his meal. "Miranda told me about the armor. You would need to stay behind anyway to help her with the Cerberus logistics involved."

"She already told you, huh?" Jacob stated. "That works. Armor on its way then?"

Shepard nodded as he continued eating.

"Good. Hopefully, it'll work as advertised or… well…" Jacob trailed off, not wanted to voice out the worst case scenario in front of the crew.

"The Ascension seemed to benefit from it," Shepard pointed out. "The only problem I have is whether or not Cerberus read the instructions correctly."

Jacob grinned. "Devil's in the details."

Garrus finally stepped into the Common Area and took a tray from Gardner. Walking to their table, he sat down next to Jacob. "Heard from… what's the human expression? Scuttlebutt?" Garrus said, looking at Shepard for confirmation.

Shepard nodded.

"Scuttlebutt. That you said something stupid again," Garrus said to Jacob.

Shepard was grinning now.

"Just said the wrong thing to the wrong person," Jacob deflected, trying to play down the event.

"That would count as saying something stupid," Garrus teased. "Especially when you try to advertise an AI to a quarian."

Shepard snorted and tried to cover up his laugh by eating.

"Thanks, Garrus. As if I didn't feel bad enough before," Jacob grumbled.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Tali's tough. She'll bounce back," Garrus assured.

"I already apologized. She forgave me," Jacob informed.

"There you go then," Garrus replied without missing a beat. He turned to Shepard. "I got in touch with my contacts. They're sending everything to Illium. Expect it in two days."

"Fantastic. I can't wait to test it," Shepard said excitedly. He entertained thoughts of retribution on the Collector cruiser that destroyed the SSV Normandy.

"What's up?" Jacob asked.

"I imagine they're talking about the new weaponry for the Normandy," Miranda said, sitting down next to Shepard.

Shepard was rendered speechless as he stared at Miranda.

She was dressed in civilian clothes instead of her usual Cerberus uniform: a long sleeved blouse, a pair of loose slacks, and designer heels. She took the time to apply some light makeup, further enhancing her beauty. She looked like a supermodel or an actress rather than an elite operative for a clandestine organization.

Jacob raised an eyebrow at her. "Nice look. Going undercover?"

Shepard shook himself out of his stupor and waited for her answer, but Miranda ignored the question and started eating her breakfast.

Frowning, he was about tell her about his plans when Joker interrupted him.

"_Commander, we're making our approach to Illium. They've queried us."_

"On my way," Shepard replied. He looked at Miranda one more time, but she looked back at him with neutral expression and no answers. He thought he caught a hint of a smile, but he passed it off as his imagination.

"Take my tray back, would you?" Shepard asked the table at large. Garrus volunteered.

Glancing at Miranda one last time, Shepard was about to speak again when another thought came to him. He shook his head and quickly left, intent on getting in touch with another old friend.

* * *

"_Nos Astra Control, this is Normandy SR-2, requesting vectors and a berth,"_ Joker said as Shepard exited the elevator and stepped into the CIC.

"_Normandy, this Nos Astra Control. Please state your business,"_ a female operator requested.

"Nos Astra Control, this is Agent Shepard, commanding officer of the Normandy and member of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Office," Shepard said. "I'm here on official business."

"_Understood, Agent Shepard. Please verify your identity."_

After transmitting his clearance, he waited until the operator called back. _"Welcome to Illium, Agent Shepard. Transmitting approach vectors and a berth."_

"I need a private dock," Shepard requested. "One that ensures secrecy."

"_Understood, Agent Shepard. Stand by."_

After several minutes, another female operator called. _"A private dock has been secured for your use, Spectre. Will you need anything else?"_

"No."

"_If I may also ask, how long do you intend to stay?"_

"As long as I need to complete my business," Shepard responded evenly.

"_Understood, Spectre. Enjoy your stay. Nos Astra Control out."_

"_Vectors and clearance received, Commander. Beginning approach to Nos Astra. ETA: 51 minutes,"_ Joker reported.

Shepard stepped off the platform and swiftly made his way to the Comm. Room. Once inside, he stopped at the table and looked at the hologram representation of the Normandy. "EDI, can you put me in touch with Liara?"

EDI's avatar appeared at the edge of the table in front of Shepard. "Stand by while I attempt to locate Dr. T'Soni."

Shepard composed his thoughts, but couldn't help wondering if the Illusive Man's intelligence was right or wrong. If it was right, why would Liara have anything to do with the Shadow Broker? Especially since he learned that the Shadow Broker paid the Blue Suns to retrieve his body. If the intelligence was wrong, the question was, is the intelligence just faulty or did the Illusive Man lie to him?

_Oh, yeah. Like that's hard to imagine…_ Shepard sarcastically thought to himself.

"Commander? I have contacted Dr. T'Soni and she wishes to speak to you," EDI announced.

"Put her though," Shepard said.

The table lowered into the deck and the image of the Normandy changed to a life-scale image of an asari. She looked exactly the same the first time Shepard met her. Still young by asari standards, her face was slightly more round than most of the centuries old asari Shepard had met.

"Shepard," Liara said happily, but her voice sounded different than what he last remembered.

He studied her as her face ran through a multitude of emotions. Happiness, relief, surprise, but interestingly enough, there was also traces of fear and guilt. What shocked him the most was the sudden mask she placed on herself. Almost instantly, all traces of emotion vanished, leaving nothing but neutral look of slight interest, but little else.

"Hello, Liara. It's great to see you again." Shepard said, happy to see his old friend, but confused by her demeanor. Observing the image a bit closer, he amended his earlier observations. Her face lost some of the roundness and instead, gained a few feminine angles. She looked a bit hardened, perhaps a bit darker. In a strange way, she greatly resembled her mother, Benezia in the way she seemed to carry herself.

"You too, Shepard. I heard the news, but I wanted to see for myself. You're really alive…" Liara replied. Her voice seemed distant, almost disinterested.

"Yeah. It's a long story. I heard you were on Illium. I thought I could visit. Maybe catch up a bit?"

"I would like that. I'll waive your docking fees," Liara offered.

Shepard shook his head. "I invoked Spectre rights. I'm getting a private dock for some refits on my ship."

"Can I ask where?"

Shepard turned on his omni-tool and started searching for the relevant data. "Near the Nos Astra Trading Floor it looks like."

"Perfect. My office overlooks the trading floor. You can visit me there. We have quite a bit to speak about, I imagine. It's better if we do so in person."

_Office…?_ "Sounds good, Liara." Shepard looked at the asari from head to toe. "You look well."

"As do you," she replied, also checking Shepard over. "For someone once thought dead, anyway."

Despite her attempt at humor, Shepard thought he detected something about her statement. As if she knew more than she let on.

"I'll see you soon. We should be docking within the hour," Shepard said.

"I'll see you then," Liara promised before closing the link.

As the table returned to its original position, Shepard couldn't shake the feeling that something was undeniably strange about her.

* * *

"Hello, Commander," Kelly greeted when Shepard stepped back into the CIC.

"Kelly," Shepard cordially returned. His thoughts continued to replay the short conversation he had with Liara, but he still couldn't put his finger on why she seemed different.

"Something the matter?" Kelly asked with a touch of concern.

"I don't know…" Shepard frowned.

"Anything I can do to help?" Kelly asked.

Shepard shook his head. "Not really. I think I should speak to Garrus or Tali about it, though. Maybe they might know something."

"Speaking of Tali, I had a wonderful chat with her yesterday," Kelly said.

"Sorry for interrupting."

"She's not what I expected from her psych report. I like her."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "She's a good friend. If it wasn't for her, I might not have been a Spectre. We've been through a lot together since then."

Kelly only made a slight disinterested humming noise of agreement. Like she knew something important that had eluded his attention.

Shepard didn't like the sound she made. He didn't care for the look she was giving him either. It usually meant trouble for him and it can only be made worse by the fairer sex. "What?" he asked, trying to keep the dread out of his voice.

"Hmmm… My female intuition says she wants to be more than just good friends," Kelly said shrewdly.

Shepard crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "And what led you to that conclusion?"

"It's in her body language," she explained. "How she turns to you when you enter to room. How she watches your every move."

He almost sighed in relief. He was confident that he could read Tali's body language better than the yeoman. "I think you're imagining it, Kelly."

Kelly put finger on her lip and started tapping in thought. "No. No, I don't think so."

Shepard decided that he also disliked the confident romanticisms females tended to have when they're sure of something. It really almost made him doubt everything he knew.

_Completely unfair._

"Quarians are so fascinating to me, but they also make me a little sad," Kelly frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

"Their environment suits are so beautiful, but with their immune systems, they're also trapped inside," Kelly explained.

Shepard silently nodded.

"I wonder what they look like under those helmets or what their skin feels like under those suits…" Kelly said wistfully.

The Spectre tilted his head. "Are you attracted to other species?" he asked plainly.

"Well, part of my job is predicting the motives and feelings of humans **and** aliens. Intimacy brings understanding," Kelly said. "And passion is nice wherever you find it. Character matters, not race or gender."

_Definitely a romantic. She's worse than Chakwas._

"It's a good way to look at life," Shepard genuinely praised.

Kelly shrugged modestly. "I try my best."

"_Preparing for atmospheric entry. All hands, stand by,"_ Joker reported.

"I need to go," Shepard said, remembering that he needed to speak to Garrus and Tali.

"Of course, Commander."

* * *

The Normandy flew at almost reckless speeds toward the commercial planet, Illium.

Moments before entering the outer atmosphere, the frigate pulled her nose up, revealing her hardened belly which she used to withstand the heat generated by the friction of atmospheric entry.

Once clear of the atmosphere, the Normandy leveled out, flying toward the capitol of Illium, Nos Astra. The city bore semblance to some the major cities on Earth, but with a distinct artistic and alien flair of the asari. Looking at the vista, one could easily identify Nos Astra as home to the galaxy's richest, or most powerful, individuals. A venerable paradise on the outside.

Flying over the ocean, the Normandy cruised at a steady speed, deftly avoiding the other vessels that were coming or going. She cleared coastline and made her way toward the spaceports. Upon reaching her destination, she nimbly turned and hovered in place, facing the opening doors leading into a hangar. Slowly, she proceeded to enter the building where she was to dock.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Can't help you, Shepard."

"Sorry."

Shepard sighed and leaned back in his chair.

He, Garrus, and Tali were all sitting together at the Common Area. The crewmen that were designated to leave were all standing around and chattering impatiently.

Garrus shrugged apologetically. "After you 'died', we drifted apart. I really can't say that I've kept in touch with anyone."

"Me too," Tali said, her tone contrite. "I returned to the Flotilla and since then, I've had to conduct dozens of missions. I couldn't keep in touch no matter how hard I tried."

"Wrex went to Tuchanka and we all know that it's not the friendliest of places," Garrus listed off. "And you know about Chief Williams."

"Maybe I should pay Wrex a visit," Shepard mused thoughtfully. "Maybe he'll be able to keep Grunt in line."

"If he'll come," Garrus responded realistically. "He looked like a krogan on a mission. Something about securing the krogan future."

Before anyone could speculate further, Jacob walked in and sat next to Shepard. "You wanted to see me, Commander?"

"I need you to lead a team to run a sweep of the dock we're going to be using. Bugs, camera, etc. Sweep for everything and run periodic checks," Shepard ordered. "No sense in letting our guard down."

"Watch for prying eyes and ears. Gotcha, Commander," Jacob nodded.

"_Initiating docking procedures," _Joker reported. _"Please hold the cheering until we've come to a full and complete stop. I need to concentrate here, people."_

The crew laughed and cheered regardless of the instructions.

"_Docking procedures complete. And none of you have any idea how close we were to dying. Thanks a lot," _Joker said before clearing his throat and taking an imperious tone. _"Ladies and gentlemen, you may have noticed that we have come to a full and complete stop. When you exit, please do so calmly and accordingly."_

Jacob looked shocked at the seriousness and professionalism Joker was displaying. Shepard, Garrus, and Tali were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"_I hope you continue flying Space Normandy, (not that you have a choice), where we'll get you where you need to go, (whether you like it or not),"_ Joker said, purposefully mumbling his words into the intercom. _"For some of you that are more charitable, I never say no to gifts. You know, for getting you all here quickly and in one piece. That is all."_

"There we go," Shepard said, smiling at the helmsman's atics before turning to Jacob. "You're up."

Jacob nodded and stood up. "Right, Commander. Tali? Can you help?"

Tali nodded and stood up as well.

"Commander? There is a representative of the Nos Astra government outside. She wishes to speak to you," EDI reported.

"Miranda?" Shepard called into the intercom. "You're wanted in the CIC. Meet me there."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Spaceport**_

After retrieving their pistols from the Armory and securing them in specialized holsters at the waistband near the small of their backs for concealment, Shepard and Miranda stepped out of the Normandy airlock and navigated the hallways until they stepped into a reception lounge.

Two LOKI mechs were standing behind a well-dressed asari concierge. She stepped forward and bowed her head in greeting. "Welcome to Nos Astra, Agent Shepard. We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visit."

"Thank you," Shepard replied courteously.

"My name is Careena. If you need information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you." She caught both humans glancing warily at the mechs. "My apologies. We're the gateway to the Terminus Systems. That element of risk requires greater security." She used her omni-tool to dismiss the mechs.

"Do you know Dr. Liara T'Soni?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, yes. Liara is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers," Careena answered.

That drew a look of surprise from Shepard. Miranda raised an eyebrow at the news, but opted to remain silent.

"Nos Astra is based upon trade. Information is valuable currency and Liara has done quite well," Careena elaborated after seeing Shepard's surprised look. "Her office overlooks…"

"The trading floor. I know," Shepard finished. "The trading floor is where?"

"Straight down the hallway, past the public spaceports and to the right. You can't miss it. It's one of the busiest areas on Nos Astra," she supplied.

"And what gets traded on Illium?" Shepard asked, curious about the culture.

"Anything you can imagine, Agent Shepard. Illium is a wonder world for those who can afford it," she answered with a smile. "In order to remain competitive as a Terminus Systems port, we've relaxed many of the standards you'd find on other asari worlds."

"Such as?"

"Most drugs are legal, provided they are labeled properly. You can buy almost any weapon or technology. You can even buy indentured servants."

"You have slave trading here?" Shepard asked, shocked an asari world would condone such a practice.

"We try to avoid calling it slavery," Careena amended. "All indentured servants on Illium have voluntarily agreed to a term of service."

"Why the hell would people choose something like that?"

"Most choose indentured service as a means to pay off debt or avoid imprisonment. A contract holder is responsible for the well-being of his or her servants and a servant's duties are agreed upon before the contract is signed."

_Can't say I like this, but I suppose the alternative is worse_, Shepard thought to himself. He remembered breaking up several batarian slavery rings during his career as a N7 Alliance Marine.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Shepard asked.

"For your own safety, I recommend against signing anything. Well, I recommend your crew against signing anything," she advised. "As a Spectre, contracts don't really apply to you."

"Besides the obvious or suddenly becoming an 'indentured servant', why would signing something be more dangerous here than anywhere else?"

"Illium is a free-trade world. Contract term requirements are more relaxed here than on other planets. It's a small price to pay for keeping our competitive edge in goods from the Terminus Systems," Careena explained.

"Thanks for the help," Shepard said.

Careena smiled. "Again, welcome to our city, Agent Shepard. Please enjoy your stay."

After she left, Shepard turned to Miranda. "I think we just stepped into the opposite of Omega."

"That's the culture here," Miranda replied. She checked the time on her omni-tool.

"Warn the crew about 'signing' things here and also tell them that I'm lenient on contraband, but no drugs. Red sand and the like, all right?" Shepard ordered.

Miranda looked up and fidgeted. "Of course, Commander."

Shepard turned and fully faced her. "Do you need to be somewhere?"

"I wanted to talk to some contacts of mine," Miranda answered vaguely.

"What Cerberus contacts do you have here?" Shepard asked.

"Not Cerberus. Mine," Miranda corrected.

Shepard stared at her a bit before realizing what she could be talking about. "At a distance, huh?" he knowingly commented.

Miranda shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll take care of it. Go visit whoever you want to visit," Shepard allowed. "Be sure to keep your com on so I can contact you when we find the people we're looking for."

Miranda smiled. "Of course. I should only be a few hours," she said. She opening her mouth to say something more, but appeared to change her mind at the last second. She just smiled again and nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

Shepard nodded in return. "No problem." As they both parted ways, Shepard heard Miranda stop and run back. "What's up?"

Miranda looked uncomfortable again and actually fidgeted in place while he waited. "If you see Dr. T'Soni, tell her… tell her I said her efforts weren't wasted and her sacrifices weren't in vain. She'll understand."

"You know Liara?"

Miranda looked up and met his eyes. "That's for her to say."

* * *

After warning the crewmen about inappropriate conduct, and conveying the warnings he was given, Shepard stepped back out into Illium with Garrus as his travelling companion. They both walked swiftly, so the other crewmen could file out. Each of them were gazing at the scenery or pointing at something or other in amazement.

Shepard led the way to the trading room floor, telling Garrus his first impressions about Illium and the contrast and comparisons he thought of with Omega.

Garrus made a noise of agreement when they both stepped out the spaceport to see Nos Astra clearly from the trading room floor. "We were always told that Illium is one of safest places in the galaxy… until you fell off the grid."

"Really?" Shepard asked as they meandered through the various stalls and stock market monitors.

"Yeah. Sign the wrong contract, join up with the wrong company, or walk down the wrong alley, and it's as dangerous as anywhere else." He looked around, seeing past the glamour and majesty of Nos Astra. "Don't let this place fool you. It's no safer here than Omega."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard stated.

They both walked until one of the stalls caught Garrus' eye. Shepard walked a few steps before realizing Garrus had stopped. "Something up?"

"Colossus Armor," Garrus pointed out.

"Perfect," Shepard said, walking back to look. "Get one for yourself. Put it on Cerberus' credit," he said before an idea came to him. "Be sure to get one for Tali and Grunt as well."

Garrus nodded and looked around. "I think we should get some more equipment here, if that's the case."

Shepard looked around as well. Seeing the various vendors hawking their wares, he couldn't help but grin. "Whatever upgrades you think are best."

"Go on. I'll catch up with Liara later," Garrus said as he stepped up to the armor vender to make his purchases.

Shepard nodded and left his friend to his business.

* * *

"Hello, Commander Shepard. Liara will be pleased to see you," an asari greeted when Shepard walked into a lounge.

Shepard felt there was something wrong with this asari the moment she spoke. She seemed… too inconspicuous. She spoke with a lilting voice that sounded ethereal which made her stand out, but the manner she held herself and the way her eyes tracked every nuance in the room the moment he entered. All of this reminded Shepard of the asari commando Alestia Iallis on Noviera, a hidden agent or an assassin beneath a guise of an everyday worker.

_I must be getting paranoid…_

Still, Shepard wasn't one to doubt his instincts. He held himself a respectful distance away and nodded politely. "And you are?"

"My apologies. I am Nyxeris, Liara's assistant. Liara relies upon me to acquire useful intelligence. I don't have her network of contacts, but I supply her with supplemental data." She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "It really an honor to work with her."

At this point, Shepard had to resist the urge to reach behind and grab his gun.

_If that didn't sound like a lie…_

"Can I go in?" Shepard asked as evenly as possible without appearing like he wanted to run away. Or shoot her.

"Of course, Commander."

Shepard walked in, keeping his guard up when Nyxeris followed behind him. He saw Liara talking to an image of a human male.

"Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

Shepard's eyebrows rose at her veiled threat. He immediately recognized the words and remembered who spoke those words to him, two years ago.

"I'll make it simple. Either you pay me or I flay you alive," she warned before stressing her next three words. "With my mind."

The man had a frightened look on his face when he nodded. The moment the call was cut, Shepard spoke up, announcing his presence. "I expected more from an asari commando," he said, parroting his words he'd once spoken to Benezia.

Liara turned around in surprise. "Shepard!" She rounded on her assistant. "Nyxeris, hold my calls."

Stepping forward, Liara embraced Shepard, though the gesture seemed to lack the same warmth Ashley or Tali presented. "Ah… Shepard…" she whispered. She took a deep breath and stepped back.

"My sources said you were alive, but I needed to see you for myself. That's when I would believe… It's very good to see you."

Despite her words, all emotion seemed to be void in her voice. After the hug, she kept herself out of arm's reach and maintained a certain distance from him. Shepard couldn't help but note it was similar to how he acted around Nyxeris. "Sources. Right. I heard you became an information broker."

"Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle," she admitted.

"I'm surprised you'd need that muscle. I mean, threatening to kill people with your brain?"

"Oh, that?" Liara asked, embarrassed by her display. It was just another hint of emotion that he'd seen since contacting her. "That was just a customer unhappy with the information he received. He'll pay. They always do." She turned away from him and stared out the large window overlooking the trading floor. "Ever since I helped you stop Saren, people have wanted to be my friend… or not my enemy. I've set up a respectable business as an information broker." She turned around to face him. "It's paid the bill since you…" she hesitated on the word and pushed on. "Well, for the past two years. And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors." She took a seat and gestured for Shepard to do the same.

Settling himself in the chair, he regarded his old friend. "Not exactly public knowledge," he stated, impressed with her intelligence.

"Information is my business now. These are things I have to know well before others do."

"I don't suppose I can convince you to come with me?"

Liara smiled sadly. She was probably expecting him to ask. "I'm sorry, Shepard. There are… things I need to take care of. Commitments I must honor."

"Do you need help?" Shepard asked.

"No. This is something I must do on my own.," she resolutely stated.

Shepard frowned. "I'm working with a Cerberus operative. She wanted me to tell you that 'your efforts weren't wasted and your sacrifices weren't in vain'. Does that mean anything to you?"

Liara swallowed, but smiled as she scrutinized Shepard. He had to resist the urge to squirm under her unblinking eyes. "Miranda Lawson, I take it?"

Shepard nodded.

"I'm sure I'll see her soon enough. While I appreciate her candor, I still have things to. Debts to repay."

"Someone told me you were working with the Shadow Broker. Is it true?" Shepard asked bluntly. He was taken aback Liara narrowed her eyes at him. The room's temperature dropped several degrees. In all the time they worked together, he had never seen so much hate on her face.

"No… I am not working for him," she resolutely stated. Her voice was calm, a stark contrast to her face. "It's complicated, but whoever made that accusation clearly has faulty intelligence."

"Do you know the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked.

"He is the one that said that?" Liara asked in return, surprise etched on her features.

Shepard nodded again.

"Strange. He, of all people, should be aware of what I'm doing." She frowned at the implications. She shook her head. "I'll need to consider this. Meanwhile, what business brings you to Illium? Or were you just visiting me?"

"I was visiting you and I have people I need to recruit for my team."

Liara smiled. "You're fortunate that I'm an information broker then. I'll help, free of charge even."

Shepard smiled back, though his was a tad shaky. "There's an asari named Samara here on Illium. A justicar, according her to dossier. Do you know where I could find her?"

"Justicar Samara," Liara nodded knowingly. Without turning to her terminal, she answered, "She arrived recently and registered with Tracking Officer Dara." At Shepard's impressed look, she shrugged. "Justicars are required by their code to announce themselves. Her presence here caused something of a scene, particularly with local law enforcement."

"What can you tell me about justicars?"

"They're a monastic order, almost akin to a religious group, really. They're asari that have chosen to give up everything to follow their code. Families, possessions, name, everything." Liara leaned back and shifted in her chair to make herself comfortable. "They're dedicated to stopping injustice whenever they encounter it." She smiled at Shepard again, this time in humor. "Many will say the STG was the model for the Spectres, but justicars are perhaps the true inspiration behind them. Much like Spectres, justicars undertake personal missions and are exempt from many laws, but only within asari space."

"Spectres are authorized by the Council though. Who do justicars represent?"

"They don't represent anyone. They're dedicated to following a code that defines their lives and tells them what actions they take," Liara answered. "It may seem strange to you, but in asari space, justicars are revered." Liara sat up and frowned. "The problem the local authorities are facing is that Illium is not in asari space. While other 'law-abiding' asari have little to worry about, a justicars code compels them to stop any illegal activities they face. In most cases, such conflicts end in lethal force. And you've noticed what kind of city Nos Astra is."

"And other species won't care for a justicar's authority," Shepard guessed.

"No, they won't. As you can see, there's an interesting diplomatic incident waiting to happen." Liara leaned forward on her table. "This is usually the reason why justicars rarely leave asari space. Because of this, it is likely that Samara is here for a specific target. One that has left asari space," Liara guessed.

"Will this be a problem for me?" Shepard asked.

Liara tapped her chin in thought. "I don't know… It really depends on her I suppose." Turning to her friend she stated, "Because she registered with tracking officer, it will be likely that her target will be aware of her presence on Illium. That means that whoever Samara is after will try to get off-world as quickly and as discreetly as possible. To avoid further detection, Samara will probably keep her presence hidden until she's located her quarry. It will probably be extremely difficult to find her until then."

"Damn…" Shepard cursed. "Okay. What about Thane Krios? He's supposed to be here too."

"The assassin. He's lived on Illium for a few years now. I understand that he recently arrived in Nos Astra a few days ago though."

"Any idea where I can find him?"

Liara shook her head. "I'm sorry. Thane kept his movements discreet ever since coming here."

"I doubt I'll be finding him soon then. Or Samara. Looks like I got my work cut out for me," Shepard grumbled.

"Yes, I suppose it would be difficult to locate Thane, but I suspect he would be easier to find than Samara," Liara corrected, smiling indulgently.

Shepard looked up at her. "Really? How so?"

"It is likely Thane is still on Illium for a job. Considering his talent and reputation, not to mention your own interest in him, then he's probably scouting the target right now. Studying them, learning routes and habits. Then, he'll plan his course of action. He's not an amateur. He will strike when the moment is right. During that time, I doubt I, or anyone else, could find him," Liara answered. Turning to her console and typing rapidly, she continued. "Instead of trying to find Thane himself, I could look into his target."

"I look for whoever Thane is after and meet him there…" Shepard finished, amazed at the brilliant deduction.

"Exactly. I'll use my more… less than reputable contacts and see what contracts were made in the last four months. Then, I'll narrow the search to high-profile targets to see which one Thane would accept," Liara said.

"How long will this take?" Shepard asked.

"To avoid problems with the authorities… I'd say three days," Liara guessed. Taking on a more apologetic look, she explained, "I'd go faster, but some of my contacts won't share my feelings. They'll need to make more quiet inquires to sidestep any misunderstandings."

"That's fine, Liara," Shepard assured. "It's better than what I had before."

"This will take some time," Liara said. "But I promise I'll remain in contact."

* * *

Shepard sighed when he left Liara's office. He felt mentally drained from speaking with her. There were so many secrets she was keeping that he wondered if he knew her at all now. Roaming past the various shops and wares, he looked around for Garrus, but couldn't find the turian anywhere.

_Everyone keeps leaving me. Maybe it's my deodorant?_

He wandered for the next hour until he saw a pair of quarians chatting. Both of them he knew. "Tali!"

Tali turned her head and waved back. When Shepard walked close enough, she turned back to the other quarian to introduce him. "Shepard, this is…"

"Kenn'Vael nar Selani," Shepard greeted with a nod of his head.

"Yes. It's very good to meet you again, Mr. Shepard," Kenn said, stepping forward and shaking his hand. "I want to thank you again for helping me."

"Just Shepard will be fine."

"You met?" Tali asked, looking between the two of them.

"He's the one I was telling you about. The one that gave me the credits I needed to get off Omega," Kenn responded.

"Oh. That's very kind of you, Shepard," Tali praised.

"Finished at the hangar?" Shepard asked her.

"Yes. Jacob told me that I should go and enjoy myself afterword. I think he's still taking responsibility for what he said and now he's trying to stay on my good side."

"I hope you use that power wisely," Shepard smirked.

Tali giggled, but didn't say anything.

Hoping Tali won't abuse her newfound power over Jacob, Shepard turned back to Kenn. "I hope your Pilgrimage is faring better now that you're here."

"Oh, yes. I've opened another shop here with another quarian on his Pilgrimage. We're hoping to raise enough money to buy a ship and critical supplies to bring back to the Migrant Fleet," Kenn replied.

"That's a good gift," Tali nodded.

"Is it normal for quarians to work together for Pilgrimages?" Shepard asked.

"Not at all. If there are twins or other family members of similar age, cousins or the like, they would often band together to help each other during a Pilgrimage. However, to maintain genetic diversity, they will need to choose different ships. That means they each must have something to present," Tali explained.

"Rol is a friend. We both met here and decided to set up a shop. After talking, we decided on what ship we wanted to join as well. All we have to do is raise the money to do it." Kenn turned to Shepard. "I want to thank you for what you've done. You said you were looking for a specific part, yes? Some couplings?"

Shepard nodded.

Tali bowed her head in thought. "I remember. We have the wrong couplings. We need T6-FBA models or we'll have to realign the couplings every day."

"You're in luck. Rol has some pristine T6-FBA couplings at our shop. If you want, you can have it, free of charge!"

Shepard really wanted to pay for it, but given the earnest stance Kenn was giving him, he didn't want to insult the young man either. "Thank you. I'm sure my engineering team will appreciate this," he said as gracefully as he could.

Kenn nodded happily. "I'll have it delivered to your ship as soon as possible."

"Are you sure about this, Kenn?" Tali asked gently. "We have plenty of money. We can pay, it's not a problem."

Kenn shook his head. "I wanted to take responsibility for my actions on Omega, but your captain made a convincing argument. This is the only way I can think of to pay him back."

Tali nodded her head and patted Kenn on the shoulder. "I understand. He seems to have that effect."

Maybe it was his imagination, but Shepard could swear Kenn was blushing underneath his mask when Tali touched him.

_Interesting._

* * *

Liara embraced Garrus warmly. "It's good to see you again, Garrus."

Garrus awkwardly returned the gesture. "You too, Liara." Stepping back, he looked around her office. "I see you've done well for yourself."

Liara glanced around her office as well. "On the surface perhaps, but I've had my share of hardships." Looking Garrus in the eye, she added, "Similar to yours actually."

Garrus tilted his head in confusion. "Really?"

"In the beginning, yes. While nothing like your mercenary squad, I've had my share of violence," Liara explained as she walked back behind her table and sat down. "Later on, when I established myself here, my dealings became much more private, but no less deadly."

Garrus walked over to the front of her table and crossed his arms. "You knew about my squad?"

Liara smiled. "I kept tabs on everyone. And it was rather hard to miss you, 'Archangel'. Many extranet sites declared you a hero, a champion to protect the underprivileged and destitute. Some of the photos were quite flattering; Colossus Armor suits you. Not to mention the slogans: 'I believe in Archangel'. It's a definite contrast to what others called you. The various mercenary groups called you a terrorist and that's one of the nicer things they said about you." She sighed as her hand traced random patterns on the tabletop. "I missed everyone. Despite the danger and hardship and pressures… the time we spent together was the best I've had all my life," she quietly said. "The best group of friends I've ever made."

Garrus sighed and sat down in the nearest chair. "Yeah. I know the feeling."

The silence between them lingered as they lost themselves in past and present memories.

"I know where Sidonis is," Liara suddenly said, still in her quiet tone. Her gaze was boring into Garrus though, watching him carefully.

Garrus' head snapped up at the news. "What ? !" Standing up, he placed his hands on the table. "How do you know ? ! Where is he ? !"

"I know because, as I said, I kept tabs on everyone. The moment I heard that your squad was killed, I looked for everything related to the incident. I was worried about you and hoped that you were still alive. When I confirmed that you were alright, I dedicated resources trying to find out what had happened," she explained, leaning back in her chair. "As soon as I found out the truth, I kept my ear out for any mention of Sidonis." Leaning forward, she accessed her console, to answer Garrus' last question. "As for where, I'm sending you everything I have."

Garrus looked down at his omni-tool. "The Citadel…" Looking through the information he was given, he noted that Liara had found the new name, identity, even the address of where Sidonis was living at now. "I got you, you bastard."

"Approaching him will not be easy," Liara warned. "He's contracted an identity forger named Fade. As I understand it, Fade is quite notorious on the Citadel because he can help people disappear. Even C-Sec can't find anyone he's made vanish."

Garrus dismissed her warning. "I lost my respect for C-Sec a long time ago Liara. Besides, you found him."

"Regardless of your opinion of C-Sec, they haven't a clue to Fade's real identity," Liara countered. "It's likely that Fade protects the identities of his clients. If he or she got wind of your arrival at the Citadel, then Sidonis might get tipped off. Your best shot would be to deal with Fade directly to ensure that he can't contact Sidonis. Maybe even use him to draw Sidonis out, instead of attacking him directly," she suggested.

Garrus considered her words. "Hmm… That's a good idea." Looking at her, he asked, "Any idea who Fade is?"

"Sorry. I'm afraid not," Liara sighed. "My primary focus is here on Illium as well as… elsewhere," she evasively answered. "I can tell you that Fade has operators working out of a warehouse in level 26 of the Zakera Ward. If you approach them, you might find where Fade is hiding," she suggested.

"Thanks Liara," Garrus said gratefully. Sitting down again, he regarded the asari carefully. "Um… look Liara. I trust you. We've been through too much for me not to, but why?"

"Why am I here as an information broker or why am I helping you like this?"

Garrus shrugged. "Both, I guess."

Liara sadly smiled. "Well, lucky for you, my answer is pretty much the same for both questions." At Garrus confused look, Liara bowed her head. "I understand what you're going through," she started before hesitating. "Because I'm doing the same thing, right now."

"The same thing?" Garrus prompted.

"I'm after the Shadow Broker," she explained before her face took on a dark look Garrus had never seen her have before. "He… hurt… a very good friend of mine on top of trying to give Shepard's body over to the Collectors." Looking up, she fiercely finished, "I want to repay the favor."

"Do you need help?" Garrus asked.

Liara smiled, almost laughed. "Shepard offered as well. This is something I'd rather do on my own."

Garrus was stunned. He was actually thinking of ways to approach their old commander for help with Sidonis.

Apparently, the shock showed on his face. Liara stood up and looked out the window. "We both know what will happen if Shepard comes with either of us Garrus. He'll help us. He'll do everything he can, brave any danger. But he'll also try to talk us out of it." Turning around and facing him with a sorrow-filled look, she said, "Right now, we believe ourselves to be right, that we're merely removing monsters from the galaxy. Can you really hold that conviction when Shepard tries to convince you otherwise?"

Garrus' eyes narrowed in thought as he considered her words. _Saleon…_

"The worst part is… he's probably the only one in the galaxy that actually **could** talk us out of our choices," Liara continued, aware of Garrus' internal struggle. "As much as I want his help… I can't afford to have it."

All of a sudden, it didn't seem so easy anymore.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Wow. My chapters are getting kinda long. Still within the average, but Interludes aren't meant to be this long…

I want to credit Ronnie James Dio again for his work. He allowed me to take a quote from his story, **Immortality**, for use in my story. I made another couple of references to **Firefly** and old game most may not know about: **The Dig**. Great game.

Please review! Thank you!


	19. Correspondence III

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Omega Clinic Desk**_

_**Subject: Things are quiet again…**_

Commander, I thought I'd write to you to let you know how we've been doing. First off, I wanted to thank you for saving me from those batarians. I thought I'd seen the worst of people's anger and fear at Dr. Solus' clinic. I had no idea how much anger his work was keeping in check, how bad it really was. If not for you, I'd be dead. Thank you.

The clinic is doing well now. The plague is gone and I've been able to handle everything without too much trouble. The Blue Suns keep offering to take over security here. I keep the mechs powered on. I won't make the same mistake twice.

Thanks,

Daniel

* * *

_**To: Omega Clinic Desk**_

_**From: Shepard**_

I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. Mordin was confident you could handle the clinic in his absence and was proud to hear that everything was taken care of because of you.

Omega's a dangerous place. There's no denying it. I'm glad to know that there are some people still trying to make it a better one.

Good luck with your work. I'll pass on your sentiments to Mordin as well.

Shepard.

* * *

_**From: Admiralty Board, Migrant Fleet**_

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: Transfer Request Approved**_

Captain Shepard,

Per Tali'Zorah vas Neema's request included with her data delivery from Haestrom, the Admiralty Board has approved her transfer to your command. She has been informed that additional duties to the Migrant Fleet may still be necessary on occasion, but has been given extended leeway to determine when her mission with you is considered complete.

This choice was hers, but your role as de facto captain during her Pilgrimage may have caused her to be more susceptible to your requests. The Admiralty Board trusts that you will treat your new crew member with the respect due an honored member of the Fleet. Should any harm come to her due to negligence on your part, this board will take severe and appropriate action.

Admiral Rael'Zorah,

Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board

* * *

_**To: Admiralty Board, Migrant Fleet**_

_**From: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: My Gratitude**_

Admiral Rael'Zorah,

Tali is a valued member of my team and a loyal friend. She honors me with her choice to travel voluntarily on my mission. That said, I would never allow harm to come to her if it was within my power to protect her. You have my word that I will do everything I can to see that she returns safely to the Migrant Fleet. I had hoped that my actions on Haestrom were proof enough that I can be as capable as any of your marines, but I do understand your concern.

As an admiral, I'm sure you have the utmost confidence in her abilities to successfully navigate through any hardship.

As a father, I'm sure you worry about her well-being, no matter the circumstances.

As her commanding officer, I am aware of her strengths and limits. And I can testify that she is a true model of what the quarian people can offer to the galaxy.

As her friend, I have never regretted meeting her. She came at a critical point in both the Alliance's and my own future. That is not something that I will ever forget.

I hope to conclude my mission as soon as possible and return Tali unharmed to the Migrant Fleet. And I wish thank you for your patience and understanding.

Command John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2 and Agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Office

* * *

_**From: Robyn Reeve**_

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: Can you help?**_

Commander:

The Alliance soldier here gave me this contact information – I hope this reaches you.

I understand that you are trying to stop those Collectors. They took my son and my brother. Have you found them? Do you know where they are? I know you're looking, but so many people are just gone. Every family lost someone. The children are the worst. Empty desks at the schools, winter clothes that never got worn.

Please. The Alliance isn't doing anything. The Council isn't doing anything. If you can find out people, I'm begging you to do something. Tell me something I can do.

Tell me anything.

Robyn Reeve

* * *

_**To: Robyn Reeve**_

_**From: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: I Promise to do What I Can**_

Mrs. Reeve,

Rest assured that every effort is being made to bring the perpetrators to justice. The crimes they have committed will not go unpunished.

I will not do you the disservice of lying to you. We have scant information about the Collectors, but there are several brave and dedicated people working with me right now, searching for any and all knowledge of our enemy. Steps are being taken to locate and stop them, once and for all. I cannot promise that I will find your family or the families of the others, but you have my word that I will do everything I can to see to it that they answer for their heinous acts of aggression.

I understand your frustration with the lack of response from the Citadel, but you can trust me.

I won't give up.

Command John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

* * *

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Ashley**_

_**Subject: Hey there**_

Skipper,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm alright. When I lost you two years ago, it tore me up. I prayed for you every day. I read a lot of Tennyson, thinking about you, just like I did when my dad passed. And then you came back and it was like my prayers were answered. But I'm not who I was then and neither are you.

I don't know what's true anymore. Part of me can't believe it's really you. I keep going back to that night before Ilos, our night… I haven't let myself thing about those memories for more than a year now.

I wouldn't have expected you to work with Cerberus, but I understand why they sent you to Horizon. I saw how many people were lost there and if anyone can stop the Collectors, you can. I can't go where you're going, but I can wish you luck.

Just stay alive there, Skipper. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't lose you a second time.

-Ash

_Death closes all: but something ere the end,_

_Some work of noble note, may yet be done,_

_Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods._

* * *

_**To: Ashley**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Hey there**_

_A vast similitude interlocks all,_

_All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,_

_All distances of place however wide,_

_All distances of time, all inanimate forms,_

_All souls, all living bodies though they be ever so different, or in different worlds,_

_All gaseous, watery, vegetable, mineral processes, the fishes, the brutes,_

_All nations, colors, barbarisms, civilizations, languages,_

_All identities that have existed or may exist on this globe, or any globe,_

_All lives and deaths, all of the past, present, future,_

_This vast similitude spans them, and always has spann'd,_

_And shall forever span them and compactly hold and enclose them._

Hey, Ash.

I hope you like the poem. It seemed fitting two years ago. I'm sure you know it.

I'm glad to know that you're alright. When I heard that you were on Horizon and the Collectors were attacking… You have no idea how relieved I was to know the worst didn't happen.

I'm starting to catch up to my missing two years. I've just about met up with everyone from the old squad except Wrex. I won't deny it though.

Things have changed.

Garrus, Tali, Liara… you. We've all changed. It's painful to admit to it, but it seems we've all drifted apart somehow.

This mission I'm on… It's dangerous. More than any I've participated in. I know I'll succeed, but at what cost? Who knows what the future might bring.

I don't know.

I don't know what will happen, what I'll do, or what repercussions that might follow. I just know that the Collectors and the Reapers need to be stopped. Whatever the cost.

I hope to see you again, Ash. And I'm glad that we're still friends.

Shepard.

_Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,_

_Tears from the depth of some divine despair_

_Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,_

_In looking on the happy autumn-fields,_

_And thinking of the days that are no more._

_'Fresh as the first beam glittering on the sail,_

_That brings our friends up from the underworld,_

_Sad as the last which reddens over one_

_That sinks with all we love below the verge;_

_So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more._

_'Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns_

_The earliest pipe of half-awaken'd birds_

_To dying ears, when unto dying eyes_

_The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;_

_So sad, so strange, the days that are no more._

_'Dear as remember'd kisses after death,_

_And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign'd_

_On lips that are for others; deep as love,_

_Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;_

_O Death in Life, the days that are no more.'_

* * *

It's been a while since I've done a chapter like this, so I thought I'd use it to warm up for the next.

It was pretty challenging, emotionally speaking. I'm hoping that my romance will be much better.

The first poem is **On the Beach at Night Alone**, by Walt Whitman. The second is **Tears, Idle Tears**, by Alfred Tennyson. (See what I did there?)

For those of you that impatient for Shepard/Miranda romance, I think I've finally hit that milestone. First, they were distrustful of each other, then mild dislike (Alliance/Cerberus backgrounds mainly) and now a mutual respect.

Here's hoping that I'll be up to the task.

BTW: 200+ reviews! Yay!

Please continue to review and let me know your thoughts.


	20. The Prodigal

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

Shepard walked into the hangar to see half of his crew and several Cerberus workers working on the Normandy. They were on top, the sides, and underneath her. Sparks were flying everywhere as everyone started removing the old armor.

Seeing Jacob, Shepard moved behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Any problems?"

Jacob turned around and tapped a few more commands into the holopad he was holding. "Did a full sweep and found a few bugs. We did a secondary sweep to see if we missed anything more the first time. I got another team doing a third sweep, just in case."

Shepard nodded as he looked over the work being done on his frigate.

"The armor came in about 10 minutes after you left. We started right away," Jacob said over the noise. "Garrus' people haven't arrived yet, so only the armor is being done for now."

They both had to move when a crane was lifting parts of the old ablative armor dropped its load nearby.

"I let Tali go into Nos Astra. I hope you don't mind," Jacob said.

"I bumped into her. It's fine. She's chatting with a new friend of hers now."

Jacob nodded before shouting at one of the workers to be careful. "By the way, have you seen Miranda?" he asked.

Shepard shook his head in the negative. "What's up?"

"The doc wanted some upgrades for the Med Bay. Since she isn't answering her com, I authorized it. I just thought that I should've cleared it with her first. It's pretty pricey."

Something about that statement tickled Shepard's memory, but the details eluded him for the moment. Looking around, he spotted Grunt and Jack sitting outside in different areas the hangar, rather than in their comfort zones inside the Normandy. Unsurprisingly, they were given a wide berth by various people working around them. "Is it safe to go inside or should we consider booking an entire hotel?" he asked.

"You didn't know?" Jacob asked. When Shepard turned to look at him questioningly, he elaborated. "Miranda has it all set up. We all got a place to stay while we're here. We're removing the ablative armor first, but once we start welding the Silaris Armor on…" Jacob explained.

"We need to weld it on to the superstructure of the Normandy," he finished. "Which will make the ship uninhabitable for the foreseeable future."

Jacob shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Remind me to thank her later," Shepard said. He looked around again before turning back to Jacob. "Why don't I take over now? You can head out and relax for a bit."

"You sure?" Jacob asked.

Shepard took the holopad from him and gave him a push toward the exit. "Be back later tonight."

"Will do. Thanks, Commander," Jacob said gratefully before leaving.

For the next few hours, the old ablative armor was slowly removed by sections and the Silaris Armor was being sorted and prepped to be welded on to the Normandy. At Shepard's behest, Grunt came out to help with the effort. Jack was still poring over the holopads about her and Cerberus and didn't want to be bothered.

"Are we going to do something that involves killing something?" Grunt grumbled as he carried a crate full of tools.

"Eventually," Shepard answered, hauling a crate of his own, though it was considerably smaller than Grunt's. "For now, I want us to have the best possible chance to survive any more trips we make or any attacks against the Collectors." He placed his load down next to a stack of crates that were lining a wall.

Grunt dropped the crate he was carrying and eyed Shepard curiously. "I heard that turian talking to the quarian about another krogan."

Shepard looked up from his holopad. "Oh, yeah?"

"Wrex or something," Grunt said, trying to remember the name.

"Urdnot Wrex," Shepard affirmed.

"He ever did stupid stuff like this?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Wrex knew how to beat people down with brute force when he needed to, but he also appreciated the value of good tactics. If he thought this would work against his enemies, he'd make sure to prepare accordingly. A solid warrior all-around."

Grunt growled softly and turned his head away.

"Something up?"

Shaking his head, Grunt stomped over to another crate and picked it up. "What did he care about?"

"Who? Wrex?" Shepard asked.

Grunt nodded.

"He cares about a good fight, like you. He cares about…" Shepard paused as he tried to find the right words. "His idea of honor."

Grunt snorted derisively before grabbing another crate.

"He learned to care about the future of the krogans, too," Shepard said at Grunt's back.

The krogan dropped his load on the floor and turned to glare at the human.

"Wrex tried to help your race once. It didn't go so well and he stopped caring. I understand that he decided to try again. Except he's being a lot more aggressive about it," Shepard informed.

"So what was his idea of honor?" Grunt asked in a disinterested voice. The way he paid attention to Shepard said he was very interested though.

Shepard leaned against one of the larger boxes. "He was hired to take out some criminal," he started before cocking his head in thought. "Hmmm. Y'know, I don't even remember the guy's name. It's not important," he decided before continuing. "I took him out first before Wrex did. Wrex was already paid for the job, so he handed the money over. One professional to another." Shepard smiled as another memory resurfaced. "He and I were actually about to kill each once. I helped him out with something important to him beforehand and he recognized that. As you can tell, we both managed to walk away without killing each other."

Grunt growled softly again in frustration.

Shepard shrugged. "You've only been awake and aware a little less than a week. You haven't… experienced enough yet to find something that you might care about. Give it a little time."

Grunt eyed Shepard speculatively before nodding and getting back to work.

_Maybe I should consider scheduling a trip to Tuchanka…_

_

* * *

_

"Retrofits are always a pain in the ass," Joker complained.

"Calibrations? Diagnostics? Adjustments? " Shepard listed off when he stepped into ship. Night was falling on Illium and there was a lot more work to be done for the next few days.

"The sitting and the waiting," Joker answered. He turned his chair to face him. "You know what I could go for right now? A hamburger. Not vat-grown. An honest-to-god dead cow. With horseradish…" he said. His eyes glazed over as his imagination ran wild.

Shepard privately admitted to himself that a real hamburger would hit the spot for dinner right about now.

"What the…? Hey!" Joker suddenly exclaimed.

Looking back up, Shepard saw Joker's chair spinning side to side, against his will if his protests were any indication. "Problem?" he asked, hiding his smile.

"It's nothing. I… son of a…" Joker said as his chair rotated 360 degrees. He turned his head to glare at EDI's ever present avatar in the cockpit. "Very funny, EDI. Real original. Stop it."

EDI obliged him and rotated his chair so it was facing Shepard again. "You did insist on manual control, Mr. Moreau," she said.

Shepard could have sworn she said that statement with a touch of humor. Leaving Joker to his grumbling and snickering at his predicament, Shepard turned around and started inspection of the interior of his ship.

The crewmen that weren't on leave were packing their clothes and preparing for their move into the hotel Miranda provided. The crew on leave would come back later to retrieve their things and rendezvous with the rest of them.

Nimbly moving past the organized chaos, Shepard navigated his way through the decks, checking to see that everything was done for the day. Stopping in engineering, he heard Tali speaking with her subordinates, indicating she was back.

"How is it now?" she asked from her position near some pipes when he entered.

"Checking," Gabby said from a terminal.

"Board is still green, ma'am!" Ken called back from the Tantalus Core.

"Diagnostics complete. Couplings are still calibrated," Gabby reported happily.

"That's a relief," Tali said. "One less chore now."

"Everything okay down here?" Shepard asked from the doorway.

"We're fine, Shepard," Tali said as she climbed down from her perch. "Just installing the new FBA couplings."

"You're the best, Commander. With the new couplings, we only have to calibrate every week instead of every day," Ken gratefully said when he walked back to join the rest of the engineering team. He gave Shepard a sly look. "We're thinking about celebrating our newfound free time with some Skyllian-Five Poker. Want to join us?" he asked innocently.

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kenneth. The Commander doesn't want to play cards with grease monkeys like us."

Shepard smiled. "Actually, I have a bit of time to kill. Why not?"

Ken grinned. "You in, Boss?" he asked Tali.

"Sure. That sounds fun," she agreed.

"Fantastic! I'll get the cards," Ken enthusiastically said.

"My Skyllian-Five's a bit rusty. You'll be easy on the rookie, right?" Shepard asked, injecting a bit of worry in his tone.

Ken held up his hands in placation and smiled. "Of course, Commander. It's all friendly," he said.

"Yeah, right," Gabby said with a knowing smile as she stared challengingly at Ken.

* * *

"Skyllian-Five," Shepard declared as he placed his cards on the table. The various players around him groaned in defeat while he grinned victoriously and scooped up the credit chits to add to his impressive pile.

"What are you? The devil?" Joker grumbled half-heartedly.

Jacob shook his head and threw his cards on the table toward Kelly, who scooped them up and started shuffling the deck. "Maybe I should've just checked in at the hotel and went to dinner at Eternity."

"'Be gentle on the rookie'. I can't believe we fell for that," Ken said in disbelief.

Gabby laughed. "It's so worth losing to see you taken down a notch."

"Getting beat at my own game," Ken griped good-naturedly.

"Lesson learned," Tali said as she waited for Kelly to deal. "Never underestimate Shepard… or the doctor it seems."

It was pretty shocking to see that Chakwas also had a sizeable pile of credits at her elbow.

"I **am** rather surprised with the good doctor," Ken commented.

Joker snorted. "Are you kidding? She's probably the only one Shepard's afraid of."

Chakwas indulgently smiled while Shepard barked out a laugh.

"Well, I had to pay for medical school somehow, right?" Chakwas enigmatically said.

"Don't even know how I managed to get roped into this…" Jacob said while he leaned on his hand. "The two of you are cleaning us out."

Kelly started passing out the cards. "Where did you learn how to play, Doctor? You're very skilled."

"Oh… years ago. Not long after medical school really," Chakwas replied. "One of my first patients was a very talented player. He received some substantial injuries and was bedridden for some time. Depression slows down the healing process, so I asked him to teach me to cheer him up," she said as she looked at her cards. Despite her friendly tone, her face held a disinterested look at the proceedings, presenting a very solid poker face.

"You know, I almost want to say that Tali is cheating," Joker said. He passed two cards back at Kelly.

"My poker face is pretty good, isn't it?" Tali teased. "Still, it's good to see you haven't changed, Joker."

"Yeah. It's all kinds of awesome now that you're back," Joker said, staring intently at his cards. "I missed having you around. Almost forgot what it felt like to pilot a ship that's well-maintained."

"And what about us?" Gabby asked indignantly.

"Well, we're still flying, so you two have to be doing something right," Joker said, grinning at them.

"Thanks a lot mate," Ken retorted.

Shepard glanced at his cards and laid them face down on the table. He passed only one card back while his face and mannerisms betrayed nothing.

"Commander?"

"What's up, EDI?" Shepard said, looking for the various tells he'd gathered in the hour or so of play they did.

"You have someone calling for you at the Comm. Room," EDI informed.

"Who?"

"Admiral Steven Hackett, Alliance 5th Fleet."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the news.

"I'll take it immediately," Shepard said, hastily standing up.

"As you wish, Commander. Logging you out."

"I'm done," Shepard said. He pushed his pile of credits to the middle of table. "You can divvy up my winnings amongst yourselves."

"Are you sure, Commander?" Ken asked in shock.

"Wouldn't want to deprive you of all your money. How can you enjoy your leave tomorrow morning without it?" Shepard answered easily. "It's fine."

Ken grinned. "You're all right, Shepard."

Gabby smiled too. "Thanks, Commander."

Shepard made his way through the decks of the Normandy and ran as quickly as dignity allowed to the Comm. Room.

Inside, the desk was already lowered into the floor and the holographic projector was showing the image a man in an Alliance Uniform. He was aging, but it didn't detract from his image of nobility. He stood tall and straight, still maintaining discipline despite his waning years. His uniform remained immaculate, adorned with various medals and ribbons throughout his distinguished career.

Shepard had always admired and respected Admiral Hackett, though he was second to the former 'Captain', now Councilor Anderson. He snapped to attention and saluted sharply. "Sir!"

Hackett smiled and gave a solemn salute of his own. "Spectre Agent Shepard," he greeted in his gravelly tone. "At ease. You don't have to stand on ceremony to me."

Shepard nodded and relaxed, noting that Hackett addressed him as 'Spectre' instead of 'Commander'. "Is there something I can do, sir?"

"First off, you don't have call me, 'sir', anymore Shepard. You're a Spectre. Technically, that means you outrank me," Hackett said. "Second, I'm calling to inform you of a few things if you haven't already been made aware. Third, there is something I'd like you to do, but you're more than welcome to decline if you so wish. Consider it a last request from me."

"Understood, s- I mean, Admiral," Shepard acknowledged.

"Well, Shepard, I have to say that you really know how to make a mess of things. Good and bad," Hackett commented. He made a show of looking at Shepard from head to toe. "Reports had you dead, but you still caused problems for us. Back to life? Probably more."

Catching Hackett's smile, Shepard grinned. "My apologies, Admiral."

"There was bit of talk as to what to do with you after you died. It was only resolved recently until we heard reports that you were alive. All of our talks for the last two years: gone. Just like that," he said dramatically. "Then we had to talk about what to do with you while you're still alive."

"'Do', Admiral?" Shepard asked. Had it been anyone else, his suspicions would have been raised, but he remained calm in Hackett's presence.

"We received Chief Williams' report. She confirmed you're working with Cerberus. Since you're a Spectre, there's nothing we can do," Hackett said before frowning. "But there was talk of dishonorable discharge for a while."

Shepard frowned as well.

"Relax, Shepard. Anderson and I backed you. With the support of the Council, the Alliance decided to push forward with our original intent with some small changes."

"And what did you decide?"

"Before? There was talk of whether we should give you a posthumous two-rank promotion for your years of service for the Alliance as well as your actions as a Spectre and your heroism on the Citadel. If it wasn't for you, Saren and his geth, as well as any other **outside** forces they may have been working with, would have taken control of the central hub of mass relays," he explained with a bit of emphasis on 'outside'.

Shepard smiled. He was glad to have Hackett believing him.

"Some of the politician's argued against the promotion since you were a Spectre and no longer serving Alliance 'interests'. They also stated that you were showing… erratic behavioral patterns near your 'end'. You shouldn't be surprised that Udina was heading up that effort," Hackett explained.

Shepard narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"In recognition of your selfless acts for the Alliance, humanity, and going above and beyond the call of duty, you are awarded a two-rank promotion and an honorable discharge from Alliance service. We hope that you'll continue to look out for both the Alliance and the Council's best interests as a Council Spectre, 'Captain' Shepard," Hackett stated in an official tone before saluting.

Shepard snapped to attention and saluted back. "Thank you, Admiral."

"Now, on to that favor I wished to ask of you," Hackett said. "We've located the final location of the wreckage of the SSV Normandy SR-1."

Shepard paid rapt attention to that news.

"Again, I have to tell you that you don't have to do this if you don't want to. We've listed all missing crewmembers as KIA, but we'd like someone to confirm their deaths, if only to give their families some measure of closure. If you find any remains, we'll retrieve them. Otherwise, tags or any other means of identification will do."

"I'll do it, Admiral."

"Thank you, Shepard. We also constructed a monument to honor the Normandy. We'd like it placed on the ship's final resting place. And we'd like to invite you to place the monument and be the first to walk on the site," Hackett said.

"I understand, Admiral. I'd be honored."

"Do you have a location to where we can send it to?"

"We're in port at Illium. Nos Astra docks. You should be able to find me. I'm registered here as a Spectre," Shepard informed.

"We'll have it sent to you immediately. Thank you for doing this for us, Agent Shepard," Hackett said gratefully. Then he sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I have to ask you. Cerberus. Do you know what you're doing?"

Shepard confidently nodded. "Cerberus doesn't represent either the Alliance or the Council. We can operate in the Terminus without drawing unwanted attention that would be unfavorable for you. It's their resources, their personnel. And… Someone needs to do something. Might as well be me."

Hackett studied Shepard for a few moments before nodding. "If it was just Cerberus, I don't care what humanitarian mission they think they're conducting. They've made several serious attacks on the Alliance in the past. I believe their actions are unforgivable: assassinations, unlawful experiments, insurgency. Personally, I would've gathered my fleet and hunted them down." His stern look marginally relaxed. "But I trust you, Shepard. You've done a lot for us over the years. If you're in charge…" he trailed off, not wanting to say anything more in case there were eavesdroppers on either end of their conversation. "Good luck and God speed on your mission. Those people need someone out there. They're lucky it's you."

"Thank you, Admiral."

Before he closed the link, he gave the Spectre a warm smile. "And Shepard? Glad to have you back."

* * *

Miranda threw dignity in the wind as she sprinted into the hangar and through the hallway leading into the airlock of the Normandy. After impatiently enduring the decontamination procedure, she burst into the bridge. "Where's Shepard?" she demanded, directing her inquiry at EDI.

"Captain Shepard is in the Comm. Room, Director Lawson. He just finished his meeting with Admiral Hackett," EDI replied.

Miranda didn't pay any attention to the ancillary information. All she heard was 'Comm. Room' and ran down the length of the ship before EDI even finished talking. Rushing through the Armory, she ran to the doors of the Comm. Room only to nearly collide with the man she was looking for.

Shepard looked shocked at her sudden appearance and apparent haste. "Something wrong?" he asked with concern.

Miranda took a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. She glanced around the Comm. Room, knowing exactly where all the bugs are. "I need to speak with you. Come with me," she said. Grabbing Shepard by the hand, she physically dragged him back through the Armory and into the lift. Once inside, she pressed the button for Deck 3, but when the elevator reached halfway, she hit the emergency stop button to freeze the elevator in place. "We should be able to talk privately here," she stated.

Shepard crossed his arms. "What's going on?"

Sighing, Miranda leaned on the side of the metal box they were in and stared at the floor. "I… uh… I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help. Ironically, you're the only person I think I could trust right now to help me." She looked up and met his eyes. "This is important to me."

She saw that she had Shepard's undivided attention now. "Something happen today?" he asked.

"Do you remember what I told you about my father… building a dynasty?"

Shepard nodded.

"What I didn't tell before, when I spoke to you about my sister, was that I'm also using Cerberus resources to protect her. From him," she revealed. "He's still hunting **her**. Cerberus has kept her safe, but I just learned that he found out she's living on Illium."

"What happens now?"

"He's too close. I've made preparations to relocate both my sister and her family."

Shepard furrowed his brow. "Does your sister's family know about this? Are they okay with being relocated?"

"They know nothing. They're completely uninvolved. Normal," Miranda assured. "This is one of many contingency plans I've made just in case. They have a legitimate reason to move, without knowing the truth. Cerberus is supplying me with the necessary resources to move them covertly."

"What do you need me to do?"

"My father is extremely… persistent. I don't want to underestimate him or his agents. I want your help to make sure everything goes off without a hitch," Miranda bluntly asked.

"Alright. I'll do whatever I can," Shepard determinedly said.

Miranda allowed herself to relax just a bit. "Thank you. We're meeting a contact of mine, Lanteia. She's waiting for us at a bar called Eternity."

"How do we do this?" Shepard asked.

"We'll secure our armor in their cases and take them along. Our weapons will have to go in some large bags. I don't want to draw attention. If we pass ourselves off as civilians, then we'll be able to move undetected. We'll arm ourselves only when the time is right," Miranda briefed.

"Just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us," she confirmed. "I don't want this to be public knowledge. You're the only one on board that knows about Oriana and I want to keep it that way." Miranda hit the button to release the lift and let it take her to the Crew Deck. Once the doors opened, she stepped out and turned around. She wanted to say thank you, she really did, but she couldn't get the words out. Her sister was still in danger and she was forced to trust a man she'd only worked with for less than a month.

She was relieved for the second time tonight when Shepard offered her a confident smile and a reassuring look before the elevator doors closed.

_Thank you._

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

"She'll be in one of the private lounges," Miranda whispered to Shepard when they stepped into the bar.

Nightlife was in full swing. The bar was crowded with dancing, drinking, and talking happening in every corner. Weaving through the sea of people as best they could, they blended in as best they could. Both of them were still in civilian clothes, but Miranda was carrying her Cerberus Assault Armor in its case, while Shepard did the same with his N7 Armor. He was also carrying a large duffle bag, loaded with their weaponry. Given the size of the bag, though, he was forced to leave behind some of his usual armaments.

_Just as well_, Miranda thought as she scanned the room for her contact. _We don't need to advertise our presence anyway._ "There," she pointed after finally spotting Lanteia. "Come on."

Shepard silently shifted his bundle and followed closely.

Moving around a dancing couple, Miranda stepped inside the lounge and waited for Shepard to do the same before closing the curtains. Turning around, she faced her long-time contact on Illium. She noted that the asari was dressed in the leathers asari commandos preferred, instead of civilian clothes.

"Ms. Lawson," Lanteia greeted.

Miranda nodded back. "Lanteia. Anything to report?"

Lanteia's eyes darted toward Shepard, before she gave a questioning look at Miranda.

"He's with me, Lanteia. Go ahead."

"We've had a complication," she answered.

"What happened? Is Oriana all right?" Miranda asked, before chastising herself.

_Of course Oriana is all right. Lanteia would have called me immediately if something happened!_

She willed herself to calm down as Lanteia nodded her head.

"She's fine," Lanteia assured. "But you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source?"

Miranda nodded. _Niket? What is he doing here?_

"He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep," Lanteia warned. "He suggested that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

"What can you tell us about the mercs?" Shepard asked, finally breaking his silence.

"Nothing you probably don't already know," the asari said. "They're Eclipse and they're looking for the family. I could try to alert the authorities, but so far, they've done nothing illegal."

"You made the right decision," Miranda asserted. "We'll handle this ourselves."

Shepard turned toward her. "Who's Niket?"

"A friend. He and I go back a long way…" Miranda said before trailing off in thought.

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Ms. Lawson?" Lanteia asked.

"No," she answered quickly. "You and Niket are the only two I trust on this."

"You said you had a plan, right? Making changes now could be dangerous," Shepard cautioned. "Are you sure you want to go on like this?"

"Absolutely," Miranda replied without hesitation. "Niket is one of my oldest friends. I trust him with Oriana." She turned back to Lanteia. "We'll follow Niket's suggestion. Secure a car for us. Shepard and I will draw the mercenary's attention. Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood, Ms. Lawson," Lanteia acknowledged.

"So the new plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"Eclipse will be under orders to take Oriana alive. They won't risk anything that could kill us, not until they have her," Miranda stated.

"You're basing that on the assumption that your father hired intelligent mercs," Shepard pointed out.

Miranda rolled her eyes. She was about to criticize him for his poor taste in humor when she saw that he was being serious. "My father has enough money and influence to hire the best he's able to find on Illium. We shouldn't underestimate any of them."

"Then it's not likely that Eclipse will send all their people just to stop you," Shepard reasoned. "Should we give Niket some backup?"

Miranda bit her lip and considered her choices. Eventually, she shook her head. "Niket can take care of himself. Besides any armed backup will draw attention to him and Oriana," she decided.

"Alright," Shepard agreed. "When do we leave?"

"Right now," Miranda said. Nodding to Lanteia, Miranda left the lounge. When Shepard fell into step next to her, she glanced at his profile from the corner of her eye before snapping her gaze straight ahead. "Thank you, Shepard," she said gratefully. "I appreciate this. I hadn't planned on Eclipse…" she trailed off and turned her head to see Shepard's eyes locking onto her own.

"But they never planned on you," Miranda stated confidently.

* * *

While Lanteia retrieved a car and the location of the Eclipse leader, Miranda and Shepard changed into their armor and equipped their weapons. Miranda was fortunate enough to still have her Pulse Rifle and M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol. Shepard had to make do with his HMWA Assault Rifle, HMWSG Shotgun, and his HMWP Heavy Pistol. He was forced to leave behind his sniper rifle and Blackstorm in order to remain incognito.

_At least we have a compliment of grenades._

Miranda watched as Shepard checked his gear with the same cool and clinical precision she'd seen him fall into when they were about to conduct a mission. Somehow, he was able to maintain his focus throughout their time together and used that discipline to hold their diverse squad together. She envied his ability to stay on task at that moment. She was worried sick over the multitude of variables they had to overcome that she started having doubts about her competency.

_Snap out of it! We can't second guess this now!_

She was confident that if anything was wrong, she would see it or Shepard point it out. At this juncture, they were committed.

_Oriana needs me. I can't fail her now._

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Opening her eyes, she saw Shepard nod approvingly at her actions. Allowing herself a small smile, she found herself relaxing even more in his presence.

_It'll be alright. If we're on mission against the Collectors and Reapers, then handling some mercenaries should be easy._

She looked up and saw a red car landing near their position. Standing up, she walked over and waited until Lanteia stepped out.

"The Eclipse are checking local spaceports. Unfortunately for us, the heaviest concentration is near the same spaceport Niket is using to escort the family," Lanteia reported.

Miranda cursed. "Do you know anything more?" she asked.

"They must have found out about where the family is, because the Eclipse captain is en route there now. I'm sorry, Ms. Lawson. I don't have any details on him or her."

"We'll handle it. Thanks, Lanteia," Miranda said. She climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Shepard to follow.

"Good luck, Ms. Lawson," Lanteia said when Shepard sat down in the passenger seat.

Miranda nodded and closed the doors. Piloting the car toward the spaceport, she drove as fast as she dared, recklessly weaving in and out of lanes to reach their destination as quickly as possible.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, En Route to Illium Cargo Terminal**_

"Miranda, look," Shepard said. He pointed out the left window.

Miranda dodged another car before she chanced a look. "Damn it!"

Three gunships were flying in tight formation nearby and they were heading for the spaceport. Despite the darkness, Miranda was able to clearly see the emblem of the Eclipse stamped on the side of the gunships.

"What's our move?" Shepard asked.

"We follow them," Miranda decisively answered. She banked hard and flew right behind the gunships. They were ahead of them and gaining distance, but it didn't matter. The mercs still had to disembark and secure their landing zone.

"Figure four per gunship," Shepard said, analyzing the situation.

"That's at least a dozen we have to fight through. But we don't know how many there are at the spaceport already," Miranda said. "Looks like they're heading for the cargo areas. But why?"

"They might be there to create a disturbance," Shepard speculated. "If they cause enough trouble, the spaceport will have to waive off all incoming and outbound flights until the situation is under control."

Miranda cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. "Then they'll have all the time they need to locate Oriana."

All three gunships hovered a few feet off the ground and dropped the troops they were carrying before taking off.

"Put us down behind that container. We'll need the cover," Shepard said as he secured his N7 Breather Helmet.

"Let's hope they really do want to take us alive," Miranda said, trying her hand at humor to calm her nerves.

Shepard snorted. "They just want you alive. They don't care about little old me."

"Poor you," Miranda said before she put the car into a steep dive. She accelerated as fast as she could, targeting the area Shepard pointed out. The car's usual whine increased in pitch as she sped toward the mercenary's position.

The Eclipse raised their weapons at the sound, automatically targeting the car that was flying right at them.

"Down!" Miranda yelled.

The Eclipse didn't hesitate. Bullets struck the car in a torrent of fire power. Miranda and Shepard ducked under the dash as the windshield shattered under the attack. Shepard peeked out as the Eclipse continued to shoot at them. "Missile! Break!"

Throwing caution into the wind, Miranda sat back up and banked the car to the right, successfully dodging the missile shot from one of the mercs. She drove as best as she was able despite the warning alarms that sounded throughout the cabin of the car. As she drove closer, her eyes homed in on one of the mercs in tech armor.

The Eclipse lieutenant managed to see her and started waving his arms at his subordinates. Moments later, the gunfire stopped.

Seeing their chance, Miranda pulled the nose up and landed the car roughly behind some large cargo containers. She gritted her teeth at the screeching noise as their vehicle slid along the ground for several feet before stopping.

"Nice driving," Shepard said.

Miranda gave him a side-long glance, unable to tell if he was being sincere or not. Shrugging it off, she grabbed her helmet and stepped out of the car. Shepard disembarked as well and followed at her right.

"I got this," the Eclipse lieutenant said to his people.

Miranda clipped her helmet to her belt and schooled her face into a neutral look as she approached the lieutenant. "Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am."

"Yeah. They said you were coming. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl," the merc bluntly said.

Miranda felt Shepard's gaze on her when the merc said 'little girl', but kept her focus on the enemy. "This doesn't involve you," she said in a dangerous tone. "I suggest you take your men and go while you're still able to walk."

"Think you've got it all lined up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about your boyfriend, Niket. He won't be helping you," the merc taunted.

"_Accessing Cerberus databases on information regarding Captain Enyala, Director Lawson. Please stand by," _EDI said into her radio.

Miranda barely heard her. She was shocked that they knew about Niket as well.

"What do you mean, Niket won't be helping her?" Shepard asked.

The merc waved him off. "Nothing you need to worry about. Nobody's going to get killed unless you do something stupid. You walk away now, the girl goes back to her father and everybody's happy."

"Everybody but my sister and me," Miranda hissed. "Where's this Enyala? I want to speak to her."

The merc smirked at her. "You don't want to talk to the captain. She's not as polite as I am. She's the best commando I've ever seen. I've seen her tear people in half with her biotics. And she's getting paid a lot to stop you."

_Asari commando. Bloody perfect._

Miranda heard Shepard talking into the radio, his voice hidden by his helmet. _"EDI, cross-reference Enyala with asari commandos. That should narrow the search."_

"She gets in my way, she'll never have a chance to spend it," Miranda retorted. "Whatever you're being paid, it's not nearly enough."

"You're not taking anybody. You push this and I'll guarantee you, this will end very badly for you," Shepard threatened.

The lieutenant snorted. "Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking, my men have been lining up shots." He stepped close until he was nose-to-nose with Shepard.

_Big mistake_, Miranda thought. She looked to see Shepard almost imperceptibly tense up as the lieutenant stepped into his strike zone. She snapped her gaze at the merc directly across from her and the crane carrying a fuel canister in the distance.

"When I say the word, we unleash hell on you and the bitch. So I suggest you walk away nicely, unless…"

Shepard lashed out with a rabbit punch to the merc's throat. While he was choking, Shepard grabbed the man and twisted him around to use him as a human shield.

Miranda drew her pistol and executed a Mozambique Drill on the merc in front of her. A double tap to the chest only stunned him since his armor managed to protect him, but a shot through the eye finished him off.

She pointed her pistol at a salarian Engineer a few feet away when Shepard unleashed his biotics and pulled a fuel canister off a crane and caused it to crash down in the middle of the Eclipse positions. Adapting quickly, she engaged her omni-tool and used Overload on the canister before ducking behind a heavy steel crate.

The explosion tore through the Eclipse ranks, killing most and injuring the rest. Fires broke out and engulfed the area they had secured, forcing any survivors to run, limp, or crawl away.

Miranda popped out of cover with her Pulse Rifle and started tearing her way through the salarian's Tech Armor.

The salarian Engineer fired back with his SMG as he tried to run away, but Shepard held his hostage by the throat with one arm while he reached for his pistol with the other and started shooting at the salarian as well.

Between the both of them, the salarian fell dead before he took three steps.

Shepard brought his leg up and slammed his boot into the back of the merc's knee. When he fell to his knees, Shepard used the leverage and twisted sharply. The meaty crack told him that the lieutenant was dead.

Miranda pressed forward. Moving around the flames, she spotted two more mercs limping away as quickly as they could. One turned around and tried to use her missile launcher. Miranda took aim and gunned her down before the merc could even get her bearings. The other merc opened fire with his assault rifle, but the bullets impact harmlessly against Miranda's shields. With the merc's shields drained from the explosion and fires, Miranda had little trouble. After a quick burst, she silenced the other merc and checked the area. She saw a flicker of movement behind another crate. Moving quietly, she spotted another Eclipse facing away from her, fiddling around with a radio. Miranda took the opportunity to sneak up behind her and while she was calling for help.

"This is team 4, we're… urk!"

Miranda reached around the merc head and followed Shepard's earlier example. Letting the body fall with the head twisted in an unnatural position, she heard a short burst of gunfire before silence. Crouching behind the crates, she unclipped her helmet from her waist and put it on, before holding her rifle steady and waited. All she could hear now was the crackle of the fires in the distance.

"_Looks to be all clear,"_ Shepard reported.

Miranda sighed as Shepard rounded the corner next to her with his HMWA drawn and held loosely across his body.

"Come on! Need to get to Niket!" Miranda ordered.

Shepard moved toward the cargo elevator and tapped the button to call it.

"… _Team 4, do you read?"_

Shepard whirled around and brought his rifle up, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Wait," Miranda said. She walked over and picked up the radio. "I'll patch us in, see if I can get an idea of what we're up against." While she tapped into the Eclipse communications, EDI called her.

"_I have information regarding the Eclipse captain, Enyala, Director Lawson."_

"Go ahead, EDI," Miranda said while she was syncing the frequency on the radio to her omni-tool.

"_According to Cerberus intelligence, Enyala is a noted Vanguard and is well-versed in close-quarters combat. If engaged at long range, however, her biotics are recorded as, 'impressive'. There are notes suggesting that her strongest talents lay in the biotic powers known as Barrier and Charge, though she has been known to use Warp as well."_

"Anything else?"

"_Unlike the Blue Suns mercenaries you've engaged recently, Jedore and Kuril, Enyala is also reported to be a competent leader. I suggest caution when dealing with her and her squad."_

"Got it," Miranda said.

She looked up to see Shepard giving her a questioning look through the clear visor in his helmet. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but thought better of it and maintained his silence.

Miranda sighed. "Shepard… I owe you an explanation…"

Shepard shook his head. "No. You really don't. Not if you don't want to," he said.

"I do," she responded before sighing. "Oriana is my twin, genetically. But our father… grew her when I was a teenager. She was meant to replace me," she explained before frowning. "I couldn't let our father do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her," she said before letting out a small laugh. "She's almost a woman now."

"When you said: 'twin', I made the mistake of assuming the same age as well, not just the same genetics," Shepard admitted. "I probably should've known… how old is she?"

"She'll be 19 this year. She's not a child, despite what that merc said," Miranda answered honestly. "The reason I didn't tell you, it… well it didn't seem relevant at the time, I suppose."

"It still isn't," Shepard assured. "She's your sister. I'm sure you're acting in her best interests."

Miranda nodded. "There are people who'd use her against me. I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana."

The elevator doors opened at that moment. Shepard tilted his head at it, prompting Miranda to step in first.

"Family is like that, or so I'm learning," he replied as he followed her in.

Miranda tapped the button and the elevator ascended toward the cargo processing yard. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you sooner," she found herself saying. "With the steps you're taking to help me, you deserved to know the truth."

"I understand choosing to go your own way," Shepard said carefully. "But you took a child from your father…?" he stated, though it ended with a question. As if he had conflicting opinions about her actions.

She looked into his eyes unflinchingly. "If you knew my father, you would understand. I wasn't the first he made. Only the first he kept." She was awarded with a shocked look in his eyes. "I don't know what happened to the others," she admitted. "Sent away, maybe? Though since my sisters or even brothers carried his genetics, chances are likely he had them all… removed. To ensure any loose ends were tied off."

Shepard narrowed his eyes at the new and horrifying possibilities.

Anticipating his next question, she said, "I don't know how many others there were before me." She paced around the slow moving elevator. "I was brought up with no friends, pushed to meet impossible demands. I wasn't a daughter to him. I was…" she paused before stopping in her tracks and letting her shoulders sag. "I don't know what I was," she whispered. Taking a breath, she faced Shepard, steadfast in her choice. "Oriana has had a normal life. A happy life. I made the right decision," she asserted firmly.

Shepard regarded her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Eventually, he nodded in acceptance. "If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they'll be moving in on her soon."

Miranda looked up and saw the indicator flash closer to their destination. "I'm a bit worried by what the merc said."

"About Niket?"

"If they got to him somehow, this is going to be harder than I'd planned," she answered.

"What's the next step?"

"We're cutting through the cargo processing yard. It's the quickest way to Oriana. Be careful though," she warned. "We'll be moving through the conveyor systems. There'll be a lot of movement. Expect ambushes, blind corners, that sort of thing. Just stay sharp," she briefed before remembering something. "Since this is Illium, there'll be a lot of hazardous, but 'legal' materials as well. Check your fire."

"Yes, ma'am," Shepard acknowledged seriously.

Despite the situation, Miranda couldn't help but smirk at him through her transparent faceplate. It was the first time she was able to give him orders face to face since she was assigned to the Normandy and his command, discounting the time he woke up. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that Shepard was smiling behind his faceplate as well. Surprisingly, she found herself trusting Shepard as much as she did Niket.

When the elevator doors opened, she and Shepard stepped out carefully, checking the surrounding area for threats.

"We can trust your friend, right?" Shepard said quietly to her when the immediate area was clear.

"Absolutely," Miranda responded. "Niket is one of my oldest friends. I guess you could say he was my only real friend. He's the only person I didn't cut ties with when I left my father."

They moved slowly through the cargo processing yard. It was a large area, filled with moving crates, cranes, and as Miranda predicted, hazardous materials as some of crates indicated with large, hard-to-miss warning labels.

"Is there a chance your father could be using Niket to get to you?" Shepard asked with concern, while they moved past an office.

They both noted that the office was empty, but there was a half full cup of coffee still sitting on the table.

"_I'm sure he's tried," _Miranda said via radio. _"But Niket's one of the few people who understands what my father is really like. I trusted him with my life when I ran from my father, Shepard. He won't betray me now."_ She stopped and ducked down in the shadow of the building. Shepard copied her movements and scanned the area. _"The far side of the conveyor line,"_ Miranda said. _"Watch the crates and time your shots."_

"_Only four,"_ Shepard counted. He turned to Miranda and held up a grenade.

"_If they have shields, that might not be enough,"_ she cautioned.

"_I can cloak and drop it right on them. While they're disoriented, we can finish them off,"_ Shepard suggested.

"_You can probably take out the three on the right with that,"_ Miranda said from her vigil of the squad ahead of them. She set her sights on the Engineer standing far on the left.

"_Here I go,"_ Shepard said before vanishing. Miranda could barely make out his distortion as he crept along the shadows and through the walkways around the conveyors and toward the trio of mercs.

The three Eclipse mercs only had time to hear the grenade land in the middle of their group before it exploded. One merc's shields weren't powerful enough to protect him; the shockwave tore through his armor effortlessly. The other two mercs were knocked off their feet and were helpless as they tried to regain their bearings.

A blast from Shepard's shotgun deactivated his cloak, but finished one merc off. While he turned to take out the last prone Eclipse Trooper, the lone Engineer constructed a Combat Drone to cover him and tried to duck behind a railing.

Miranda's Overload destroyed both the drone and his shields. Her follow-up shots from her rifle ended the conflict quickly while Shepard finished off the last.

"_This is Enyala! Keep the bitch back! Niket is nearing the transport terminal!"_

"_We have to hurry!"_ Miranda called out.

"_How do we get there?" _Shepard asked as they started running.

"_We can cut through a few of these storage areas. We should be able to bypass most of the Eclipse that way. Follow me!" _She sprinted around the crates and cut through the storage areas with Shepard hot on her heels. As she rounded another corner to the next area of the processing yard, her eyes widened and she jumped back around the corner before bullets flew right by where she was moments ago. _"Bloody mechs!" _She popped out of cover and used Overload on the nearest one.

Shepard stepped around her and used Shockwave to scatter the rest. _"Go!" _he shouted. He started firing downrange at the LOKI's that were attempting stand up.

Miranda moved forward, shooting at the LOKI's whose legs were blown off from Shepard's biotic attack. Stepping cautiously into the open, she managed to catch movement out of the corner of her eye. _"Contact right!"_ She sprinted for the crates and slid behind them as the Eclipse opened fire.

"_I don't care how many mechs you lose! Just stall them, damn it!"_ Enyala ordered.

A burst of fire exploded off Shepard's defilade. _"Watch out! One of the Engineers is using Incinerate!"_

"_How many do you count?"_ Miranda said. She lifted her rifle up and blind fired at the mercs across the conveyor line.

"_At least six, maybe eight! And they're all well-shielded!"_

Miranda popped out and shot at an Eclipse Trooper, but his shields held as he returned fire with his own assault rifle. Ducking back down, she looked around her environment as quickly as possible. _"Shepard! See that crate next to you?"_

He looked around and saw one of the hazardous labeled crates nearby. Crawling over to one of the larger ones, he attached one his grenades to the side and moved back to his position.

"_Get ready,"_ Shepard said. Using his biotics, he picked up and the crate and tossed it right at the group of mercs.

The Eclipse shouted and screamed as crate flew right at them. They broke formation and scattered just moments before the crate exploded when it landed in the middle of their positions.

Miranda darted from her cover and moved around conveyor line and to the disoriented and distracted mercs. Seizing her chance, she successfully managed to flank them and lobbed another grenade into their midst before firing away with her rifle.

The mercs quickly rallied and started counterattacking as they tried to get back into cover. The second explosion from the grenade killed and scattered them again while Shepard popped out and used Pull to bring the last few into the air.

Miranda glowed with dark energy as she targeted the floating mercs with Warp. _"Night, night!"_ she taunted. Her attack connected with Shepard's biotics causing the combined unstable energies to violently explode. A missile suddenly flew right past Miranda's head. Reflexively, she turned around and used Overload at the source of the attack before running for cover. _"Two more here!"_

"_On the way!" _Shepard acknowledged. He used his assault rifle to suppress them as he ran around the conveyor line to regroup with Miranda.

The Heavy screamed as Overload struck her, but her shields managed to hold up against the tech attack. Miranda followed up with her rifle, ignoring the Trooper in favor of attacking the Heavy. The Trooper tried to protect his comrade, but Shepard continued to fire at him, keeping him in cover.

The Heavy fell back against the onslaught and tried to retreat. Shepard made his way around the conveyors and used Throw to send her flying into a cargo container. She slammed hard enough to create a dent before sliding limply to the ground.

The last Trooper popped his head out of cover to try one last desperate attempt at attacking them, but Miranda kept a steady aim at his position and finished him off easily.

"_Divert everyone except my guard from Niket. I'll handle him __**and**__ the kid personally,"_ Enyala ordered.

Miranda stood up and started following the conveyor lines to the spaceport. _"Damn it! I'm not letting them get Oriana!"_

"_Those mercs must've called for reinforcements when we had the upper hand. Expect stiff resistance now," _Shepard warned as he followed her through the twists and turns of the cargo bays.

"_EDI, I need you to patch into the security systems and give us an update on Eclipse and their movements,"_ Miranda ordered as she ran through another storage area. _"See if you can't control the doors too and cut off their progress. We can't afford to get surrounded."_

"_Understood, Director Lawson. Stand by,"_ EDI acknowledged.

They ran as quickly as they dared, pausing only to check every corner for signs of the Eclipse.

"_Shepard. More mechs!"_ Miranda warned when she looked around a corner. _"We're almost to the elevator."_

Shepard peeked around the corner and took a look for himself underneath Miranda's head. The LOKI's were marching away. _"They haven't spotted us."_

"_Shhh…" _she hushed. _"Listen."_

"What the fuck happened?"

They couldn't hear the reply. _"Black hell. Come on. Let's move a bit closer. See how many more are out there," _Miranda said. She stayed low to the ground and collapsed her rifle for easy movement. Glancing at her side, she saw Shepard do the same, except he pulled out his pistol and attached his silencer.

Staying close to the shadows, they stalked down the hallway the length of the hallway. Thankfully, they reached the end of the conveyor lines. Containers were being stacked in some manner of organized chaos, waiting to be loaded onto ships. Before they could duck behind the nearest container, a merc rounded the corner in front of them.

Acting swiftly, Miranda reached down to her boot, drew her knife and leapt at the merc. Before he could act or even shout, she rammed it into the Trooper's neck, severing his carotid artery while bodily swinging him around until he was on the ground and out of sight of his fellow Eclipse in one smooth motion. The only sound the merc could make was a strangled gurgle which was muffled by his helmet. She paused, listening intently for anything amiss before she dragged the body into the shadows.

Shepard held vigil over the end of the hallway with his pistol until they were out of sight. _"Too close,"_ he whispered, even though they were using radios and helmets. No shouts of surprise or sounds of movement were heard, indicating they still held the element of surprise.

"_Too close,"_ Miranda agreed. Sheathing her knife, she skulked in between the narrow space between containers and made her way around the perimeter.

"Where are they now?" A salarian complained.

"They said the doors suddenly jammed," an asari replied. "They're trying to get them open, but it's gonna take awhile."

"What the hell are those idiots doing back at HQ? I thought we were in control…"

"Ma'am! Elevator is in lockdown! Captain Enyala's people can't get to us!" an Engineer shouted from across the cargo terminal.

"Damn it! This mission was supposed to be easy," the asari said.

Shepard cursed when he looked through a gap between containers. _"We're way outnumbered…"_ He turned his head side-to-side to see as much as he could. _"Must be around 10, maybe more."_

"_EDI, status?"_ Miranda asked.

"_I have successfully taken over the security network of the spaceport, Director Lawson. It appears that the Eclipse had full control prior to my intrusion. Currently, I have the bulk of their current forces are locked out of your immediate area. They are trying to circumnavigate the spaceport and rendezvous with the rest of their forces," _EDI reported.

"_How many are we talking?"_ Shepard asked.

"_Approximately 60 in total are currently in the spaceport you are operating in. You are in close proximity with 15 of their remaining forces, plus five LOKI mechs. The rest of the Eclipse that were employed for this mission are __attempting to rejoin Captain Enyala now. I estimate that they will not reach her for two more hours. I have taken the liberty of shutting down __several elevators to block their progress."_

"_Good work, EDI. And my sister?"_ Miranda asked while she observed Eclipse positions.

"_All passengers are currently waiting at the terminals. Several Cerberus operatives are covertly guarding your family and have reported no unusual activity in their vicinity. They are warned of the Eclipse threat, however."_

"_What about Niket? Where is he?"_

"_I am attempting to locate him, but I can say with certainty that he is not in the terminals."_

"_He's not with Oriana?" _Miranda angrily asked.

"_No,"_ EDI simply answered.

"_10 to 1. Not the worst odds I've faced," _Shepard joked. _"But trying to hit them head-on is definitely out of the question."_

"_Then we'll have to outsmart them, won't we?"_ Miranda replied.

"_Orders, Miranda?"_ Shepard asked seriously.

Miranda paused. She was about to ask Shepard what to do when he posed his question first. _He's following my lead. _She knew he was following her the entire time, but those were smaller skirmishes. Numbers either of them could've taken out solo if they had to. But to plan and execute an attack against a superior force… _Either he's testing me or he trusts me…_ The first theory sounded like something she would do. The second made her feel… Shaking those thoughts away, she peeked through a different opening between containers and racked her mind for a solution. _"There's a way under the conveyor next to me. You can flank them from there."_

Looking around, he spotted the area she was talking about. _"I see it."_

"_Can you do it?"_ Miranda asked.

Shepard hesitated before answering. _"Maybe. I could cloak and make my way there, but it's pretty well-lit out there." _He paused before reluctantly admitting,_ "And these mercs don't look like they're amateurs."_

"_You think they might see your distortion,"_ Miranda stated.

He shrugged in response.

Miranda weighed her options. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. _"I think I've been around you too long…"_ she commented thoughtfully as she looked back at the body hidden in the shadows.

Shepard obviously saw the look on her face through her faceplate. _"Not necessarily a bad thing. What're you thinking?"_

"_Something insane."_

* * *

The sounds of an assault rifle surprised the assembled mercs. Two fell before they could see a visual on the culprit.

"Contact! By the blue containers!" an asari yelled as she scanned her surroundings from cover.

They turned to see a figure in armor, hidden in the shadow of the large container. The only light was created by the muzzle flashes as the shooter continued firing in short bursts.

"Jenson! Take him out!" a salarian yelled to a Heavy.

The Eclipse Heavy took aim with his missile launcher and fired. The missile streaked to its target just as assailant jumped back behind the container.

After the explosion, the mercs all jumped out of cover and started firing on the container, suppressing the shooter while a smaller squad started moving forward.

As they approached, they could distinctly hear a human and male voice scream out in pain.

"Damn it! I'm hit! Miranda! Where the hell are you ? ! Miranda ? !" he yelled out. "Shit!"

The squad ducked down when the stranger blind-fired around the container, but his shots were nowhere near the mark. "Tossing a frag!" a Trooper shouted. He threw the grenade just as the stranger retracted his gun. The grenade bounced just slightly behind the container before exploding.

"Cease fire!" one merc shouted. All of the Eclipse stopped shooting and watched warily for any signs of movement.

Something moved out of the corner and they trained their weapons on it, only to find that it was a black helmet. It rolled and bounced until it hit the boot of an Engineer.

"Check to make sure he's dead," an asari said, standing up from her cover. "The rest of you, find that 'Miranda'. He's not alone."

The squad acknowledged her orders and stalked forward with the LOKI's dutifully following. They peered around the corner and saw a figure on the ground. Most of the body was hidden in the shadows. One merc moved forward and kicked his boot to see if he was dead.

"Hold on," the merc said. "Something's wrong." He bent closer to the body and engaged his omni-tool. Activating its flashlight function, he illuminated the body to see that it was wearing Eclipse armor… and all five of his grenades were strapped to his waist and they were all armed.

"Oh shit."

"EVAC!"

The explosion took the rest of Eclipse by surprise. The remaining mercs turned and saw the five man squad and mechs torn apart by the blast. Another explosion got their attention as three more mercs were killed by a missile. Following the contrails, they turned around and saw a woman in white armor standing over the body of a Heavy and armed with his missile launcher.

She fired again and two more mercs died while the rest scrambled to abandon their current positions and find new cover while firing at their lone attacker.

The distinct glow of biotics alerted them at they were flanked, yet again. The remaining Eclipse saw tiny orbs of dark energy stretch toward them, before exploding violently. Their shields took the brunt of the impact, but the shockwave generated scattered and forced them out of cover, allowing the female to fire several more rockets, easily picking them off one by one.

Only two more Eclipse of the 15 remained. An asari Vanguard and human Trooper finally found cover that was adequate enough to protect them from both attackers. "Deploying Warp field!" she shouted to her compatriot. She stood up and used Warp on the man in black armor. As the biotic attack flew toward him, his biotic aura manifested as he took a step back and vanished before Warp could hit him. Before she knew it, she and the other merc was blown back from the mass effect fields generated when he reappeared from his Biotic Charge.

The asari had only a moment to gain her bearings when another missile was launched right at her.

* * *

"I think that does it," Miranda commented. She dropped the launcher and surveyed the area.

Shepard absently nodded as he shakily stood up from his position. After firing his shotgun at point blank on the human merc, the aftereffects of Charge caught up with him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear his mind and get his focus back.

"Are you alright?" Miranda asked. Her concern was undisguised as she observed him closely.

"Yeah. Just got to get used to moving like that, I think," he assured.

Miranda shook her head. "Your progress in biotics is remarkable."

"Thanks," he graciously accepted. Taking a deep breath, Shepard looked around. "That was a pretty good plan."

"Things worked out well for us," Miranda modestly replied, before catching herself. She never considered herself arrogant, but she never considered herself humble either. "Come on. The elevator is right there."

"_I am unlocking this elevator, Director Lawson. Also, I have located Niket,"_ EDI informed.

"Where is he?" Miranda demanded, while Shepard retrieved his helmet and jogged back to rejoin her.

"_He is approaching Captain Enyala at Dock 94."_

"No!" Miranda shouted. She and Shepard sprinted toward the elevator when the Eclipse chatter crackled into their radios.

"_Niket has reached the terminal. He'll switch the family over to our transport."_

Miranda froze in her tracks. Shepard had to side-step quickly to avoid colliding into her, but she didn't pay attention to him. Her eyes were wide with shock and betrayal. "Niket? But… that can't be right…"

"Miranda?" Shepard asked in a concerned tone. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No," she said in denial. She shrugged Shepard's hand off and angrily ran walked into the elevator. "Maybe… maybe the captain knows we're listening in and she's feeding misinformation about Niket making a switch."

"Maybe," Shepard echoed in agreement.

She turned and glared at him. His statement sounded hollow in her ears.

He bore her stare stoically and walked over to the switch. After pressing the appropriate button to ascend to Dock 94, he turned back to face her, his expression hidden underneath his helmet.

"Or maybe it means something else," Miranda said. She couldn't help but feel a sliver of doubt creep into her mind. Her words sounded like protests and denials. She shook the feelings away. "Niket wouldn't do that," she stated, almost to herself. Breathing heavily with the torrent of thoughts and emotions running rampant through her, she looked around the elevator wildly. _Niket wouldn't betray me,_ she thought desperately to herself. _If he did, then Oriana…_ _I made the call… I made the decision… It'd be all my fault…_

Some music was playing above them. The same slow irritating music the asari favored in the elevators at the Presidium at the Citadel. Even the elevator was moving at the same speed. "Damn it! Why won't thing go any faster ? !" Engaging her omni-tool, she shoved Shepard to the side and slammed her hand on the panel, remotely overriding the safety protocols and speeding their journey up.

Shepard continued to gaze at her with that damnable, unreadable expression.

"What?" she snarled, turning her head to glare at him. She was still leaning on the side of the elevator, her omni-tool still on the control panel. "Going to tell me that I made a **mistake** ? !"

"Did Niket know that you took Oriana from your father?" Shepard asked carefully.

"No. He just found out about that recently. It was too personal to involve someone else," she answered, visibly trying to calm down. She hated losing control. Physically, she was as perfect as a human could get. She distinctly remembered telling Shepard that only her mistakes was what she could call her own. What she didn't care to admit was that since her strengths were 'given' to her by her father, any weaknesses would only be her own as well. She hated being weak.

"He just 'found' out?" Shepard repeated.

"I never really thought about it," she replied. She stood up and turned to face him, but she couldn't meet his eyes. "But maybe… no," she said before shaking her head. She took a deep breath. "He'd have to understand why I did it. He knows what I went through." She looked up and finally met his eyes. "Why are you asking?"

Shepard hesitated and glanced at the indicator.

Miranda frowned and looked at the indicator as well. Despite the increased speed, they still had a ways to go. "Why are you asking?" she repeated forcefully.

He sighed before answering. "The Eclipse swarmed on this spaceport after our meeting with Lanteia. Either she turned on you, or Niket did. And you did tell Lanteia to give Niket the family itinerary. Seems like it's too much of a coincidence to me."

Miranda shook her head again. "He could've turned on me when I ran away. I'm sure my father tried to buy him off. If he didn't do it then, why would he do it now?"

Shepard shrugged. "Money problems, personal problems, and gambling debts are the worst case scenarios. Less pessimistically, maybe his life is threatened or perhaps Oriana is in more danger than we thought and he's trying to protect her. Buy time even." Taking a deep breath of his own, he shook his head. "We won't know anything until we find Niket."

Miranda narrowed her eyes. "And then I'll have a 'word' with this Captain Enyala."

"I'm sure that conversation won't be pleasant," Shepard commented.

Miranda just stared silently at the indicator as it approached Dock 94.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Dock 94**_

The moment the elevators doors opened, Miranda saw Niket pacing next to an asari wearing Eclipse armor. She was casually sitting on a crate, appearing bored with the proceedings.

Seeing Niket appear unharmed and worse, with the Eclipse, Miranda felt herself leave her emotions behind and adopting her 'frosty' exterior. It was the same mental state she always used when dealing with particularly difficult missions and the reason why people found her so unapproachable.

Niket squinted as he tried to see through the darkened faceplate of Miranda's helmet. "Miri," he breathed out.

Miranda took off her helmet and secured it to her belt. She stalked forward and stopped a few feet away from Enyala and Niket. Her face was emotionless as she stared down her childhood 'friend'.

"This should be fun," Enyala smirked. Jumping off the crate, she reached behind and expanded her shotgun and pointed it at the Cerberus Officer and the Spectre.

Miranda and Shepard reacted instantly to the show of force by drawing their pistols and taking aim at Enyala and her guard.

The asari transport officer looked terrified at the proceedings. She turned around and started running.

Enyala twisted her body and was about to shoot the fleeing worker when Shepard fired a single shot at the Eclipse captain's feet. The sound of the gunshot forced her to instantly point her shotgun at him reflexively. Her eyes narrowed as she realized the shot was a dangerous diversion, but it allowed the transport officer to run and hide. "Gutsy move, human."

Miranda found a part of her was thankful that Shepard was able to save the civilian, but another part hardly cared, more focused on Niket's role, Oriana's safety and stopping her father's machinations. Anger smoldered beneath her icy visage, a dichotomy of feelings. "Niket. You sold me out," she angrily accused as she shifted her target from Enyala to Niket.

"It isn't like that, Miri," he defended.

"Don't you **dare** call me that. What is this?" she rhetorically asked. "You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father."

"Yes! Because you wanted to leave. That was your choice. But if I'd known that you'd stolen a baby…" Niket tried to explain.

"I didn't steal her! I rescued her!" Miranda interrupted, her eyes resembling glaciers.

"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her! You were getting back at your father!"

"Happiness? You know how I lived! You know what he'd do! What 'happiness' could you be talking about!" Miranda retorted.

"Whether you agree with Miranda or not, Oriana has been with her family for years now," Shepard argued.

"Her father can still give her a better life," Niket insisted.

"You don't know what he wants for her," Miranda hissed.

"I know that I've been poor, Miri. I didn't much care for it," he angrily said. He cowered when Miranda put a shot at his feet.

"I said: **don't** call me that. You don't have the right," Miranda dangerously said. "And as of right now, I don't give a damn what you care for. She's **my** sister, **my** family, and none of **your** damn business."

The Eclipse mercs watched the proceedings warily, keeping their weapons up and ready. So long as none of them were in danger, they didn't care what happened to their contact.

"How did Miranda's father turn you?" Shepard calmly asked, a stark contrast to the rage Miranda was feeling.

He stared at the gun in Miranda's hand and gulped. "They told me she'd kidnapped her baby sister all those years ago. They said I could help get her back peacefully. No trauma to the family," he explained. "I told them you'd never do that. That they could go to hell. Then, when I asked you, you told me what you'd done. I called them back that night."

"Why didn't you call me? Let me explain?"

"I deserved to know that you'd kidnapped your sister. I deserved to know you were with Cerberus. But I had to hear it from your father first," Niket said in defense.

"You deserved? _**You deserved?**_ _**Since when?**_" Miranda snarled. Despite her frosty exterior, her anger pulsed almost painfully in her veins. The urge to kill him was almost overpowering.

"How much did were you paid?" Shepard perceptively asked.

"A great deal," he freely admitted.

"You bastard," Miranda furiously said. "I trusted you."

"He knew you felt that way. That's why he bought me," he said. He almost sounded smug about it.

"So you just took his money," she contemptuously accused.

"Don't get holy with me. You took his money for years," he retorted.

"And I threw all of it back in his face. I earned my way. You? You're nothing but a coward, you son of a bitch," she spat out.

"If Niket knows about Oriana, then your father does, too. Relocating her won't work," Shepard warned.

Niket gulped again and looked at his feet. "Miranda's father has no information about Oriana."

Miranda almost sighed with relief, but she still maintained an impassive expression. She held her pistol steady on Niket. Especially when he took a few steps closer.

"I knew you had spy programs in your father's system, so I kept it private. I'm the only one who knows," he stated.

She narrowed her eyes as she came to a decision. _For Oriana…_ "Which means that you're the only loose end." Her finger tightened on the trigger. "This isn't how I wanted it to end, Niket. I'm going to miss you…"

Shepard's left arm lashed out and forced her arm down. Miranda turned her head in surprise. He was still holding his pistol in his right hand and keeping the Eclipse in his field of vision, but the grip on her arm was firm. "Wait. You don't want to do this."

She twisted her arm away. "This has to end here, Shepard. My father will keep trying to find Oriana."

"Maybe Niket can help… talk to your father. Just say you got here first…" he suggested.

Niket looked like he just realized he was about to be summarily executed by his childhood friend. He looked pale and was shaking. "I'll… I'll tell him that you hid her. That I don't know where she is."

Miranda's mind rushed at the possibilities and considered all the angles. Above all else, she thought about Oriana's safety and happiness. "I **never** want to see you again, Nik…"

The boom of a shotgun interrupted her. "Done," Enyala callously said. "Now if you don't mind, I have a shipment to deliver."

Miranda's eyes widened at the sight of Niket's murder before allowing her rage to consume her. Targeting the asari captain, she utilized Overload and brought down Enyala's shields with her omni-tool on her left hand. With her right, she utilized her biotics and used Pull to lift her into the air._** "You'll die for that, bitch!"**_ she screamed before using Throw to toss her clear across the dock.

Shepard wasted no time. While the mercs were distracted, he unleashed Shockwave directly at their positions before tossing all of his grenades at them. He started running for the nearest available cover, firing his pistol wildly while Shockwave bowled them over and his grenades killed or wounded some of them.

Miranda chased down the Eclipse captain. One merc tried to get in her way, but she had already closed the distance. Grabbing the barrel of his rifle and pushing it to the side, she rammed the barrel of her pistol into his throat. When he staggered back, clutching his throat and choking, she rammed the pistol into the eyehole of his helmet and shot him at point blank before continuing her hunt. She poked her head around a corner only to pull back when Enyala fired her shotgun. She unclipped her helmet and slipped it on quickly, before exchanging her pistol for her Pulse Rifle. Ready, she rushed out and returned fire.

"_**Enyala!"**_

* * *

Shepard realized he was going to have to face Enyala's personal guard alone the moment Miranda sprinted around some crates and out of sight. _7-1. I can handle that… I hope._

It wasn't the worst odds he faced solo, but preparation and planning was usually the key. Now he had no heavy weapon, no sniper rifle, and he used up the element of surprise. The only thing he was thankful for was the fact that he managed to take three out with his grenades, wound a couple more and drain the shields of some of the others. Now all he had to do was keep the Eclipse off Miranda so she could get to work on Enyala.

_Judging by the look on her face, maybe I don't have it so bad. Certainly no worse than Enyala._

"How about a little fire ? ! Huh ? !" a salarian yelled out.

Shepard ducked as the Engineer used Incinerate on his cover. The fire exploded around him, but his shields and armor mitigated the damage. _How about a little stealth,_ Shepard thought before he used Tactical Cloak, just before another Engineer created a Combat Drone to try to force him out of cover.

* * *

Miranda fired a quick burst from her rifle at Enyala before sprinting for the next piece of defilade.

Enyala's Barrier held against the attack while she returned fire with her shotgun, but the distance rendered the shot useless. "Damn you!" she cursed.

Miranda popped out of cover to fire another burst when Enyala reared her arm back. Recognizing her movements, Miranda fired a few rounds before using Warp as well. She braced herself, knowing there was little she could do to avoid the biotic attack. She grunted and leaned against her cover when she was struck, but her shields held. Barely. Taking a quick glance, she saw Enyala's Barrier was still up, but it was flickering, a sign that it was failing.

Enyala sneered at her. She fired her shotgun again, but rounds didn't even strike the container Miranda was hiding behind. Changing tactics, she planted her foot back and looked like she was about to run right at her.

_Oh, bloody hell…_

Miranda dropped a grenade at her feet before crossing her arms in front of her chest and head just moments before Enyala disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. Unlike Shepard's attempt, the mass effect fields exploded on impact, sending her flying back and sliding along the ground.

Enyala wasn't better off. While her attack took down Miranda's shields, she inadvertently pushed her opponent out of the danger zone of the grenade. It exploded when the dark energy produced from her Biotic Charge exploded, sending Enyala flying back as well. Her Barrier vanished and her shields were completely drained.

Miranda painfully picked herself off the ground and watched as Enyala did the same. Frantically, she looked around, but couldn't find her rifle anywhere nearby. She looked back to see Enyala staggering to retrieve her shotgun. Reaching for her pistol, she fired off a few rounds while stumbling behind another container.

* * *

The asari managed to pick up her shotgun before she lurched from a shot from a pistol round. Her armor protected her, but she yelled in frustration when she saw the shotgun was ruined from the grenade blast. Tossing it aside, she drew her own pistol and started firing back. Ducking behind a railing, she kneeled down and aimed her pistol at Miranda's last position.

_Come on, whore. Show yourself._

She spotted a white helmet poking out and didn't hesitate. Firing quickly, she watched as her shot hit the helmet and it fell back behind the container. She grinned victoriously when a pistol fell and clattered on the ground nearby.

_Got you, bitch!_

Standing up slowly, she approached the container cautiously. If her shot didn't penetrate the helmet, then the human might be unconscious or dazed. Upon reaching the pistol, she kicked it away. Leading with her own pistol, Enyala leapt around the corner, but only saw a helmet on the ground.

* * *

_Got you, bitch!_

Miranda leapt from the top of the container and delivered a kick into Enyala's temple.

She screamed in shock and pain as she stumbled from the attack, dropping her pistol in the process.

Landing in a crouch, Miranda scooped up the pistol and tried to train it on the merc. She was caught off guard when Enyala managed to thrust her arm out and used Throw to blast her back. Miranda lost her grip on the gun as she flew back and hit the container. She looked up to see Enyala rushing for the gun and lurched to her feet quickly. Enyala retrieved her pistol but before she was able to get a shot, Miranda managed to kick the pistol away before launching a second kick into Enyala's jaw.

Eyala fell and landed flat on her back. She flipped to her feet quickly and landed catlike in a crouch, before whipping out a leg and sweeping Miranda's legs from under her.

Miranda used her arms to cushion the fall and rolled her feet quickly. Rising in a fighting stance, she regarded her opponent cautiously. Enyala glared at her with murder in her eyes. Miranda seethed at her expression. The look she gave when she shot Niket was unrepentant and uncaring. What was worse, she looked bored when she did it. "You miserable bitch."

Enyala glanced at the two pistols and like Miranda, decided they were too far to try and pick up. Settling into a fighting stance of her own, she smirked. "You really think you can beat me, human?" she jeered.

"Absolutely," Miranda sneered. "Now that I think about it, I think I **want** to tear you apart with my bare hands. Much more satisfying."

"You should've shot me while you had the chance…" Enyala taunted before lashing out with a kick. "Cerberus whore!"

Miranda stepped forward to block the kick. Using her momentum, she spun around and backhanded the asari across the face with a closed fist. "I think you'll be wishing that I just shot you by the end of this," she taunted before launching a quick 3-punch combination.

Enyala had twisted her body and rolled with the backhand. She deftly blocked Miranda's follow-up strikes and countered with a jab of her own, landing a hit the cheek. She followed up with a vicious hook to the ribs which doubled her enemy over.

Miranda raised her arms in time to catch Enyala's downward punch aimed at her face. Stepping forward, she brought her knee up and rammed it into the abdomen. Now it was Enyala's turn to double over. Miranda gripped the back of Enyala's head shoved it down while bringing her knee up and breaking the asari's nose. When the head rocked back, she stepped forward and rammed her elbow into Enyala's damaged nose.

Gritting her teeth against the pain in her nose, Enyala spun with the blow and lashed out with a kick that connected firmly against Miranda's chest. Stepping back to get some breathing room, she spat out a mouthful of blood and prepared herself the next assault.

Miranda shuffled back from the kick and settled into a ready stance. She saw Enyala do the same and waited for her to make the next move. Smiling grimly, she didn't disappoint. She launched a feint before aiming a kick at the merc's midsection.

Enyala just managed to see through the feint, but was too slow to react to the kick and fell back. She waited until Miranda stepped closer before counterattacking with a series of swift punches.

Miranda blocked as many as she could, but unfortunately took a few glancing hits she only barely avoided. Enyala continued her furious assault, until she snaked past Miranda's defense and scored a solid hit to ribs. Grunting in pain, she was still giving ground, fighting defensively. When Enyala tried a high kick, Miranda seized her chance. Ducking under the kick, she launched herself forward counterattacked with a snap kick in the chest. Enyala somersaulted back with the kick, stealing much of the power away, but the moment she landed on her feet, Miranda spun around and executed a roundhouse kick, catching Enyala across the jaw.

Enyala hit the floor with a shout of pain. Rolling to her feet, she initiated the next attack with a flurry of punches.

Miranda held her ground this time and caught Enyala's arm after blocking four punches. She twisted the arm sharply, eliciting another scream of pain. She was surprised when Enyala jumped and flipped to the side, freeing her limb and using the momentary advantage to sweep Miranda's legs from under her. She fell down with a grunt and tried to get back to her feet. Enyala stepped forward and kicked at her head. Miranda managed to bring her arms up, but left her midsection open, allowing the follow-up kick to connect. She felt the air rush out of her lungs as she rolled over in pain. Enyala tried another kick, but Miranda thrust out her leg and hit Enyala's knee. When she stumbled, Miranda clumsily got up and tackled her. Mounting the merc, Miranda pinned her down started pummeling her. Her head slammed into the pavement several times, while Miranda continued her brutal assault.

Enyala focused as hard as she could on her biotics and used an unfocused Throw. A sphere of mass effect fields burst from her body, tossing Miranda off. Enyala rolled over and saw an M-3 Predator a short distance away. Gasping in pain, she got up on all fours and scrambled toward it as quickly as she should. Grasping the pistol, she stood up and fired a round.

Miranda didn't flinch when the bullet struck her shields. Darting forward, she used her right arm and grasped Enyala's right wrist, the one still holding the pistol. Using an open palm strike with her other arm, Miranda targeted elbow joint and struck as hard as she could. The sounds of bones breaking, dislocation, and screaming told her that she hit the mark. Stepping forward and lifting the mangled limb to expose Enyala's midsection, Miranda drove her elbow into the asari's ribs while violently pulling the arm at the same time. The combined force of pulling the arm and ramming her elbow into the ribs dislocated the right arm entirely from the shoulder.

Enyala screamed again and flailed her left arm in a last ditch attempt at resistance.

Easily batting the arm away, Miranda stressed her advantage with a biotic blow. Encasing her fist with Warp, she punched Enyala solidly in the chest.

The explosion of dark energy sent Enyala flying back. Moaning, she tried to get back up and groggily turned her eyes to see Miranda taking slow, measured steps toward her. Her biotic aura blazed like fire around her as she stopped only inches away.

Miranda glared fiercely at the fallen merc. Picking her up with Pull the asari groaned when she was levitated in the air. When she reached 12 feet, Miranda pulled her arm down quickly.

Enyala slammed into the ground legs first. The bone-breaking force produced another scream as her legs shattered on impact.

Walking casually to her discarded weapon, Miranda picked up her Predator and turned to face her broken and beaten opponent. "So…" she conversationally started. However, her tone differed greatly from her enraged expression. "Are you wishing that I shot you earlier?"

"Fuck you, who…" Enyala tried to say.

Miranda silenced her, disregarding whatever repartee Enyala wanted to say as her last words. She emptied her entire clip into the body, uncaring of how unprofessional it was. She heaved a shuddering breath, numb to how weak she appeared.

Footsteps distantly entered her consciousness. She turned her empty gun at the source, but found Shepard standing there. His armor was pockmarked with gunshots and singed from fire. Overall, he appeared unharmed. He was holding both his helmet and hers in one hand and his pistol in the other. He was watching her with a sympathetic look. Apparently, he caught himself, because he schooled his features into something more neutral when he caught her gaze. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Miranda was glad he stopped looking at her with pity. It wasn't something she wanted right now. Even if it was something she probably needed. "I'm fine," she whispered. She was tempted to look at Niket's body before stopping herself. It wasn't how she wanted to remember him. His hurtful words, his betrayal, his murder… "Come on," she commanded. "There could be more Eclipse mercs near the shuttle. I want to make sure Oriana and her family gets on safely."

Shepard looked like he wanted to say more, but thought better of it and nodded silently.

After collecting Miranda's Pulse Rifle, they made their way to the elevator. Once safely inside, Shepard tapped the button to take them to the civilian terminal. He turned around and observed Miranda as she leaned her head against the wall of the lift.

She knew he was watching her again. She took another shuddering breath. "I can't believe Niket sold me out. I didn't even see it coming…" she admitted. Tears stung at her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back. _Another weakness…_

"It doesn't matter how genetically modified you are. How perfect you're supposed to be. You're still human like the rest of us," Shepard gently said.

"But I let it get personal… and I screwed up," Miranda said frustratingly. She kept her back to him. She couldn't face him. "Why didn't you let me kill him? I could have handled that," she vented. "But watching him get gunned down by that asari bitch…"

"I didn't want his death… his murder… on your conscience. On some level, you still cared for him, regardless of his actions," he softly replied.

She nodded morosely. "You're right. And my father used it against me. Even now, he's still finding ways to screw with my life." She scoffed. "It's always been like this. My father gave me everything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan." She didn't know why she was confessing everything like this. Turning around, she saw that Shepard wasn't judging her or her actions. He simply stood there patiently, letting her unload her burdens on him. The action was almost foreign to her. She never would have done this with anyone in Cerberus. "I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran," she said before pausing. "Except Niket," she whispered. "Weakness on my part."

"You can't toss aside everything you care about just to be safe," Shepard pointed out.

"I know," Miranda said. "It's okay. My father hurt me, but he didn't break me." She took a more calming breath and met his eyes. "As much as he tried to turn me into exactly what he wanted… I'm my own person. That isn't going to change," she stated definitively.

"Is there anyone else your father might use against you?" he worriedly asked. "Anyone you need to contact?"

Miranda shook her head. "No. I cut ties with everyone else. Anyone I'm close to now works for Cerberus…" she answered before giving Shepard a meaningful glance. "Or you," she added. "My father's powerful, but he won't cross the Illusive Man."

"Don't forget your sister," he reminded. "You still have Oriana."

"Yes… you're right. I still have something," she said. Turning to face him fully, she wiped away a single tear, but wasn't bothered by it this time. Somehow, she knew Shepard wouldn't mind. He wouldn't perceive it as weakness.

_He'd probably encourage it._

"Thank you."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Civilian Terminal**_

Shepard had a devil of a time explaining to the local authorities about the Eclipse. They wanted to know everything they could since it was apparent that the Eclipse Mercenaries were a few steps removed from an organized crime syndicate on Illium. The moment he finished with his debrief, the authorities thanked him and started assisting in the search for any holdouts of the Eclipse. They didn't harass him about his or Miranda's weaponry the moment he identified himself as a Spectre, something he was grateful for. Standing alone near the main elevator, he finished his sweep of the terminal and was waiting for Miranda to rejoin him. Looking around, he found it wasn't hard to identify Oriana or even put together that they were siblings. She almost looked exactly like Miranda, albeit, younger. Certainly, all the hallmarks of their physical appearances matched. Same eye color, hair color, skin tone. There were minor differences besides age, however. Oriana wore her hair shorter, stood less formally. She was at ease with the crowds and the people. She was smiling and laughing with her adoptive parents. _Happy. Just like Miranda wanted._

"No sign of the Eclipse," Miranda reported as she quickly walked up to him. "It looks like we're clear."

Shepard nodded, but didn't turn away from his observation of Oriana.

Miranda turned her head as well and regarded her sister. "There she is," she whispered, as if her voice would attract Oriana's attention. "She's safe… with her family."

Shepard glanced at her. The way she said 'family', he was sure he detected a hint of longing. He watched as her face suddenly fell, her expression more downcast.

"Come on. We should go," she suddenly said as she turned away from her sibling.

"She's not on the shuttle yet," Shepard pointed out.

"She's safe now," she responded quickly. There was an unmistakable hint of fear in her voice now.

"If she's safe, then why not talk to her? Say hello?" Shepard suggested.

"No," she said. "I want to do what's right for her. The less she knows about me, the better." She nodded her head at the scene. "She's got a family. A life. I'll just complicate that for her."

It was an excuse. Shepard knew it. They both did. She was afraid that her sister would hate her for her actions regarding their father. Maybe even judge on her involvement with Cerberus.

"She has a family. And you're a part of it. And you're a part of her life, even if she doesn't know it," he carefully said. "She doesn't need any details, but would it really be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?"

Miranda looked thoughtful at his words. Turning back to gaze at Oriana, she had a small smile on her face. "I guess not…"

It was the first smile Shepard had seen since they embarked on this task. In some ways, it was the most genuine smile he'd ever seen her have since they'd met. Privately, he admitted that he found that smile was rather beautiful on her. "Go on… I'll wait here."

Miranda's smile grew a bit more before she closed her eyes and took a breath. She purposefully walked toward her sister, catching her eye as she approached.

Shepard turned away to give the siblings some privacy and leaned on the railing to watch the sunrise. Despite not having slept for almost an entire day, he found himself smiling as well. He resisted the temptation to look over to see how the reunion was going and took a deep breath of his own to combat his exhaustion. Something glinted out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look, he saw a silver locket underneath a nearby bench. He bent down and picked up the trinket. Turning it over in his hands, he studied it before opening the locket to reveal a picture of an asari and a human man. The locket itself didn't hold much monetary value, but it was well cared for regardless. He stared at the pictured for a few more moments before slipping it into a pouch and returned his attention to the rising sun.

* * *

"Will I see you again?" Oriana asked.

"I… I don't know. I have the utmost confidence in Shepard's abilities, but it doesn't change how dangerous our mission is," Miranda gently answered.

Oriana turned her head to observe the man in black armor leaning on the railing near the elevator. "He's cute," she commented.

Miranda blinked before involuntarily turning her head in the same direction as her sister. Realizing what she was doing, she snapped her head back. "I wouldn't know," she replied neutrally.

"Really?" Oriana sing-songed. "Do I detect something here?"

"No, because there's nothing to detect," Miranda said as carefully as she could without giving herself away.

Oriana nodded. "I thought so. A captain and his executive officer, huh? Sound rather romantic."

Miranda's eyes widened. "I said there's nothing there!"

Her sister smiled triumphantly. "No, you said you wouldn't know about how cute he is. That would be denial. You also said that there was nothing to perceive," she corrected. "But, by saying 'there's nothing there', you imply that you want something there." She sighed theatrically. "It's very dramatic. All the trademarks of a good romance vid…"

"Oriana!" Miranda squawked. _Unbelievable. I can resist interrogations, but against my own sister…_

"Oh, I'm just teasing," she soothed.

Miranda shook her head. "Somehow, I doubt that."

Oriana turned to glance at Shepard again. Her humorous demeanor melted away as she turned back to Miranda. "If half of the stuff they say about Commander Shepard is true, you'll be alright. But, promise me that you'll be careful," she said, keeping her voice upbeat, though a bit of concern laced her tone.

"I promise," Miranda replied.

The announcer overhead stated that operations of the spaceport were continuing again. Oriana's flight out was ready.

Miranda stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Oriana took the initiative and embraced her older sister. "I'm proud of you. Helping out the 'first human Spectre' and all. Saving the colonists. I'm glad someone out there is doing something for those people." She squeezed her sister a little tighter. "I'm glad we got to meet. I just hope we'll have more chances in the future."

Miranda returned the hug. "I know we will," she promised. "Count on it." Stepping away, she gave her sister one last reassuring smile before walking back to Shepard.

Seeing her approach, he stood up and offered a small smile before calling the lift. The doors opened immediately and they stepped in.

Miranda felt the tears build up in her eyes, but made no attempt to stop them. Turning around, she looked up and saw Oriana standing with her parents, smiling, happy and content. Miranda blinked and a few tears made their way down her cheeks. She made no effort to wipe them away. Feeling Shepard's gaze again, she glanced at him before turning back to Oriana and smiled.

She allowed her tears this time. It didn't feel like a weakness, not at this moment. They were a catharsis now. They made her feel… human. As the elevator descended, she turned to look at Shepard and offered him a smile as well.

A few more tears joined the others. To the Cerberus Officer's surprise, the Spectre reached out and wiped them away. She allowed it. It wasn't a weakness or a failing or a vulnerability after all. Having admitted that to herself, she found her tears to be…

Liberating.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This was a tough one. Really tough. I'm rather relieved to have finished with it, but now I can't help but wonder how well I did. Like Horizon, anything you see, any problems, or adjustments you think I should make, please speak up. I want this particular chapter to be the best I can make it and any help is much appreciated.

First off, as you may have noticed… I probably went AU with the whole Hackett thing. Since Shepard 'probably' isn't in the Alliance anymore, I thought it wouldn't matter. As for posthumous 2-rank promotions? I picked that off **Ace Combat 5**. Great game. Great story. The promotion thing is probably not true, but I was always under the impression that people with the rank of 'captain' or higher commands ships anyway. I mean, Shepard is a Spectre, so rank really doesn't matter with him, but… meh. If people have too many problems with it, I'll remove it. The Normandy mission stays though. I'll put that into play later.

About Niket. Before writing this, I thought the guy was a jerk. I personally didn't care when Enyala shot him. "He deserved it," I'd think to myself. When writing this from Miranda's mindset… I really felt bad. I wanted her to truly feel angry at his betrayal, kinda like Garrus with Sidonis. But at the same time, it's a deep cut because it's someone she really knew for years.

About the Enyala scene… What can I say? I thought about how to approach this in several different ways. Eventually, I thought, "What if she murdered my best friend? Threatened to take away my family?" Suddenly, shooting her seemed kinda weak.

Last thing to note. I'm using my profile page to update the status of my fic. In case you're ever curious as to what I'm up to, go ahead and take a look. I'll occasionally post status updates there.

As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate all those that take the time to review.

_**Edit:**_ Made some huge corrections. Credit to ArrowMk84 & Ddangerdan.

_**Edit**_**:** I changed the beginning of the Miranda/Enyala fight to better start it off. My beta suggested it as did a reviewer. However, my beta was much more kind and forthright with his opinion.

_**Edit: **_Small changes made again. Credit to **Dragon3ye**.

_**Edit: **_Another grammatical error corrected. Credit goes to **Breakdown Boy**


	21. Interlude VIII

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

Miranda and Shepard tiredly trudged into the hotel she booked for the duration of their stay on Illium. Ignoring the odd looks of the guests when they openly stared at their weapons and armor, Miranda stepped up to the Reception Desk and started chatting with the Concierge.

Shepard yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. As much as he wanted to sleep, a new day on Illium meant a new day of work to accomplish on the Normandy. It wasn't the first time he had to go on without sleep and he was used to irregular sleep patterns anyway.

_At the very least though, a shower and some breakfast. That can't be too much to ask for…_

"Shepard?"

Turning around, he saw Miranda smiling at him. "Tired?" she asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," he replied. He spotted a salarian bellhop standing nearby.

"Let's get to our rooms," she suggested. She ran her hand through her raven locks. "I really need to wash up."

Shepard absently nodded and the both of them followed the salarian to the elevators.

"What are your plans for today?" Miranda asked conversationally once they started ascending.

"Oversee the armor installation on the ship," he answered. "Liara's tracking Thane and Samara now, but they're keeping low profiles. It might be awhile until we find them."

"Why don't I handle the installation for today?" she offered. "After all that you've done, it's the least I can do."

"What 'we' done was important," Shepard said. "I would've helped regardless."

"Thank you, but overseeing the armor installation is still my responsibility and at some point, you should have some leave of your own. I'll handle the Normandy for today," Miranda said as the elevator reached their floor.

The salarian stepped off and led them down the hallways toward their rooms.

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked.

Stopping in front of Miranda's room, she turned around and fixed a mock glare at him. "I think I can handle it, Shepard. You will go out and enjoy yourself today," she sternly ordered.

Shepard shook his head and smiled. "Don't push it," he said. "I'm still in charge here."

Miranda smiled back at him, before opening the door and entering her room.

The salarian moved to the next room over and slightly bowed before offering Shepard his key.

Raising an eyebrow at the location of his room, Shepard took the proffered key and opened the door. "Whoa."

"Is something the matter, sir?" the bellhop asked.

"Uh…" Shepard said before shaking himself out of his stupor. "This is mine?"

"Spectre Agent Shepard, yes? This is your suite."

He stepped past the threshold of the door and looked around. It was… extravagant, for lack of a better description. It was large, well-furnished, and posh. It was the kind of room some people who earned well beyond an Alliance Marine's yearly salary would stay in. "I get a suite?" he asked in shock.

The salarian blinked in confusion. "Is something the matter, sir?" he repeated.

"Um… no. I'm fine," Shepard quickly answered. "This'll do."

_I really hope those retrofits take a while…_

"Very good, sir," the bellhop said. He held out his hand.

Getting over his astonishment quickly, Shepard picked through a pouch and pulled out a few credit chits and passed them over.

"Thank you, sir. Please, enjoy your stay."

"I think I will," Shepard mumbled to himself. He remembered when he first saw the hotel for the first time. It was tall spire design, with a twisting, helical structure, and glass curtain walls. Artistic, functional, and very elegant, he was surprised that Miranda had booked a place like this to stay at for the duration of their stay here.

After the bellhop left, he did a quick circuit of the room. Not only to admire the luxurious décor, but to start his sweep for any monitoring devices. The moment the bellhop identified him as a Spectre, a few warning bells went off, but nothing unexpected or new. After finding a couple of poorly placed cameras and listening devices, he was satisfied he could at least take a shower and get a change of clothes before sweeping for the more cleverly hidden devices.

The shower was different than anything he had. Multidirectional nozzles, automatic variable temperatures, and expensive looking toiletries. After doing a more thorough sweep of the bathroom and finding one camera, Shepard conducted his usual morning routines. Once he finished his shower and putting on the comfy bathrobe, he stepped into the main room an hour later to find Jacob sitting on one of the couches. "Jacob," he greeted.

Jacob stood and returned the greeting. "Captain."

Shepard blinked at the title before remembering his conversation with Admiral Hackett. "Word travels fast."

"Only when EDI updates the records and starts calling you that," Jacob explained. "Miranda asked me to bring your clothes. Kelly's bringing hers." He picked up a duffle bag at his feet and handed it over. "Had to step into your cabin. Sorry. But I refilled your hamster's food and water containers for you."

"It's fine and I appreciate that," Shepard said as he took the bag. "I was going to put on yesterday's clothes and fetch this stuff. You just saved me a trip."

"Yeah. I was surprised to hear you checked in without collecting your stuff," he commented before looking around. "Nice digs."

"I was surprised as you are," Shepard admitted, ambiguously answering both statements. He pulled a few articles from the bag and walked back into the bathroom.

"Yeah. The rest of us are in the standard rooms. Still nice though." Jacob saw a bowl sitting upside down on a table and lifted it up. After seeing what was under it, he placed it back down and turned to the entertainment system and switched on some music. "You finish your sweep, Captain?" he asked over the noise.

"Shepard is fine, Jacob. We're off-duty," Shepard called back from the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out dressed casually. "And no. I wanted a shower first. I just found the easy ones. You know, the ones paparazzi probably planted while for searching for anything on the rich and famous."

"Want me finish the sweep for you?" he offered.

"Nah. I'll finish here, and then head out to see the sights of Nos Astra."

"Alright, Shepard. I'll head out then. See you around."

After Jacob left, Shepard did a more rigorous sweep and found several much more sophisticated surveillance bugs. _Definitely government-issued._ _Name of the game is corruption on Illium. Big shock._ After collecting all the bugs, including the ones under the bowl, he threw every one into the toilet and flushed them away. A chime from the main room grabbed his attention and he wandered in to see that someone was calling him. Meandering up to the console, he accepted the call to see Nyxeris' image appear.

"Hello, Captain Shepard. I am calling on behalf of Liara to see if you are available to speak with her today."

Raising his eyebrow at the mention of his new rank from an almost total stranger, he nodded. "I can meet her. What time?"

"At your earliest convenience, Captain. Liara has cleared her schedule for the day."

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

"I will inform her. Good day, Captain." With that, Nyxeris hung up.

_Does she have information about Thane and Samara already?_

Curious as to what Liara could be calling about, Shepard retrieved his pistol, and reluctantly left his suite. After knocking on Miranda's door, he stood around for a few minutes before coming to the conclusion that she left early to oversee the work on the Normandy. After stopping at the hotel restaurant and eating breakfast with his some of the crew, he finally stepped back out into the city.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office**_

As tempted as he was to go to the hangar and check on Miranda to see how she was doing, he knew if Liara already had information about his recruits, then he needed to act fast. After hailing a taxi and then making his way through the trading floor, Shepard found himself escorted by Nyxeris into Liara's office.

"Captain Shepard is here, ma'am," Nyxeris informed in her distant tone.

Again, Shepard found himself agitated by the asari's presence, but kept a lid on his feelings to focus on Liara. "You're really good. I was only informed of my last promotion yesterday evening," he commended as he sat down.

"The world of intrigue is not unlike archeology. Except that the dead bodies still smell," Liara replied.

Shepard was about to crack a smile when he realized she was deadly serious. Clearing his throat he said, "I have to admit, I was a bit surprised at your sudden career change. I thought you might've tried to get back to Ilos, speak with Vigil about the Protheans before he went offline."

He was shocked when Liara dropped her icy exterior and distinctly looked uncomfortable. "I… I wanted to. But something else happened and I found myself here," she vaguely answered.

"You don't want to study the Protheans a bit more? Run a few archeological digs or something?"

"It's not really about what I want, but rather than what I need to do," she stated firmly.

Shepard knew better than to push her. "What did you want to see me for?" he asked, deciding on getting to down to business. It was clear she wasn't ready to talk, not in the way they could before anyway.

Regaining her neutral look, she met his eyes. "Ah, yes. There's something I need your help with. I can only trust you to do this."

"What is it?"

"I need someone with hacking expertise," she said. Leaning forward on her table, she continued in a softer tone. "If you could disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me some valuable information I need. That would help me a great deal."

"Tali's a much better hacker than I am… why not ask her?"

Her eyes shifted guiltily. "Tali… I don't want her to ask too many questions. More importantly, I don't want her place in any danger if I can help it."

Shepard couldn't help but smirk humorlessly. "But you have no problem placing me in danger."

The look Liara gave him suggested that she saw nothing but supreme irony in his statement. "In some ways… this does involve you," she enigmatically revealed. "If you can get that data, I can reveal a little more." She stood up and faced the large window in the back of her office. "Hacking the security node won't get you the data. It just creates a minor glitch in the system," she explained. She turned around and stressed her warning with a stern look. "You'll have a short time to find a local server left vulnerable by that glitch and upload the data to my system. I'm leaving my own system vulnerable so that the data can be imported during that short time."

He frowned at her request. "Why do you need this information? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Trouble isn't the right word, Shepard," Liara corrected. "It's been a long two years. I had things to do while you were gone. Debts to repay."

"And this information you're asking me to retrieve?" Shepard prompted when she fell silent. "Can't you just tell me? You're being rather secretive about all this."

"I want to, but I can't," she waspishly said. Shepard raised his eyebrow at her tone. She took a calming breath. "This isn't because I don't trust you, far from it." She made a show of looking around her office. "This is Illium. Anything I say is probably being recorded."

Shepard face took on an annoyed look when he remembered all the bugs in his room. He'd probably have to do a sweep every time he got back to his room.

Liara nodded, correctly interpreting his expression. "I can tell you what that data is after you retrieve it. There are many things I have to tell you, but not right now. And it's also the reason why I can't drop everything to join you. I need to get that data."

Rubbing his face in agitation, Shepard nodded. "Fine. Where are the terminals?"

Liara tapped a few commands in her console. Shepard looked into his omni-tool and nodded.

"You have to do it tonight. That's when the window of opportunity opens," she instructed. "Remember: Hack one terminal to create a glitch, use the glitch to download the data from another server before it can lock you out."

"Do it tonight, do it fast. I got it," Shepard said uncomfortably. He couldn't ever recall a time he was ever uncomfortable in Liara's presence, even when she joined her consciousness with his.

"Thank you, Shepard. This will help me a great deal," she gratefully said. "Now, on to your business. Something interesting came up during my search for Thane."

"Really?"

"One name popped up during my search for any assassination contracts. Someone you might remember."

"Who?"

"Nassana Dantius," she dramatically revealed.

Shepard leaned back in his chair. "Her," he said shortly as he crossed his arms. "What's she done now? More sororicide?"

"Perhaps. It does seem likely after that fiasco with her sister, Dahia. However, I believe it's her business practices that are catching up to her," she commented off-hand.

"I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but what 'practices'?" he asked.

"Killing anyone threatening her reputation," she succinctly answered.

"Surprise, surprise," he mumbled. "Just don't say she put a hit on me or I'll have to accept that contract."

"I was more focused on locating Krios than the contract itself, but it seems like one of her other sisters might have something against her," Liara theorized as she typed away on her terminal. "Would you like me to…?"

"Just Thane. I really can't muster the will to care about Nassana or her family troubles," he replied.

"Very well," Liara acquiesced. "My contacts are asking around to see if anyone talked to Thane about Nassana."

"Do you know if Thane is even after her?"

"Sorry, no. I can't with certainty if Thane accepted that particular contract yet. But I'm still searching the other contracts I've managed to dig up. As I said before, all my inquiries will need to be discreet."

"That's fine. Anything else?"

"Nassana seems to be aware of the contract on her life. She's hired Eclipse mercenaries some time ago to guard her."

Shepard groaned. "More Eclipse…"

Liara had a small sympathetic smile on her face. "They're the dominate mercenary force on Illium, I'm afraid. Any problems you or Thane will face will probably mean you'll have to confront them first, regardless of who the target is." She had an odd teasing glint in her eye. "Of course, given last night's fiasco, I'm sure the Eclipse are something you can handle with little trouble."

Unsurprised that she already knew about his activities previous evening, he gave her a small smile of his own, before pushing the conversation on. "What about Samara? Any luck so far?"

"I may have an idea as to who Samara is looking for… but it's speculative at best. My contacts at Thessia have yet to call me. So there's nothing more I can offer at this point," she answered.

"Alright. I guess that's all the questions I have. Until you can give me more information anyway," Shepard said. They both knew he wasn't talking about Thane or Samara.

"I'll call you when the servers can be hacked. Then I can tell you more," she stubbornly asserted.

Shepard nodded and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, the door opened and Miranda walked in.

"Miranda?" – "Shepard?"

"What are you doing here?" they asked at the same time.

Liara stood up. "Shepard is here because I needed a favor," she explained.

"Ah," Miranda said understandingly before stepping around him and handing Liara an OSD. "Here."

"Thank you," she graciously said as she accepted the disk.

"Thank you, too," Miranda gratefully returned.

"Tali?" Shepard asked when he looked at the doorway. "You too?"

"Hi," she greeted, slightly confused at the gathered group. "Miranda was telling Jacob that she was coming here and I thought it might be nice to see Liara again since I didn't have a chance to yesterday…"

"I think I was finished here…?" Shepard said, shooting Liara a questioning look.

"Yes. For now, anyway," Liara concurred. She tucked the OSD into a pocket and walked up to Tali and hugged her. "It's good to see you again, Tali."

"You too, Liara," Tali said, easily returning the gesture.

Shepard quietly left with Miranda following. Once outside the building, he threw a questioning look at his companion.

"Dr. T'Soni was the one that updated my contacts about my father," she revealed. "A favor for a favor. That's all."

"What's with the OSD?"

"Just some information she asked for in return. Nothing you need to worry about," was all she said.

Slightly put off with all the secrecy surrounding him, Shepard sighed and grudgingly decided to leave it alone. For now.

"And you? What did you speak to her about?" Miranda inquired.

"A favor for a favor," Shepard parroted before pausing. "Or maybe just a favor among friends."

Miranda shook her head, but accepted the answer in response to her less than informative one she gave moments ago. "You'll be pleased to know that our new main gun has arrived. Or rather, the first shipment as arrived," she reported.

"How many shipments are we talking here?" Shepard asked.

This time, Miranda frowned. "I don't know. I asked the same question, but Garrus seemed… distracted. I didn't want to press the issue." She turned her head and eyed him. "Perhaps you might have better luck?"

Shepard nodded and made a mental note to himself to check on his turian friend. He turned to Miranda and was about to ask about her sister before catching himself and looked around. They were still on the trading floor and it was as busy as ever. Changing his topic, he asked, "When did you learn Pull?"

Miranda smirked. "You're not the only one sneaking off to learn biotics, Shepard."

"I don't 'sneak'," Shepard defended good-naturedly. "It's my ship. I go where I want, when I want. I don't need to sneak anywhere."

"Of course," Miranda indulgently said. "Captain," she added cheekily. "To answer your question, I've been practicing diligently since your own successes. While I admit that your learning curve is extraordinary, I decided to follow your example and try my best."

"It was pretty impressive, what you did."

She beamed under the praise. "I hope you didn't think that I spent **all** my time in my office, typing up reports," she quipped.

"Perish the thought," Shepard teased. "You have to come out and eat once in a while too. Maybe even go to the head occasionally."

"Ha, ha," she deadpanned.

"What was that last thing you did?" he asked. When Miranda raised an eyebrow, he elaborated. "You lifted Enyala into the air and then you brought her back into the ground. Painfully, I might add."

"Oh, that. A combination of mass-reducing and mass-raising fields," she explained as they neared the hangar. "I used Pull to levitate the object, and then violently raise the mass effect fields around the target to artificially increase gravity, not unlike how a starship generates gravity really. The effect 'slams' the target into the ground."

"I didn't read anything like it in any of the references of the extranet sites I've been to," he commented thoughtfully.

"That's because I just conceived it a few days ago. It's a personal creation of mine," she proudly informed.

"So how about a name for it? Slam, maybe? Sound like a good name for that technique," Shepard suggested. They entered the hangar where the Normandy was currently docked.

Miranda scoffed at his suggestion. "Hardly."

"Why?" he asked, feigning being hurt.

"Because it sounds too crude. Especially for such a complex technique," she argued.

"It's catchy."

"It's ridiculous."

"It works."

"It's absurd."

"It's memorable."

"It's ludicrous… And why am I arguing like a child?" Miranda rhetorically asked in frustration.

The various crewmen and workers snickered at their banter. She glared at them and everyone returned to work, trying desperately to hide their expressions to avoid her wrath. She turned her glare at Shepard when he snickered as well, but he easily endured it.

"I have more work to oversee," she muttered angrily, but Shepard was savvy enough to see that she was trying to play into his guilt.

"Of course," he said, staring her down and smiling.

She huffed in mild annoyance. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that'll be all I think," Shepard said, not bothering to hide his victorious grin.

She tried to hold on to her cross look, but relented under his irreverent charm and smiled back. "I'll see you later, Captain," she said while shaking her head. She turned around and walked over to Jacob and conversing with him.

Shepard left her to her work and wandered off to find Garrus. It was then he realized he forgot to ask either Miranda or Liara how they knew each other. "Aw, damn it."

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just forgot… Garrus!" Shepard said, jumping in surprise. "Damn it!"

"Sorry," Garrus said, though he didn't sound it.

Looking around, he saw that he had wandered near the nose of the ship. Work was already underway to fit the new Thanix Cannon underneath. "Something on your mind?" Shepard asked as casually as he could.

Garrus shifted eyes away from him. He appeared conflicted and agitated; he was clenching his hands and his mandibles were opening and closing rapidly. "Nothing you can help me with," he eventually said.

Shepard sighed. "If you need to talk to someone, I'm always available, you know that."

"I know. And I appreciate it, Shepard. It's just something I want to do on my own."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

Shepard sighed again and nodded. "Alright. Is there anything I should be aware of? Something I can do to help? With the cannon I mean."

Garrus shook his head. "I got it. Next shipment of parts should be in by tomorrow."

"How many more shipments are we talking about here?" Shepard asked.

"Just two more. The last should be coming in the day after tomorrow," Garrus stated.

"How long until it's installed?"

Garrus turned and looked over the work being done. "I actually can't say for sure. I need the armor around that section finished before I can give you an estimate. I was about to coordinate my efforts with Lawson before you came here."

"Okay. Just keep me in the loop," Shepard said. He was about to say more when he spotted Jack entering the hangar with a troubled look on her face. "Is it me or does she look more pissed than usual?"

"I can't tell. Reading human expressions has never been a forte of mine," Garrus replied.

Both men saw Jack stomp toward them. Her footfalls definitely showed signs of rage. "I think she wants to talk to you," Shepard commented after seeing the look on her face and the strut in her step. He really hoped she wasn't pissed at him.

"I barely said 10 words to her. She's glaring at you," the turian nervously argued, trying to inch slowly behind his human friend.

Jack stopped a few feet away from them. "I need to talk to you," she said to Shepard.

"I got some work to do anyway," Garrus muttered. He left in the direction Miranda was working at.

"What's up?" Shepard inquired.

"Not here," Jack said. She turned around and swiftly walked out of the hangar.

Shepard looked perplexed at her behavior, but curiously followed.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

Jack's room was the standard in the hotel: Decent size, single bed, bathroom, etc. Shepard still spotted the butt of a pistol sticking out from under the pillow. Predictably, she had her 'Do Not Disturb' holo-sign up.

_No chance her room will get cleaned during our stay here, I'm sure._

Jack was pacing the length of her room, her actions suggesting a kind of nervous energy. Something was clearly bothering her as she tried to find the right words.

Shepard leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as he patiently waited for her to say something.

Evidently, his reticence was the wrong course of action, because she looked up at his relaxed stance and glared. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"I'm here, alone in your room, with you. I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to say or do right now," he dryly said with a straight face.

Jack looked shocked at his cavalier words and attitude. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could swear he saw her face flush with embarrassment. Her glare came back in full force as she let out a sound of impatience. "It's… I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them." She started pacing the room again, but she appeared frustrated with the small confines and kicked a chair over in anger.

Shepard stood straight and took on a more serious look. "What's wrong?"

She paced around the room some more, her biotics flaring as her frustration mounted. Eventually, she calmed down enough to sit cross-legged at the edge of her bed. She looked up at the Spectre. "You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?"

Shepard furrowed his brow. "Only when they issued their first bounty," he admitted.

She scoffed. "You pal, the Illusive Man? Never seen him before, but Cerberus **raised** me." Her face took on a disgusted scowl. "First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base." She ran a hand along the top of her head and down to the back of her neck before involuntarily clutching her crook of her arm. "They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic."

Shepard recalled Miranda's words when they discussed his biotics.

_"I forwarded daily reports to the Illusive Man. When he heard of our discovery, he sent data on several experiments involving biotics to me." She shrugged, "I don't know the details, I don't know how he got them, and I don't know who was involved in them. All I was given was the instructions to safely increase the modules in your body and wire you with the new L5x configuration."_

_"I found it strange that she needed to be in cryo-stasis when all the warden had to do was confiscate her biotic amp. Turns out that her amp isn't removable. It's completely custom made, just for her and only for her. It's also why she's so powerful. Her entire system of implants was designed specifically for her. To boost her talents well above the norm," she explained. "Some of the results those researchers produced were used to give you your biotics actually."_

"Damn…" he cursed under his breath. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, not after seeing several failed results of Cerberus' experiments first hand. Seeing and talking to Jack though, it was a sobering thought.

Jack wasn't paying attention to him anymore, lost as she was in her darkest memories. "The doctors… the other kids… Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer."

Shepard head snapped up. "There were other children?" he sharply asked.

She shrugged uncaringly. "I didn't know much about them. I was kept separate. They hated me, just like everyone else there." She looked up with a dispassionate look. "When I broke out, I had to fight through them all. I showed them, but there's a loose end I need to deal with."

"Loose end?"

She stood up and stalked toward Shepard until she was centimeters away. "I found the coordinates of the base I was in from the files you got me. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me. I want to go the center of the place, **my cell.** I want to deploy a **big fucking bomb.** And I want to watch the **whole fucking place blow,**" she demanded with a slight manic look in her eyes.

Shepard held his ground as she listed off her litany of desires. "You're asking me to attack a Cerberus facility. The same people that are supplying us right now for the current mission. As much as I'd like to add the destruction another Cerberus facility under my belt, it's not the smart move here."

Jack lost her footing when Shepard freely admitted destroying Cerberus property like it was nothing. She took a step back and stared at him in a different light. "Uh…" she started before shaking her head and getting her thoughts back on track. "Look, the files say it was shut down after my escape. It's been abandoned for years. They're not going to care if I blow up a garbage dump."

"You've lived with this your whole life. Something change?"

"Like I said, I found the coordinates in your files. You can't expect me to just sit on information like that," she answered harshly, as if she was expecting a negative answer.

She was surprised when Shepard nodded. "Give me the coordinates. I'll arrange time for you to go to Pragia." Catching her look, he raised an eyebrow. "It's going to be pretty hypocritical of me to deny you destroying an abandoned Cerberus base when I took a couple down myself." He shrugged. "Besides, I got some reservations with what they've done to you and others."

Jack looked away. "I owe you Shepard," she said quietly, but gratefully.

Shepard waved it off. "It's fine. You're already coming with me on this mission." Walking over to the fallen chair, he picked it up and set it down. Taking a seat, he regarded the young woman in front of him. "In a sick way, I can see drugs working for results, but torture?"

"It was something about pain breaking down mental barriers and how it might clear the way for more biotic power," Jack explained as she sat back down on the bed again. Sitting cross-legged again, she scowled at the memories flooding back.

"Clearing the mind with torture… not sure I see that working all that well, though in your unique case…" Shepard commented.

She scoffed. "I'm sure there was a payoff due at some point, but I didn't see it until way later. I was too busy being wired up in a cell."

"So this facility was designed to make strong biotics? Through drugs and torture?"

She looked up and glared balefully. "Wasn't in a position to ask, Shepard." She looked away again. "All I remember is a little girl crying in a cell, begging for the pain to stop…" she confessed quietly.

"Can I ask how you escaped?" he asked, hopefully pulling her away from the darker parts of her memories.

"There was some kind of emergency and I made a break for it," she explained. "The other kids came out of their cells and attacked me. So did the guards. I just killed everything in my way and ran. Guess my biotics developed faster than I thought," she said with a shrug. "I managed to get a shuttle off the ground. Drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew used me, then sold me. That's my uplifting escape story."

Shepard had to school his features into something impassive. Like Miranda, he was sure Jack wouldn't appreciate any sympathy. Especially given how much she despised weakness.

Jack suddenly smiled grimly. "At least I managed to escape. They thought they were so clever. Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots."

Shepard privately admitted that Cerberus' mistakes tended to be awfully serious, but he couldn't help but remember the old adage for any clandestine agency, government sponsored or not: 'Failures are known, successes are not'. The only time he'd ever heard of Cerberus was because of Admiral Kahoku and the Shadow Broker. After that, he could only follow Cerberus when he was sent to clean up after their failed experiments, things that were forced to become public knowledge.

_And now I'm working with them. Happy times_.

"You going to be alright?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied.

"We're still going to be stuck here for a few more days. I'll get us to Pragia, but it might be awhile. Is that all right?"

"I said I'm fine, Shepard. So long as I get to see a crater where it used to be, I'm good," she answered impatiently.

"Fine. Just don't cause trouble here on Illium. Please?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he stood up and he started for the door. Just when he was about to leave, Jack's voice whispered to him.

"Thanks for this."

Knowing how much it probably pained her to express her gratitude, Shepard just gave her a solemn nod before leaving.

* * *

Deciding on getting lunch, Shepard slid into a seat in the restaurant inside the hotel and started browsing the holo-menu. Hearing someone sitting down across from him, he looked up to see Mordin smiling at him.

"Greetings, Shepard," he said while tapping on the button on the table to bring up a holo-menu of his own and reading through it.

"Mordin," Shepard returned. "Lab's not working anymore?"

"Installing new weaponry. Had to reduce power to ship. Decided to take a break," he quickly said. "Do more than just lab work. Wanted to study Illium."

Shepard observed the salarian as he read through the menu. He was even reading rapidly if his eye movements were any indication. "Well, it's nice to have company for lunch."

"Indeed. Thank you," he gratefully said.

Shepard shook his head and smiled. Like most scientists he'd met, they seemed to have similar social awkwardness or disregard for the niceties. Truthfully, he envied Mordin's bluntness when he observed something and didn't hesitate to point it out. Considering how much politics played into his life, it was a refreshing change of pace. "So what are you doing now?"

"Reviewing medical records with Dr. Chakwas. Am a little worried about Cerberus medical records," Mordin distractedly said. Apparently finished with the menu, he tapped the button on the side of the table to vanish the holo-menu and call the waitress.

Shepard eyes narrowed in concern and vanished his menu as well to better look at the professor. "Something wrong?"

"Was reviewing dental records. Found primitive cyanide capsule embedded within false tooth. Was thinking of suggesting to Executive Lawson for Cerberus personnel to utilize STG optic nerve flashbang instead. Much harder to disarm," Mordin answered with a serious look on his face. He turned and smiled to the asari waitress that approached them.

Shepard blinked a couple of times as he tried to process what he was told before realizing that Mordin was dead serious. Snorting in amusement, he turned to the waitress and placed his order as well before turning back to his companion. "So… anything you want to talk about?"

* * *

Leaving the hotel, Shepard stretched and yawned, exhausted from his lunch with Mordin. It proved to be a psychological challenge to keep up with the fast thinking, talking, and topic changing salarian. One moment, he could be speaking about biological sciences to chemical differentiations of different species.

_All in one breath too. _

Of course, much of the stuff Mordin spoke of slipped right by Shepard. The professor wasn't offended by the one sided conversation though. It was surprising to see him talk and eat as fast as he did before standing up after 10 minutes and thanking Shepard for lunch before leaving.

Sighing, Shepard prepared to make the trip back to the Normandy when he heard someone crying. Looking around, he spotted a familiar looking purple-hued asari standing near the entrance of the hotel. She was pleading with someone through her omni-tool.

"No, you don't understand! I lost it somewhere near the transport terminal!" she cried.

Remembering where he'd seen her, Shepard glanced back at the lobby before turning to observe the asari. Quickly judging the time it would take to get to his suite and retrieve the locket, he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"It can't be replaced! It's a token from my bondmate! It's the only thing my child has to remember her father by! Please, if you find it… No, I understand…"

After she hung up, Shepard stepped closer and cleared his throat.

She turned around and looked up at him before sighing. "Pardon me. I'm dealing with damn Illium travel bureaucracy," she said while subtly wiping her tears away.

"Would it have something to do with a locket?" he asked carefully.

Her eyes widened. "Yes! Do you know where it is?"

Shepard nodded. "I have it in my room. If you'll wait here, I can get it for you."

"Oh! Thank you. Please, it's all I have of Steven," she begged.

"Just wait here. I'll be right back," he assured. Turning around, he almost bumped headlong into Miranda. "Whoa!"

"Sorry, Shepard," she apologized. She glanced at the asari before turning back to him.

"No problem," he said before walking back into the lobby again. Miranda followed, but turned toward the restaurant Shepard ate minutes ago.

After quickly rushing to his suite, picking through his armor to locate the locket, Shepard made his way back out of the hotel to see Miranda standing near the grief stricken asari, curiously watching the proceedings.

"Do you have it?" the asari asked desperately.

"Right here," Shepard said. He held the locket by the chain and presented it to her.

Taking it back delicately, she opened the locket and gazed mournfully at the pictures inside. "Oh. Steven," she whispered. She looked up and wiped away several more tears. "Thank you. Thank you so much," she gratefully said before swallowing back another sob. "My daughter was young when he died. This is the only memento she has of him."

"I'm glad to have helped," Shepard said. "Take care."

"At least let me pay you," the asari said.

Shepard shook his head when she tried to reach into her purse. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

She looked up questioningly before managing a watery smile. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he answered gently. "Take care."

"Thank you," she said. Clutching the locket tightly, she gave Shepard a nod and left.

"That was very kind of you," Miranda praised.

"I found it while you were at the terminal spaceport. Thought I should do the right thing," Shepard said, purposefully leaving out any details about Oriana.

Miranda smiled thankfully at his tact before turning around and heading back to the carport.

Shepard noticed she was carrying several bags and moved to help. "I'll take some of that."

"Thank you," she said. She gave Shepard half of her load and readjusted the rest to evenly distribute the weight.

"What's in here anyway?" Shepard asked just before he caught the scent coming from the bags. "Food?"

"Lunch," she clarified. "Jacob's and my own, anyway."

Hailing a taxi, they entered and started heading for the hangar.

Remembering what he wanted ask Miranda about earlier he shifted in his seat to better look at her. "How do you know Liara?"

"She hasn't said anything?" Miranda asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shepard shrugged and shook his head.

"We worked together. Once. If she hasn't given you the details, then it wouldn't be prudent for me to say anything either," she answered.

"Why would Liara work with Cerberus, though?"

"She didn't work 'with' us, per se. It was more along the lines of having similar goals for my particular mission."

Shepard made a noise of frustration. "That's not very informative."

"She helped us a great deal. You and me both. If she doesn't wish to tell you…"

"Then you can't say anything either," Shepard finished in annoyance. "You can't tell me anything at all?"

"Our mission had just about everything to do with you. And just before the Lazarus Project," she revealed. "That's about all I can say unless Liara wishes to tell you more."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he grunted in equal parts satisfaction and annoyance. Leaning back in his seat, he crossed his arms and speculated the scenarios about what might have happened. He was shaken out his thoughts a few minutes later when Miranda spoke up.

"When she does tell you, just bear in mind that she did everything she did for you."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2 Hangar**_

"Thanks, Shepard," Jacob appreciatively said as he took the bags from him.

"You're welcome, Jacob," Miranda said before Shepard could say anything. She was looking down at Jacob meaningfully.

He stopped rooting through the bags and looked up, slightly abashed. "You too, Miranda. You got the utensils too?"

Shepard snickered while Miranda rolled her eyes. She sat down on a nearby crate and shifted through her bags before tossing a small wrapped bundle at Jacob a little harder than necessary.

"Thanks," Jacob said before tearing into his lunch.

"What's wrong, Rolston?"

Shepard turned around to see Crewman Patel sitting nearby with Rolston, Hadley, and Matthews.

Rolston clenched his fists. "I just heard that there's been no contact with New Canton. It might be the Collectors."

"Aw, shit," Matthews cursed. "When?"

"I don't know," Rolston replied. "A while ago I guess."

"Fucking bastards…" Hadley snarled.

"Did your family get out of there?" Patel asked concerned.

"I don't know," Rolston repeated with a touch of worry. "There's been no communications yet. Director Lawson says she's looking into it."

"I'm sure they're safe. You'll see," Patel assured, trying to remain positive.

"Try to hang in there," Matthews rallied. "When we're finished here, the Normandy will tear through those bastards like tissue paper."

"New Canton's been hit?" Shepard asked the Cerberus officers quietly.

Miranda nodded. "We've just received word that New Canton has been attacked some time ago. Just before they attacked Horizon."

"We only just found out now?"

Jacob shrugged. "We've been out in the fringes, Shepard. Getting Grunt, Jack meant little time to link up with com buoys. We had to maintain zero communications before, during, and after Horizon. Then, we had to go get Tali in geth space. Now that we're back in civilization, we gotta catch up to the latest in current events."

"Rolston's family?"

"I haven't heard anything yet. I've put in a request for an update. For now, we can only wait," Miranda answered.

"Damn it," Shepard cursed.

"Cheer up, Shepard. The Collector's might stop attacking colonies for a while now that they know we're hunting them," Jacob pointed out optimistically.

Shepard nodded absently. "Yeah. Let's hope so."

* * *

Feeling the need to do something to occupy his mind, Shepard opted to remain at the hangar to assist with the retrofits. Trusting Miranda with the Silaris Armor, he elected to help Garrus with the more complicated installation of the Thanix Cannon. The turian was genuinely grateful for his help, but continued to remain distant and slightly distracted with something. Despite his best attempts, Shepard could not get Garrus to open up about whatever was bothering him.

Eventually, Shepard trekked his way to the Engineering Deck. Tali and her team as well as any available Cerberus workforce were hard at work to physically install the critical components that would allow the Tantalus Core and the fusion plant to safely power the new guns. "Tali?"

"Oh, Shepard. One moment…" Tali hurriedly said as she hefted a large cable and dragged it down the hallway toward the core.

"Lemme help," Shepard said as he quickly caught up to the engineer and picked up the cable to offset the weight.

"Thank you. This way."

Together, they hauled the cable to the core and slowly lowered it to Ken, who was at the base with two other Cerberus workers.

"Got it!" Ken yelled up to them.

Shepard looked up and saw that the core was fully shut down. No glow of dark energy, no clouds of cooling vapor, and no electrical arcs. "Keeping busy?"

Tali sighed. "Very. For now, we're running diagnostics to see if the cannon will actually work for the Normandy. Otherwise, this will be a lot of work to see it fail like all the other tests." She looked down at the core and shook her head. "Ken! Make sure the couplings are secured! We don't want any feedback that can damage to core!"

"Aye, aye, Boss!"

Tali turned back to face Shepard. "If I had a small team of quarian engineers, I'm sure we could get the Thanix Cannon working with no problems, but…" She shrugged her slender shoulders. "I suppose we'll have to make due with whatever's on hand."

"You'll make it work," Shepard stated confidently. After glancing around to see if anyone was within hearing range, he bent over to put his head closer to Tali's ear. "Garrus has been acting a bit strange lately. Do you know anything?"

Tali sighed again. "No. Not for lack of trying, though. I noticed it too, but he just says that it's a personal problem and that he'll handle it," she answered quietly.

"Damn."

"He didn't tell you anything either, I take it?"

Shepard shook his head. "I talked to him most of the afternoon. He just wanted to stay focused on the gun."

"I'm sure he'll open up to you at some point. He thinks very highly of you," Tali encouragingly said. She emphasized her point with a friendly pat on his arm.

"Thanks," he said. He turned his head to see another Cerberus worker move towards them.

"Ma'am? I was told to give this to you. Estimated power draw of the Thanix Cannon."

"Thank you," Tali said neutrally to the Cerberus personnel. She took the holo-pad off his hands and started looking through the numbers.

"I'll let you get back to work," Shepard said.

She nodded absently. "Tell me if manage to find out anything."

As he left the Engine Room, his com unit beeped. Shepard engaged his omni-tool and saw that Liara was calling. "Liara?"

"It's time. Please hurry."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Near the Trading Floor**_

Shepard crept along the shadows as he approached the final terminal he was supposed to hack. Thanks to his Tactical Cloak, he avoided any uncomfortable questions as to why he was breaking into terminals in the dead of night. Regardless of his Spectre status and the disregard of whatever laws he was probably breaking, drawing attention to himself was something he wanted to avoid regardless. Tapping into the terminal, he typed furiously as he tried to find the right sequence to break through the firewalls.

_Come on… come on…_

A few tense minutes later, he managed to create the glitch and quickly, but stealthily made his way across the courtyard to another terminal where Liara had opened up her server. A quick set of commands later and he sighed in relief. Moving quickly to another shadowy spot, he disengaged his Tactical Cloak and casually walked away from the area. "Liara? I'm done."

"_Thank you. I've got the data. Come see me as soon as you can."_

"On my way." Shepard closed the link and quickly traveled to Liara's office. Ignoring Nyxeris' greeting and the woman entirely, he entered the office and stood in front of Liara's desk. "What did I just steal for you?" he demanded as he crossed his arms.

Liara saw that Shepard wasn't going to budge on the issue this time and gestured for him to sit down. He was tempted to be surly and defy her, but relented in the end. No matter how much she changed, Liara was still his friend.

"The data you got me was information caches from the Shadow Broker's agents," she revealed.

"Between your word and the Illusive Man's, I'll take your side any day," Shepard stated. "So, I know that you're not working for the Shadow Broker, so what's the deal? Why so interested in him? And why are you even in his line of business?"

"The Shadow Broker hurt someone important to me," she said.

Shepard eye's widened. Assimilating that information as quickly as he could he leaned back in his seat and nodded at her to continue.

"We crossed paths not long after you died. Since then, I've been working to take him down," she explained. She reinforced her point by slamming her fist into her table, upsetting a few odds and ends. "With this data, I'm a step closer."

Shepard watched her warily, another action he'd never thought he'd do toward the normally tranquil asari. "I've never seen you ready to execute someone in cold blood. What exactly did the Shadow Broker do to you?"

"I was on a job with a friend. The Shadow Broker's people caught us. My friend didn't escape." Despite her neutral tone, there was something in her face as she told her story. "I don't know if he's dead or being interrogated, but I need to find him. I owe him my life." She bared her teeth in a snarl. "And I need to make the Shadow Broker pay for what he did."

Shepard had to resist the urge to look at his friend like a combatant. He carefully crafted his features to look neutral, another set of actions he'd never thought he'd do to her. "If you're after the Shadow Broker, why would the Illusive Man say you're working with him?"

"I don't know," Liara admitted. She narrowed her eyes. "He should know what I'm doing. There's little reason for him to even think about any other conclusion. Perhaps you should ask?"

"How do you know Miranda? And you said this had something to do with me. What the hell is going on?" Shepard pressed.

"Miss Lawson and I worked together. At the time, it had everything to do with you," she vaguely said. Tapping on her terminal, she looked through something that Shepard couldn't see. "I will tell you everything if you'll help me just one more time."

"Liara…" Shepard said. He had to restrain himself from snapping at her.

She appeared unbothered by his impatience. "Just once more."

He looked at her for a few minutes before nodding. "One more time. Then, you tell me everything."

"The data you gave me was extremely helpful. I need time to shift through it. I should have a target soon."

"Target," he repeated evenly.

"My target. Not yours," Liara amended. "The Shadow Broker has several contacts here on Illium. The most powerful is someone called the Observer."

"You want to kill him." It was a statement, not a question.

"Taking down the Observer will put me closer to the Shadow Broker. I could use your help."

"How?"

"I need to study this data first," Liara said. "Once I finish, I'll call you."

Shepard sighed. "I think this goes without saying, but I'm not sure I like this."

Liara shrugged. "Nor do I. But this is something I need to do."

"You're eerily reminding me about Garrus. He's into something that I'm not sure I'm comfortable with either," Shepard admitted.

Liara's face betrayed nothing except for a slightly raised eyebrow. "You look tired. Get some sleep."

Narrowing his eyes at her, another first, Shepard stood up and left without another word.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

For the second time today, Shepard trudged tiredly into the hotel. Wanting nothing more than to sleep, he walked as quickly as he could toward the elevators. Seeing one still open, he pushed himself into a light jog. "Hold the elevator!"

A hand slipped in between the closing doors and pushed them open again.

Shepard sighed as he slipped inside. "Thanks… Miranda," he said with a bit of surprise when he got a good look at the other occupant inside.

"No problem," Miranda said. She made a show of looking at him from head to toe as the elevator climbed toward their floor. "You look tired."

"Must be from trying to figure out all the secrets around me," Shepard grumbled.

Miranda had a sympathetic look on her face. "You spoke to Liara, I take it?"

Shepard glanced at her and nodded.

"I'm not surprised she didn't say anything. Yet, anyway."

"And you? You're not helping me out here, either," he pointed out.

She sighed. "Alright. If we leave Illium and you still haven't gotten your answers, I'll tell you everything I know. Does that sound fair?"

"I guess so," Shepard said with a shrug. "I don't seem to have many options."

They reached their floor and stepped off the lift. While walking down the hallways, Miranda glanced around. "Did you find out what was wrong with Garrus?" she quietly asked.

"Another secret I couldn't crack," Shepard grumbled in annoyance. "Call me nosy."

"He'll open up to you. I really can't see him not talking to you," Miranda stated reassuringly.

Shepard smiled. "And you? How's your… situation?"

They stopped in front of her suite. Miranda put a finger to her lips and shushed him. Opening the door, she stepped inside and started sweeping for any bugs. Shepard sighed wearily and took another part of the room and helped.

After finding more high-end bugs, Miranda took all the devices and stuffed them into a shiny looking bag. She turned to the entertainment system and switched on some music. "They might come in handy," she explained as she stuffed the bag into a specialized box of some kind.

"Can we talk?" Shepard asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem now, but better safe than sorry," she said as she turned up the volume a bit. She turned around and headed for a reclining chair facing the large window. Settling herself in, she stared outside the window and relaxed. "You have to give the asari credit; Illium is a cultural marvel. Humanity can learn a lot from their ingenuity."

If that had been said from any other Cerberus officer, sans Jacob, Shepard might've been surprised. After working with Miranda for a month now, he found himself getting a better idea of the woman in front of him. "It is rather nice. I can see why you placed your sister here."

She stretched in her chair before reclining back. Turning her head upward, she looked at her guest and smiled. "Speaking of which, I want to thank you again. Taking the time and braving the dangers to help me with Oriana…" She looked back out the window. "I couldn't have reached her in time without your help."

Shepard shrugged. "You might have an advantage, genetically, but that doesn't change your personality. Your choices, your decisions. What happened down at the spaceport? That was all you. You looked at a situation clearly and you acted without hesitation. Believe me, I wouldn't have followed your lead if I didn't think that you weren't capable."

"That's very flattering, but I still have to admit that your presence was the tipping point. Especially when I confronted Niket…"

Shepard moved over to the nearby chair and sat down.

Miranda sighed sadly. "I'm glad Niket tried to redeem himself… for what good it did." She turned her head again to face him. "Thank you for stopping me."

"He was your friend. And I thought you might've had a soft spot for him."

She turned back to the window and gazed out to the vista. "I didn't have many friends. Niket was one of them. He never wanted anything from me. He was…" She paused for a moment. "Safe? Comfortable, at least. I reminder of a more innocent time, I suppose."

"Are you happy about your sister's relocation?"

"She has what I wanted her to have – a normal life and the freedom to choose her own path." She couldn't help but smile at next words. "And she knows she has an older sister. A friend."

Shepard shifted in his seat to make himself a bit more comfortable. "Can I ask what you talked about? Or is that too private?"

Miranda blinked and turned her head away. He was about to apologize for the personal question when she coughed lightly into her fist. Turning back to face him, Shepard could've sworn she was blushing.

"I introduced myself. Her family was shocked. She adjusted quickly, of course. She's as smart as I am." She smiled again at the memories. "She plays the violin. Loves the adagio movement Nielsen's Fifth, just like I do. She wants to work in colony development. Told a joke about it." She glanced meaningfully at Shepard. "She's really funny. Something we don't share."

"Difference between sisters, I guess. Or upbringing." Shepard commented. "So, the important question is: Are you going to keep in touch?"

She laughed a bit. "I honestly don't know. For once, I haven't planned that far ahead. I'd like to though. She wanted me to." Miranda shook her head. "I'll deal with it after our mission. I have to stay focused and she needs time to adjust to her new home."

"That's a good idea," Shepard said as he stood up and stretched. He looked down and met her eyes. "Y'know, I always think of you as all business. It's not a bad attitude, but it's nice to see you relax your guard once in a while."

Miranda smiled and stood up as well. She placed a hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Shepard was surprised by the show of physical contact, but kept his face impassive.

"The mission's too important to let personal feelings interfere," she said.

Shepard grasped her hand and gave it a rallying clasp of his own before pushing her hand away gently. "I couldn't agree more," he said as neutrally as he could. After his breakup with Ash, he wasn't really sure what to make of his feelings right now.

Miranda smiled again. "Thank you again, Shepard. My sister is safe again, thanks in large part to you. I won't forget that."

"You're more than welcome," he said. Taking a deep breath, he nodded his head at the door. "I should probably go and get some sleep. More work to do tomorrow and we still have two more recruits to find."

"Good night, Shepard."

"Night."

* * *

Author's Notes:

References to make. First is **The Recruit**. Great movie. As for the hotel, the Shanghai Tower is inspiration. Look it up at Wikipedia if you want to know what it looks like. Very sweet.

I have some new polls up. Jacob's Loyalty mission. Do I arrest him or kill him? Either choice is fine with me here. It ends at 20 votes.

Once that poll is finished, Overlord. Put it in or not? 100 vote limit.

Please review if you have the time. I always appreciate hearing your thoughts.


	22. The Assassin

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

"I see."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drop your name. It sounds like someone is going through a lot of trouble to talk to you."

"This complicates things. I may have to strike sooner than planned. Perhaps even tonight."

"That's a little rash, don't you think? She just fortified her tower with more Eclipse."

"Numbers don't concern me. Stealth is my greatest asset. I have already been identified by the news reports. I cannot afford to be seen further until the job is done. Especially with the appearance of a justicar in Nos Astra."

"If you're sure…"

"I am."

"Alright. I have to go to work. If anyone else asks me about you…"

"Tell them where I'm going. It matters not."

"Really?"

"One way or another, tonight, I will complete my task. What happens after is of little consequence."

_After the sins I have committed, I deserve no less. Merciful Kalihira, take me into your embrace and grant me peace._

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

"_The Shepard Scholarship has gone into effect, targeting low-income children on Earth, where the most famous human in the galaxy allegedly had a difficult childhood."_

In the bathroom, Shepard paused as he heard the news report playing in the main room.

"_The scholarships have allowed several dozen young men and women to leave gangs and join the military or enroll in school."_

_Wow. That's…_

Feeling incredibly flattered and letting himself bask in a moment of pride, he picked up his razor and continued shaving.

"_In similar news, the Shepard Memorial Plaza on Elysium was voted this year's hottest wedding location. Under Admiral Hackett's orders, money raised from wedding fees goes to funds for Alliance veterans."_

Allowing another swell of pride, Shepard finished up in the bathroom. He stepped back into the main room and put on a set of civilian clothes as he got ready for his day. Just as he finished, his com unit started beeping. "Shepard here."

"_Shepard. It's Liara. I have information on Thane. Is it safe to talk right now?"_

Shepard turned up the volume on the holo-monitor. "Yeah. I did a sweep last night before I went to bed. It's should be safe."

"_The Destiny Ascension has completed its 20 colony victory cruise. Council members aboard thanked human Alliance soldiers for their efforts in repelling Saren's invasion two years ago."_

"_Very well. Is it too early for irony?" _she rhetorically asked. She continued without waiting for any remarks Shepard could've made. _"Thane __**is**__ after Nassana. He has been in contact with a woman named Seryna for some time now. According to my sources, she was in charge of Nassana's security before she was dismissed. Embarrassingly, I might add." _

"Bitter about that, I'm sure," Shepard commented thoughtfully. "It also means that she knows all the weakness and points of entry. Stupid move on Nassana's part."

"_Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer levels. If you would like to talk to her…?"_

"I'll talk to her. Thanks for the tip. I'll head there now."

"_Very well, Shepard." _She hesitated for a moment. _"Be careful,"_ she whispered before cutting the link. It was so quiet, that Shepard barely heard her.

Switching off the holo-monitor, he called his XO. "Miranda? Do you copy?"

"_Miranda here. Go ahead."_

"Where are you?"

"_Still in my room. I was about to head out."_

"Stay there. I'm coming," Shepard said before closing the link. Collecting his pistol and holstering it, he left his suite and swiftly made his way to Miranda's room next door and knocked.

She opened the door immediately after two knocks and raised an eyebrow. "Something up?"

Shepard made a show of looking around her room.

"It's safe enough," she assured. "What's up?"

"Liara's got information on Thane. I'm heading to meet Thane's contact to see if we can't find him," Shepard quietly explained. "You coming?"

Miranda nodded understandingly. "Of course. Let me get my pistol."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Cargo Transfer Levels**_

"She's supposed to be here?" Miranda asked.

"According to Liara," Shepard answered. He and Miranda continued to walk along the busy transit room, keeping their eyes open for their only lead on Thane. "Excuse me!" he called out to a passing asari in a transit uniform.

"Yes?" she asked courteously. "How may I help you?"

"We're looking for Seryna. Can tell us where to find her?" Miranda requested.

"She works with me," the asari replied. "This way."

Following the asari, they approached an office near the loading bays. It was small, but still had space enough for two to work comfortably. "Seryna. Some humans wanted to talk to you."

"What do you want?" Seryna asked without looking up from her terminal.

"I understand that you might have information about Nassana Dantius and that you gave that information to someone else," Shepard enigmatically said. "I'm looking for him."

Seryna's head snapped up at the name. Recovering quickly, she turned to her co-worker. "Tana. Cover for me, will you?" Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and led Shepard and Miranda to a more secluded location. "Over here." Stopping at one of the far loading docks, she turned around and regarded the humans. "Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is. I might have passed him some information but I didn't hire him. What do you want to know?"

"We're looking for him. We just want to talk, that's all," Miranda assured.

The asari just shrugged. "I can tell you, but you won't stop him. When he contacted me, I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job."

"Just the kind of guy I'm looking for then," Shepard remarked casually.

"What for?"

"A mission," he said shortly. "I understand the target is Nassana Dantius. I also know that you ran security for her. Then got fired."

Seryna scowled. "I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets."

"That part we knew," Miranda said.

"She fired me when I confronted her about it." Seryna had a humorless smile on her face. "Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down."

"Instead, you gave Thane everything he needed to infiltrate and kill her," Miranda pointed out.

Seryna shrugged uncaringly. "What can I say? I'm bitchy about backstabbing murderers who fire people for having a conscience." She snorted in contempt. "Besides, I'm not stupid. I'm betting she probably put a hit out on me since I know the security layout inside and out. Not to mention the fact that I know she kills people to cover up her crimes."

"You mind telling us what Thane's opposition will be?" Shepard asked.

"Eclipse mercs. High-tech killers…" she started to say before she was interrupted by dual groans of irritation. She raised an eyebrow at their response. "But I'm guessing you already knew that…"

"Let's say we had a run-in with them recently and leave it at that," Miranda explained in annoyance.

"Well, seeing as you're both still alive, I guess they weren't that much trouble for you," Seryna observed.

"And Thane?" Shepard pressed.

"He has quite a reception waiting for him. I told him all I knew. He didn't seem worried." Despite her tone, Seryna's brow furrowed, indicating she was worried for Thane all the same.

"So where do I find Thane? Or Nassana for that matter?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know where Thane hides out when he's not scouting or studying his target, but as to where Nassana hides…" Seryna turned around to face the city and grandly gestured to a pair of twin towers in the distance. "The Dantius Towers. Penthouse level of Tower One."

"It looks like only one tower is erect though. That second tower appears to be under construction," Miranda noted.

"It is," Seryna said with a nod. "If Thane's smart, he'll go in from there. More places to hide, less security, and it connects to Tower One near the top."

"Good for Thane, but what about us?" Shepard asked. "I doubt knocking will get us anywhere."

Seryna smiled. "Forgot to make an appointment?"

"Let's just say Nassana and I have a history. I really doubt she'll want to reminisce about it, not if she keeps her habit of killing off people who knows her secrets," Shepard vaguely said.

"Well, now you piqued my curiosity, human," Seryna said with a grin.

"Can you get us in the tower or not?" Miranda asked impatiently.

Seryna tilted her head at Miranda's tone. She studied Miranda for a moment before glancing at Shepard.

Shepard himself had no idea what was going on between the two women. Before he could ask though, Seryna appeared to have seen something because she nodded in understanding and crossed her arms. "I can get you in, but you'll only have one shot. You'd better be ready."

"You're just offering your help? No strings attached?" Miranda suspiciously asked.

Seryna just shrugged. "If you're looking for Thane, you have to reach Nassana first. The Eclipse are going to try and stop you. At the least, you'll distract her guards. Take a little fire, give Thane a clear shot."

"How nice for Thane," Miranda couldn't help but comment. "No love lost for your former employer, I see."

"I didn't hire him to kill Nassana, but I won't shed any tears when she gets what's coming to her," Seryna defended.

Miranda held her hands up in a gesture of peace. "My apologies. I simply meant that Nassana Dantius probably deserves what's coming to her as well."

"And then some," Seryna said with an empathetic nod.

"Is there anything else you know about Thane?" Shepard asked.

Seryna shook her head. "Not much. He did say that he's not doing the hit for money. Nobody hired him."

Both Shepard and Miranda looked surprised at this.

"I know. I thought it was weird too. I wanted to know who I was helping and he said he's doing this job on his own. That he had to restore the balance of his life." She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's crazy. If he or you take down Nassana, I don't care why."

"Alright," Shepard said. "When can you take us?"

"He's going in tonight. If you want to meet him, we have to go as well, as soon as the shift workers clear out of Tower Two. Just the three of us?"

"Actually, I'm bringing my squad in. There are eight of us. We'll have to take separate cars."

"Eight?" Seryna asked incredulously. "You really need a small army for this?"

"Let's just say I'm going with my instincts on this one," Shepard replied. "As far as my recruitment methods go: Everything that can go wrong, does."

Miranda smiled. "I can vouch for that."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Finally. Something to kill," Grunt said excitedly. He pounded his fists together in anticipation. "It's about damn time."

"So when are we doing this?" Jack asked impatiently.

Shepard leaned on the table. He looked over his various squad mates assembled inside the Comm. Room appearing thoughtful. Jack's question shook him out of his reverie. "Tonight. Seryna will arrange transport for us to approach the towers without them shooting us down immediately."

"Is something wrong, Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"No. I was deciding who I need to leave behind."

"Leave behind?" Jacob repeated.

"Thanks for volunteering, Jacob," Shepard said. "You stay here and continue the work on the Normandy. The rest of us will head out."

"Why me?" Jacob complained.

"Because you volunteered," Garrus chided in mocking tone. "Didn't you hear him say that?"

"Very funny," Jacob grumbled.

"Shepard's right. Considering that the ablative armor is supposed to protect the ship, it's not surprising that removing it is proving difficult," Miranda reasoned. "We need someone to continue coordinating the efforts to remove the old armor and install the new one. Not to mention managing the safe installation of the new cannon."

"Lucky me," Jacob sarcastically said.

"Alright, settle down," Shepard ordered. "EDI, bring up the schematics of the Dantius Towers."

The image of the Normandy changed to wire diagrams of the towers they were going to infiltrate/attack later tonight.

Shepard started his briefing. "Right, the second tower is still under construction. Seryna is dropping us in at a shift change. The good news, we might get in undetected in the crowd. The bad news is, if we're detected or Thane is, there's going to be a lot of civilians around and the Eclipse don't care who they shoot." The image of the top of the two towers zoomed in, showing a bridge connecting them. "Nassana, and by extension, Thane, is at the top floor. The penthouse at Tower One. From Tower Two, we take either the service elevator or the cargo elevator as high as we can go. We reach the bridge, cross it, and climb the rest of the way up on Tower One to the penthouse."

"What's the ROE?" Miranda asked.

"Mercs are considered hostiles until I say otherwise. Nassana is considered a noncombatant until she engages us," Shepard answered definitively. "Civilians are off-limits. That applies to you too, Jack."

"Bor-ing," Jack sang out.

"ROE?" Mordin asked in confusion.

"Rules of Engagement. Something every Alliance Marine has to know by heart since it tells us what we can and can't shoot. Particularly in civilian heavy areas." Jacob explained.

Mordin nodded. "I see. Set of rules designed to identify targets of opportunity. STG carries similar rules, though more flexible."

Jack smirked. "Let's hope that Nassana 'engages' us. I wouldn't mind being paid to kill her."

Grunt snorted. "I'd kill her for free. Anything to get out here and do something fun."

Tali shook her head and turned to Shepard. "This is the squad you're counting on to save your people?"

Shepard could only shrug helplessly.

Garrus cleared his throat and pulled the meeting back on track. "So we have to climb to the top of a tower that's still under construction, possibly shoot our way through the Eclipse while avoiding the civilians, go across the bridge that will probably have Eclipse mercs using it as a chokepoint, and climb up Tower One to confront Nassana and her guards when we're really looking for an assassin," he summed up in one breath.

Shepard crossed his arms and nodded. "That's about the gist of it, yeah."

"What about Nassana? If Thane engages her?" Garrus asked.

"Let him. I'm looking to recruit him for our squad. I doubt he'll be grateful if we stop him," Shepard responded neutrally. "It's cold, but she has it coming. Any other questions?"

"'Recruit' he says," Jack scoffed. "Can you recruit an assassin?"

"Recruited you," Mordin pointed out.

"You have to admit, all of this is a bit unorthodox," Tali commented. "Trying to find an assassin during his, um… work… and then, instead of stopping him, we're asking him to join us. I'm not even sure if 'recruitment' is the right word for this anymore."

Shepard was about to make a rebuttal when EDI's avatar popped up in front of him. "Captain, I should inform you of the hazards of the bridge," she warned.

"What's up?" Shepard asked. He noted that Tali was glaring at the avatar hatefully and filed that information for later.

"According to the architect's reports, the bridge connecting the Dantius Towers is complete. However, the walls have not been constructed yet and the wind speed at that height can reach up to 120 mph," EDI informed. "Mass effect fields are generated to protect the workers, but there is a high probability that the Eclipse will deactivate those particular safety measures."

"Which means if we get hit by biotics or explosions up there…" Miranda said.

"We get to take a quick and free flying lesson," Garrus finished. "Nice. At least they'll be just as vulnerable."

Grunt nodded in agreement. "A few concussive rounds will make it pretty exciting."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Tali asked.

"That's all," Shepard replied. "Return here tonight and arm up. Dismissed."

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Near the Dantius Towers**_

Thane continued his vigil of Tower Two from his perch. Occasionally, he would look through the scope of his M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle and carefully observe the coming and goings of the salarian workers, the Eclipse mercs, and the various businessmen and women that would enter and leave either tower. Other times, he would quietly meditate, carefully crafting his focus as he prepared to release his body to do what his body knew best. For the few sparse moments in between, he would eat or indulge in his solipsism and relive more pleasant memories.

When night began to fall, however, he collapsed his rifle and double checked both of his M-3 Predators. Satisfied that he was ready, he clasped his hands in prayer and bowed his head.

_Amonkira, lord of hunters. Grant me the strength to strike at my prey with precision and haste. Let my actions represent your fearsome power._

_Arashu, goddess of motherhood and protection. Grant me your blessing for I will walk among the innocent. I beg that they will not be harmed by my deeds._

_Kalihira, goddess of oceans and the afterlife. Should tonight be the night that my soul embraces the deep, forgive me of my sins._

Allowing himself a moment more to settle his soul, he released his body allowed it to conduct the mission. Already, he could feel himself slip into his battle sleep. His focus dulled as his clarity sharpened. He remembered everything he'd observed, studied, and prepared for. His body methodically prepared itself for tonight. His and Nassana's.

_May we both be granted forgiveness for our sins…_

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Captain? Garrus? May I have a moment?"

Both men looked up from their work to see Chakwas standing nearby, waving her hand at them. "Sure, Doc," Shepard said.

"This way," she directed. Turning around, she started heading for the airlock and back into the Normandy.

Putting down their tools and curiously following, they entered the Normandy and got on the lift with Chakwas. She smiled reassuringly at them and pressed the button for Deck 3.

"What's going on?" Garrus asked.

"I have something of a gift for both of you," Chakwas replied. The moment elevator stopped at the Crew Deck and the doors opened, she stepped out. "Follow me."

Their curiosity growing by the minute, they dutifully followed the good doctor into the Med Bay.

Once inside, she walked over to a complex-looking machine situated in the corner of the room. "Here you are," she flourished.

Garrus and Shepard tilted their heads in confusion. Shepard cleared his throat and openly pointed at the machine. "That's… um… nice, Doc. What is it?"

"It's the Dermal Regeneration Unit I emailed you about, Captain," she replied. "This will heal your scars. Both of you."

"Ooohhhh…" both men intoned as they looked at the machine in a new light.

"How does it work?" Garrus asked.

"Lie down at the bed here," Chakwas instructed. "I'll take care of the rest. For you, Shepard, it should take about five to ten minutes or so." She walked up to Shepard and peered at his face. "It seems like you've been able to master your emotions quite well. I can barely see the scars." She turned to Garrus. "For you, Mr. Vakarian, I imagine it will take a half hour or so to finish."

Shepard glanced at time and saw they could afford a little vanity. "Okay. Garrus, you first. I got to get suited up anyway. Meet me in the armory when you're done and I'll have a crack at it."

"Alright," Garrus said. He eyed the machine and shot Chakwas a questioning look.

"I oversaw the installation myself, Mr. Vakarian. It'll be fine. Now sit down and let me remove your bandages…"

Shepard left the Med Bay, leaving his turian friend in Chakwas' capable hands. Moving quickly, he traveled to the Armory and retrieved his armor case inside his locker that he stored earlier in the day. He was just about to suit up when Miranda entered the Armory, already in full armor, but with her helmet clipped to her belt.

"Captain," she greeted.

"Hey," Shepard said. He unlocked the case and pulled out the Aegis Vest. He fingered one of the pockmarks and burns that marred the surface of the armor, remembering the damage he'd received against Enyala's personal guard. He considered going up to his cabin and retrieving a different set of armor when Miranda cleared her throat.

"I got you something," she suddenly said.

Looking up in surprise, Shepard saw her presenting an armor case to him. "Really?"

"It's a gift. For what you've done for me," she replied.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I don't have to do it. Which means that I wanted to do it," she reasoned teasingly. "Here."

Accepting the gift as graciously as he could, Shepard placed the case on the table and cracked it open. Inside was a set of advanced looking armor he'd never seen before. "Wow."

"It's called the Kestrel Armor. I had it made specifically for you."

"How did you get this made?" Shepard asked. He picked up the chest plate and held it up to examine it.

"Truthfully, parts of it can be found just about anywhere in Nos Astra. Others, you have to order for. The rest… well, finding the right parts was something of a problem as well. Putting them all together into one functioning unit was the challenge, though. I called several of my contacts here to find and make the armor for you and put a rush job on it. It was made inside of 20 hours," she explained. "I was surprised myself."

"Wow," Shepard repeated. He picked up the leg greaves and tried them on.

While he was suiting up, Miranda continued to point out the new functions of the armor. "The shields on this armor are pretty much the best you can get anywhere. Much more than anything you can get commercially or within the Alliance and Cerberus. Top of the line tech was built into each piece. The separate components of the armor each carry their own shield generators or capacitors, while artificial muscle fibers enhance physical strength within the gauntlets, greaves, and pauldrons. Auto targeting software and stabilization platforms built throughout will increase your accuracy with firearms."

Shepard was duly impressed with the new armor he was given. Slipping on the chest plate, he gave Miranda a grateful look. "All that for me?"

"I analyzed our fight with Harbinger, Shepard. We'll need all the advantages we can get. You, most of all, since it has an interest in you," Miranda stated matter-of-factly. "Your armor does have an interesting feature that I'm hoping we'll be able to use on everyone else on the team."

Slipping on his gauntlets, Shepard tilted head and silently urged her on.

"It's basically a redundant shield generator. Evidently, should your shields fail, this unit is supposed to kick in and provide an extra amount of protection. It's limited, but it could mean the difference between life and death," she explained. "It's just a matter of reverse engineering it. I was thinking of approaching Tali with this."

"You should. I'm sure she could help," he said. Finally putting on his pauldrons, Shepard started twisting his upper body to get a feel for the armor. "Nice," he commented. He rotated his arms and gave Miranda a pointed look. "Just my size too. Perfect fit."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "I think I was privy to **that** bit of information some time ago." She gave him a wicked smile. "Don't worry, Captain. I made sure **all** of the pieces fit **perfectly**."

Shepard blinked and suddenly felt self-conscious of himself as he stood there gaping at her while she gave a neutral look in return. Luckily, he was saved by Jacob and Tali's appearance into the Armory.

"Captain, Miranda," Jacob greeted.

"Jacob," Miranda returned, breaking her stare with Shepard and allowing him to silently breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's some impressive armor you have, Shepard," Tali observed.

"Thanks. I see you got your Colossus Armor on," Shepard said.

"Yes. Garrus was kind enough to locate a set for me," Tali replied. She twisted a little, trying to get the armor to stretch a bit. "It's still a bit stiff to move around in, but I'll manage."

"Tali? May I have a word with you?" Miranda asked.

While they were talking, Shepard picked up the helmet and stared at it. "Wow," he said for the third time.

"That's definitely different," Jacob commented from his terminal. "How the hell do you see out of that bucket?"

"I have no idea," Shepard admitted. He turned the helmet around in his hands, looking over every part. As far as he could see from the outside, there were no eyeholes for him to see through. It looked completely closed off, proving Jacob's comment about it being a bucket over his head.

"The helmet has micro-cameras built along the outside that feeds into an internal HUD. Instead of a transparent visor or restrictive eyeholes, a reinforced faceplate is used for further protection," Miranda suddenly said, briefly pausing her current conversation with Tali.

"Oh," Shepard simply said. He slipped the helmet on. It was dark and claustrophobic, but then the HUD inside activated and he saw the Armory around him as if he wasn't wearing a helmet at all. He looked around with only his eyes and noted that there was no peripheral loss of vision like most helmets. He whistled approvingly. "Very nice…"

"It works?" Jacob asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's not bad either. I can see in this thing more than the standard visor helmets."

"Huh," Jacob simply said. Getting back to work, he picked up Miranda's Pulse Rifle and handed to her, before he typed the information into his terminal. Soon, he was passing out everyone's weapons and logging the information as they trickled into the armory in full armor one by one.

Garrus was the last to walk in. Decked out in Colossus Armor again, he placed his helmet next to his weapons and picked up his armaments. As he was attaching them to his weapon's harness on his back, he noted that Shepard and Jacob were staring openly at him. "What?"

Shepard took off his helmet and stepped closer to examine him. "Huh. You look better."

Garrus' mouth shifted into a turian toothy grin while his mandibles twitched in amusement. "Sorry, Shepard. Looks like all the women will be ignoring you again."

Jacob barked out a laugh.

Shepard grinned back. "I'll manage somehow." He nodded at the healed area of the turian's face. "Your face paint doesn't match anymore. You really think you can land a date with mismatched face paint?"

The three soldiers broke out in laughter.

"Chakwas help you out?" Jacob asked when he recovered.

Garrus nodded. "Yeah. You're up next, Shepard."

"Alright. I'll meet you all outside," he said to the group at large. Picking up his weapons, Shepard retraced his steps through the mostly empty frigate until he was back in the Med Bay.

Chakwas was waiting for him next to her new toy. "Captain. If you'll sit right here." After doing what she instructed, Chakwas brought the device close to his face. "Now just sit still. This will take a few minutes. You might feel an itching sensation, but try to ignore it." After making a few more adjustments, a humming noise was heard. "Here we go, Shepard. Just remain still."

"Got it, Doc."

* * *

After finishing logging everyone's armaments in his terminal, Jacob sighed when he was left behind. Cracking open his messages; he did a quick check before he had to go outside to continue overseeing the armor installation. His eyes wandered over the operational reports and casual messages, but one name instantly grabbed his attention.

_The Hugo Gernsback…! What the hell…?_

Instantly alert, he opened the message to see that the Hugo Gernsback's distress beacon frequency was transmitting and the last known location of the ship itself before it disappeared.

_This is my Cerberus channel. How the hell did this get here?_

Jacob stood up and looked around the empty armory, but saw no one around. "EDI, could you check this message?"

"Analyzing. What would you like to know?" EDI asked.

"Authenticity. This had to go through regular Cerberus security channels. I want to know who."

"The message is authentic. However, the sender has redacted his or her name. I am unable to tell you who sent the message," EDI reported.

_Redacted. Only high-level personnel with the proper security clearances can do that…_

Jacob knew he wasn't one such person. The only people who can keep secrets within Cerberus are people the Illusive Man allowed to keep secrets, thus, the special security clearance. The list was a short one, but Jacob only knew that Miranda had such clearance. He didn't know the others.

_Miranda wouldn't care enough to dredge something this old up though… Maybe the Illusive Man did this?_

"Operative Taylor, Captain Shepard had just left the Normandy and is en route to his mission," EDI informed. "You have the ship."

Shaking the thoughts away as best he could, though still a bit shaken by the sudden news, Jacob took deep breath. Exhaling forcefully, he put the news on the backburner and focused on his job.

_I'll talk to Shepard about his later._

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Cargo Transfer Levels**_

"You two look much better now," Tali commented. "I'm glad to see that Dr. Chakwas is as skilled as ever."

"I'm just glad to be rid of that itchy bandage," Garrus joked.

"There she is." Miranda pointed at their contact.

Seryna walked up to the group. "This is everyone?"

"This is everyone," Shepard confirmed.

"Come on," she brusquely said. "Shift change is happening soon." She led them to two parked cars nearby. "Get your team and follow me."

"Miranda, you take the other car. Everyone else, divide evenly into the cars," Shepard directed. "Go."

Miranda raised an eyebrow at his orders, but complied.

_Probably remembering the last time she drove._

Following Seryna into her car, Shepard sat up front and waited until everyone was settled. Jack and Grunt ended up in the same car as him while Garrus, Tali, and Mordin settled themselves in the other.

"Alright, let's go," Seryna said.

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Dantius Towers**_

Slipping inside among the new shift of workers was child's play. The sparse mercenaries within didn't detect his entry at all. Flitting through the shadows, Thane moved purposely through the hallways of the incomplete tower. Hearing voice modules around the corner, he held his ground in the darkness and waited.

Two mercs were chatting casually, oblivious to his presence. Watching them carefully, Thane waited until they were close enough before striking swiftly. Leaping from the shadows, he struck the first guard in the throat, cutting off his ability scream for help. He lashed out his leg, tripping the second guard and bringing him down.

Mounting him quickly, the guard could only utter a single word, "Wha…?" before Thane gripped his head and twisted sharply. The other guard continued to choke, and tried to recover from the unexpected blow, but Thane was already moving as if he were the wind. Slipping behind the merc, reached out and snapped his neck effortlessly as well.

With brief conflict over, Thane dragged both bodies into an empty room, before moving quietly through the building. His eidetic memory of the floor plans allowed him to go as though he traveled these halls before. After a few silent minutes, he finally found the entrance to the ducts that would take him to the higher floors without needing to use the elevators. Only one Eclipse was standing guard nearby, facing away from him and not wearing his helmet. Judging the distance, Thane made a snap decision and sprinted from the entrance of the hallway and into the open room.

His near silent footfalls still alerted the guard. He turned around, bringing his M-8 to bear, but he was too late. Thane kicked out and struck the weapon before the guard could fully turn around and level it correctly. The rifle clattered on floor, but sounds were superseded by sounds of Thane's fists striking the merc in a rapid three-punch combo aimed at his face and chest. The Eclipse merc grunted, before making a strangled sound of pain when his nose broke and doubled over from the surprise attack to his abdomen, presenting his vulnerable backside to him. Thane wrapped his arm around the merc in a headlock and twisted sharply. Gently letting the limp body fall, Thane picked up the discarded weapons and took it and the corpse to a nearby room.

Making his way back to the large vent, Thane nimbly ran up the wall and gripped the edge before he could lose his momentum on the vertical surface. As quietly as he could, he slipped inside and started navigating through the cramped air ducts.

* * *

An Eclipse merc walked into the room, carrying two cups of coffee. "I hate graveyard shifts," he complained to himself. "Hey! Got your coffee!" He looked around in confusion, unable to spot his partner anywhere. "Not funny man. You want me to drink this or what?"

The merc looked around, trying to deduce where his partner went when he saw a few drops of blood on the ground. Dropping the cups, he gripped his M-8 and scanned the area. "Oh shit," he frantically said. He turned on his radio. "Command, I think we might have an intruder in Tower Two. I lost my partner and there are signs of a struggle here. Please advise."

"_Understood. Hold your ground. We'll verify the threat. Lock down the workers in the meantime. If they resist, Nassana gave us permission to eliminate them."_

"Roger that."

* * *

_**Dossier: The Assassin**_

_Thane Krios_

_-Quick-kill biotic specialist_

_-Expert sniper_

_Thane Krios is a drell, trained from childhood as an elite assassin. Proficient in both long-range sniping kills and close infiltration. He has slowed his activities in recent years but is rumored to have a target on Illium._

* * *

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, En Route to the Dantius Towers**_

"The towers are heavily guarded and you'll find more resistance closer to the penthouse," Seryna warned.

"You mean closer to Nassana," Shepard translated.

She made a noise of agreement. Glancing at him through the corner of her eye, she asked, "Thane. You planning to stop him?"

"I'm just here to make sure he survives," Shepard answered honestly.

"Hmm…" Seryna accelerated the car and danced in-between the other vehicles in the way.

Shepard glanced at the readouts and saw that Miranda had little trouble keeping up with Seryna's reckless driving.

"There they are: the Dantius Towers," she pointed out. "You think you can get to Thane?"

"Or Nassana. Whoever comes first," Shepard said.

"Her mercs will fight you every step," she warned.

"Good," Grunt said in anticipation.

"We're not worried. Besides, we might find him before it goes that far," Shepard said.

"I'm with the big guy on this, Boss Man," Jack said. She leaned forward in her seat until her head was between Shepard and Seryna. "I've been itching for a good fight for a while now."

"At least you'll know where he's headed," Seryna commented off-hand.

"Any last tips about the towers?" Shepard asked as they closed in.

"The Eclipse mercs will be well-fortified by now and they won't want to disappoint Nassana," she replied.

Jack scoffed and leaned back in her seat. "Fuck'em. They're no problem."

"There's no automated defenses or traps. It's a business building, not a military base. Just focus on anything moving," she advised.

"I can do that," Grunt said.

"No civilian casualties," Shepard reminded.

"Yeah, yeah," Grunt grumbled.

"Hold on," Seryna said. She banked the car hard to port and left the traffic lane behind. Miranda followed effortlessly and soon, both cars landed in front of Tower Two.

Shepard noted that there were no guards outside waiting to greet them.

_So far, so good._

The doors opened and his team stepped out and warily scanned their surroundings.

"Don't linger too long; they'll be here to greet you soon enough," Seryna cautioned.

"Joy," Shepard deadpanned. Before he could leave, Seryna leaned her head out.

"By the way, I never caught your name."

"Shepard."

"Good luck, Shepard. Say hi to Thane for me when you see him." With those parting words, she pressed a button to close the doors and drove off quickly.

"Uh… Shepard?" Tali called out.

"What's up?"

"Aw, damn it! The workers are under attack!" Garrus shouted.

Shepard turned his head to see a pair of LOKI's and a pair of Fenris mechs running down a trio of salarians just through the glass entrance. "Open fire!" he ordered.

Jack wasted no time and used Shockwave to blow the glass entrance apart and destroy the LOKI's legs from underneath them. The Fenris' stumbled from their charge, but got back up and started targeting the newest threats.

Tali engaged her omni-tool and aimed at one of the Fenris mechs. It suddenly changed direction and tackled the other Fenris. Soon, both mechs were battling each other only to be destroyed by a sudden torrent of gunfire from the squad.

"Did we get caught already?" Miranda asked once the thread was eliminated.

"I don't think so," Shepard said. "They were shooting the salarians first."

"Then Thane was detected," Garrus deduced. "They must be sweeping the building clean to find him."

"Well, since Jack knocked on the front door," Shepard said. "Let's get moving."

They entered the building quickly, weapons ready. Mordin suddenly stepped forward and knelt down.

"See something?" Tali asked.

"Yes. Blood trail," Mordin answered. He stood up and quickly followed the trail to see one of the workers survive. "Shepard! Here! Still alive, but unstable!"

"Help him out," Shepard ordered as he approached. "Garrus, open that door and secure the area."

"Help…" the worker wheezed out.

"Stay still," Mordin ordered as he ran his omni-tool over the worker. "Any pain?"

"I can't feel my legs… my chest is killing me…" he gasped out.

Mordin nodded, as if he expected that answer.

"Why did the mechs attack you?" Shepard asked while Mordin started scanning for any other injuries.

"We're just night workers! Nassana… sent them after us…"

"Why?" Tali asked.

"She sent the mechs to round us up, but we didn't hear… They just started shooting…"

"_Area secured, Shepard,"_ Garrus reported.

"They just attacked you?" Tali asked, horrified.

"Yes…" the salarian answered painfully. "We were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone… screaming…"

"Hmm… multiple gunshot wounds… not **too** serious…" Mordin mumbled.

"The mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way… immediately. Then… the dogs…" he tried to explain before coughing fitfully. Blood seeped out from his lips.

"Applying medi-gel. One moment," Mordin said confidently.

"I can't breathe… please… help me…"

"Almost finished," Mordin said, rooting out the worse injuries and applying first aid. "Done."

The worker started breathing a bit better. "Thank you. That helps… a lot."

"Just remain here," Mordin instructed. "Help coming."

"We need to go," Shepard said to him. "If Nassana's gunning down the workers, we have to save them and stop her."

"Find the others. Help them," the worker pleaded. "But be careful. There were dozens of mercs wandering around all day. You'll find more the further up you go."

"Thanks for the tip. Just rest here," Shepard said. He turned to his team. "Let's get moving."

* * *

Thane cursed as he found several workers huddled in the corner. He had no idea why the mercs were suddenly killing innocent people, but he swore to himself that he wouldn't let them die if he could help it.

"Get up!" he ordered.

The salarians looked petrified at his presence. "Please don't hurt us!"

Thane bit back another curse when he heard more reinforcements heading toward him. "Inside that room! Hurry! Before they come!" The salarian workers saw the room he was pointing at and made a beeline inside. They moment the last one entered, he closed and locked the door.

"I heard something over here!" a merc shouted.

Thane drew both of his pistols and took aim at the direction the mercs were coming from. He knew they needed to be eliminated or more of the workers would die.

_Merciful Arashu, turn your gaze on these innocents and grant them your protection._

* * *

"Here we go!" Miranda yelled out.

The merc screamed as he flailed in the air before dropping violently on his head. The sounds of snapping vertebrae indicated that he was dead.

"Contact left!" Garrus warned. He and Grunt took aim at the security mechs charging directly at them.

"I got them!" Tali shouted. A flash of her omni-tool and the mechs turned around and started firing on the mercs.

"Problematic!" Mordin shouted. "Need assistance!"

Shepard turned to see the professor was suspended in the air by an Eclipse Vanguard. He was shooting at Mordin with his shotgun, threatening to break through his shields. "Shit! Jack! Take him down!"

Jack thrust her arm out and launched Warp at the merc. He stopped firing and erected Barrier at the last second, blocking the biotic attack. He turned his shotgun at Jack and tried to shoot her when he jerked back from the bullets shot from Shepard's HMWA and dropped dead.

Mordin fell the short distance and rolled with the impact. "Many thanks!"

"More contacts!" Miranda warned.

Tali crouched behind a large chunk of masonry and fiddled with her omni-tool. Moments later, a Combat Drone appeared right in the middle of the Eclipse ranks. "Go Chiktikka!"

"Press forward!" Shepard ordered. He led the charge while the mercs tried to keep the drone from draining their shields and to avoid the constant fire from their attackers.

Grunt let out a roar and charged the nearest merc. She let out a scream of fear and tried using Incinerate to slow him down, but her shot was wide. Grunt closed the distance and picked her up. He slapped a grenade on her back and used her as a projectile against the rest of the mercs. "On your ass!"

Several mercs when down at the unexpected weapon. One merc struggled to his feet and gaped at the grenade on her back. "Scatter!" the Eclipse Trooper shouted.

As the assembled Eclipse ran, the asari screamed again and tried to get the grenade off. "What? ! No! Help me!"

Her fellow mercs ignored her as they tried to find cover from the drone, bullets, and asari grenade.

After the inevitable explosion, Grunt laughed exuberantly. "Hahaha! Now this is what I've been waiting for!"

"Somebody get the damn drone off of us!" a Trooper yelled out.

"Overloading it!" an Eclipse Engineer shouted. He aimed his omni-tool at the quick moving Combat Drone and fired. The moment his tech attack struck, the drone exploded, pushing him out of cover and into Garrus' line of sight.

"I love this gun!" Garrus crowed when a burst from his Revenant took out the Engineer.

The Trooper popped out of cover and tried to shoot Garrus when Mordin unleashed Incinerate on him. The Trooper screamed and flailed around, trying to put out the blaze, only to silenced with a quick burst of fire from Miranda.

Shepard grunted when the last Vanguard tagged him with Warp, but his shields managed to hold up. Stepping back, he used Charge to get behind him and used the butt of his rifle on the back of the merc's head. "Sitrep!" he ordered when he confirmed the merc was out like a light.

"Clear!" Miranda shouted.

"We got these bastards!" Jack said in agreement.

"Regroup!" Shepard call out once the situation was contained.

Grunt sauntered up to him. "This is fun!"

Behind his helmet, Shepard sighed. He could imagine the manic grin Grunt was wearing underneath his own helmet. "Come on. We got an assassin to chase."

"Think this'll change Krios' plans?" Garrus asked.

"Undoubtedly," Miranda stated. "But he's never been known to fail either."

"Part of the risk during a job," Shepard said. "He'll have planned for this. Adapted and moved on. Let's hurry."

* * *

Thane bit back a grunt as he moved vertically through the ducts. He could hear a pair of Eclipse mercs talking nearby.

"Hey! I think he went in here!" a Trooper shouted.

Thane took a calming breath and held himself still. The explosions he heard earlier had died down, but no doubt the entirety of the Eclipse would be on alert now.

"Well? Go get him!" an asari Vanguard ordered.

Thane climbed to the top of the tube and drew one of his throwing knives. Mentally judging their positions, he listened harder to more accurately identify their locations.

The Trooper scoffed. "You go."

"Get your ass in there. Nassana's not paying you to stand around," the Vanguard snapped.

Thane perched himself at the top, hanging by his left hand. With his right, he held the throwing knife and took careful aim.

"Fine… but I…"

Thane hauled himself over the edge and tossed the knife at the asari. His aim true, the knife struck her throat. The Trooper turned around and in shock and tried to shoot him. Thane punched out and rammed his fist as hard as he could into his throat, crushing his windpipe. Taking advantage of the situation, he grabbed the dying merc and threw him into the vent he jumped out of.

Ignoring the bouncing sounds of the body going down the vent, his eyes darted around the room, but found no other threats. Moving as swiftly as he dared, he continued his hunt through the shadows.

* * *

"Hey. Does anyone else hear that?" Jack suddenly asked.

"I hear it," Shepard said. "It sounds like… it sounds like is coming from the vents."

"More than that. It sounds like it's coming from above us," Miranda added.

Everyone looked up to see a solitary air vent nearby.

Grunt's curiosity got the better of him and he wandered directly underneath the vent to see what was causing the ruckus.

"Not a good idea," Mordin warned.

Ignoring him, Grunt looked up. He roared in surprise and flailed around when something landed on him.

The squad stood stock still as they watched the krogan dance around with whatever was on his back.

Grunt finally reached around his hump and head and grabbed the dangling leg. Forcefully pulling the corpse off his back, he threw it bodily on the ground.

Jack burst out laughing. "You fucking idiot."

Grunt growled dangerously at her and looked like he was about to do something drastic when Garrus' frantic voice floated back via radio. _"Settle it later! More mercs coming!"_

"I heard them! They're over here!"

"Damn it, too late! Garrus, Overload!" Shepard ordered.

A trio of mercs rounded the corner and spotted them. Before they could shoot though, Garrus' Overload fried their shields and weapons.

"Shit! Down!" one of them yelled out. They immediately ducked underneath some drywall. One of them popped up and tossed a grenade.

"Grenade!" Miranda shouted.

Shepard reached out with his biotics and caught the grenade in midair. Inwardly smirking at the memories of his lessons with Jacob, Shepard biotically tossed the grenade right back into the mercs.

"Oh shi…!"

Jack laughed again after the explosion. "Nice one!"

"More coming!" Mordin yelled. Another squad of mercs was running down the hallway at them, supported by several LOKI's. Mordin used his Cryo Blast to slow their progress down, before ducking behind a column.

"Miranda, take Mordin and Tali and go through that door! Try and flank them!" Shepard commanded. "The rest of us will hit them from the front!"

"On it!" Miranda acknowledged.

As Miranda and her team rushed through the doors to come around them, Jack used her biotics to pick up one of the crates lying around and tossed it right at the mercs.

Two of the mercs were crushed beneath the crate. A Vanguard popped out from his cover and tried to use Warp, but a crack of a sniper rifle ended his attempt.

"Scoped and dropped!" Garrus shouted.

The LOKI mechs shambled on, oblivious to the dying mercs. They continued firing on Shepard's team, fearlessly moving forward.

Shepard growled in annoyance and used Shockwave to scatter them. He cursed when more Eclipse rounded the corner and started attacking. "More incoming!"

"_We got them!"_ Miranda called.

A Combat Drone and two Fenris Mechs started attacking the new arrivals, halting their attack momentarily.

"_Nice one, Tali,"_ Garrus praised.

"Move up!" Shepard ordered.

Miranda led the charge, leading her team from cover to cover as the mercs started falling back.

While Miranda's team distracted the reinforcement, Shepard and Jack crossed the distance easily by using Biotic Charge to rush the mercenaries. The combined explosion of dark energy from their attack took away any chance they had at counter attacking. Within moments, Shepard's squad stood victorious.

"Everyone okay?" Shepard asked when it was apparent that the area was secured. Various answers in the affirmative floated back to him. Nodding in satisfaction, he looked around the room they were in. "The cargo elevator should be around here somewhere…"

"Shepard! There's a locked door here!" Tali called out.

"Get to work on that, Tali. Everyone else, flanking positions," Shepard ordered.

"Combat radar says there are people inside," Miranda informed. "But it's a small room. There are only three."

"Almost got it," Tali said as she continued the bypass. A few seconds later and the indicator changed from red to green. "Done."

"Open it," Shepard ordered.

The moment the doors opened, the Garrus and Grunt popped out from the sides and trained their weapons at the individuals inside. "Don't move!" Garrus shouted.

"Please! Don't kill us! We'll go! We'll go!" a salarian voice cried out fearfully.

"Hold fire!" Miranda shouted. "Civilians!"

Shepard lowered his rifle and stepped in front of his squad. "Relax. We're not here to hurt you."

One of the workers pointed at them. "Hey, look… they're not Eclipse," he said in relief. "You're here to help us… right?"

Shepard nodded. "It's one reason I'm here. Come on out. It's safe enough."

Another worker stepped up and bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you. We are in your debt."

"How did you get locked in this room? Was it the Eclipse?" Shepard asked.

"Well, whoever sealed us in here…" one of the workers started to said before turning to his companions for support.

"He definitely wasn't Eclipse. When he found us, I thought we were dead. But he just forced us in here and locked us in," the second worker piped up.

"Locked you in? Sounds like our assassin was trying to keep them safe," Garrus guessed.

"An assassin who rescues people. Great," Jack commented sardonically. She walked off, bored with salarians already.

"Maybe," Miranda said doubtfully to Garrus while ignoring Jack's comments. "But it doesn't sound much like an assassin, does it?"

"Indeed. Very odd. Assassin helping potential witnesses. Such behavior was not recorded in dossier," Mordin remarked.

Grunt scoffed. "If it's him, he lacks commitment. I'd just ignore them and keep going."

"He was an assassin?" the first worker asked in surprise.

"Here for Nassana, I bet. She's got it coming," the second said vindictively.

"Looks like Seryna wasn't the only one with less than warm feelings for Nassana," Miranda quipped.

"Of course!" the second worker said in agreement. "You treat people like this; it always comes back to bite you in the ass."

"How many more workers were in the tower? Are there many more of you?" Shepard asked with concern.

"Not alive. We were lucky."

"Some got out before the dogs were sent in. Maybe a few are in hiding somewhere."

"Alright. The three of you should go. It should be safe down on the lower floors," Shepard stated.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Let's go, everybody." As they filed out, one of the workers turned to Shepard. "Thank you. And tell you assassin to aim for her head… cause' she doesn't have a heart!"

"Come on! We gotta get out of here!"

"Looks like Nassana hasn't really changed all that much," Tali commented as the salarians left.

"Except she's killing innocent civilians now," Shepard said in disgust. "By the dozens."

"_Hey, Boss Man. I think I found that elevator we're looking for!"_ Jack said.

"We're coming," Shepard replied.

The squad all regrouped at the lift Jack was standing next to. "If this is the only elevator up, I doubt it'll be empty," Garrus warned.

"I was just thinking the same thing myself, Garrus," Shepard said. "Get behind cover. Between all of us, whoever's coming down will be in for a nasty surprise."

"This should be good," Jack cackled.

After everyone ducked down behind whatever defilade they could find, Shepard hit the button, before quickly hiding behind a support column and waited. As predicted, more mercs showed up when the doors opened. A krogan and two asari were waiting inside the lift. One of the asari threw a grenade, but the toss was too shallow. She was obviously thinking they would be just outside the doors.

"Fire!" Shepard shouted.

The grenade exploded harmlessly while Shepard's squad mercilessly tore the three mercs apart.

"Hold fire!" Shepard ordered a few seconds later. Standing out of cover, he looked to confirm the kills before gesturing to his team to enter the elevator. The moment everyone was inside, he slammed on the button and watched as the indicator climbed upward.

* * *

"Get inside! Do it!" a merc yelled out.

Thane watched as the Eclipse Trooper herded a trio of salarian workers into a side room. Pulling out his pistol, he took careful aim. Nearby, he could hear his target screaming for updates on the communications console.

"Please… Don't shoot. We'll do anything!"

"Then shut up! Get inside and don't do anything stupid!"

Thane took a breath and exhaled before squeezing the trigger. The merc dropped dead, while the salarians ducked down at the sound of his gunshot. Darting forward, he quickly closed the door and locked it. Realizing that his quest for absolution was costing innocent lives, Thane pushed himself harder, faster. He knew that the bridge would be filled with mercenaries. He opted to go under the bridge and crawl along the underside. Ducking back into the shadows, he quickly crept along the walls, avoiding conflict with the mercenaries as he was able.

_Judging by their chatter, the other attackers must still coming._

He didn't know why they wanted to talk to him so badly, but his priority was the target. Nothing else mattered.

Especially his life.

* * *

The moment the elevator doors opened, everyone raised their weapons and was ready to sprint out of the tiny metal box they were trapped in. Shepard and Jack had been prepared to use Throw to buy time for everyone to run out in preparation for conflict. They instantly realized that only one merc was there to greet them and he had his back turned. He was facing a large window while he chattered away on his radio.

"_Stupid bastard isn't even holding his gun,"_ Jack observed.

Shepard slowly stalked toward him, holding his rifle loosely in his arms. He knew his squad had their weapons out and trained on the lone merc.

"Don't worry about it," the merc said to the person on the other line. "We don't need any reinforcements. I'll talk care it." There was a brief pause. "It's under control. I'll go down there myself."

"Turn around. Very slowly," Shepard ordered in a low dangerous voice.

"Damn it," the merc said when he saw he was completely surrounded.

"Tell me where the assassin is and I might let you live," Shepard threatened as he took a step closer.

The merc took a step back in response. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you," he defiantly said. "You're not one of us. Who are you?"

"You've got two ways down," Shepard coolly said, ignoring the question. He pointed at the window. "Express." He jerked his thumb at the elevator. "Or coach." He took a step closer forcing the merc to step back again until his back was pressed against the glass wall. "Your choice."

"Look pal, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you," he snapped back.

"Wrong answer," Shepard growled as his biotic aura manifested menacingly.

The merc crossed his arms rebelliously. "I've got nothing more to say to you…"

"How 'bout 'goodbye'?" Shepard coldly said.

"Goodbye? Hey! Wha…!"

Shepard's leg snapped out, pulsing with dark energy, and planted a full biotic kick against the merc's chest. The merc screamed as he was blown out the window and fell down almost the entire length of the skyscraper.

"Damn. I could take notes from you, Shepard," Jack praised.

"Harsh. But I guess he had it coming," Garrus stated.

"Hmm… Interesting," Mordin's voice called back from the elevator entrance.

"Find something?" Miranda asked him.

Mordin picked up an apparently discarded OSD and scanned the contents with his omni-tool. "Oh! Genetic information of the Kirosa's. Know this family. Information very important. Should probably hold on to this. Return it at later date." With that he stuffed the OSD in a pouch and nodded. "Ready."

"That merc said he had a team," Tali reminded. "They must be close by."

Shepard shushed them. _"I hear something…"_ He stepped closer one of the two doors leading to the next room and listened closely.

"He's all over the place," a male voice reported.

"What do you mean?" Nassana's voice echoed via intercom.

The squad split up between the two doors and waited for Shepard to give the word.

"We've got reports of him on multiple levels. We think he's traveling through the ducts…"

Shepard heard Jack laugh and Grunt growl over the radio. _"Quiet!" _he said to both of them.

"I'm not paying you think. Just find him. Now!" Nassana ordered.

Another male voice was heard, very close to the door Shepard was listening too. "Come on. She'll be throwing us to the dogs next."

"_Clear the room!" _Shepard ordered.

Both doors burst open and the squad ran in, guns blazing. The two Eclipse Troopers standing nearby was cut down instantly.

"We got mechs!" Garrus shouted. He unleashed Overload on one of the Fenris mechs. The other two LOKI's and last Fenris activated immediately and responded to the threat.

"What the…? ! We're under attack!" a Vanguard shouted. The moment she yelled, four more mercs ran into the room and entered the fray.

Shepard pushed forward. He managed a clean headshot on one of the LOKI's when electrical sparks washed over his vision. Looking at his HUD, he realized he had been tagged with Overload. "Lost shields!"

"Up you go!" the asari Vanguard taunted.

Shepard shouted in surprise when his feet left the floor. He flailed around helplessly in midair and saw the asari take aim at him.

_This could hurt a bit…_

Her shotgun bucked with recoil, but to both of their surprise, another kinetic barrier manifested around Shepard, deflecting the bullets.

Shepard's eyes roamed the HUD and saw three words flashing at the top: _Emergency Shields Activated_.

Breathing a quick sigh of relief and mentally thanking Miranda, he glowed with dark energy and used Biotic Charge to break free of the influence of Pull and rushed the asari.

Thanks to the new high angle, instead of utilizing horizontal force, Shepard utilized vertical force as well. The merc screamed when she was plowed into the ground by attack.

Shepard grunted and generated the necessary mass effect fields to protect him from slamming into the floor. When he hit the asari, he rolled of her and rolled a few more times, bleeding the momentum away before jumping to his feet, no worse for wear. The asari struggled to her feet, but a few bursts from Shepard's rifle tore through the remains of her Barrier and armor.

"I think we got them all," Grunt said in disappointment.

"Room's clear, Captain," Miranda echoed in agreement.

Looking around, he saw his team was still standing and appeared unharmed. As they reported, all the Eclipse were down.

"Shepard, there's another locked door here. Combat radar says there are three people inside. It might be more workers," Tali reported.

"Open it," Shepard said. The rest of the squad regrouped nearby.

Tali knelt down and started fussing with the controls. "Almost… got it!" The moment the door opened, a salarian in red was standing right in front of her. She squeaked in surprise when he raised a pistol and pointed it squarely at her faceplate.

"Get back! Get back… I'll shoot!" he threatened fearfully.

Shepard and the rest of the squad raised their weapons immediately at the salarian.

"Drop the gun, lizard," Grunt growled out.

"This can end quick or painful. Your choice," Jack threatened.

"Take it easy," Shepard ordered to them.

Tali held her hands up and slowly got to her feet. To her credit, she remained calm despite the danger. "Put the weapon down. We won't hurt you," she soothingly said, attempting to calm the frightened salarian.

"I… I don't believe you," he stammered out. The gun was shaking in his hand.

"Just relax. Don't do something you'll regret," Garrus said. He shifted slowly to the side to keep the armed salarian in his sight while minimizing the risk of hitting Tali.

"We're here to help you," Miranda added.

"I don't want to hurt you… but I will!" the salarian cried out.

"Telon! Stop it!" another salarian called out.

"Get back! I'll shoot!"

"Okay…" Shepard said softly. "Look. We're lowering our weapons. See?" He pointed the muzzle of his rifle toward the ground. "Just calm down. We're not the bad guys here…"

Telon shifted his gun from Tali to Shepard. "Okay. Now step back. Don't come any…"

"Is your safety on?" Tali suddenly asked. The salarian was caught off-balance with the sudden question and turned the gun in his hand to look. Tali lashed out and grabbed the gun with her left hand while hitting Telon with an open palm strike with the right. Her blow connected with the underside of his jaw, knocking him flat on his back. Tali's body language suggested she was shocked with her actions, but recovered quickly enough to grip the pistol correctly and aim it at her stunned captor. "Don't move!"

"Wow," Garrus said in surprise.

"My thoughts exactly. Go Tali," Shepard complimented before turning his gaze on the other workers inside.

"I'm as surprised you are," Tali admitted, but sounded proud she was able to defend herself regardless.

"Telon!" one of salarians cried out. He rushed to his side.

"Slow and easy," Miranda commanded.

"He's my brother. I just want to see if he's all right," the salarian pleaded.

"Alright," Shepard said. "Stand down," he ordered to his squad.

Telon groaned in pain, but was relatively unharmed. Satisfied that his brother was okay, the worker looked up at the assembled team. "Are you the ones who… shot the merc?"

Shepard turned his head looked at the corpse in the corner. "We shot a lot of mercs today, but we can't take credit for him."

"Then… who did?"

Miranda stepped closer to the body. "Right in the eye. Very precise shooting." She turned to the worker. "And you didn't see the shooter?"

He shook his head.

Jack curiously stepped up to the body as well and kicked the corpse's boot. She whistled appreciatively. "Damn. That **is **a clean shot. Very nice."

"What happened exactly?" Shepard asked.

"The merc found us and shouted at us to move. We panicked and he shouted more," he explained. "I thought he was going to kill us… then… his head just exploded." He nodded at the pistol in Tali's hand. "Telon picked up the merc's gun, but we were too afraid to move. Then you showed up."

"A perfect headshot with no collateral damage," Garrus summed up. "Very impressive." His tone suggested that his respect for Thane went up a few notches.

"We cleared the mercs out on the way here. You should be able to get to the lower levels safely," Shepard advised.

The salarian sighed in relief. "No need to convince me." He reached down and pulled his bother to his feet. "Telon… come on, get up," he said softly.

Telon wobbly stood up. "Can we go home now?" he begged.

"Yeah. We're getting out of here," his brother assured.

"Um… Sorry. You know, for hitting you," Tali apologized, her tone contrite.

Telon offered a shaky smile. "Um, yeah. Don't worry about it. Happens all the time."

After the trio of workers left, Shepard tilted his head at Tali. "Nice moves. Where'd you learn them?"

Tali shrugged, but Shepard could see that she was bit embarrassed. "I actually learned a few defensive moves from Chief Williams. Reegar taught me a bit more when I started going out on missions."

"Where is everyone? !" Nassana's voice screamed through the intercom.

Turning his head, Shepard spotted a communications terminal. As he walked up to it, Nassana continued ranting.

"Will somebody please give me a report!"

"Nassana?" Shepard said into the terminal.

"It's about time! What's going on down there? !"

"I'm afraid your mercs aren't able to respond, Nassana," Shepard taunted.

"Damn it!" she cursed before shutting the link down.

"Let's go. The bridge is right above us," Miranda said. "We're almost there."

* * *

Cautiously, the group moved up the ramps and rounded several corners. Eventually, they reached the outside. As EDI predicted, the winds were powerful near the top. To keep their footing, they had to engage their mass effect fields on their boots to keep from staggering. It was usually used on planets with low gravity or combat in zero-g to make movement seem more natural. Unfortunately, on Illium, it meant their mobility was hampered. Much like dragging extra weights attached to their feet. The wind howled and threatened to push them off the building regardless of their protection. They had to switch to personal radios just to keep talking over the gale.

"_This is fucking annoying,"_ Jack groused next to Tali as they pushed themselves to keep up with everybody. The only one slower than either of them was Mordin.

"_Better than falling to your death,"_ Garrus chided. He, Shepard, and Grunt seemed comfortable with the seemingly magnetic pull of their boots as they kept a relatively normal pace.

They encountered no threats as the approached the bridge. Far from being relieved, however, their apprehension grew.

"_Unless Nassana ran out of mercs…"_ Garrus started to say.

"_Bulk of forces waiting on bridge,"_ Mordin finished. _"Probably hoping treacherous hazards will stop us."_

"_Hold up,"_ Shepard ordered. He crouched at a corner and took a quick look.

"_What do you see?"_ Miranda asked as she walked up and squatted behind him.

"_Hold on,"_ the Spectre responded. He collapsed his assault rifle and brought up his sniper rifle. Peering through the scope, he cursed silently. _"A bunch of mercs and they're carting explosives. A lot of explosives."_

"_Damn it. They're looking to blow the bridge to prevent us from reaching Nassana,"_ Miranda stated.

"_Garrus. Help me out here. You and me will set off the explosives. Miranda, you take everyone else and clear the path to the bridge. Once there, wait for me. I'll clear the mercs off with the Blackstorm,"_ Shepard said.

Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle as well and got into position.

"_Go!"_

At Shepard's order, both men fired simultaneously, hitting the cart and detonating its deadly payload. Miranda led the rest of squad against the scattered and disoriented mercs.

A Vanguard stood up, his Barrier protecting him from the bulk of the blast. "They're already here!" he shouted just before Shepard's explosive round blew his head clean off.

"_Got'em!"_

"_Tali! LOKI's!"_ Miranda pointed out.

"_They're mine!"_ Tali called back.

"_Okay, Garrus. Cover me,"_ Shepard ordered. He collapsed his HMWSR and readied his M-490 Blackstorm.

"_That'll clear the bridge nicely,"_ Garrus crowed approvingly. He took aim and brought down an Engineer harassing Jack. _"I got your back. Go!"_

Shepard ran as fast as he was able. He stopped next to Jack who unleashed Shockwave. The biotic explosions were enough to disrupt the merc's footing and allowed the wind push them off the side. _"Hell yeah!"_

"_We're at the bridge, Shepard!"_ Miranda called back.

"_What the hell are you waiting for? !" _Nassana screamed. _"Just kill them!"_

"_Moving up!"_ Shepard ran up to see Miranda, Mordin, Tali and Grunt overlooking the bridge. They were exchanging fire with the mercs that were stationed there. Watching closely, he could see the Eclipse movements were hampered as well, indicating that they were trying to stay on the bridge without falling off. _"Cover me!"_

While Shepard started charging the Blackstorm, Grunt let loose a concussive round at a group of mercs trying to attack their position. The round blasted them off their feet and sent them tumbling along the width of the bridge. They dropped their weapons and starting grabbing anything they could to combat the wind threatening to blow them off.

Tali unleashed her Combat Drone on the hapless mercs. _"Get them, Chiktikka!"_ The drone relentlessly attacked them, eventually pushing the mercs off the bridge. _"Good girl!"_

"_What the hell am I pay you for? !"_

"_Firing!"_ Shepard warned.

The singularity travelled parallel to the bridge, pulling the shocked mercs and mechs right off the bridge and over the abyss. If they didn't fall to their deaths, they were either crushed by the powerful gravitational forces or orbiting the accretion disk of the black hole. Their screams reached across the bridge and to Shepard's ears despite the howling winds.

When the gravity well exploded and sent the various Eclipse mercs flying in all directions, Grunt jumped up and roared victoriously. _"Ha! Didn't stand a chance!"_ He jumped down to the bridge ahead of the squad and rashly ran the length of the bridge.

"_Grunt! Stop!"_ Shepard shouted as the rest of squad regrouped at the ledge above the bridge and watched the krogan's progress. _"Damn it. Let's go,"_ Shepard ordered to the rest of the team. Everyone jumped down at followed as best they could, while keeping their guard up for any holdouts.

Garrus stayed on the ledge and watched for any signs of ambushes. He slid the scope of his rifle over his eye and scanned the bridge. _"Damn! Grunt! On your left! Merc!"_

"_Damn it! I'm sending reinforcements! Now finish them off!"_ Nassana screamed.

* * *

An asari Eclipse leapt from her cover and launched Warp at the charging krogan. Grunt roared in pain as his shields failed against the biotic attack. He rushed forward, intent on killing the merc with his bare hands. To his surprise, the nimble asari somersaulted out of his reach. The moment she landed on her feet, she fired her assault rifle, tagging the krogan in the arm.

Grunt roared in pain. "Stand still!" he shouted as he aimed his shotgun one-handed and fired.

The Asari Commando smirked and flipped to side, deftly avoiding the shot. Despite the pull on her boots and the roaring winds, she seemed completely at ease with the environment. She glowed with dark energy and brought her arm into the air.

Grunt found himself flying. The wind caught him and sent him tumbling over the edge. Just as he was falling, his momentum was arrested and he found himself merely swaying with and against the wind. Looking back, he saw Shepard leaning over the edge, glowing with dark energy of his own and his arm extended at his direction.

He grumbled to himself, knowing he'd probably be scolded for his mistake later.

* * *

Shepard gritted his teeth as he fought the winds for Grunt. The crack of a sniper rifle and Garrus' report told him he was safe for the moment. Taking a deep breath, he used his biotics to pull Grunt back up to solid ground. Miranda knelt beside him and used her biotics to assist. Jack huffed in annoyance, but knelt down as well. Between the three of them, Grunt was safely deposited on the bridge.

Tali ran up to the group. _"We've secured the bridge. There's no more Eclipse."_

"_Except the ones guarding Nassana," _Shepard reminded. He turned to face the krogan. _"You okay?"_

Grunt nodded silently.

"_Good. Because if you do that again, I'll shoot you first,"_ Shepard decisively stated. Letting Grunt grumble to himself, the Spectre stood up and waited for the squad to regroup on his position before crossing the rest of bridge to Tower One.

* * *

Crawling as slowly as he could, Thane moved through the tight confines of the duct. Every step had to be measured or the echoes would travel into the room his target was residing in. He shifted forward and winced slightly when the duct made an audible thumping sound as it bore his weight. He paused and listened as hard as he could. Satisfied that his presence was still hidden, he continued forward.

Finally, he heard voices. "Shepard? But… you're dead," Nassana's shock was discernable.

Shepard. It was a name he knew well. He had heard the rogue Spectre, Saren, issued an assassination contract on Shepard's life two years back. He had passed on the contract and like the rest of galaxy, followed the footsteps of the first human Spectre as he conducted his missions, cumulating into the Battle of the Citadel.

"I got better," a male voice responded evenly.

"And now you're here to kill me," she accused.

Thane took advantage of the distraction and moved quicker through the vent, stopping only when the duct shifted under his weight. He couldn't give up the element of surprise now. Not when Nassana believed she was facing her assassin.

_Unless he is here to mete out justice._

"Maybe I just missed you," Shepard replied mockingly.

"Screw you, Shepard," Nassana retorted.

"Charming as ever," he sarcastically observed.

The light at the end of the duct was closer now. Thane took another careful step closer.

"I'm sure you find this all very ironic. First you take care of my sister and now you're here for me," she disdainfully said. "Well, you made it this far. Now what?"

Thane paused, curious as to what the Spectre's true purpose was. To seek him out or to dispense justice on the wicked? If it was the latter, was it either on Nassana, himself, or both?

"I'll admit; I didn't come here with the intention to kill you. After what you did to all those workers though, I'm kinda warming up to the idea," Shepard answered.

"You expect me to believe that? You've practically destroyed my towers! Decimated my security force!"

Thane moved forward again. If Shepard wasn't here to eliminate Nassana, then at the very least, he was providing a valuable opportunity. The air duct thumped some more with his increased haste, but Thane hoped that Shepard continued to distract everyone.

"I'm just looking for someone," Shepard glibly said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nassana impatiently asked. "Is it credits? Is that what you want? Just tell me your price. We can make this problem go away."

Another thump. Thane pressed forward quickly. If Shepard continued to anger Nassana, she might give the order to open fire. Considering the numbers the Spectre must've fought through to reach the penthouse, Thane doubted Nassana's guard had the skill to kill him. The only outcome would be that Shepard would kill Nassana first before him.

"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana."

"Who the hell gave you the right to play God?" she accused. "I may not be perfect, but look at you."

Thane gripped the edge of the opening and peered in. From his vantage point, he counted only two Eclipse mercs. Judging from the sounds of Nassana's voice, she was slightly to the right.

"We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"

"I really don't care to explain it to someone like you," Shepard replied. "And I doubt I could explain it in a way you'd understand, even if I had the inclination."

Thane perched himself at the opening and prepared to strike.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she scoffed. "You think you're so superior…"

"You're really not helping your case here," Shepard interrupted.

"So you **are** going to kill me."

"You got it wrong. I'm not here to find reasons to kill you. You've already given me plenty. Our little chat was to determine if I had enough reasons to let you live."

Using one of his throwing knives, Thane tossed it to the side, down another duct. The noise generated was enough to call attention to the occupants below.

"What?" Nassana impatiently asked.

"I heard something," a feminine voice answered.

_At least three guards, then._

"Damn it. Check the other entrances!" she ordered. "You… stay put."

Thane dropped down from the ceiling and landed without a sound. His eyes took in the environment immediately. Three Eclipse mercs and his target. None of them were aware of his presence. Shepard stood on the other side of the room with his team.

"When I'm finished dealing with this nuisance…"

Reaching around the first merc, the assassin quickly gripped his head and snapped his neck violently. Turning to his left, he punched the second merc's throat, crushing the trachea.

"You and I are going to…"

The Asari Commando turned around and tried to raise her shotgun, but Thane had already drawn his pistol and shot her at point blank, right in the forehead, bypassing her kinetic shields.

Nassana grabbed her pistol and turned around. "Who…?"

Thane skillfully spun around and took a step, easily sidestepping Nassana's extended arm that was holding the weapon. Grabbing her arm and clutching it tightly, he rammed his Predator into her chest and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion.

Nassana gasped painfully as she stared into the face of her assassin.

Thane wrapped an arm around her and respectfully laid his latest kill on the table. He watched as Nassana closed her eyes and exhaled one last time before lying still. Reaching out, he grasped her hands and placed them on her chest. A last moment of dignity.

Taking a step back, he clasped his hands and bowed his head.

_Shepherd this troubled soul, goddess, and guide me on my path. Smile kindly on this sinful soul, goddess, and enfold me in your sheltering embrace._

_Await this vagrant soul, goddess, for soon I shall join you in the deep._

_Soon, I shall seek the comfort of your halls._

"And finally, we meet the assassin himself," the quarian said.

"Not bad," a human female commented.

"I thought it was impressive. You certainly know how to make an entrance," the turian stated.

"Nice moves," another female praised.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Shepard said. Thane could hear him take slow, measured steps toward him. "I was hoping to talk to you."

He didn't open his eyes. "I apologize, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken."

"Wicked. Sound almost kind in her case."

"Not for her," Thane corrected. He opened his eyes and looked at the Spectre.

Unlike the rest of his team, his weapons were still attached to his harness. He was holding his helmet loosely in one hand.

"For me." Thane walked casually around the table. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction… chaos."

Shepard remained silent. He simply met Thane's gaze unflinchingly.

The woman in white armor spoke up. "One could say the same of you. An assassin that goes out of his way to protect innocent civilians. As well as being deeply religious, despite killing four people skillfully. Certainly a paradoxical combination."

"I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me," the assassin admitted. He stopped a few feet in front of the assembled group. "Well… here I am."

"You're right. I do want to talk to you," Shepard said. "But how did you know we were here?"

"Gunfire and explosions," Thane answered simply. "I prefer to work quietly. If I have to actively fight through guards, I've made a mistake. I rarely make mistakes."

"Well, you'll have to chalk this one up as a mistake, then," the other young woman in black armor stated. "We didn't even do anything yet when the mechs started killing all the workers."

Thane turned his head to glance at her before facing Shepard. "Truly?"

"We just arrived and saw the mechs killing some salarians. At that point, we didn't bother with stealth and assaulted the building. I assumed you were detected or caught at some point," Shepard answered.

Thane turned around and bowed his head. "It must've been my fault. I thought I had taken care of the sentry's cleanly, but I didn't have the luxury of confirming."

"Regardless, I'm here because I'm recruiting you for a mission," Shepard informed.

"Indeed?"

"You're familiar with the Collectors?"

He looked back up and watched the sunrise. "By reputation."

"They're abducting entire human colonies. Freedom's Progress, Ferris Fields, New Canton, and Horizon, all of that was their handiwork."

"I see," Thane simply said. His mind was whirling with the news though. At least thousands of innocent people must've been taken.

"We're going after them," Shepard stated confidently.

Turning around sharply, Thane made eye contact with him. "Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega-4 Relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"I'm told it's a suicide mission. Impossible odds haven't stopped me before, though."

"A fair point. You've built a career on performing the impossible." Thane held his hands behind his back. "You'd like me to protect humans I've never met, from aliens no one knows anything about, by going to a place no one's ever returned from?" he asked, summing up Shepard's request.

"Pretty much. You're an assassin that kills people you never met, going through places you might not know everything about, and knowing each contract you take could be your last."

Thane considered his words. "True enough. A suicide mission, you say?" He turned away from Shepard and bowed his head. A ghost of smile reached his face as he thought about the opportunity he was given. "Yes. A suicide mission will do nicely." Shepard stepped up next to him. "I'm dying," he revealed, glancing at his probable employer. "Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."

Shepard turned his head and glanced at his squad. The female in white armor shook her head and shrugged. "We didn't know that. Is there anything we can do?" he asked.

"Giving me this opportunity is enough," Thane gratefully replied. He turned to watch the rising sun again. "The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die." He felt a measure of guilt as his thoughts turned toward the salarian workers. "Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that."

_I must atone for many things… Perhaps this man might be my chance for salvation._

"I will work for you, Shepard." He extended his hand. When Shepard shook it, another ghost of a smile touched his lips. "No charge."

* * *

***ENCYRPTED***

_Recruited Thane Krios for the team, but medically questionable unless mission is resolved quickly._

_Legal representatives dealing with public damage to Dantius Towers._

* * *

Author's Notes:

For Thane's second prayer, credit goes to **Ronnie James Dio** and his fic **Immortality**. The man is much better at writing that kind of stuff than me.

That new DLC came just in time. Personally, I love the Kestrel Armor. The helmet was interesting, but it really brought about a feeling of nostalgia. **Ace Combat 5/Zero** had a jet that had a completely armored cockpit. On the inside though, it looked like you could see everything around you with no problems whatsoever. That's what I remember when I see the Kestrel helmet.

Duel-wielding. It's one of those things that's either really popular or not. The reason I made Thane a duel-wielder is because of the "Dirty Dozen" trailer, where he shoots two Eclipse mercenaries with two pistols. I pretty much changed his loadout to a sniper rifle, two pistols, throwing knives, biotics, and hand to hand combat.

Still need lots of votes for me to commit to Overlord.


	23. Interlude IX

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"And this is our ship: The Normandy SR-2. For now, she's grounded until her upgrades are complete," Miranda pointed out. "Right now, we're changing out the armor and installing a more powerful main gun."

Thane simply nodded as he took in sights.

Shepard and the rest of the team followed closely behind. He noted that the armor removal was complete. Now the Cerberus workers were busy installing the new Silaris Armor. "Shouldn't be too long now. Armor looks to be well underway. Should be done in a couple of days. We should get the Thanix Cannon up in a few days after that." He turned to Thane. "You don't mind working with Cerberus?"

"I am working for you. If you wish for me fight alongside them, then that is what I will do. Rarely, the motivations of my employers have any impact with my trade."

"I see."

The entire squad entered the Normandy. This time, it was a simple matter of simply walking through the open airlock. With the ablative armor removed and the Silaris Armor being welded on the superstructure of the frigate, large gaping holes marred the ship, interspaced only with support struts, rendering decontamination procedures pointless. As they marched down the bridge, Shepard could see some of the workers outside jauntily wave at them.

Entering the Armory, Jacob stopped typing into his holo-pad and looked up at the newest squad member.

"This is Jacob Taylor, our Armory Chief. He'll be holding on to your weapons and storing them here. He's also in charge of maintaining or even upgrading your armaments as necessary," Miranda introduced.

Jacob gave a tight nod in greeting, but said nothing as he stared warily at Thane.

Everyone, save Miranda and Shepard, ignored the exchange, preoccupied as they were with their own weapons. One by one, they unequipped and placed their armaments in a haphazard pile on the center table, except Shepard, who placed his Spectre weapons inside his secure locker. Later, Jacob would tag and log everything and check to see if any maintenance would be needed as well as to see which weapon needs to be reloaded with a full stock of thermal clips.

Noting how everyone else seemed to be handling their equipment, Thane placed his Mantis Sniper Rifle and his twin Predator Pistols on an empty section of the table as well. Fingering his hidden pocket of knives, he turned and addressed Jacob. "Will I need to turn in **all **of my weapons?"

"Yes," Jacob answered immediately.

"Depends," Shepard countered. "What other weapons are you carrying?"

Thane drew one of his throwing knives and presented it to his employer. "I keep several on my person at all times. Occupational hazards and operational prudence, you understand."

Shepard nodded. "It's fine. After seeing you take out two mercs bare-handed, knives aren't that much more of a stretch."

Jacob had a small scowl on his face, but held his peace. He waited until the rest of squad left the Armory, leaving him, Shepard, Miranda and Thane alone. "I've heard impressive stories, Krios. Sounds like you'll be an asset to the team." Despite his words, there was definitely a tone of belligerence in his voice. He was watching the knife and Thane with no small amount of distrust.

"Jacob," Miranda said warningly.

Jacob crossed his arms defiantly. "This is, if you're comfortable having an assassin watch your back."

Thane pocketed the knife and stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back. If Jacob's words offended him, he showed no sign. "I've accepted a contract. My arm is Shepard's," he informed calmly.

"Uh-huh," Jacob responded disbelievingly. "Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next paycheck."

"Obviously, he is too. He's doing this mission gratis," Shepard interjected. "What's your concern?"

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary," Jacob shot back, his subtle insult directed at Thane.

"An assassin is a weapon," Thane corrected. He projected an aura of serene composure. "A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does," he explained, turning his gaze on Shepard meaningfully.

Shepard nodded back evenly.

Miranda cut into the conversation smoothly. "Do you have a place to stay in Nos Astra? If not, I can arrange suitable lodgings."

"I do," Thane informed. "However, I suppose it's best to determine what my quarters will be when the ship is underway."

"Any preferences?" Miranda asked.

"I'd prefer someplace dry, if anything is available."

"EDI? Recommendations?" Miranda inquired to the AI.

EDI's avatar popped up at the pedestal on the wall of the Armory. "The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than the rest of the ship."

Thane looked nonplused at EDI's presence. "Ah. An AI?" he questioned momentarily before nodding. "My thanks." He turned to Shepard again and engaged his omni-tool. "This is where I'm currently staying. Whenever you're ready to leave Illium, I will be ready."

"Actually," Shepard said, forestalling Thane's assumptions. "We're looking for one more individual here on Illium. According to a friend of mine, she's here on business, which might complicate things. I'd like everyone come with me when we find her. She's justicar named Samara."

"The justicar?" Thane asked. For once, he looked shocked.

"You know her?" Miranda questioned.

"No. I've haven't had the pleasure," Thane said, a tad too quickly.

"Is there a problem?" Shepard asked.

Thane shook his head. "No. No problem. I had thought to introduce myself to her after my business at the Dantius Towers was complete." He looked distinctly uncomfortable now. "If you'll excuse me, I must gather my things." He bowed respectfully to Shepard.

Confused with the sudden reticence, Shepard managed to sketch a small bow of his own.

Thane left without another word.

"He seems quite civil," EDI commented before vanishing.

Shepard and Miranda turned to the pedestal in surprise. Neither of them was expecting her to make any sort of comment since she never spoke up unless spoken to or had something important to say.

Jacob simply glared at the spot Thane was standing moments before.

Shepard cleared his throat to get his attention. "We need all the help we can get. He's not what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you."

Jacob scoffed in return. "Yeah. And he may not."

"Well… I've been known to be wrong before," Shepard admitted. "But I got a good feeling about him. I think he's alright."

Jacob scowled again.

"Alright, Jacob. That's enough," Miranda said in exasperation. "You've done good work with the armor. I'll take over now." Taking the holo-pad with the progress of the installation from him, she poured over the contents. "Perhaps some time in the city might be good for you?" she suggested without looking up.

"She's right. You worked hard. Take a bit of time off while we stay here keep working, okay?"

"Fine," he replied curtly. He left the weapons on the table and quickly walked out of the Armory.

"So what's up with him?" Shepard asked Miranda when they were alone.

She shrugged in response. "I really don't know. If you're asking for my personal opinion, I think Jacob places quite a bit of his personal philosophies in loyalty. He tends to be rather… terse with people that don't have any real allegiances." She smiled cattily. "Such as mercenaries or assassins for example."

"Is that some of the reason why he doesn't like the Illusive Man?"

"It's more like the reason he doesn't like Cerberus. There are few people within that you would trust. But then again, his feelings for the Illusive Man aren't exactly secret anyway."

"And what about you? What are your thoughts on loyalty?" Shepard asked interestedly.

Miranda smiled again. "I'm probably more passionate about the subject than Jacob." She tapped on the holo-pad in her hands again before looking back up at Shepard. "Why do you think Krios wanted to meet Samara anyway?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

He frowned in response. "I don't know. According to Liara, justicars are supposed to stop criminals when they see them. Assassin's are practically the definition of a criminal, so you would think Thane would go out of his way to avoid her."

Miranda was about to say something when a loud noise, followed by several clatters echoed through the hanger.

Shepard sighed. "Duty calls. I'll ask him when I see him."

**-oOo-**

Garrus looked up from the report in his hand to see Thane disembark from the Normandy. He quickly turned back to the engineer. "This is good. Looks like we might've finally found a ship that can use this beast."

The Cerberus engineer took the holo-pad back from Garrus and saluted him before taking off. Garrus turned around and jogged to catch up to the assassin. "Hey. Garrus Vakarian," he introduced himself. "That was some impressive work back at the tower."

Thane glanced at him before turning his gaze forward. "Innocents were killed because of my actions."

Garrus offered a sympathetic look. "Nassana had a contract out on her. If you didn't do the job, someone else would've. I've fought an assassin or two and I know that most won't care about 'collateral damage'. You did the best you could and there's one less criminal to worry about."

"That is one way to perceive it," Thane allowed.

They left the hangar and walked together for a time in silence. Eventually, Garrus broke the peace first. "I don't think I've ever met an assassin quite like you," he commented off-hand with a side glance at the drell.

Thane didn't turn to face him, but he had a small smile on his face. "Indeed?"

"You went out of your way to help people. Most assassins I've taken out usually would've used the disturbance as a distraction or something to get closer to the target or get away."

"That is their way. I have mine."

"You mentioned wanting to make the universe brighter before you died. What did you mean by that?"

Thane looked down, but still had the awareness to avoid the morning crowds as they walked through Nos Astra. "I have committed… a heinous crime. I must atone for it."

"What did you do?" Garrus asked curiously. He found it strange that an assassin, a precision killer really, would actually feel remorse.

"I was taught to kill quickly in order to ensure as little suffering as possible. However, in the course of learning such techniques, I inevitably learned how to cause harm without killing," Thane explained before a haunted look entered his eyes. "Sadly, it was those techniques I exercised when I…" He trailed off when his head abruptly snapped up. His voice took on a sudden rapid tone that was unlike him. _"/The knife, poised above my bound prisoner. His gagged mouth mumbling in fear and protest. The blade cuts deep into the muscle, missing the arteries and veins, prolonging his suffering. His muffled screams fill the room…/"_

"Krios? Krios!" Garrus shouted, reaching out and shaking his travelling companion. The various people mulling about turned to them in confusion at the turian's shout.

Thane blinked and took a deep breath. Ignoring the looks around him, he continued walking toward his home. "My apologies, Mr. Vakarian."

"What was that?"

"Drell call it solipsism. Our species have eidetic memories. Often, it is quite easy to slip into a particularly powerful memory," he explained neutrally.

"So what you just said… You tortured someone?" Garrus asked, narrowing his eyes. Considering the discipline the assassin appeared to hold himself to, he hardly seemed the type to descend into something common thugs would resort to.

"I mutilated several individuals," Thane corrected, his voice taking a twinge of guilt. "I saw to it that their pain lasted hours, even days, before ending them."

"Why?" Garrus asked. He found himself appalled that Thane would admit to something like this. On Omega, this was the kind of criminal he would have hunted without hesitation. To the drell's credit though, he appeared to be feeling true remorse about it. That fact alone put him worlds above most.

Thane shrugged. "For perhaps one of the oldest reasons in the galaxy: revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

"They were afraid of me. They decided to take someone very precious to me instead."

Stopping at the carport, Garrus stayed silent. Krios' story struck a chord within him. He tried to convince himself that he and Thane weren't the same. That his vendetta against Sidonis was justice and nothing more. The thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth however, as his reasons seemed more and more disingenuous.

_10 good men died because of one coward. I need to make it right._

"Mr. Vakarian?" Thane called out.

"Garrus," he responded automatically. "Garrus is fine."

"Garrus," Thane acquiesced. "Are you coming with me?"

"Oh. Um… no. I'm out to find a turian shop. It was good talking to you, though."

"Likewise. I will see you soon, I'm sure." Thane turned to gaze at the vista of the city. "I spent the last two years here. I had a purpose, a goal. Now that I've accomplished it, something occurs to me." He took deep breath of morning air. "In all the time, I never took the opportunity to look at the horizon. It is… spectacular." He turned to Garrus. "Something haunts you. I see that. You have the same look I had, years ago."

Garrus found that he couldn't meet his eyes. He frowned. "It's personal."

Thane had a ghost of a grimace on his face. "Of that, I have no doubt. In fact, the more personal the problem is, the more pain it can inflict." He stared at the turian, almost appearing to see through him. "If I may? Do not allow it to consume you. You lose more than merely allowing the simple pleasures to pass you by," he advised, gesturing to the sprawling city of Nos Astra. "You lose a piece of your soul." With that said, he entered the waiting taxi and took off.

Garrus turned around and walked back to the hustle and bustle of Nos Astra. He still tried to shake the sudden feelings that welled up in him. An assassin that sought revenge and now conducted vigilante missions. And Liara… a former archeologist that seemed hell bent on chasing one of the galaxies most notorious figures and killing him. As much as he tried, he couldn't remove his apprehensive feelings of what he wanted to do when he found Sidonis and what would happen if he did.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Command… I mean, Captain?" Kelly called out when Shepard left the Normandy.

"What was that noise?" Shepard asked as he approached her.

"It was Grunt. He seems… um… agitated?" she hedged. Looking over her shoulder, she was watched the krogan stomp around the corner of the hangar and snarling at the mess at his feet. "I think agitated is a bit of an understatement, but something is clearly troubling him."

"Great," Shepard groaned. "Okay. I'll see what's wrong." Approaching the krogan as casually as he could, he stopped a short distance away and waited until Grunt finally noticed his presence.

Grunt turned to glare at him before pacing again, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Is… um… is something wrong, Grunt?" Kelly timidly asked from behind Shepard.

Shepard and Grunt both looked surprised at her presence. Shepard, because he didn't know Kelly followed him and Grunt, because he never even interacted with the yeoman at all.

Grunt quickly overcame his shock and snarled again. "Yes. Something is wrong. **I** feel wrong." He started pacing back and forth again.

"How so?" Shepard asked.

"I feel tense. I just want to **kill** something." He stopped pacing and glared at the two humans. "With my bare **hands**," he stressed, holding up his fists. He turned away from them and stomped toward the wall. "More so than usual, like it's not my choice. Like I just want to, I don't know…" He suddenly rammed his head against the metal wall, creating a clanging sound that sounded painful.

"Grunt!" Kelly shouted out in alarm.

Grunt didn't even seem to notice. He quickly stomped right up to Shepard with a wild look in his eyes. "See? Why do that?"

To Shepard's credit, he held his ground, even when Kelly recoiled a bit at his approach.

"It's just like at the towers. When I rushed the bridge. I knew I should've waited. I knew we should've held high ground and just shoot them all dead. But I wanted to… I don't know… grab one of those mercenaries and rip one apart. Limb from limb," Grunt painfully admitted. "Or toss one off the bridge and hear him scream, like what you did."

Shepard could almost sense the bit of shame in Grunt's voice when he recounted his mistake at the Dantius Towers.

"What's wrong with me?" Grunt growled to himself. He started gnashing his teeth, further proof of his agitation.

"Okeer didn't imprint anything to help you figure this out?" Shepard asked.

"No. I see picture of old battles, voices of warlords," Grunt answered. He put a hand to his head as he tried to focus. "But this is… a blood haze in my head."

"Oh my…" Kelly squeaked out nervously.

Grunt glared at her and turned his back at both of them. "I want control. When we're moving, fighting, I can focus." He paused and shook his head. "For the most part. But here, my blood screams, my plates itch," he ranted before turning back around and stabbing a finger at Shepard. "And even you are just noise!" He took a breath and shook his head again. "I'm tank-born. What is this?"

Shepard shook his head as well. "I honestly have no idea, Grunt." Bowing his head in thought, he snapped his head back up when Kelly started tapping his shoulder.

"Um… This actually looks like, um…" she hesitated, before glancing at the krogan.

Obliging her, Shepard bend his head lower so Kelly could whisper in his ear.

"This seems reminiscent of… um… puberty. In most species anyway," she finished.

_Oh, hell…_ Shepard thought worriedly. "For all our sakes, I really hope not. What do we do?" he whispered back.

"This isn't something we're equipped to handle, Captain. Perhaps we could consult a specialist?" she suggested in hushed tones.

"Like who?"

"I doubt Dr. Chakwas can help. Perhaps another krogan?"

Shepard nodded and turned to face Grunt. "We'll need to have one of your kind look into this. But it's probably just you… um… catching up on your…" Shepard trailed off, unsure how to finish his sentence.

"Growing pains," Kelly supplied.

"Sure. That works," he quickly agreed.

"Growing pains?" Grunt repeated in confusion.

"You're born fully grown up, but Okeer failed to give you any reason to care about, well, anything. Perhaps he failed in other aspects too," Shepard reasoned. "Like properly growing into yourself, I guess."

Grunt growled and started pacing again. He was muttering to himself, though both humans could detect the words, "Okeer," and "weak," and "idiot." He continued for a few moments longer before speaking again. "Most off-world krogan are warriors. Shamans don't leave the homeworld: Tuchanka." He was still pacing. "I won't ask you to go there," he declared. "I **will** control this."

"I recommend that we do, Captain. We don't know anything about this. Whether this is the worst we can expect or when he'll get better," Kelly advised.

"Agreed," Shepard stated. He met Grunt's eyes, even as the krogan kept pacing. "There's an old friend there I can visit. He'll help us **and** you. I need everyone at their best."

Grunt finally stopped pacing and nodded slowly. "Thank you, Shepard," he said gratefully, surprising both humans again. "I don't like this. Fury is my choice, not a sickness."

"Okay. For now, how about we keep working?" Shepard suggested. "Try to keep your mind off of this until we're able to fly again."

Grunt nodded and started collecting the materials around him.

Shepard nodded his head at Kelly, silently indicating that they should leave. She agreed all too readily.

Once out of earshot, she sighed in relief. "That was intense," she breathed out.

Shepard only shrugged. "You didn't have to come with me."

"I thought that my psych report was inaccurate with regards to my observations of him. I suppose I wanted to double-check myself," she said defensively.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you might be right about the whole 'puberty' thing," he said.

"I'll need to update this," Kelly said. She suddenly giggled. "Grunt and Thane's psych reports are as different as can be," she commented out loud.

"I'm sure they are."

"Mordin mentioned how religious Thane was when you finally met him. I was surprised to hear he even had a spiritual side at all, considering his profession. The Cerberus psych profile mentioned little of it and when I saw him and Garrus leave, he carried himself with such cold confidence," she elaborated before taking on thoughtful look. "I'm not sure if I find him scary or sexy," she admitted.

Shepard let out a small laugh. "A lot of women like bad boys," he said teasingly.

"That is a dirty stereotype," she said in mock indignation before smiling. "In my case, it happens to be true, but still." She turned toward the exit out of the hangar. "I need to update Thane's psych profile and I might have to look over Grunt's again. Good day, Captain."

"Hold on, Kelly. If you're going out to the city, see if you can find any krogan out there willing to talk to you. Be discreet about your inquiries and see if they can't help out a bit," he requested.

"That's a good idea. I'll try my best," she promised before snapping off a salute.

"See you around, Kelly," Shepard said as he left to check on the status of the armor.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport**_

Within the morning crowds of Nos Astra, an asari garbed in deep red leather armor glided smoothly through the throngs of people. She moved with grace and dexterity, born of years of discipline and training. Her eyes took in everything around her with a serene and tranquil gaze, but her movements suggested a definitive purpose.

Thus far, despite Illium's reputation, Samara had yet to encounter any illegal activities that forced her hand to intervene. The police presence was quick and efficient to bring justice to the unjust well before she could act. For this, she was privately glad about. She had a mission, but she knew she also had her Code.

_It's just as well. My window of opportunity grows smaller with each passing day._

Patience was a virtue she had long since embraced. Her quarry, however, had no such discipline. Samara searched as quietly and discreetly as she could, but knew that time was running out. Sooner or later, her prey would either mate, taking a life of an innocent or be able to find a way off-world, continuing a chase that has lasted for over 400 years and littered with the bodies of the innocent.

Knowing the habits of her target, she sought out nightclubs, hallex dealers, and news of anything that would indicate where her opponent might be, any associates, or recent activities. Unfortunately, all her investigations bore no leads. Unsurprising, since Illium prided itself on its strict law enforcement policies.

_She's careful now. Nos Astra's police force would not be kind to an Ardat-Yakshi._

Still, her quarry would find the thrill of danger exciting, an added flavor in their long dance. To hunt and to be hunted; it would provide a challenge that an Ardat-Yakshi would use to prove that her power was growing from their lethal unions. Another example of her twisted hedonism.

Samara found herself recounting the victims she had come across during her four century old pursuit and a profound sadness welled up within as she gazed around the district she was in. Shaking those thoughts away, she refocused on her mission. She had given herself to the Code now and with it, all the consequences involved. There was no turning back from her course.

_Will this be my moment to confront her? Or will our dance continue?_

She watched the space ports now, waiting for her prey to try to escape her. Whatever happens, patience was virtue she had long since embraced.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"How is it now?" Tali yelled from the Tantalus Core control panel.

"It's still no good ma'am," Gabby answered in frustration from Ken's station. "Power draw is more than what the conduits can handle."

"Aw, bugger me sideways! I can't get this damn thing working!" Ken shouted up from the Tantalus Core. "The power delivery system is all bollocksed Boss! We can't get the damn gun to shoot sparks, let alone fire off a shot!"

Tali sighed tiredly. After an evening out fighting with mercenaries, saving civilians, and chasing an assassin, she wanted nothing more than to sleep. She steeled herself and pushed through her weariness. Earlier, she spotted Shepard still up and about and working hard despite whatever exhaustion he might be feeling.

_If he even feels fatigue at all,_ Tali thought jokingly.

"Alright. Start diagnostics and let's try to see which conduits need replacing," she ordered. If he could keep functioning, she had to prove that she was just as capable.

"Aye, aye, ma'am!"

"You got it, Boss!"

EDI's avatar popped up next to her on the pedestal. "If I may make a suggestion, Ms. Zorah. Perhaps we should take all the weapons systems off-line as well, to better test the full ramifications of the Thanix Cannon."

Tali whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes at the glowing blue orb. "If I wanted an opinion from you, I would ask for it."

"I am simply trying to create a working relationship with you, Ms. Zorah. Shutting down the other weapons systems might be able to show where the problem areas are."

"I don't need your help!" Tali snapped back, glaring at the AI. "Now leave me alone before I take up Joker's suggestion of flashing your core, you bosh'tet!"

"Whoa, Tali. Language."

Tali turned her head to glare at the new arrival before she realized it was Shepard. Already, she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment. Clearing her throat and silently thankful for her mask, she quickly regained her composure. "Sorry, Shepard."

"It's fine. I know how you feel about AI's," he replied. He smiled sheepishly. "I asked EDI to be civil with you Tali. Like it or not, she's going to be around all the time."

"That may be, but **I** don't have to like it," Tali snapped back angrily, before catching herself again. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"I'm not asking you to like her. I'm asking you to try to work with her," he suggested carefully.

"You really trust an **AI**?" She spat out the word 'AI' with no small amount of disgust.

"Yeah, I do," Shepard replied instantly, surprising her. "You may not know it, but she saved our lives a few times. Including yours." He leaned against the rail and crossed his arms. "It was actually thanks to her that we were able to find you on Haestrom as quickly as we did."

"That may be, but it's a Cerberus creation," she argued stubbornly.

"And the geth is a quarian creation," he pointed out. "Look, this mission is dangerous enough. We need all the advantages we can get. EDI is one of them. Can you work with her? Just for the mission at least?"

Tali made a noise of annoyance. She put her hands on her hips and glared. "Fine. But don't expect me to become friends with it. I'm with Joker. The less I interact with it, the better."

Shepard sighed, but nodded in acceptance. "I'll take what I can get. Maybe she'll grow you." Judging from the standoffish stance she was displaying told him how likely that was. "Or not…"

She growled a bit before pointedly turning her back on him. "I'll just pretend that it's a VI or something. That makes it a **bit** more tolerable."

"If you wish, Ms. Zorah," EDI stated.

"One step at a time I guess," Shepard muttered good naturedly. "So what's going on here? I noticed that we're a little behind on some of the tests," he asked. He moved out of the way when Gabby stepped past both of them and climbed into the core with Ken.

"Attaching the cannon directly to the core is fine, like we tested earlier, but installing it properly into the ship's systems…" She sighed at gestured to some of the conduits that she suspected were faulty. "Some of the existing conduits can't handle the increased power draw the core uses to create the necessary mass effect fields the Thanix Cannon utilizes. We need to replace them with more superior components," Tali explained distractedly. She made another sound of annoyance laced with impatience. "We should shut down all the weapons systems to see which conduits need replacing."

Tali found herself annoyed when Shepard tried his best to hide his smirk. "EDI's suggestion?"

"I have everything well in hand," she retorted defensively.

Shepard held up his hands in supplication. "I know, I know. I wouldn't have placed you in charge if I didn't think you could do it," he soothed while smiling disarmingly at her.

Tali rolled her eyes, but felt her earlier frustrations melt away in the face of his charm. _Completely unfair…_

"I'll leave you to your work then. Please, be civil?"

"Fine. But only because you're asking," Tali reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks," Shepard gratefully returned before leaving.

Tali leveled a glare at the avatar on the pedestal before shaking her head. "Begin diagnostics and shut down all the weapons systems. Once those tests are completed, we'll restart everything one by one to ensure no further problems."

"Understood, Ms. Zorah. I will coordinate my efforts with the rest of the engineering staff," EDI dutifully complied before vanishing.

_A quarian working with an AI… I can't even imagine what father would say about __**that**__. Keelah._

As she turned back to the console in front of her, Ken's voice floated up from the base of the core. "So Gabby, what do you think of our new quarian boss?"

Tali leaned over the rail to better eavesdrop on them while Gabby leveled a glare at her friend. "Hush. She's right up there."

"Ah, she can't hear us with her head in that bucket," Ken dismissed.

Tali narrowed her eyes at him and turned toward the ladder that led into the core.

"Don't get me wrong; it's a beautiful bucket. The whole suit is lovely. Quite snug, in all the right places," Ken listed off, apparently oblivious to Tali's presence just behind him. She had climbed into the core while he was speaking and was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed.

"You know I **can** hear you," Tali said.

Ken jumped up in fright and banged his head on an open panel. "Ow! Damn it!" Rubbing his head, he turned and smiled sheepishly at her. "Um… You know I meant everything I said in the best possible way, right, Boss?"

"I'm sure. However, flattery will get you nothing but trouble with me," Tali answered ominously. "I believe it's your turn to clean the vents and filters."

"Wha? It's Gabby's turn!" Ken feebly argued. He looked completely dismayed at the task handed to him.

"No, I'm quite sure it's your turn now," Tali countered. "Get to work."

He looked to Gabby and saw no sympathetic looks. "It'll take all day!"

"Then you'd better get started," Tali ordered with finality before turning around and climbing back up to her console.

Gabby's laugher could be heard throughout the deck.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

"Dr. Solus! Mordin!"

Mordin looked up from the holo-menu to see a salarian wave at him. Waving back, he looked back down at the menu and perused the contents quickly. He could hear his friend settle in across from him.

"I was surprised to receive your call," Jedra Kirosa commented. "I'm sorry I couldn't answer you sooner," he apologized before taking on a dejected look. "I was busy trying to calm the rest of my family down. We've had an accident with our records."

Having decided on his lunch, Mordin tapped the button to vanish his menu and nodded to his friend. "Yes. Aware of problems," he said in his usual rapid manner.

"You are?" Jedra asked in surprise.

"Left this in Dantius Towers," Mordin said. He pulled out the OSD he found and passed it over.

"You found it!" Jedra exclaimed happily, accepting the disk and checking it to see if it was damaged. "The Kirosa Generational Archive! Thank you, Mordin. This means everything to me. To us."

"Indeed," Mordin agreed. "Ready to order?"

"Order? Oh! Um…" Jedra realized before activating a holo-menu of his own and glancing through its contents. After a minute he vanished the menu as well. "Ready."

Mordin tapped a button to call for service and waited for a waitress to arrive.

"My whole family has been worried. This data is irreplaceable! I really didn't think I'd get it back from Nassana's corporate building," Jedra said.

Mordin nodded absently as he looked around for their waitress. "Interesting. No backups were ready?" he asked conversationally.

"We did have some," Jedra deadpanned.

Mordin turned back to his friend and tilted his head. "Oh?"

"A rival family introduced a computer virus and our techs were sloppy," he explained in frustration. "The virus managed to destroy all our data."

"No hard copies then? Back up OSD's? Separate networks to prevent such occurrences?" Mordin asked.

Jedra looked embarrassed. "Not as such, no. Lesson learned."

"Why was OSD in Dantius Towers?" Mordin asked. "Data recovery? Reconstruction? Yes, yes. Paid to retrieve data before records were lost, correct?" he theorized before Jedra could get a word in.

Jedra seemed to be used to Mordin's unusual mannerisms if his amused smile was anything to go by. "Yes to all of the above, Mordin. I had to spend a fortune too. It was just bad luck that Nassana went crazy at that moment."

Mordin nodded knowingly. He turned and smiled at the asari waitress that had arrived and placed his order.

Jedra did the same. When the waitress left, he shook his head in exasperation. "I heard from the news reports that she was killed last night too."

"Yes. Heard that as well," Mordin said with a straight face.

"We live in a world of infinite data redundancy," Jedra griped as he patted his pocket to ensure the OSD was still there. "To lose something so important because of one crazy asari…"

Mordin smiled. "Glad to have helped."

"If there's anything I can do for you…" Jedra offered.

The waitress came back with their drinks and placed them on the table before bowing to both salarians and leaving.

Mordin took a sip and nodded. "Lunch is on you."

Jedra looked confused for a moment before bursting out laughing.

Mordin smiled again and was about to say something when his omni-tool beeped. "Excuse me," he said as he looked over the message. For once in his life, he felt mind freeze up as he regarded the encrypted message in front of him.

"Something wrong?" his friend asked worriedly.

Mordin looked up before twisting his head around frantically. He spotted the person he was looking for at the restaurant bar. "Wait… wait one moment," he hesitantly said.

Jedra looked gobsmacked at the sudden halting speech. "What's going on?"

"Business. Personal. Must attend to it immediately. Be right back," Mordin fired off, faster then he usually spoke. He abruptly stood up and walked quickly to the bar. He stopped next to the lone salarian sitting on the stool at the far end. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

STG Captain Kirrahe took a small sip of his drink and shook his head. "Too many ears." He slid a holo-pad over to Mordin discreetly. "Meet me here after you finish your lunch. We need to talk."

"Message you sent me. Utilized STG encryption protocols," Mordin whispered fiercely when he was sure no one around was listening. "Similar encryption was used during project."

"That's precisely why I'm using it," Kirrahe calmly replied. "What I want to talk about has everything to do with you **and** your work." He looked up and glared meaningfully. "We'll talk **later**." He stood up, left some credit chits on the counter and walked away.

Mordin stared at his retreating back. His mind worked in overdrive as he considered and disregarded dozens of scenarios as to why Kirrahe and the STG wanted to speak to him. His feet automatically carried him to his table and he sat down as if he was on autopilot.

Jedra noticed the signs his friend was giving off and opted not to ask any further questions. "So… what brings you to Illium?"

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"We're making good time," Shepard commented as he gazed at the new armor attached at the aft of the frigate.

Miranda nodded in agreement. "I'm a bit surprised myself. We might actually finish tomorrow, two days at the latest."

"I'm guessing two," Shepard replied. "Don't forget about the paint job."

"Men. Always needing to satisfy their egos," she teased.

"Director Lawson, Captain. I have your lunches here," Rolston called out as he and Patel jogged up to them with bags on their arms.

"Great," Shepard said enthusiastically. "I'm starving."

"Thank you, Roltson," Miranda gratefully said.

"No, ma'am. Thank you," Rolston empathetically returned.

"Have you heard from your family?" Miranda asked as she poked through the bags for her order.

"Yes, ma'am. You managed to get them out of there in the nick of time."

"How are they doing?" Shepard asked before taking a bite out of his meal.

"They're resting in San Francisco as we speak, sir."

Patel gave Rolston a friendly pat on the back. "One less thing to worry about, right?"

"It's good news," Shepard said neutrally. His thoughts wandered at the probable losses of yet another colony.

"Yes, sir… but I knew a lot of good people in New Canton."

"We'll stop them. One thing at a time," Patel said optimistically. "The captain is in charge. We'll be alright."

Shepard smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence."

"We should get back to work. If we're going to succeed, we need everything up and running as soon as possible," Rolston said to Patel.

"Right."

When they both left, Shepard saw Miranda giving him a searching look. "What?" he asked after he swallowed a bite.

She shook her head in exasperation. "It's nothing."

"It's something."

"Maybe later," she said, before chewing her food thoughtfully.

Shepard looked confused before shaking his thoughts away and returning his attention to his food. _Women._

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

After eating his lunch quickly and giving a very brief goodbye to his friend, Mordin almost ran to the hotel room Kirrahe had told him to go to. He felt a little guilty given how distant he was acting to Jedra throughout their meal, but his thoughts were consumed with worry as to why the STG wanted to get back into contact with him. After finally reaching his destination, he knocked twice on the door. It opened immediately, revealing another STG soldier. He nodded and granted him entry. Stepping inside, Mordin looked to see five STG soldiers cramped inside the small room. Each of them was on their guard and were scanning and rescanning the room for any eavesdroppers, active, potential or otherwise.

Kirrahe stood up from his chair and nodded. "Dr. Solus."

"Captain. What is the meaning of this?"

"We couldn't afford to send any messages in case they were intercepted and we can't afford anyone overhearing our conversation," he explained shortly. He gestured to the chair across from him.

Mordin nodded slowly and took the offered seat. "Why contact me?"

"Our intelligence indicates that you're working with Cerberus. More to the point however, you're working with Spectre Agent Shepard, correct?"

"Yes, but-" Mordin tried to explain before Kirrahe cut him off.

"I don't know why you're working with Cerberus, but if you're working with Shepard, then that's enough for me," he said. "I'll get right to point, then. One of your team members working on your project has been captured by the Blood Pack."

Mordin's eyes widened. "Blood Pack? Are they aware? What news do you have? Who was captured? How long ago? What are-"

"We don't have details," Kirrahe calmly interjected. "As for who: it's your assistant, Maelon."

If possible, Mordin's eyes widened even more. "Maelon…" he whispered.

"You can see why we're concerned," Kirrahe said. "He was involved in your project from start to finish. He knows **everything**." He took a breath and looked Mordin in the eye. "He disappeared only a few days ago. Unfortunately, he had a copy of the project details with him."

"Copy? Why? What purpose would he have with-"

"We don't know," Kirrahe answered with frustration. "We don't have a lot of intel on this. All we know is he requested a copy shortly before his disappearance. Given how much he was involved, the information was made available to him without question."

Mordin looked around and saw a lot of surly faces. The Salarian Special Tasks Group prided itself on knowing much more than what most would believe. The fact that they didn't have any information at all right now was a slight against that pride.

"We don't know if the krogan are aware of the project. Yet. It's probably only a matter of time though. What we do know is that Maelon is being held on Tuchanka," Kirrahe revealed. "Originally, we were going to stage a rescue op. However, I heard that Shepard was alive, you were working with him and an old krogan teammate of Shepard's was making some pretty big changes planet-side."

Mordin nodded in understanding. "Instead of deploying STG force, you wish for Shepard and me to look into the matter."

Kirrahe nodded back. "Shepard and I worked together before. I know he'll get the job done," he stated with respect in his voice. "I also know about Urnot Wrex, the krogan Shepard worked with two years ago that helped me-"

"Destroy cloning facility on Virmire. Yes, heard about that. Even talked about it with Shepard. He remembers you."

Kirrahe smirked. "With the Urdnot's help, Shepard should be able to get on Tuchanka without too much fuss. Far less than what we can do, anyway," he said. "We want to you find out where Maelon is being held. If you and Shepard can get him off-world, we'll pick him up and take him to a secure location. Otherwise, just transmit his location and we'll try our luck," he briefed.

"Will speak to Shepard. However, likely he will ask many questions. Will need to tell him about project. Need to convince him." Mordin paused to take a breath. "Won't lie to him."

"STG is authorizing you to do what needs to be done, Dr. Solus. As a Spectre, Shepard understands how important galactic stability is more than most. We'll trust that he'll keep his discretion about your project," he answered.

"Will do what I can," Mordin stated resolutely. He got up to leave.

Kirrahe stood up as well and offered his hand. When Mordin shook it, he smiled. "And when you see him? Tell him: I'm glad we held the line."

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

Garrus walked into Eternity, fully intent on getting a drink or two. He spent his day searching for a turian shop that could restore his clan markings on the right side of his face. After successfully applying the missing face paint, he ate lunch alone and took a brief nap in his room at the hotel. However, no matter what did or where he went, thoughts of Sidonis and his conversation with Thane and Liara still haunted him. Stalking up to the bar, he was surprised to see Jacob sitting alone on one of the stools. Sidling up next to him, he ordered a drink from the nearby kiosk and greeted him. "Jacob."

"Garrus," he returned tersely, but not coldly.

It was clear that something weighed heavily on his mind as well. The asari bartender placed Garrus' drink in front of him before moving off to serve another patron. "You look preoccupied. Something you want to talk about?"

"Not particularly," Jacob replied.

Garrus wasn't dissuaded though. "What happened to bartender therapy? Since I'm here, how some barstool philosophy instead?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Jacob snorted into his drink. "Have you heard the bartender talk yet? I think she's worse than my old drill sergeant."

"No kidding?" Garrus asked skeptically. He turned his attention over to the asari bartender and watched her for a bit. "What did she say?" he asked as he reached for the nuts in the red bowl, the ones meant for turians and quarians.

"That she had a krogan for a dad," Jacob said simply as if that explained everything.

In Garrus' mind, it actually did in some ways. What caught his interest was how Jacob's earlier mood returned with a vengeance the moment he said, 'dad'. "You got family problems or something?"

Jacob leveled a glare at him for before sighing. "It's really personal, Garrus."

"I'm sure it is. Believe me, I know," he agreed whole-heartedly.

"You got problems too?" Jacob asked interestedly.

"Yeah. Tell you what. I spill first, then you. Deal?" Garrus offered.

"Deal."

"My father is pretty damn disappointed with me. I haven't spoken to him in over two years," Garrus started.

"He still alive?"

"Yeah. On Palavan. He used to be a famous C-Sec detective, y'know? One of the best." Garrus took a drink before continuing. "It's pretty much because of him I went to C-Sec, but I hated it there. I told him that too. Too many criminals knew how to exploit the system."

"By-the-book kind of guy, I take it?"

"Describes him perfectly."

"How did he feel when you quit?"

Garrus scowled into his drink. "He said I was being impatient, stupid, that kind of thing. Told me that I shouldn't get mixed up with Spectres or Shepard." He took another drink and narrowed his eyes as he remembered the last time they spoke. "'Do it right or don't do it at all'. He always said that to me." He barked out a sardonic laugh. "'Do it right' he says. I did the right thing."

"Stopping the Reapers from killing us all?" Jacob rhetorically asked. "Yeah, I'd say so." He raised his glass and tapped it against Garrus'.

"We haven't talked since. He didn't even send me a message telling me that he was proud or wrong or anything at all. I doubt I'll hear from him for a while too; not after my stint in Omega," Garrus said. He shook his head to free himself of the memories and turned to his drinking companion. "Your turn."

Jacob sighed. "I never mentioned this, but my old man is dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Garrus honestly said.

"Thanks," Jacob replied automatically. "Thing is, I haven't seen or talked to him in 13 years."

"You're not close either, I take it."

"Nope," Jacob affirmed. "Thing is, I just got a message that the ship he was on, the Hugo Gernsback, just activated its distress beacon."

"He's in trouble? Right now?" Garrus asked in alarm.

"He's supposed to be dead. That ship was reported missing 10 years ago."

Garrus tilted his head in confusion. "10 years… then why?"

Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not even sure I care."

"Considering that you're here drinking alone, maybe you do, just a little anyway."

"It's just bothering me, that's all."

"You aren't going to check it out?" Garrus inquired.

"We got a mission. I don't want to waste Shepard's time with this when there are bigger things at stake."

"What if-"

"He's alive?" Jacob finished for him. "I thought about that. I don't know though. 10 years…"

"For what it's worth…" Garrus started before falling silent.

"What?"

Garrus stayed silent, searching himself for the answers. Eventually, he came to a decision. "If it was my father, I think I'd like to know for sure. We might not be close, but family is still family."

Jacob stared at him for a while before nodding. "You think I should talk to Shepard about it?"

"I would."

"Alright. When he's not busy or when the Normandy is up and running again, I'll…"

Anything more Jacob wanted to say was interrupted by a man in last generation N7 armor stomping his way up to the bar. The man had short cropped blonde hair and a trimmed mustache and beard. As soon as he reached the bar, he slammed his hands on the countertop and glared at the bartender. He was apparently going for a menacing look, but lacked the right presence for it. The asari looked at him in amusement and annoyance. "All right!" he shouted. "I want the deed to this bar! Now!"

Jacob looked confused at his request. His confusion grew even more when Garrus started chortling. "You know him?"

Garrus nodded. "Not particularly, but I've seen him before," he vaguely said, still laughing at some unseen joke.

Both men watched as the owner of Eternity walked out of the back room and started speaking to the stranger. However, minutes later, both parties were engaged in a shouting match.

"Hey, Jacob. You want some entertainment?" Garrus asked mischievously.

"We gonna get in trouble for it?" Jacob asked.

Garrus noted that he didn't specifically say no. "I might, but you won't."

"In that case, what are you planning?"

Garrus chucked again and activated his com. "Hey, Shepard. There's an emergency in the Eternity Bar. You better get down here quick." There was a pause as Garrus listened to Shepard's response. "Yeah." Another pause. "No, I don't think I can handle this one alone. Gonna need you here." Pause. "See you soon. I'll keep you apprised of the situation when I can get a better handle as to what the hell is going on."

"You're crazy. You think Shepard can do something with that marine?" Jacob asked.

Garrus grinned. "What makes you think he's a marine?"

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office**_

Not long after lunch, Shepard found himself in Liara's office, sitting across from his former teammate. An urgent message from her prompted him to leave the refits of the Normandy to Miranda and travel quickly to her office.

"Before we talk about my business, we should speak about yours," Liara started when he made himself as comfortable as he could. "My contacts at Thessia have come back with news that Samara **is** after a specific individual. This particular asari she's after is dangerous. **Very** dangerous."

"What's she done?" Shepard asked involuntarily.

"She's… she's a killer," Liara hesitantly revealed. "Of sorts."

Shepard got the impression that she wanted to say something else, but decided to maintain his silence.

"She's been killing for more than 400 years. All throughout asari space," Liara continued.

Shepard let out a low whistle. "Do I even want to guess how many she's killed?"

"Whatever your guess is, I doubt you'll hit the mark," came the deadpan reply. "Whoever Samara is chasing is very good. Even **I** didn't know her kind was here until now. And this is the kind of information I should be aware of more than most."

"Her kind?" Shepard repeated.

"It's an asari problem," Liara answered vaguely. "If Samara desires to tell you, then that is her choice. I do not wish to become involved."

He noticed Liara becoming more and more uncomfortable as their conversation continued, so he decided to change the subject. "Alright, your turn then. What do you need me for now?"

"The Shadow Broker has several contacts here on Illium. The most powerful is someone called the Observer."

"Interesting moniker."

"Taking down the Observer will put me closer to the Shadow Broker," she continued, ignoring Shepard's remark. "I could use your help identifying him."

"What do I do?"

"The data you uncovered helped me find logs kept by Shadow Broker agents. The logs were deleted, but it may be possible to reconstruct some of it."

"So you just want me to fetch more data then?" Shepard skeptically asked.

"This data will more substantial than the data you got before," she said before frowning. "The Shadow Broker is cautious…"

"I would be too if you were after me," Shepard mumbled to himself, though Liara still heard it if her raised eyebrow was any indication.

"His agents are referred to only by their title and race," she explained, tactfully overlooking his comments again. "If you can refine the list, I'll know where to strike."

Nyxeris stepped up next to Shepard. "My inquiries have narrowed the Observer down to one of five operatives: a turian, a krogan, a batarian, and a vorcha."

Shepard narrowed his eyes at her. He noted that as she spoke, her statement had the most emotional inflections since he'd met her, rather than her usual distant speech patterns. "What? No human or asari?" he joked in an attempt to cover his unease.

"No," she answered shortly and quickly.

Shepard felt his hackles rise again. While his question was made in jest, she seemed oddly serious.

_Something __**really **__isn't right here…_

Liara was staring at Nyxeris as well, her gaze oddly penetrating. "This is all the information we have. Nyxeris was lucky to get as much as she did."

Nyxeris smiled and bowed. "I was happy to help, ma'am."

_She got the information then. I wonder…_

Liara voice interrupted his musings. "The data is our only hope of determining which on is the Observer. And if we wait too long, they'll all disappear."

"Alright. Where can I find the data?"

Tapping on her console, she transmitted the locations of the terminals Shepard needed to access. "Each of the agents uses these areas to leave their information. These 'dead drops' should have what I'm looking for. There are five of them."

"Okay. I'll try to reconstruct the data and tell you what I find," he agreed.

"Thank you, Shepard. When you find something, call me on the radio channel we used in the old days. I can't risk handling this in person," Liara instructed.

"Right. I'll be back soon, then." Standing up, he nodded his head and left.

Stepping out into the trading floor, Shepard stretched and looked around before engaging his omni-tool to see where he was supposed to go. He groaned to himself when he read the details.

_Why did I agree to this?_

The data he went after two nights ago was relatively close to each other. This time, the data he was after seemed much more spread out, seemingly all over Nos Astra.

Sighing to himself, he made his way to the carport through the transit station.

_This might take a while._

As much as he didn't want to help Liara, he still trusted her on some level. Plus, there was still whatever secret she was keeping from him. Until he had the full story, he knew that he shouldn't judge her. Though, with his dwindling patience, it was becoming harder and harder to help her like he was currently doing. Banishing those thoughts from his mind, he approached the taxi stands and prepared to leave when he noticed that Seryna wasn't at her station, though her coworker, Tana was. Changing directions, he walked up to her and cleared his throat. "Excuse me. You know where Seryna is?"

"She's not here anymore…" she answered distractedly. She typed a few more things into her terminal before looking up. "Oh, you're the one she was helping out."

Shepard silently nodded.

"She took a job off-world. Didn't say where." She poked around her desk, looking for something. "She gave me something for you. Looks like a message."

"She didn't say anything else?"

"Nope. Just gave me that and left – not even a goodbye." She handed him a holo-pad.

Shepard thanked her and took the holo-pad from her. Stepping out of earshot, he tapped on the pad and listened to Seyna's message.

"_Hey, Shepard. I was preparing to leave to my new life when the news burst arrived. The bitch is dead," _she vindictively crowed._ "I assume that means our mutual friend is alive and either he or you did the job. Tell him if I ever see him, I'll buy him a drink."_

Scoffing humorously at the message, Shepard put the holo-pad in his pocket and got into taxi.

He spent most of the day cursing Liara, another first time occurrence, as he went about his business of hacking into terminals he had no business poking around in. He was forced to abuse his Tactical Cloak to hack into the hidden data servers for the information dead drops the Shadow Broker's agents used without drawing unwanted attention. Specifically from either the Observer or his agents. After hacking one and retrieving the data, he had to jump into a taxi and practically drive from one end of Nos Astra to the other just to download more corrupted or deleted pockets of data.

A few hours later, twilight fell on the city when he finally got into the fourth terminal.

_Almost done._

His musings were interrupted when his omni-tool beeped. "Shepard here," he called into his com. He paused when he heard Garrus' report. "Is it bad?" Another pause. "Can you handle it by yourself?" Pause. "Alright. I'm on my way. Just sit tight and let me know if anything more happens, okay?"

Cursing to himself, he looked over to where the last location of the data server he needed to hack. His sigh of relief was plain to hear.

_Finally, some good luck. Last one is at Eternity._

"Miranda? Get Tali and meet me at the entrance of the Eternity Bar. Garrus says there's trouble," Shepard called into his com.

"_Is it bad?"_

"He says he can't handle it on his own. Beyond that, I'm waiting for him to call me with more info."

"_Should I get the others?"_

Shepard furrowed his brow in thought. "No… just the three of us for now," he decided. "Four when we meet up with Garrus. We'll look into the situation and go from there."

"_Understood. Tali and I will be there soon. Miranda out."_

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

Shepard met both ladies at the designated rendezvous. The humans were still dressed as civilians and Tali in her Colossus Armored environment suit. Shepard was still armed with his pistol, but his trained eye caught the slight signs that Miranda had her pistol as well, though he couldn't tell if Tali was armed or not.

_If Miranda left the Normandy armed, Tali would've equipped her pistol too,_ he reasoned.

As nonchalantly as they could, they prepared to enter when a well-dressed asari stomped out, muttering angrily to herself. "I'm going to have that asshole arrested…"

She almost bumped into Miranda before having the presence of mind to look around. "Are you going into my club?"

"Of course," Miranda answered without missing a step. "Just us ladies, going out with a handsome man, taking in the nightlife of Nos Astra." To emphasize her point, she looped her arms around Shepard's right arm and smiled. "Right, Tali?

"Oh. Yes, of course." Catching on quickly, she did the same around Shepard's other side.

"Is there something wrong?" Shepard asked, feigning confusion and pretending to be a concerned patron.

"No, of course not," she quickly replied before regaining her earlier frustrated look. "Just watch yourself if you go in there. Some idiot human is causing trouble."

"Not too much trouble, I hope?" Miranda asked sweetly.

"No. Like I said, he's just an idiot. He's demanding that I sign the place over to him!"

"We'll avoid him," Shepard assured.

"Or you could kill him," the asari joked. "You know, legally. In self-defense. I'd make a really good witness."

"I'll keep that in mind," he deadpanned.

The asari smiled back. "Oh well. Failing that, I'm going to get security cameras installed now." Her smile became predatory. "If he or anyone else causes trouble, I'll have their asses arrested."

"Good to know," Tali said.

"Well, please. Enjoy yourselves."

"We will," Miranda sing-songed as she dragged Shepard, and by extension, Tali, into the club. Once inside, she let him go and started looking around for Garrus. "Do you see him?" she asked, all business again.

Shepard let Tali go and took a few steps in, observing the club and seeing if anything was amiss. After a few seconds, he started groaning to himself. "Oh, that son of a bitch. He set me up."

Tali noticed Shepard's look and turned in her head in the direction he was looking at. She broke out laughing. "I remember him!" she gasped out between giggles.

Miranda looked completely lost. Looking in the same direction, all she saw was Garrus and Jacob sitting at the bar, completely relaxed. Near them was a man in last-gen N7 armor, ranting at the bartender. "I'm not following here."

Shepard sighed in annoyance and stalked toward the bar. He leveled a glare at Garrus and Jacob, but both men just raised their glasses in salute and grinned.

"You really holding out on me? I'm a man on the edge! I've got nothing to lose!"

The asari bartender looked amused and annoyed at the same time. "Uh-huh," she said patronizingly.

"I'll do anything to get the job done! I'll go all the way without a second thought!"

"Uh-huh."

"You want to see how far I'll go?" The man leaned on the bar. "I learned how to shove gun in people's faces from-"

The bartender turned her body to better see Shepard's approach. "You want something, hon.?"

The man turned around and paled. "Commander Shepard?" he whispered disbelievingly.

"Hey, if you know this idiot, can you rein him in before I slap his ass with a singularity?" the asari called out.

Shepard held a hand up to placate her before turning his attention to his 'number one fan' Conrad Verner.

"Shepard? Is it really you?" he asked, staring at Shepard's face. He started grinning. "It's me, Conrad Verner! We met on the Citadel? I wanted to become a Spectre?"

"You **know** him?" Miranda asked skeptically.

Her question was answered when Garrus broke out laughing uproariously. He had to grip the counter to prevent himself from falling off the stool. Jacob and Tali joined in moments later when Shepard glared at the turian, who missed the look, lost as he was in his mirth.

"Oh! Uh, and then you shoved a gun in my face!" Conrad exclaimed, oblivious to the stares and laughs around him.

Miranda raised an eyebrow at that and took a seat at the bar to watch the show unfold. Tali sat next to Garrus and observed the proceeding with undisguised amusement.

"Man! You showed me what it meant to be truly extreme. I learned that lesson well," Conrad continued. "So you're alive, huh?" he tried to growl out, but failed miserably.

The bartender rolled her eyes at his attempts at playing the 'tough guy'.

"I hear it goes like that in the biz," he said in an off-handed tone. He puffed out his chest. "Why don't you sit back and watch how it's done? I've got some asses to kick."

Shepard sighed. "Conrad, let me make this perfectly clear." Reaching behind, he drew his pistol and pointed it at his face.

Conrad backed up with his hands in the air.

Lowering the pistol, Shepard expertly shot the side of his boot, grazing his foot.

Conrad went down with a shout of shock and pain.

"This is not acceptable," he finished with a lecturing tone.

"Aaah!" Conrad shouted. "My foot! You shot my foot! Aaah!" he screamed out pathetically.

The bartender leaned over the bar to inspect the damage before snorting inelegantly. "That shot barely grazed you, you big baby. If it was me, I'd go for the quads."

Shepard, Miranda, and Tali turned to her in surprise.

She shrugged. "Sorry. My father was a krogan."

"Told ya," Jacob said to Garrus.

"Alright. I believe you."

Conrad inspected his foot before realizing that it only stung, but not much else. He stood up and looked embarrassed. "It still scared me!" he argued defensively. "I'm new at the badass mercenary thing! People don't usually shoot at me!"

Miranda looked at him as if he were a nuisance. "Obviously, no combat training then," she said acerbically.

Conrad turned to her. "Hey! I'm saving the galaxy!" He ignored the laughs from Garrus, Tali, and Jacob. "I don't have time for training!"

"I'm sure," she replied in a disinterested tone.

Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose in an vain attempt to hold back his headache. He turned to Garrus. "I hate you."

Garrus took a drink and tried to look innocent.

"There! You see!" Conrad suddenly shouted out. "You were a big jerk back then, but you were still a hero and you saved the galaxy. You showed other races that humans mattered… and then you died!"

"Shepard! How could you! You died! For shame!" Tali shouted out in mock ire.

"Funny," Shepard deadpanned back at her, though he grinned all the same. He turned back to Conrad. "Any decent security system will detect that you aren't in the military. Running around like this will land you in a lot of trouble."

"I just say I'm in deep-cover and don't appear on systems," he explained. "I'm doing the best I can, okay?"

Shepard crossed his arms and glared.

"Look, the galaxy needed someone like you, Shepard. We all did. I had to do something."

"So… what? You just wander the galaxy righting wrongs or something?" Shepard asked, driven with only sheer morbid curiosity.

"And hopes that he doesn't get shot," Garrus unhelpfully supplied.

"Hey, don't say it like that!" he complained. "I talk to people, you know? Ask if they have big problem that only I can solve. You'd be surprised how many people are just waiting for someone to talk to them!" He looked around surreptitiously. "Sometimes I poke through crates, too. You know, for extra credits."

"How did you get that armor?" Tali asked interestedly.

Conrad smiled at her and patted his chest plate. "The right people can make some pretty convincing replicas these days, if you're willing to pay." He shifted the armor a little, before turning back to face Shepard. "Getting the whole getup was pretty expensive, but my wife was really supportive. She even paid for my shuttle fare off-world!"

The asari bartender rolled her eyes and put her head in her hands in disbelief.

Miranda turned away from the kiosk she was browsing to stare at Conrad incredulously. "You're actually married?"

Before he could answer her, Shepard asked, "Why were you trying to get the deed to this place?"

Conrad looked confused before he slapped his fist in his hand. "Oh, right! Hey, Shepard, this place? It's actually a front for a red sand dealer. I need to take it over to crack the ring!"

"What? Who the hell told you that?" the asari asked.

"The owner of that weapons store near the carport! She's an undercover cop! She told me about it when I introduced myself!" Conrad stated confidently.

"Listen, crap-for-brains," the asari said. "First, we don't sell red sand. Second, red sand is legal on Illium! You just need a license!"

Running a hand over his face and reining in his temper, Shepard nodded. "Okay. How about **I** talk to this 'undercover cop' and figure out what's going on?"

"Thank you," the bartender said appreciatively. "If I kill annoying customers, it usually causes property damage. That comes out of my pay."

Shepard gave her a nod before turning to leave.

"Just let me know if you need my help, Shepard!" Conrad shouted at his retreating back.

Suppressing a groan, he left the bar to find whoever it was that (re)introduced this irritation in his life. Unsurprisingly, he could hear several footsteps jogging to catch up to him. He turned around and pinned Garrus with another glare. "You're sick, twisted man."

"Glad to see you remember him," Garrus retorted with a grin.

"He certainly remembers you," Tali piped up.

Shepard rolled his eyes at their comments and continued toward the carport. Still, he couldn't repress the smile at their antics. Tali took the liberty of informing the Cerberus Operatives about their history with Conrad Verner.

"So why are you helping that man?" Miranda asked curiously after Tali finished with her explanations.

"Two reasons. First, if he keeps doing what he's doing, he'll get himself killed. Second, I'm feeling a bit guilty for shooting him. Maybe if I just hit him…" Shepard paused as he thought about the ramifications of that choice. Eventually, he shook his head. "No, I think I'd still feel guilty."

She shrugged. "Well, it's not as if you were doing anything more productive with your time, such as helping me with the Normandy."

Shepard offered a sheepish grin and managed to avoid cringing. "Sorry. My meeting with Liara took a little longer than I thought."

She took a side-long glance at his profile. "How did your meeting with her go?"

"She found out a little more about Samara and why she was here on Illium. I got the impression that she didn't want to talk more about it, though," Shepard replied, purposefully omitting the rest of their conversation. His mind started analyzing the best way to take the data at Eternity without everyone wondering what he was doing. He absently dodged an excited salarian talking on his com.

"You'll never believe what happened. I've got the data! I'll tell you to the details later. Just spread the word. The family will be okay…"

Upon reaching the carport, Shepard glanced around. "Where the hell is this shop…?" he muttered to himself.

"This way," Garrus said. He led the group toward a shopping stand on their left. "I went here to buy some stuff," he informed.

The merchant in charge of the shop turned at their approach. "Can I help you with something?" she asked in a dull tone.

"I talked to an old friend," Shepard started. He ignored Garrus' chuckle at his back and privately vowed to get revenge on him as soon as he could think up something suitable. "Conrad Verner. You told him that the Eternity lounge was selling red sand."

The asari wore a predatory smile. "Oh, you're Conrad's friend," she replied in a tone reserved for small children and the mentally impaired. "Yes, that place is really dangerous. I should know. I'm an undercover cop." She pretended to look around for any signs of trouble before leaning in conspiratorially. "Did you get me the deed to the bar? I need the deed to, uh, stop the red sand dealers."

"Put it to you this way," Shepard replied neutrally, before pulling out his pistol and holding it up for her to see. "Unlike Conrad, I actually know how to use a gun. More importantly, I don't have a real problem shooting you with it, either."

The merchant's eyes widened in fear when she saw the weapon and she paled when she saw that he was being deadly serious. "Wait! Wait-wait-wait," she pleaded quickly. She looked around, trying to see if anyone would help her. "This place is under video surveillance! You can't shoot me!" she shouted in an attempt to stall him.

"I don't give a vorcha's ass about your security cameras or the laws here," Shepard growled. "Spectres have that luxury."

She paled even further. "Spectre…?" she whispered disbelievingly.

"Conrad Verner is an idiot, but he doesn't deserve to be manipulated like that. You're going to make this right," he ordered.

"Okay! I'll go tell him the truth!" she said quickly.

"No," Shepard said. "You're going to tell Conrad that he did a great job and then you're going to leave. That's all." He took a step closer and glared. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir! We're clear! Crystal!" She turned around and started typing into her terminal. "Look, I'm even letting you have whatever you want at the kiosk, okay? Free of charge! I'll talk to Verner and then I'm gone. I swear! After she finished typing and babbling, she turned around and ran for the door.

"Aw, damn it," Garrus griped. "Why the hell couldn't you do that sooner? Then I could've gotten everything for free instead."

"Too late for you," Jacob agreed. "But not for me." He stepped up to the kiosk and started browsing.

"Subtle," Miranda remarked.

"Thanks," Shepard said as he leaned on the nearby railing. He decided to wait a few minutes to allow time for the asari to get to Eternity and speak with Conrad. It was then, that he heard a krogan nearby, shouting something about blue roses.

"What is that awful noise?" Tali asked.

The group as a whole turned to the source of the disturbance.

"Oookaaay. Now I've seen everything," Garrus remarked.

It was the krogan and he was spouting poetry, of all things. From the looks of it, he was attempting to woo the asari that was in charge of the souvenir shop nearby.

"That's certainly different," Tali said in agreement with Garrus.

"Different yes, but it's probably not our business," Miranda said as she continued to observe the surreal situation in front of them.

"I don't know," Tali responded. "I think we should help."

"Why?" Jacob asked without looking up from the kiosk.

"I think he really likes her," she answered. "At the very least, he should get something for his effort."

"I never pegged you as a romantic," Garrus teased. Shepard laughed.

"And why not?" Tali said sharply at Garrus. She put her hands on her hips and glared at the turian. Shepard laughed harder.

"Um… well… it's **you**," Garrus argued weakly.

"And what does that mean? !"

This time, everyone laughed as Tali tore into Garrus, who was unsuccessfully trying to placate the quarian with no luck.

"I'm with Miranda. I'd rather not get involved with a krogan's love life," Shepard said after Garrus was properly subdued, much to Tali's satisfaction. "Although, I could use more variety of fish for my aquarium. Maybe another ship model for my display." He was about to say something more when he spotted Kelly getting out of a taxi nearby. He watched as she turned her head toward the krogan and the asari and observed the affair in front of her. Apparently interested, she walked up to the asari and started chatting with her. "Wonder what she's up to…?"

"I'm guessing that she's about to make it her business," Miranda observed.

The group watched the proceedings for another minute before Shepard stood up. "I'm going to get some more stuff for my cabin, then, I'm going to deal with Conrad." He started for the souvenir shop. As he passed Garrus, he turned his head and said, "Somewhere along the line, I'm going to kick your ass too."

"You can try," Garrus retorted good-naturedly.

"I'm pretty sure I'll succeed after watching you get brought down by someone half your size," Shepard countered.

Everyone could tell that Tali looked smug underneath her helmet.

"That's not fair," Garrus grumbled. Everyone laughed at his plight.

While Garrus was trying to salvage what was left of his male pride, Shepard walked toward the souvenir shop. Tali opted to follow, curious as to why a krogan would try reciting poetry.

"Oh, hello, Shepard. Tali," Kelly greeted when they reached the kiosk. She turned back to the asari. "Is it really that bad?"

"Krogan live long lives, y'know? It's not like dating a human, where you just stick it out for a century until they die," she said before realizing who and what she was talking to.

Shepard stopped looking through the kiosk and raised an eyebrow at her, while Kelly tilted her head.

"Uh, no offense," she quickly said, her tone contrite. "Anyway, it made me wonder if he really likes me or if he just wants kids. He can't have them any other way, you know, because of the genophage."

"Did you talk to him about it?" Tali asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think he realized that our kids would always have been asari," she answered.

"Are you sure about that?" Kelly asked.

The merchant shrugged. "Most non-asari don't always get that we're not taking alien DNA, we're just using it to randomize some of the genetic information."

"What did he say when you explained it to him?" Tali asked curiously.

"Charr got quiet for a long time. Then he said he'd love our girls no matter what color they were."

Kelly sighed dramatically. "That's really romantic."

"Maybe you should talk to him again?" Tali suggested. "Krogan can be really stubborn. He's probably not going to go away until you give him a definitive answer."

"I know. I know! But it's tough!" she said in frustration. "I like him a lot. Hell, I love him! But I don't know if he's permanent bond-material."

Kelly turned her head to look at the krogan before facing the asari. "It's pretty obvious that he has strong feelings for you."

"Yeah, but what if he just wants to have kids? Am I his baby-making machine?" she fretted. "He said I wasn't, but…"

Shepard sighed. He couldn't believe he was letting himself get drawn into this. "Look," he suddenly said, interrupting the asari's rant. "If he said that, then you either trust him and you have nothing to worry about. Or you don't and you've already decided."

All three women looked at him in surprise.

"So…" he said, slightly uncomfortable with the stares. "How much for this stuff?" he inquired, pointing at his selections on the kiosk.

"I… I guess I hadn't thought about it like that. And I do trust him. If he said it…" She turned her head and met Charr's eyes. And then she smiled. "I'm going to talk to him." She turned back to Shepard and turned on her omni-tool. "I'll give you a discount. Thanks for the help."

Shepard nodded. "No problem. Thanks for the discount."

After she left, Kelly and Tali turned to face him.

"That was really nice of you, Shepard," Tali praised.

"And I have to say, that was sound advice," Kelly added. "Much better than what I would've said."

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "Thanks," he simply said. He quickly made his purchases and rejoined the rest of the group waiting at the weapon's shop.

"Women," Jacob said from the weapon's kiosk when Tali and Kelly were in earshot. "Why do they always try to fix things that don't need fixing?"

Miranda and Tali rolled their eyes at his childish behavior. Kelly just smiled at him. "Because it makes us feel all warm inside," she stated.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

"Hey! Shepard!" Conrad shouted when the group reentered the bar. He ran up and grinned proudly. "The weapons merchant said that we took care of the red sand dealers! I guess I really helped!"

Shepard grabbed Conrad by the shoulder and led him away from his team. Part of the reason was to make it look like a private debriefing, but mainly, it was for the fact that his squad were trying and failing to hide their amusement. "This was a dangerous mission, Conrad," Shepard said in a worried tone. "You could have been killed. I'd feel terrible if anything happened to you."

Conrad blinked in confusion before looking at his feet guiltily. "I… I didn't know." He looked up and nodded. "I can't risk you being worried about my safety." He sighed before managing a small smile. "I'll stop pretending to be something I'm not. But thanks for letting me help, at least for a little while."

"I appreciate that, Conrad," Shepard said.

"It's really good to have you back," Conrad said with a grin. "Good luck with whatever you're doing."

After he left, Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief and settled himself at the bar.

Miranda sat down next to him. "That was devious," she commended. "Well played."

"I just hope he doesn't get himself into more trouble," Shepard grumbled.

"Ah, well," Garrus said as he sat down on Shepard's other side. "I'm sure I can find someone else to annoy you."

"Sick and twisted," Shepard simply responded, echoing his earlier words.

The asari bartender leaned on the counter across from Shepard. "Hey, thanks for taking care of that crazy idiot. Saves me having to beat him to death with his own spine. That makes the other customers nervous."

"Definitely like my old drill sergeant," Jacob said as he sat next to Garrus.

"Anyway, this is Eternity and I'm Aethyta, asari matriarch and bartender. Get you anything?" she said with a straight face.

Various looks of disbelief were directed at her.

"Wait, what?" Garrus asked.

"You're an asari matriarch?" Shepard questioned.

"I was under the impression that matriarchs served as honored advisors on Thessia," Miranda said.

"I advise fine, right here at this bar," she replied. She started pouring everyone a drink. "I know, not what you'd expect. But nobody on Thessia wanted to listen to my wise counsel, so here I am."

"Why won't anyone listen to you?" Jacob asked, sipping his drink. "And why are you here mixing drinks?"

"Because it's better than what most other matriarchs are doing," she angrily said. "Look at that screw-up with Saren and his geth a few years back! Our ships were hanging bare-assed in space when Saren started shooting. If not for you humans, we would've bought it right there." She snorted. "And I warned them! Told people on Thessia what was coming and they didn't want to hear it."

"What didn't they want to hear?" Shepard asked interestedly.

"That art and philosophy and political prowess wasn't going to cut it," she said confidently. "Hell, we can't go a single asari lifetime without some big war breaking out." She started pacing. "We need to get our daughters working earlier, not spending their wild maiden years stripping or in merc bands." She stopped pacing and scowled. "When I started talking about making new mass relays ourselves, they laughed the blue off my ass. So now, I serve drinks."

Shepard blinked a couple of times before raising his glass at her. "For what it's worth, I think you're the best damn asari matriarch I've ever met."

"I'll drink to that," Garrus agreed.

"Damn straight," Jacob added.

"Thanks, boys. By the way, you humans? Don't drink anything for turians and quarians. It does nasty things to your insides." She started wiping down the counter. "Once saw a krogan drink a liquefied turian on a dare six or seven centuries back. Nobody came out of that one looking pretty."

"That's revolting," Miranda said in disgust.

"You ain't getting any argument from me." She turned her head. "Hey, hon.?" she called out to Jacob. "Read the warning signs. Don't eat the nuts in the red bowls. They're for turians and quarians. Wouldn't want you to get cramps."

Jacob pulled his hand away. "Oh. Thanks for the warning."

"No problem." She turned to Shepard and smiled. "Anything else I can get you? No sex though. Just cleaned the bar."

"I'm good, thanks," Shepard replied with a small laugh.

"Shepard!" Tali shouted out through the din of the bar. She pushed her way through the crowds and grabbed Shepard's arm. "I need your help! Come with me!"

"Wha…? Hey! Tali!" Shepard shouted back in protest as he was dragged out of his stool.

**-oOo-**

"Come on! This way!" She pushed her way back through the crowds, uncaring of the shouts and complaints her haste generated. Finally, she stopped just short of an asari and a quarian. "There," she said, pointed at them.

"I'm not following," Shepard responded bluntly. He watched the two interact for a few more seconds when he finally heard over the din what Tali had wanted him to hear.

"We'll figure something out. Stop worrying," the asari said.

"Stop worrying? ! This is my **life** you're talking about!"

Tali didn't know the quarian personally, but she guessed her to be a few years younger than herself. No doubt on Illium for her Pilgrimage.

"You signed the indentured service contract. You gave over your responsibility to me. So don't worry," the asari assured.

"Oh, hell no," Shepard said in a disgusted tone.

"Exactly. Can you help her?" Tali pleaded. "Please?" She was confident that Shepard would help, but knowing that a quarian on her Pilgrimage was about to enter slavery filled her with worry.

"Alright, let's see what we can do," Shepard said.

Tali suppressed a sigh of relief and started making her way to them.

Both of them approached the pair while they were still engaged in conversation. "It's okay. I'll think of something," the asari said.

"You said Synthetic Insights would buy me! You said it was an easy sale!" the quarian accused.

"I assumed they would want an AI tech," the asari argued.

Tali marched right up to her and glared through her helmet. Shepard put a restraining hand on her shoulder and she forced herself to let him take over. Silently, she prayed that he would be able to do something.

"Hello, can I help you with something?" the asari asked, her question directed to both of them.

"What's going on here? Did you make this quarian your slave?" Shepard asked harshly.

"We prefer the term 'indentured servants'," the asari corrected.

"I'm sure the play on words helps you sleep better at night," Tali stated angrily.

The slave broker raised her hand in a gesture of peace. "Wait one moment, please," she requested calmly, her attitude all-business. "Before you do anything hasty, know that this quarian signed the agreement voluntarily and her servitude contract is completely legal on Illium."

"Oh, really?" Tali sardonically asked. "You didn't just trick her to into signing herself over or something, did you?"

"Tali," Shepard said in a soothing voice. "What were you two talking about?"

"I was trying to get her employment with Synthetic Insights," she said before giving Shepard a shrewd look. "Since you're so interested in helping her, why don't you help me convince the representative to purchase her contract?"

"What if we take the contract?" Shepard asked. "I could let her go and everyone would be happy."

She smiled patiently. "A gallant offer, but with three problems."

Tali growled, but held her peace when Shepard put his hand on her shoulder again.

"First, her technical skill merits a contract of several hundred thousand credits."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the price.

"There's also a fee for freeing me before my service period ends," the quarian said miserably.

"That's point two. Finally," she said, looking over both Shepard and Tali. "The both of you are clearly travelers – her service contract stipulates that she remain on Illium."

"I didn't want anyone to take me off to a mine somewhere," she explained.

Tali stared at her fellow quarian. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema," she introduced herself automatically as per tradition. "So why did you sign that contract?"

"Tali'Zorah?" she whispered reverently. "The daughter to Admiral Zorah? You were the one that brought back that geth data…"

Tali nodded. She avoided looking at Shepard, though she could feel his gaze on her.

"Saya'Kiri nar Medai," she introduced herself before sighing glumly. "I, um, I tried to play the stock market. I'm good with numbers and I thought I had a way to make unlimited money," she admitted embarrassingly. She sighed again. "I lost everything. Then I got a credit line and lost that. Then I took out an illegal loan…" She trailed off when she realized that she was rambling. "Um, you get the picture."

"Oh, Keelah," Tali said sympathetically.

"I know," Saya replied, utterly mortified with herself.

The broker cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "As part of our agreement, I paid off her debts. Five years from now, she'll have a fresh start and excellent work references," she said as if she was doing Saya a favor.

"And what happens when you back out of your contract or lie to hold on to her longer?" Tali asked with a biting tone.

"All contracts are monitored by Illium Law Enforcement," she answered evenly. "In a case such as you describe, the burden of proof would be on me. No system is perfect, but safeguards are set up to protect all parties."

"Tali," Shepard whispered into her ear. "Be civil. As angry as you are at the situation, getting angry at her doesn't help us or your friend at all." Standing tall, he glanced between the asari and the quarian. "We overheard your conversation. Why are you trying to sell Saya?"

"I don't keep any service contracts myself. I'm a contract broker. I see to it that indentured servants are put to work in safe, steady environments. After all, if they don't work, then their part of the contract is unfulfilled. In our case, our young friend here would owe me a great deal of money." She nodded toward someone on the other side of the room. "I had assumed that Synthetic Insights would jump at the chance for a skilled AI tech, but they won't even make me an offer."

"After the Battle of the Citadel, I'm not surprised," he responded.

"Yes, I suppose you have a point," the broker said frustratingly.

"Do you need to sell her, though? You said that she had valuable technical skills."

"Quarians' strict health requirements and diets make them expensive to house and feed," she informed. "I run a minor profit at best. I don't have the money for constant suit repairs and clean-room facilities."

"So what happens if Synthetic Insights won't take me?" Saya asked worriedly.

"A solution always presents itself. I **will** take care of you," the broker confidently said.

Tali found herself unsure whether she should be disgusted with the asari for her business or thankful that she somewhat cares for her charges.

Shepard sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to the rep and see what I can do, alright?"

"Thank you. We'd both appreciate whatever help you can offer," the asari graciously said. "She's sitting over there in the booth. The one in the gold dress."

"Let's go, Tali," Shepard said.

The moment they were out of earshot, Tali rounded on him. "So we're just going along with this?" she asked angrily.

"She's in debt, Tali. She's was in trouble to begin with." He stopped and looked her in the eyes. "Look, I don't want to invoke Spectre privileges carelessly. And just because we're friends doesn't give you carte blanche to do whatever you want," he explained neutrally. "Let's see what happens first, and then we'll discuss what the next move is. She owes a lot of money already, so we'll have to try to help her out that problem as well as her current one, okay?"

Tali wanted to argue more, she really did, but Shepard had already started wading through the crowd. She bit her lip and followed, hoping that he'd come through for her on this.

"Evening," Shepard greeted in a friendly manner as he approached an asari sitting alone, drinking a glass of wine while looking over a holo-pad.

She looked up and smiled. "Evening."

"I was wondering if I might have a minute of your time."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked him over. "Hmm… Business or pleasure?" she asked in sultry voice while leaning her head on her hand.

"Business, I'm sorry to say."

She sighed and shook her head. Adopting a more businesslike look, she gestured to the seat across from her. "What can I do to help you?" she asked in a neutral tone as soon as Shepard and Tali seated themselves.

"I was wondering if you were hiring. I know of an expert quarian AI programmer," Shepard pitched.

The rep glanced at Tali.

"Not me," she hurriedly said. "A friend of mine."

The rep sighed again. "If you'd like to submit a resume, I… wait. Is this about that slave?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow of his own. "It's about time we talked to someone who sees it as it is: slavery."

"This isn't about a slave. It's about my friend," Tali corrected firmly.

"I'm sorry about that, but Synthetic Insights has no interest in purchasing slave labor. We're under enough scrutiny from the Citadel without engaging in practices the Council disapproves of." She took a look around and leaned closer in. "To be frank, we're hardly hiring anyone. The geth attack on the Citadel didn't engender much love for artificial intelligence."

"I'm sure it didn't," Shepard commented with a glance at Tali.

Tali bristled at his look. She knew he was talking about that **thing** on the Normandy.

"It sounds like Synthetic Insights is worried about its reputation. Hiring this quarian would help," Shepard stated.

The rep gave him an unconvinced look. "Buying a slave helps our reputation?" she scoffed. "How exactly do you figure?"

"Purchase the contract, minus the fee for early emancipation. Then free the young woman and garish wages for reimbursement," he explained matter-of-factly.

Tali grinned underneath her helmet and nodded. "I know the Migrant Fleet would be very grateful. And more likely to make purchases from you," she added, hoping that this gamble would pay off.

_Please, please, let this work…_

The asari gave Shepard a penetrating look as she mulled over their words. "Interesting…" She took a sip of her wine and gazed at Shepard with a friendlier expression. "We look good for hiring a quarian and we can say that we freed a slave out of the goodness of our hearts."

"So you'll hire her?" Tali asked.

She nodded. "You've convinced me. I'll run up a contract. The board might wet its pants, but we could use the good publicity." She shot both of them a pointed look. "This quarian had better be good, though."

"She is, don't worry," Tali quickly assured.

"Thanks for helping her," Shepard gratefully said.

"Send them over and we'll hash out the details." The rep took another sip of her wine and gave Shepard another look over. "Next time? Let's make it pleasure."

"We'll see," Shepard enigmatically replied. He picked through his pocket and left several credit chits on the table. "Drinks on me."

She raised her glass at him and took another sip.

Shepard smiled at her and left without another word. Tali glanced at the rep before quickly turning around and following Shepard's retreating form. "What was that?" she asked while they made their way through the crowded bar.

"What was what?" Shepard said as they dodged another table.

"What you were doing. You were flirting with her."

"She was flirting first. I was flirting back. We needed to convince her and we did. Driving her away would just make things more difficult for your friend. Now, she's in the clear," he patiently explained.

"Yes, but…" Tali said before trailing off.

"But what?" Shepard asked, turning to face her.

"Um, nothing," she replied. She shook her head and took a breath. "Now what?"

"Now, you break the news to your friend. Me, I'm off."

Tali smiled. "Thanks for your help, Shepard."

Shepard graced her with a smile before going back through the sea of people.

Tali shook her head again to remove the sudden torrent of feelings she had when she watched Shepard talk to that asari.

_I'll deal with it later_.

With that resolved temporarily, she rushed to tell Saya the good news. "We did it," she happily said when she was in earshot. "Best news is: Even though you're legitimately hired, you have a bit of a debt to work off. She's waiting for you at her table."

Saya sighed in relief. "Thank you, Tali."

"We both thank you," the broker said with a nod.

"I didn't do this for you. I did it for her," Tali retorted.

The rep appeared unbothered by Tali's tone. "Regardless, a kindness is her is mine to repay. Consider this a gesture of honor." She used her omni-tool to electronically transfer 2,000 credits to Tali. "And a finder's fee." She turned to Saya. "We should meet with the representative."

Saya nodded to her and faced Tali. "Thank you again. I'll stay out of trouble this time."

Tali nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Good luck on the rest of your Pilgrimage."

She returned the hug. "Keelah se'lai and thank you."

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport**_

The sounds of concerned and anxious chattering reached her ears first before she saw the source of the commotion. A large crowd had gathered, gawking and gossiping at something. What really caught her attention was the presence of Nos Astra Law Enforcement. They had cordoned off an area with holographic tape line.

It was bound to happen, she knew that, but it still didn't change the tiny feeling of frustration that welled up in her. Pushing the feeling aside forcefully, Samara embraced the Code as only a justicar could and approached the crime scene calmly. One of the officers moved forward to stop her when another officer grabbed her partner's arm.

"It's the justicar," she whispered fiercely.

"What? Seriously?" the other officer asked in shock.

Samara ignored their exchange and stepped past them and the holographic police line. She moved purposefully toward the body of a volus, her gait steady and graceful.

A detective was squatting next to the body, attempting to see the clues to identify his killer while the medical examiner was poking and prodding the body for any evidence that needed to be catalogued. The detective looked up at the sound of her footsteps. Apparently, she recognized her as a justicar, if her sigh was any indication. She stood up and faced her. "Detective Anaya," she introduced herself curtly. "Don't worry, Justicar. I have this under control," she tried to assure her.

"The Code compels me to investigate this crime, Detective," Samara stated.

"I can handle this," Anaya asserted.

"I have much experience in these matters," Samara calmly countered. "You are welcome to continue your own investigation, but I must follow the Code."

Anaya looked liked she wanted to argue more before she closed her eyes and visibly forced herself to calm down. "Very well, Justicar. I need to report to my superiors about this anyway."

They both knew that she was talking about Samara's presence intruding on a police investigation, rather than the investigation itself.

Samara didn't let it bother her. Justicars live for the Code and never for personal gratifications. Often they would be revered and feared all at once, leading toward much conflict with both peace keepers and criminals alike.

"Thank you, Detective," Samara courteously said. Nodding respectfully to Anaya, she knelt down to examine the volus corpse herself. After a few minutes of inspection, she recognized the type of rounds that killed him. More importantly, she knew what mercenary group favored these kinds of rounds.

_The Eclipse Sisters._

She suppressed a sigh, knowing that she couldn't ignore this crime. Her code obligated her to find and bring the murderer or murderers to justice, despite her own mission. Standing up, she nodded once more to the detective and left to locate some of the Eclipse Mercenaries, to find out where and most importantly, who or whom was responsible of injustice.

_Though, perhaps given Eclipse's reputation on Illium, I will be busy for quite some time. Our dance will have to last just a little while longer._

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity Bar**_

_Come on… come on…_

Shepard hacked the terminal as quickly as he could. For some reason, this one proved more difficult than the last. Though, it could be his own frustration warping his sense of reality. Cloaked in the middle of a nightclub, surrounded by people and his own friends added to the challenges. He was just thankful that Tali provided a suitable excuse for him to leave the group to help her with Saya's problem.

"The asari are how advanced? And this is what they do with it?" Jacob complained nearby. "Money is still power. Same old, same old."

Aethyta shrugged. "This is what we do to relate to the rest of the galaxy, hon. The other species know clubs, bars, drinks, and good times. Why not asari?"

"She's right. Humans aren't any better, Jacob. We'd do the same if our positions were reversed," Miranda chided.

"Besides, as advanced as the asari are, they still live life the same way any other species does," Garrus added, before taking a sip. "If they want to live like this, who are we to judge?"

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief that was lost in the din of the bar. Moving to the shadows in the nick of time, his cloak deactivated, but his presence remained unnoticed. He quietly slipped out of the bar and started typing on his omni-tool. The data he retrieved started compiling and reconstructing. After a few minutes, his omni-tool beeped, signaling that it was finished. He looked through the messages.

_Data Point 1:_

… _trader tried to kill the batarian. Claims it was because he hates slavers, but the men were more likely fighting over money. Watch for now…_

_Data Point 2:_

_Smuggler and assassin have refused to work with the vorcha due to lack of trust. Odd to see scruples from the men at this point._

_Data Point 3:_

_The turian's asking too many questions. Observer recommends terminating him and framing assassin or salarian contact._

_Data Point 4:_

_Turian contact working well with the trader. Observer has rescinded kill order against him, given difficulty in securing contact with the trader through other methods._

_Data Point 5:_

_Vorcha trader has requested no further contact with the salarian. Salarian is becoming more trouble than he is worth. Observer recommends a kill, but she may have a grudge._

Shepard looked at the last data point. _Wait a minute… 'she'? _His eyes widened. "No…" He tapped into his old radio frequency as he started sprinting for Liara's office. "Liara!"

"_Shepard. Is something wrong? Did you get any information on the Observer?"_

"All of the suspects were male! One of the data points says the Observer is female! You said that Nyxeris gave you this information? !" he shouted frantically into his radio as he ran as fast as he could through the crowds of Nos Astra.

"_Yes… she gave me the information… Nyxeris… I'll talk to you later."_

"I'm coming, Liara! Just wait!" Shepard yelled, but the line was already cut. "Damn it!"

After 10 heart-pounding minutes, Shepard panted lightly outside of the building Liara's office was in. He drew his pistol and held it ready before opening the door slowly. Inside, he saw a krogan hefting a large bag over his shoulder next to the reception desk Nyxeris worked at. He turned and paused at the sight of a human pointing a pistol at him.

"And please, be discreet," Liara's voice floated into the room from her office.

"Of course, Ms. T'Soni," the krogan rumbled, still staring at Shepard and his gun.

"Liara? Are you alright?" Shepard called out, still pointing his weapon at the krogan. He had a suspicion as to what was in the bag, but he needed to be sure.

Liara stepped into the reception room and saw the scene before her. "I'm fine, Shepard. Just cleaning up." She turned to the krogan. "You can go."

"Yes, ma'am."

Shepard lowered his weapon and moved out of the krogan's way as he left the building.

He hurried across the room and entered the office as well. "Wow."

It was a mess inside. Chairs were overturned, a coffee table was crushed, paintings had fallen off their hooks, and there was a noticeable humanoid indentation on the wall next to the door.

Liara was sitting at her table, unharmed and apparently unaffected with the condition of her office. She was typing away at her terminal. "Nyxeris had some hidden interesting data hidden away." She looked up and smiled. "Thank you. I wouldn't have caught her without you." She tapped a few commands into her terminal.

Shepard's omni-tool beeped. Glancing down, he saw that she had sent him 5,000 credits.

"I'm one step closer to the Shadow Broker, thanks to you. Nyxeris was very well-compensated. You need it more than I do, I'm sure."

"Not really, but, um, thanks," Shepard mumbled, trying to get a handle on the situation. "So… I guess that krogan was carrying out your former 'assistant'?"

"I told you that I had some hired muscle, Shepard. That is one of the reasons I have them," she explained. "I'm flattered that you were worried about me, but I can take care of myself." She took on a thoughtful expression. "I must admit though, she was very talented. I imagine that had she been ordered to assassinate me, I'd never have seen her coming. With your efforts though, it's no longer an issue." She viciously smirked. "Her barriers needed practice. Practice I'm afraid she won't be getting."

"So what now?"

"You continue with your mission. As for myself, I gather more information, peel away layers of lies, and shine light into the shadows." Her face took on a dark look; one seemed reminiscent of her late mother. "And **when** I find the Shadow Broker, I hit him with a biotic field so strong that what's left of his body will fit into a coffee cup," she snarled.

Shepard suppressed an urge to shiver. "Alright. Enough, Liara," he snapped back. "I tired of the secrets. I'm tired of all these jobs, the sneaking around. I want answers." He stalked forward and slammed his hands on the table. "What is going on?" he ground out.

Liara slowly stood up and walked around the table.

Shepard stood straight and waited.

Stopping next to him, she seated herself on the edge of her desk. "Did Cerberus ever tell you how they recovered your body?" she asked.

"What?" came the confused reply.

"The Illusive Man or Miranda, did either of them give you any details?"

"Miranda," Shepard answered, trying to collect his thoughts. "Miranda once mentioned to me that the Shadow Broker hired the Blue Suns to get me. She didn't tell me why he was so interested though."

"That much is true," Liara confirmed. "The fact is: I was looking for your body as well. And I recovered you from the Shadow Broker, kept you away from his clutches." She shook her head and took a shuddering breath. "Miranda Lawson was the Cerberus operative I met during our race to find you. We worked together for a bit. She told me… she told me that they could rebuild you. Bring you back to life. And I… I gave you to them."

"I see…" Shepard said evenly. "Why didn't you tell this before now?"

"I screwed up," she admitted angrily. "I barely escaped with my own life." She turned her head away to avoid making eye contact. "And when I gave you up to Cerberus, I told myself that I was doing it for you, for a chance to bring you back." She forcefully wiped a tear from her cheek. "Despite their experiments, despite the history we have with them, I gave you up. I **knew** they would use you for their own ends. And… I let it happen." Finally, she turned her head to look at him. "You were one of my few friends. One of my closest friends. I couldn't let you go." She turned away and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Liara…" Shepard said. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing."

Her head snapped up to gaze at him.

"I'm not fatalistic, but I know the stakes. There's always a chance that the worst could happen. I don't want to die, but if it happens…" He trailed off. "It's something I've accepted." He gave her a reassuring smile. "But, I'm back. And my mission is important. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

She gave him a watery smile in return. "Thank you. I… I was afraid you'd hate me."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "It was either you or the Shadow Broker. I'd rather place my fate in your hands than in his." He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Why did the Shadow Broker go after me anyway?"

Liara's face took on a dark look again. "He wanted to sell you to the Collectors."

"The hell…?" Shepard cursed. "They were still after me, even when I was dead? Why?"

"I'm sorry, but that's something even I don't know anything about," Liara responded.

"So this is why you're after the Shadow Broker, then?"

"It's the truth, all of it. He defiled you, he hurt my friend, the dealings with the Collectors… This is why I must destroy him," she stated.

"Okay," Shepard said in acceptance. He took a deep, cleansing breath. It felt as if whatever wall that was between them had finally dissolved. "If you need any more help…"

"You've done enough. You have your own mission to undertake, as do I." She smiled at him. "But I appreciate the offer and everything you've done for me. I know I put you in a difficult situation, but I'm glad that we're getting past it, now."

"Just be careful. I don't want you turning into the thing you're hunting," Shepard advised worriedly.

"Says the dead Spectre working for Cerberus," she retorted, but with a hint of humor; it was the first time Shepard had heard her speak like that since he got back into contact with her. "Don't worry, I'm not my mother. Everything I'm doing, I'm doing of my own free will… for better or worse."

They sat in silence for a time. Each were lost in their own thoughts, before Liara stood up and walked back to her chair. "Is there anything you would like to know? Something I can do?" she asked, but in a more approachable attitude.

"Actually, there something I'd like to ask. About Samara," Shepard said, moving away from their earlier conversation.

"What about?"

"I have a former convict on my squad. I just hired Thane, an assassin. Will this cause a problem for me when I recruit Samara? Y'know, being a justicar and all."

Liara smiled, seeming much more comfortable in his presence now. "No, it shouldn't, I think. There is an oath: The Third Oath of Subsumation. It's exceedingly rare for a justicar to swear to that particular oath. Basically, a justicar would swear a temporary allegiance to someone, thus overriding the doctrines of the Justicar Code. In essence, she would defer to you for right and wrong, rather than the Code." She tilted her head. "The Code is very strict. To a justicar, the Code defines right and wrong, with no grey area in between."

"So… she needs to swear that oath to me before I take her on in my squad."

"Yes. Otherwise, the Code would dictate that she would have to attack anyone on your squad that is less-than-just." She was about to say more when her terminal started flashing. Liara typed into her terminal rapidly before smiling triumphantly. "Shepard. I found Samara."

**-oOo-**

Author's Notes:

Holy crap, that was long. I actually had a lot of fun writing it though.

I hope that I did the Liara arc to everyone's satisfaction. With the new DLC coming out, I didn't want to make it too AU, but since there is DLC coming out dedicated to her, I wanted to write in a bigger role. Not too big, but just a tad more significant than before.

Garrus, Thane, and Jacob were interesting character studies during the course of this chapter. I actually never considered this part of them until I started writing and tried to get into their heads. A very interesting POV than just Shepard alone.

Overlord poll is still up on my profile page and needs votes. Make yours count!


	24. The Justicar

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport**_

"I'm just relieved that **thing** is gone."

"Yeah. I still can't believe we actually helped it… scared the hell out of me when I laid on eyes on that… that creature."

"Why the hell did we help it anyway?"

Samara peered around a corner and listened closely. The three Eclipse Sisters clustered in the narrow hallway continued talking about how they managed to move someone off-world, someone they were terrified to speak of. Someone they wouldn't even dare name.

It was the first lead she received since arriving on Illium.

_Perhaps the Goddess still holds me in some regard._

After investigating the scene of the murder of a volus merchant, she returned to her modest hotel room to retrieve her Inferno Armor and her weapons, an M-8 Avenger, an M-27 Scimitar and an M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon, though she opted to leave behind her M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle. Covert movements were no longer necessary now. Her Code obligated her to locate and bring the murderer to justice. No doubt her quarry would know about her involvement, rendering any further secrecy pointless. After arming herself accordingly, she spent the next hour or so tracking the elusive Eclipse Sisters. To Samara's surprise, they kept themselves unexpectedly well hidden from her eyes.

Until now.

Eventually, she was able to find was one of their warehouses they used to hide their contraband at the spaceport, both imports and exports. Right now, there were rows of chemical containers, each holding some kind of biotic-inducing drug, but it was different from the usual red sand. She crept through the building, searching for any signs as to the specific individual that murdered the volus. The records she came across showed that the victim had a business partner, Pitne For, and they both had dealings with the Eclipse, though no details were given.

_Another one I must question._

Further searches revealed that the Eclipse had ways of transporting more than illicit goods off-world; they could transport people as well. Their methods allowed more discreet egresses, something that her target would take full advantage of. This knowledge, combined with what she had just heard indicated that the Ardat-Yakshi had eluded her once again.

Her path was clear. The Eclipse Sisters may have had a hand in murder of Dakni Kur, but it appeared that they may have also helped her prey escape as well.

_She gave the Eclipse advanced warning about me. No wonder they secreted themselves._

Their efforts were in vain. She would interrogate each and every one of them to find the whereabouts of the Ardat-Yakshi if she had to. If the Eclipse would seek to stop her, then Dakni Kur's murderer would reveal herself as well. With the evidence she uncovered, there was enough proof to identify that the mercenaries were into complicit activities. Following the Code, they must be brought to justice.

All of them.

She stepped out of the shadows. Her helmet remained clipped to her belt and her weapons still attached to her harness.

The mercs turned in surprise at her sudden appearance. "You…" one of them whispered in shock.

"It's the justicar! Shoot her!"

With a thought and a gesture, Samara erected a Barrier around herself. Coupled with her armor's own shields, their initial volley posed little threat. They persisted in their assault though, taking cover behind whatever they could in the small hallway. She darted forward, unleashing her biotics to create a storm of debris to rain down on the mercs.

They shouted in surprise as the narrow corridor suddenly erupted into anarchy. Crates, panels, conduits and whatever else was loose and laying around attacked the mercs from all sides.

Samara allowed herself to revel in the feeling of battle, a talent she knew she was gifted in. Utilizing her biotics expertly, she continued to rain down flotsam on the trio as she launched her own counterattack. Reaching the closest mercenary, she rammed her knee into her opponent's abdomen. Once she was doubled over, Samara struck with an elbow to the back of her head to bring her to the ground before stomping down on the prone merc's neck, brutally breaking it.

Turning around swiftly, she targeted the next merc with Throw.

All of the materials flying around targeted the lone Eclipse in a hail of deadly projectiles. She feebly tried to defend herself, but a thin panel ripped through her armor and stabbed deep into her leg. A large crate flew through the air and slammed her into the metal walls of the corridor. The impact was hard enough to create a dent in both crate and wall, indicating the merc was injured or dead.

The last asari picked herself off the floor when the debris stopped raining down on her. She thrust out her arm and used Warp in an attempt to combat the justicar with her own biotics.

Samara countered with Warp as well, slamming the unstable energies together to create an explosion and a distraction. She heard merc shout in surprise and closed the distance rapidly.

The merc tried to bring her assault rifle to bear, but was too slow. A solid kick to the chest knocked her flat on her back and involuntarily dropped her weapon. The merc shouted again as she was picked up with Pull and thrown to the other end of the hallway and through the open door. Landing roughly and sliding a few feet, she found herself in the main storage area of the warehouse. Rows and rows of the chemical containers sold to the Eclipse surrounded her. She looked up at the doorway and saw the justicar walking calmly toward her.

"Where is she?" Samara asked coolly, taking slow, measured steps and watching the merc for any further signs of hostilities.

"I… I don't know who you're talking about…" the merc stammered out.

"Do not lie to me," Samara said in a low tone. "Tell me where she is and I will spare your life."

"Please…" the merc pleaded, shuffling backwards at Samara's advance. "Do you have any idea what she'll do to me? !"

"I do," she answered with a slight nod. "This is your final chance. Tell me what I want to know."

The merc backed into a container and cringed. "I don't know where she is," she answered, but hastily added more when Samara started glowing. "But some of the lieutenants might know! I'm just a grunt! I don't know the details!"

"Where do I find them?"

"The back alleys. They have meetings there," she replied quickly. "I answered your questions. Are you going to let me go?"

"As the Code demands," Samara replied. "Leave and never return."

"Thank you! Thank you!" the merc cried out. She scrambled to her feet and started running for the door.

Samara watched her retreating back carefully.

Just before the merc crossed the threshold of the door, she suddenly turned around and used Shockwave.

Samara performed a neat somersault to the side, letting the explosive dark energies pass right by her harmlessly.

The attack eventually reached one of the far shelves, blowing open several containers and allowing a noxious red gas to fill the area.

The merc screamed when she found herself biotically lifted in the air and tossed directly into the cloud.

Samara glanced at one of the chemical containers lining the room and used Pull to lift one into the air before throwing it at the fallen merc.

The container struck her and was broken open on impact, increasing the density of the gas and furthering the potency of the toxins she was inhaling. She began gagging as the gas from the chemical entered her body and into her bloodstream. Dark energy manifested around her as she tapped into her biotics involuntarily, but the drugs kept her from focusing correctly to be any real threat. She staggered to her feet and drunkenly stared at the justicar, before passing out entirely, still breathing in the poisonous fumes.

Samara watched all of this with a dispassionate gaze. "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess," she intoned. She glanced around the warehouse one last time before she was satisfied that her business finished. Leaving the warehouse quickly, she traveled to her next destination to continue her hunt.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office**_

"According to my informants, a volus has been murdered not too long ago. Near the commercial spaceport," Liara said as she looked through the relevant information. "Authorities believe the Eclipse are behind it."

Shepard nodded, though Liara didn't see the gesture since she was still absorbing the reports on her terminal. He picked up the only other unbroken chair in the battle-torn room and set it down from across Liara's table. He settled in and made himself comfortable; in more ways than one. After the last few days of dealing with her, he finally felt at ease in his old friend's presence after her admission of the sacrifices she had made for his sake.

"Ah, Detective Anaya," she suddenly said.

"Friend of yours?"

"We've worked together on occasion," she replied distractedly as she scrolled through the data. "Samara has involved herself with the investigation around an hour ago. I'll send you the location."

"Another spaceport?" Shepard groaned.

Liara shrugged. "It makes sense. Whoever Samara is after must want to leave Illium as soon as possible."

"Alright, is there anything else you can tell me?"

"I'm still getting more information. It'll take me a while to sort through it all to find any relevant intel for you."

"How long?"

She smiled at him apologetically. "More than you'd like. I'm afraid you'll have to do this one blind. Hopefully, you'll be able to recruit Samara with little trouble."

Shepard stood up and smiled back. "With my luck? I'm not betting on it." He nodded at the terminal. "Sounds like Samara is busy with this murder thing. I might have to help her out with it to speed things up."

Liara started typing on her terminal. "Detective Anaya is the one in charge of the case." She suddenly frowned as she read through more reports. "She's also in charge of reining in Samara before a cross-species incident can occur."

"Is that a bad thing? She's a cop, right? Would Samara do anything to her?"

"Samara will comply with Anaya temporarily, I believe." She shrugged. "After that, justicars follow their Code, almost single-mindedly, not the established laws or politics of governments."

Shepard frowned. "She'll attack the police?"

"I can't say that I'm well versed in the Justicar's Code. You'll have to find out yourself."

Shepard groaned again. "Why can't these things be easy?"

"I'll contact Anaya and let her know that you'll be helping her out with this. She'll be able to smooth things over and get you started," Liara offered. "Good luck, Shepard," she genuinely said.

Shepard smiled at her. "Thanks."

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Is the Illusive Man crazy?" Jacob asked incredulously.

"He's a lot more than that," Jack waspishly retorted.

"No, not that." Jacob shook his head. "I meant that Cerberus isn't exactly legit. Not to mention Jack and—" He made a vague gesture at Thane before continuing. "So why are we recruiting someone that hunts down…" He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"People like you?" Tali supplied impishly.

Everyone was gathered outside the Normandy, sitting casually on whatever available: crates, benches, and the like. After his meeting with Liara, Shepard requested that everyone to meet at the hangar, fully equipped and ready to depart. An hour later, when everyone gathered around him, he started briefing them on everything he knew about Samara and the justicars. Needless to say, there were some misgivings on the potential recruit.

"Will her beliefs be a problem for us?" Miranda asked.

"According to Liara, if Samara swears a certain oath, then no. Otherwise, we'll have to let this one go," Shepard answered.

"Lovely," Miranda responded with a shake of her head.

"Alright, alright," Shepard said over everyone's voices. "We don't know anything yet, so let's just try to take this one step at a time." He turned his gaze to Tali. "I need you here with the Normandy."

"What? Me?" Tali asked.

"You need to continue to oversee the armor installation. It shouldn't be hard, since we're almost finished in that regard. More specifically, I want you to continue the **safe** installation of the cannon. The tests were all well and good, but if we can't mount the cannon and all of its components on the Normandy, then all our efforts are wasted."

"Fine," Tali acknowledged petulantly.

"Any further questions?"

"Do we know anything about the murder itself?" Garrus asked.

Shepard glanced at him. "Nothing yet. Falling back into old habits, 'Detective' Vakarian?"

Garrus snorted, but grinned all the same.

"We're meeting with a Detective Anaya to discuss the details. Liara vouched for her and it appears the good detective is facing pressure to get Samara off of Illium as fast as she can. Chances are pretty good that she's going to be a helpful mood." Shepard nodded to his team. "Any more questions?"

"Threats?" Mordin asked.

"Eclipse Mercs. I don't want to take chances; that's why we're all going. I'll assess the threat and determine how many will go. Some of you might just be on standby. Any more questions?"

A few people shuffled, but no one spoke up.

Shepard studied his squad. Mordin appeared to be deep in thought about something, Garrus and Jacob appeared to be trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, Grunt was grinding his teeth, and Jack looked impatient, but for different reasons. The only people that appeared at ease were Thane, Tali, and Miranda.

_Obviously, I'm missing something here._

He knew that Jack wanted to blow the base on Pragia to dust and Grunt was sorting through his krogan hormone rages, but Mordin, Garrus and Jacob obviously had something else on their minds. He knew getting a group this eclectic was bound to have certain problems. But with the thought of almost certain death hanging over their heads, no doubt they were exploring their own mortality and with it, their own issues and perhaps some sort of closure with their lives.

Resolving to ask what was bothering them privately and as soon as possible, Shepard nodded to everyone. They appeared as ready as they could be for the time being at least. "Let's go."

Just before the squad was about to leave though, Joker hobbled up to Shepard. "Hey, are you expecting a present from Admiral Hackett?" he asked seriously.

Shepard looked confused before he remembered his conversation with Hackett and his request. "Yeah, I am. I'll need to talk to you about it later, Joker. It's pretty personal."

Joker looked at the assembled group, noting that they were geared up and ready to go. He turned back to Shepard. "I'm sure it is. Whatever you got to say has to be pretty serious. I mean, it's Admiral Hackett. Of the Alliance. That hates Cerberus." He glanced over his shoulder at the direction of the package. "Oh, yeah, and that container is pretty big too."

"You could always ask EDI for the details," Shepard suggested.

Tali and Joker snorted at the same time.

"Or not," he responded with a shake of his head. "I'll be back in the morning. I'll talk to you then." He turned to his team. "Move out."

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport**_

"Did you hear? The justicar found one of our warehouses."

"Well, we gotta move this stuff somewhere else. We can't leave it all at the base."

"When's Captain Wasea going to take care of that other volus? He knows where the base is. And after the fucking new girl killed that other volus, he might talk to the cops."

"I don't know. Depends on what the justicar does, I guess."

Samara's vigil had finally paid off. She decided to discreetly watch the alleys the police chose to avoid, judging it the best place to follow any Eclipse mercs. After reporting to Detective Anaya about the location of the warehouse she discovered, Samara spent the next hour or so watching for signs of the mercenaries. As predicted, as soon as the police chatter increased following the news of the captured warehouse, an emergency meeting was called. Several Eclipse mercs were in attendance, though this 'Captain Wasea' was not present. Judging by the elaborate markings on the armor of the one of the mercs, she was fortunate enough to have a higher ranking mercenary in her sights at least. Most likely, this was a smaller crew, with one of Wasea's lieutenants in charge of them.

"Let's go. We'll discuss this inside."

Some of the asari mercs dutifully followed their leader into their hidden storehouse. Others remained outside to stand guard, supported only by a few LOKI mechs. All of them were completely unaware they were being shadowed.

_The lieutenant will know where she is. If not, at the very least, where Wasea is._

It was the logical outcome. Work through the chain of command and eventually, she would find someone with all the answers she was seeking.

The guards were at attention, but not truly on alert. They took comfort in the fact that their meeting location was apparently well hidden and had allowed themselves to become slightly lax of their surroundings.

_A costly mistake._

Samara crept forward. Her presence would be announced soon enough, but until then, the element of surprise was still hers. An advantage she learned to exploit to the fullest during her centuries of experience as an asari commando, mercenary, and finally, justicar.

The guards never stood a chance.

**-oOo-**

_**Dossier: The Justicar**_

_Justicar Samara_

_-Biotic strength near that of an asari matriarch_

_-Extensive weapons training_

_Samara is a justicar, a rare member of an asari monastic group trained in enhanced combat biotics alongside standard weapons. Samara was recently sighted on Illium, outside normal asari space._

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport, En Route to the District Police Station**_

The Kodiak Shuttle flew high above Nos Astra, cruising at a steady clip toward the spaceport.

Miranda and Shepard were piloting and co-piloting the ship respectively. Considering the relatively short distance between the private hangar of the Normandy and their destination, Shepard deemed that it wasn't necessary to call Hawthorne and Goldstein in just to fly the entire squad for only a few hours. It was a simple matter of going through the skies of Illium; no FTL or atmospheric entries.

"ETA: Five minutes," Shepard called into the intercom.

"So, all we have to do is solve a murder of a volus merchant," Miranda stated. "Then, if Samara swears this oath to us, we're finished?"

"Hopefully," he replied, tapping several commands and transmitting his Spectre clearances to the spaceport to allow their passage through the skies.

"You really think it'll be that easy?"

"Garrus has experience in this type of thing. We should be alright, unless the Eclipse decides to become a problem," Shepard said as they piloted their shuttle near the police station where they were to meet Detective Anaya. "This is it."

"Look. Over there," Miranda said. She was pointing at a volus next to two armed turians. He appeared to be in a hurry and tried to leave the area, but two asari officers blocked his path.

"Let's go see what up," Shepard suggested.

After landing the Kodiak, everyone disembarked from the shuttle just as a purple-hued asari jogged up to the volus. "Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

The assembled team stood some distance away and watched the proceedings interestedly.

The volus stopped yelling at the asari officers to address the newcomer. "I'm taking my goods to Omega, Detective."

"You not going anywhere, Merchant," the Detective commanded decisively. "Not until I solve this murder."

"I had nothing to do with that!" the volus merchant protested. "It was those mercenary thugs you can't seem to get rid of."

The detective scowled at the reminder. "The victim was your business partner, so I'm not ruling you out." She nodded at the officers nearby. "I'm grounding you. Don't worry though; I'll let you know when to leave."

The volus' re-breather made a rapid gasp. "What about that justicar that just showed up?" he asked nervously. "Everyone says she might go crazy and start killing! I need to leave!"

"She'll only kill the unjust – so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Pitne For." She smirked at his nervous hand wringing. "Find me in the station if you want to talk." She looked up that the turians and pointed at them. "You two. Disarm."

The turians fidgeted a bit with their weapons as they stared uncertainly at her.

She glared at them. "Now," she ordered in a voice that brooked no argument.

The two asari officers raised their weapons at the Pitne's bodyguards.

Reluctantly, they collapsed their M-15 Vindicator Battle Rifles and kicked them over to the detective. Their side arms followed right after. Another nearby officer scurried up and retrieved them.

"Wait! What about me?" Pitne For complained.

"Like I said, unless you do anything illegal, you'll be fine, Pitne For. You're merely a person of interest. Once my investigation is over, the weapons will be returned and you'll free to leave." Detective Anaya spun around on her heel and wordlessly dismissed him. She caught sight of Shepard and his group nearby. "Let me guess, you're the Spectre?"

The human in question nodded. "I'm the Spectre."

She sighed impatiently. "Follow me." She walked briskly toward the police station, muttering under breath.

Shepard could her say something about 'justicars' and 'Spectres' and how her job just got worse. He silently endured her disparaging remarks.

They entered the station where Anaya took a quick right turn and settled down behind her desk. She gestured to the only seat across from her.

Shepard declined and opted to remain standing with the rest of his team.

Anaya leaned back in her seat and regarded the group in front of her. "So, Spectre…"

"Shepard. Just Shepard is fine."

"Shepard," she acknowledged neutrally. "I understand you're looking for Justicar Samara."

"That's right. Liara tells me that you can help."

"She doesn't miss a thing," Anaya commented approvingly.

"I understand you talk a little bit."

"We chat on occasion. She tends to have information that helps us a great deal on some of our more difficult investigations. Best of all, she doesn't charge us a single cred. We try not to use her too much, though. Otherwise, she might end up making a lot of enemies, talking to the law and all."

Shepard nodded before getting to the point. "Look, I know your superiors are asking you to get Samara off-world. I need to find her and recruit her for a specific mission. The way I see it, we can help each other. She doesn't cause a diplomatic 'shit-storm' and I don't invoke Spectre rights to tear my way through your district to find her."

Anaya looked intrigued at the prospect. "This mission of yours dangerous?"

"Survival appears unlikely," Mordin chirped in.

"Hmm…" Anaya looked thoughtful. "Justicars usually work alone, but they **are** drawn to impossible causes."

"We've got that covered," Miranda assured.

"Shepard knows impossible odds. You can believe that," Jacob said seriously.

"Alright, Shepard. If you're getting her out of my district, I'll help anyway I can."

"We understand she's investigating the murder of a volus merchant," Garrus spoke up. "She go through the crime scene?"

Anaya shrugged. "I'm a cop – I'll work with a justicar all I can." She smirked humorlessly. "Besides, she's been looking at crime scenes longer than our two life spans combined. She knows what to do."

"Liara mentioned that Samara would cooperate with you temporarily, but might fight if you try to detain her," Shepard stated. "Care to elaborate?"

"I'm an innocent. So long as I stay out of her way, we have no problems," Anaya explained. "But her Justicar Code won't let her be taken into custody. If I try it, she might have to kill me and anyone else in her way." She leaned forward on her desk. "Thing is, my bosses are still ordering me to detain or get her off-world anyway, hence my problem." She looked Shepard in the eye. "I have no interest in dying for something as stupid as forcing a justicar into custody, so if you can lure her away with some big noble cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you."

"Aren't your superiors aware of this, though? The Justicar Code and Samara's reputation?" Shepard pointed out. "They're sending out to certain death for no good reason. You have a right to disobey."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Garrus suddenly said. He turned to the rest of the team. "We can disobey suicidal orders? Why wasn't I told?"

Shepard suppressed his sigh and resisted the urge to turn around and glare at his friend.

"Let's remember that the next time he sets up against impossible odds," Miranda stated thoughtfully.

"Good to know, given number of times we're ordered into hazardous situations," Mordin agreed.

"Ha! That's about twice a day or so." Jack grinned. "At least traveling with him isn't boring."

"It's not nearly enough," Grunt retorted. He smirked at the detective. "A pointless death should be her choice. Like it is for us."

Thane looked flummoxed at the sudden news. The expression looked decidedly out of place on the normally stoic drell. "Hmm… I suppose I have to remind myself that I volunteered. And that I'm already dying."

"This has to be insubordination. And mutiny," Shepard muttered to the group as a whole, though his tone lacked any malice. He was trying to hold onto his cross look without breaking into a smile.

Anaya raised an eyebrow at their behavior.

"Look, I'm not stupid about my orders," Shepard explained, trying to keep his voice from sounding defensive.

"Most of the time," Garrus cheekily added.

"Otherwise, they'd never follow me," he continued, studiously ignoring the comment. "I can't say the same for your bosses."

"I'm not going to argue with you, but I'm a cop and I know my duty," Anaya responded, though she appeared to be fighting a smile as well. "I've been ordered to detain her and I will if I have to." She gave Shepard a pointed look. "Unless I can get her to leave my district first."

"We'll help with the investigation and finish it as quickly as possible," Shepard assured. "Once that's done, we'll talk to Samara and hopefully convince her."

"What can you tell us about the victim?" Garrus asked in a professional tone, all traces of his earlier humor gone.

Anaya stared at him, as if she was looking for something specific.

"Former C-Sec Detective," Garrus supplied. "Garrus Vakarian."

Anaya nodded in understanding. She started typing into her terminal. "A volus merchant was murdered. Not too far from here, in fact." She scowled again. "Obviously, I'm facing pressure to solve that murder as quickly as possible. Somebody gets killed near the police station, it looks bad."

Garrus nodded understandingly.

"Vic's name was Dakni Kur." She turned her head and looked out the nearby window. "You saw me telling off his boss, Pitne For. Another volus is missing in his trade group, but he hasn't reported it yet. A…" She scrolled through the files. "Niftu Cal. Another reason why I don't want Pitne leaving just yet."

"Hoping to keep the pressure up until he talks," Garrus commented knowingly.

"One member of his group was shot, the other missing," Anaya replied. "With his guards disarmed, the only people he can turn to for protection is us. He'll talk."

"Nice," Garrus responded approvingly. He crossed his arms and cocked his head in thought. "What about the crime scene? What can you tell us about the murder itself?"

"Professional, but not best work I've seen," Anaya answered immediately. "We're not dealing with junkies looking for a score."

"You got an idea who it is?"

"I'm thinking the local Eclipse mercenary band. The body was shot with modded rounds. The Eclipse Sister's, in particular, tends to favor that kind of thing."

Garrus looked contemplative. "Professional, but not experienced. We're looking for someone relatively new to the group then."

Anaya smiled at him. "Exactly my thoughts." She snorted. "I'm just glad Samara isn't aware of their 'final test'. Yet anyway."

"Test?" Miranda asked curiously.

"Before you're formally inducted into their little band of psychopaths, you have to kill someone." Anaya shook her head in disgust. "That volus out there might have been someone's entry into their group. Unfortunately, we're rarely given enough evidence to prosecute, though it might not stop the justicar if she ever knew. She'd be obligated to kill each and every member of the Eclipse Sister's if she found out, if she didn't already."

Shepard grimaced. "Great. More Eclipse."

"Yeah. I heard you had a run-in with Enyala and her band of Eclipse a few days ago at the civilian spaceport."

Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"A detective friend of mine in that area filled me in on the details. Look, I don't want to tell you how to do your job, especially since you're 'above the law', and all that, but I'm sure you and Samara are going to be making a mess of things. Can you at least try not to cause too much trouble for me?"

"Anything specific about these particular mercs?" Garrus inquired.

"Worst of the worst. I'm not sure I'd call them mercenaries anymore. Not on Illium anyway. Here, they're more like a crime syndicate." Anaya tapped a few commands into her terminal and turned the holo-monitor around for Garrus to see. "They're professional killers. Sells red sand, trade illegal weapons tech, smuggle people off-world or get them planet-side." She frowned. "We've been after this bunch for a while, but we haven't been able to gather enough evidence yet to pursue them."

Garrus studied the data. "You don't even have a location?"

"We know a few back alley meetings and warehouses. Nothing at all on their main base of operations though," Anaya answered. She turned to Shepard. "Your best shot at finding Samara? She's probably going after the Eclipse Sisters by now. All of them, eventually."

"What about the vic, Dakni Kur?" Garrus asked. "What are your thoughts on him?"

"I think he's dirty. That whole trade group is. Can't prove it yet, though," Anaya answered in frustration. "If that's the case, maybe it was just a deal gone bad."

"You didn't find anything?" Garrus probed.

"We seized a warehouse that belonged to the Eclipse an hour ago. It's loaded with some kind of illegal toxic biotic chemical. Our people are still analyzing it. Pitne's name was on a datapad there, but nothing saying why or what connection he has with the Eclipse." This time Anaya grimaced. "It was actually Samara that provided us with the location of the warehouse," she grudgingly admitted.

"Still too circumstantial then," Garrus muttered.

"That's all I got so far. If you can find more, I'd appreciate it," Anaya said.

Garrus looked up. "Any evidence we uncover might not be admissible. Even if I was still in C-Sec, I'd be out of my jurisdiction," he pointed out.

"Your friend is a Spectre. That should be enough," Anaya replied calmly. "If Samara finds any evidence, we'll accept the judgment of a justicar as well."

"We'll see what we can do," Shepard assured. "You met Samara, right? Any opinions?"

"I looked her up," Anaya replied. "She's been a justicar longer than three of your life spans. Whoever she was before she swore that oath, that person is dead." She leaned back in her chair. "All things considered, she's probably one of the most dedicated people I've ever met. I don't know if all justicars are like that, but I hear that Samara is something of a legend back in asari space."

Jacob was looking out of the window and observing Pitne For pacing around agitatedly. "Seems like this Samara is making everyone a bit on edge," he commented off-handedly.

"Asari admire justicars," Anaya explained. "But we also know that they kill without mercy when they find corruption." She pointed out the window to the city beyond. "Don't know how long you've been here, but you can see that corruption is pretty much everywhere in a city like this."

"Any idea why she came to Illium in the first place?" Shepard asked.

"No clue. I know it's not to investigate the murder of some corrupt volus. She just happened to come across the crime scene and followed her Code."

"We should check out some of these back alleys," Garrus suggested to Shepard. "Since Samara is going after the Eclipse, I'm sure they're calling meetings right now. We might get lucky."

"Finding Samara or the meetings?" Shepard asked.

"Both."

"There are some back alleys we're ordered not to go into unless it's in force." Anaya started typing into her terminal. "As far as our intelligence goes, these places are some of the meeting places for the Eclipse. From there, you might get some idea where their little nest is." She sent the data to Garrus and Shepard.

"Anything else we should be on the lookout for?" Garrus offered as he looked at the information.

"Just the evidence. With Shepard being a Spectre, if you find any evidence, anything at all, I could use it to hammer on the whole lot of them. Trafficking, murder, accessory to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, smuggling, a whole shipload of charges." She sent Garrus a piercing look. "I'm most definitely interested in any information you can get on Captain Wasea."

"She's the one in charge, I take it?" Garrus guessed.

"Yeah. Bitch is a slippery one," Anaya said. "I'd appreciate it if you could do something about her as well."

"And what does that mean?" Jacob asked uncertainly.

"Look, I'm not stupid," Anaya said. "Wasea is not going to give up and let herself get arrested peacefully. She'll fight and with good reason: she's dangerous. Chances are, you'll have to 'defend' yourselves. If that happens, well…" She shrugged. "Wasea made her choice, so whatever happens, happens."

Jack and Grunt grinned. "Like I said, never boring," Jack affirmed.

"Good. I needed something to do," Grunt said in agreement.

Shepard nodded to the detective. "Alright. Thanks for the help. We'll get going."

"Good luck."

**-oOo-**

The merc gasped as she felt the mass effect fields press harder on her rib cage. She struggled against the justicar's biotics, but her efforts were in vain.

Samara's serene face belied her actions as she pressed the merc against the wall a little harder. Between the metal surface and the mass effect fields, the surviving guard was caught between a rock and a hard place. "How many are inside?" she asked. Her voice was only a whisper, but it carried to the merc easily as if she was standing right next to her.

"Sev… seven!" she croaked out.

"The Ardat-Yakshi. What do you know?" Samara asked firmly.

"I don't know anything!" the merc gasped out. Her breath hitched when Samara increased the pressure on her chest. "I know we got her on a ship! I know we got her off-world!"

"And the destination?"

"I don't know! I don't even know if the captain knows!" she breathed out desperately. "It's an Ardat-Yakshi! We didn't ask questions! We just wanted her off-world!"

"The name of the ship then."

"I don't know!" she repeated. "None of us wanted anything to do with that thing!"

Samara tilted her head.

"But the lieutenant! She might know! Captain Wasea definitely knows!"

Nodding in acceptance, Samara allowed the merc to drop to the ground. She watched impassively as her captive gasped and coughed, trying to get her lungs to function again. "I thank you," she honestly said.

The merc raised her head only see a fist fly at her. Then she knew no more.

**-oOo-**

"Well, Garrus. Seems like you and that detective had something going on," Jacob commented when they left the station.

"It was a meeting between two professionals, Jacob. Don't read too much into it," Garrus answered evenly. He turned his head toward Pitne For. "I think I want to ask the volus a few questions."

Shepard glanced at his friend and noted there was slight fire in his eyes.

Miranda apparently noticed it too. "Seems our former C-Sec detective really **is** falling back into old habits," she whispered.

"I think I'll let him take the lead on this one," Shepard whispered back.

Everyone watched as Garrus marched over to the lone volus. "Pitne For?"

The volus stopped paced at and looked up when his name was called. "Who's asking?"

"We're consultants working with the police," Garrus lied easily. "I was wondering if I might ask a few questions."

The volus made a breathing sound of annoyance through his voice module. "I've already got mercs wanting to kill me like they did my partner! I don't need any more trouble." He shook his head and nervously wrung his hands together. "As if that weren't enough, some asari justicar showed up. All the natives are scared of her." He turned his head to the asari officers standing guard nearby. "I've got to get off of this world."

"Then talk to me and I'll see what I can do," Garrus bluffed with a straight face.

Shepard carefully schooled his features to hide his surprise. He hadn't pegged Garrus as someone who could lie so well, since he tended to be very direct and straightforward.

"He **must** have done some undercover work before," Miranda theorized quietly as they observed the proceedings closely.

"So what makes you think it was mercs?" Garrus inquired casually.

"Dakni Kur was cutting through a back alley last night when someone killed him with a shotgun. I saw his body this morning – they'd used modded rounds. That means Eclipse mercs."

"You could tell just by looking at the body?" Garrus asked in an even tone.

"Oh… well… of course. I'm in dangerous line of work," the volus hedged.

"Right," Garrus responded, indulging the merchant for the time being. "You do any business with them?"

"Of course not. I know how they're regarded on Illium," Pitne answered instantly.

"Really? The police have a datapad confiscated from the Eclipse saying that there was a credit transfer from them to you. Want to revise that statement?" Garrus pressed, easily injecting a lie with the truth.

Shepard couldn't help but admire the technique Garrus was applying to interrogate Pitne. He kept his voice steady and even, subtly applying pressure as the conversation continued and boxing in Pitne with logic and half-truths.

"Um… right. I occasionally do business with them, but in well-lit places with my guards. And only after the credits clear," Pitne answered nervously.

"Is that why those mercs killed your partner? And why you think they're coming after you?" Garrus continued. "Did you con them? Cheat them?"

"I have no idea," Pitne answered quickly. "We're innocent merchants! But they killed him, so they must be after me, too! I have to work the angles and get out of here!

"You know, you don't seem like you're too broken up over your partner's murder," Garrus observed.

"Dakni Kur knew the risks when he took to spacing. Right now, my worry is me." He took a look around as if he was expecting the Eclipse to attack him right then and there. "It's unhealthy to be a volus in the Nos Astra spaceport right now. Especially a volus named Pitne For!"

"That is pretty bad," Garrus readily agreed. "Mercs, justicars, Spectres…"

As predicted, Pitne's head snapped up at the last point. "Spectres?"

"There's a Spectre searching for Samara. Needs her help. Thing is, she won't help unless this whole murder thing is resolved." Garrus knelt down and placed a comforting, but firm hand on the volus' shoulder. "So, level with me. Either you tell me the truth and I get the Spectre and the justicar to stop the mercs for you or I drop your name and see which of the three gets to you first." His head loomed over the stout merchant and his hand steadily increased in pressure. "You've been lying to me. I don't like it."

"He's really good," Shepard praised softly to Miranda.

"I agree," she replied with a nod.

"Your business with the mercs. What. Is. It?" Garrus growled out.

"I haven't been lying! I don't…"

"What about Niftu Cal? He's gone missing. Strangely enough, it's around the same time your other partner died. Did you hire the Eclipse to take them both out? Didn't feel like sharing the profits? Get a bit greedy? Maybe I should haul you into the station right now? Talk to me or this can become very unpleasant," Garrus threatened.

"Okay! Okay! I'll be cooperative, I swear!" The merchant yelled out.

The two bodyguards nearby started forward when they heard their boss shouting, but Grunt and Jack cut them off. Grunt held his Hand Cannon loosely in his hand, while Jack allowed her biotics to flare. Both turians backed off, knowing that they were outmatched and unarmed.

"Talk," Garrus demanded.

"My business… I smuggled a chemical onto Illium."

"A toxic biotic boosting chemical. So that **was** you," Garrus stated. "Let me guess: you didn't mention that the chemical was dangerous."

Pitne cleared his throat nervously. "Um… yes. So they are quite perturbed and want to, well, kill me."

"And your entire trade group, no doubt. What'd you smuggle in?"

"It's called Minagen X3…"

"Oh, you little…" Garrus growled.

"Oh, dear," Miranda muttered.

"You know what he's talking about?" Shepard asked while Garrus continued tearing into the volus.

"Minagen is a derivative of red sand. It was a drug originally developed by the Alliance to boost biotic powers in their biotics soldiers safely, but without the side effects red sand usually produces," she explained quietly. "The project was a bust. While the drug **does** boost biotic power, they couldn't filter out the addictive, hallucinogenic, and toxic properties of red sand. Biotics started exhibiting the classic signs of dusters and they immediately shut down all production of Minagen. The designation X3 tells me that there are some people still trying to continue the project, it seems."

"Cerberus?" Shepard suggested bluntly.

Miranda gave him a sharp look. "I wouldn't know."

"So Minagen isn't widely used I take it?"

"It's very, very illegal. Even red sand is more accepted." She brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear before crossing her arms in thought.

"So how do you administer Minagen?" Shepard asked.

"Just breathing in the chemical is enough, but injections were the 'controlled' method."

"Do you know where the Eclipse base is?" Garrus asked harshly.

"Oh, yes." The volus started patting his pouches, trying to find something. "I do have a pass card they issued me to bring my goods in. Well, I had to return that one, but I happened to make a copy." He produced the card and handed over to Garrus. "Here."

Garrus took it and stood up. "What's the layout?"

"It's a series of docking bays where the Eclipse keep their private ships. They're well-armed and they've got mechs," Pitne informed.

"Gunships too?" Jacob spoke up from the side.

"I've seen one or two," Pitne said.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Garrus said disingenuously. He walked back to Shepard and handed him the keycard. "Now we know where the Eclipse base is. Simple."

"Nice work, Garrus. I might have to reconsider getting that payback for setting me up with Conrad," Shepard replied as he took the card.

"So what's our next move?" Miranda asked.

"Samara first," Garrus suggested to Shepard. "She needs to know this and hopefully, we can stop her before she makes a mess of things and causes trouble for Detective Anaya."

"If that's what you think," Shepard answered. "Lead the way."

**-oOo-**

Samara boldly walked into the meeting, even when the mercenaries raised their weapons toward her. She memorized their positions as she approached the lieutenant and mentally started categorizing which Eclipse would be the greatest threat and how best to subdue them all. Seven was simple, but the lieutenant needed to live to answer her questions, adding a minor complication.

The lieutenant was uneasy at her presence, but hid it well. She stared Samara down as the justicar stopped a few feet away.

"You know who I am," Samara stated evenly. It wasn't a question.

"I know who you are, Justicar," the merc said with more bravery than she felt. The various Eclipse mercs shuffled uneasily. Despite their numbers, they were treading carefully. Fearfully.

"You moved an asari off-world not too long ago. I want the name of the ship and its destination," Samara demanded in a placid tone.

The leader's two closest subordinates flanked her and aimed their assault rifles. "I don't know what you're talking about," she scoffed.

Her protests were unconvincing. "Answer me truthfully and I will leave. Persist in this foolish course of action and I will be forced to extricate the information from you violently."

"Are you threatening me? You're surrounded, Justicar!"

Samara knew that while the lieutenant believed that she had a chance of victory, she would continue her foolish defiance. Actions would sing louder than any words now.

"So be it."

In a sudden flurry of movement, she touched on her biotics and the room exploded into pandemonium. Throw scattered the lieutenant and her two subordinates while a Singularity appeared and captured the other four mercs in its deadly pull.

Samara had always felt her life was rather akin to music. There was always with a sense of cadence to how she approached her trials; one moment, a minuet, the next, a bolero. In battle, allegro proved to be an apt description. Her symphony was beautiful with each section of the orchestra playing in perfect harmony with the other.

While the four were fighting the influence of the Singularity, Samara darted forward, targeting one of the two bodyguards. Pushing her biotics harder, she pulsed brightly with dark energy as she picked up the merc and slammed her against a wall hard enough to hear the spine snap.

The other bodyguard and lieutenant stumbled to their feet, but Warp brought them both to their knees, screaming in pain.

One of the mercs behind Samara screamed in concert as she was finally pulled into the core of the Singularity, where she was subjected to the merciless gravitational forces within. She died seconds afterward.

Two Eclipse Sisters were flying within the accretion disk and orbiting the gravity well helplessly while the third managed to pull free and raised her rifle.

Samara's response was to target the Singularity with Warp as well. The explosion rocked the room, killing all three mercs and leaving only the lieutenant and bodyguard alive.

Dark energy lit the room as the justicar turned her attention to the final two.

**-oOo-**

"Did you hear that?" Jacob asked.

"I heard it," Jack said. "Screams and explosions. My favorite music."

"We're on the right track," Shepard stated.

"Looks like Samara found the Eclipse meeting first," Garrus guessed.

The group moved quickly towards the source of the disturbances. On the way, they finally passed by visual evidence of Samara's passing. LOKI's and Eclipse mercenaries were scattered along the alleys.

Mordin stopped at one of the mercs and ran his omni-tool over her. "Curious. Alive, but unconscious. Appears relatively unharmed."

"Over here. I think this is it," Garrus said as he stopped at a door. The group stacked up and prepared to enter.

"Ready?" Shepard said to his team.

Various affirmatives floated back as they held their weapons ready.

"Doors are already unlocked," Miranda reported.

"Go."

Garrus and Miranda entered quickly and scanned the room. A flash of movement in a glass-walled office on the second floor caught their attention. "Contact! Second floor!" Garrus shouted.

"First floor is clear!" Miranda shouted.

Everyone entered the room with their weapons raised and aimed at the second floor. They all caught sight of the three dead bodies dressed in Eclipse armor and what appeared to be half of one lying nearby.

A scream tore through the air, followed by an asari crashing through one of the glass walls of the office. Her trajectory was aimed right at them.

Jack thrust out an arm and caught the asari with her biotics before violently tossing her to the other side of the room. The merc slammed into the unyielding wall with an audible crack.

Shepard lowered his rifle and watched as an asari in blood red armor took slow, deliberate steps around the last Eclipse merc and glowing faintly with dark energy. "Stand down!" he ordered.

**-oOo-**

"Stand down!" the human in black armor shouted to his team.

For this, Samara was thankful. While the Eclipse Sisters proved little trouble, there was something about the new arrivals that gave even her pause. They were a motley band, diverse and different, not only in species, but temperament as well. However, each of them appeared dangerous in their own unique ways. She turned her attention back to the frightened, and now, humbled Eclipse lieutenant.

She was breathing rapidly and holding only her pistol as she stared wide-eyed at the justicar. "Those… those were my best troops…"

"Tell me what I need to know and I will be gone from here," Samara offered serenely. "Where did you send her?"

"You think I'd betray her? She'd hurt me in ways you can't imagine!"

"I am aware of this," Samara said. She walked a slow, steady circuit around the merc. "The name of the ship and the destination. Your life hangs on the answer, lieutenant."

"You can kill me, but one of us **will** take you down, Justicar!" the merc yelled out defiantly. "You'll never leave Illium alive!" She raised her pistol threateningly.

Samara reacted instantly. She raised her right arm and with it, the lieutenant. A hazy, blue, glow surrounded the merc as she was held aloft by only Samara's will alone. Throwing her arm to the side, the merc screamed as she was cast out through the only other remaining window of the office and toward the first floor.

Her impromptu flight ended with a painful impact against some of the metal crates containing Eclipse contraband.

Moving quickly, Samara utilized a combination of Throw and Pull to jump out of the office and float gracefully to the ground. In her youth, she celebrated the rush to manipulate the world around her with her mind alone. Now, as a hardened warrior, it was a simple tactic to prove to her opponent that she was not to be underestimated.

Judging from the lieutenant's expression, she was suitably intimidated. She scurried back on her hands and feet before bumping her head on the containers again.

Taking two quick steps forward, Samara planted her boot on the merc's neck and stared into her eyes. "What was the name of the ship she left on?"

The merc grabbed Samara's boot in a vain attempt to relieve the pressure and struggled to free herself. "Go… go to hell!" she choked out.

_To embrace her courage in the face of death._

Samara reevaluated her opinion of the lieutenant. Despite cutting a swath through her guards with little trouble, she still acted in defiance. Even when she knew she was going to die.

Samara allowed herself to offer a regretful look to the prone woman. "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess."

With a sudden twist of her leg, she snapped the lieutenant's neck cleanly. Stepping away from the body and offering one last respectful look, she turned her gaze to the new arrivals and studied them. They were not led by any asari, which meant that they were not the local authorities. They were not dressed in the gold and black armor the Eclipse favored, which meant they were not affiliated with them. Their weapons were drawn, but not held in any hostile manner.

She found her curiosity piqued, but she approached the group warily all the same. "My name Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code." She gestured to the bodies around her. "My quarrel is with these Eclipse Sisters, but I see several well-armed people before me."

The human male in black armor walked up to her and introduced himself. "I'm Spectre Agent Shepard."

"Agent Shepard," Samara returned with a respectful nod. She revised her earlier observation. _Perhaps the Nos Astra authorities asked a Spectre to detain me instead of their own?_ "Are we friend or foe?"

"I'm here to ask for your help with a critical mission."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "You honor me. But I am in the middle of an investigation."

"We're going after the Collectors. All things considered, my team and I are going up against suicidal odds. To stand a chance, I need the best." He gave her a respectful nod of his own. "That's you."

She stared into his eyes and felt a touch flattered that he would come all this way to request her help. "I sense the truth in what you say and it humbles me. The Collectors are a worthy foe and would relish to test myself against them. But I seek an incredibly dangerous fugitive."

"So I hear."

Her gaze changed to become a touch defensive, but Shepard's eyes remained neutral. It was obvious that he knew more, but how much was the question.

"The Eclipse get whoever you're after off-world?" he asked, pointing at the body of the lieutenant.

She nodded slowly. "Originally, I followed the Code to bring a murderer of a volus merchant to justice. During the course of that investigation, I heard that my original quarry enlisted Eclipse's help. Now, I wish to find the name of the ship and its destination before the trail goes cold."

"I wish you would go with them, Justicar."

**-oOo-**

Shepard turned to gaze from the composed and almost judgmental eyes of Samara to see Detective Anaya walk in armed, with two more officers flanking her.

Anaya looked around room and shook her head. "Could've been worse," she muttered.

"Detective," Samara greeted serenely. Everyone knew why Anaya was here.

The detective and her subordinates walked up to Samara. The two officers were shuffling nervously. Whether it was out of respect, admiration, or fear was anyone's guess. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave," Anaya informed.

Samara nodded. She appeared to have been expecting this before Anaya even spoke. "You risk a great deal by following your orders, Detective. Fortunately, I will not have to resist."

Anaya looked shocked. "Really?"

"My Code obligates me to cooperate with you for one day. After that, I must return to my investigation."

She made a sound of frustration. "I won't be able to release you that soon."

"You won't be able to stop me," Samara replied matter-of-factly, but with a trace of regret.

Miranda frowned as she considered the implications. "You mean after a day, you'll fight your way out of custody?"

"Kills anyone in her way as well," Mordin bluntly added.

"I am afraid so," Samara confirmed.

Grunt snorted in contempt. "Asari are stupid. Your code means you kill her tomorrow instead of today."

"Easy, big guy," Shepard warned him. Turning to Samara he said, "We learned the location of the Eclipse base from the other volus, Pitne For. If we can get the name of that ship, will you join us?"

Samara nodded. "The Code also obligates me to find the murderer of the volus merchant as well. If you are able to complete both objectives, I will join you. Then the Code will be satisfied."

"Just like that?" Garrus asked skeptically. "You sounded like you needed to complete your own investigation pretty badly."

She bowed her head. "If I stay, I will be compelled to kill many innocents to escape incarceration," she answered.

"Like me," Anaya added.

"I may be killed and my quarry would be free to continue murdering. If I come with you and survive your mission, I can resume my investigation," Samara logically explained. "All I require for now is the ship's name to track her to her next hiding place."

Garrus turned to the group. "Makes sense to me."

Mordin nodded. "Logical calculation. Slim odds, but possible." He shrugged. "Better than impossible.

"Slim? Try bad," Jacob corrected. "But… it's still better than killing a bunch of people for no good reason."

"Regardless," Miranda said, raising her voice to be heard over the various comments. "Any chance is better than no chance. That's pretty much the paradigm of our mission anyway," she reasoned.

"Bah!" Grunt said in disgust. "Your 'Code' would force you to kill. What a bunch of crap."

Jack grinned at him. "It does kinda take to fun out of it, doesn't it?"

"Alright, enough," Shepard ordered. "We've got a day, so let's get going."

"Good luck," Anaya said. "And I mean that. After all, it's my ass on the line here. And in more ways than one," she said seriously. She turned to Samara. "We need to get back to station. And, I guess we have to take you with us."

"As you wish, Detective. Officers," Samara complied. She turned to the Spectre and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance in this matter, Shepard."

After they left, Shepard turned to his team. "So… anyone up for assaulting a mercenary base?"

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport, Eclipse Base and Private Hangars**_

"Is this what I should be expecting during the course of your mission?" Thane asked evenly.

The entire squad, sans Tali, was walking toward the elevator that would take them to the Eclipse base.

"Expect what?" Shepard asked in return.

"You assaulted Dantius Towers just to ask me for help. Now we're assaulting a mercenary base just to secure the help of the justicar," Thane elaborated.

"Oh, right. That." Shepard nodded in understanding. He was checking to see if his armor was fully functioning as a matter-of-course. "Sort of. Truthfully, this day is actually turning out a bit better than most," he honestly admitted as he finished his impromptu prep.

"She's the last one," Miranda added. "After we recruit Samara and finish the retrofits of the Normandy, we're waiting for any intelligence that can give us a target. Or at the very least, a direction."

The troupe reached the elevator where Shepard used Pitne's keycard to call it. The doors opened immediately and they filed in quickly. Miranda tapped the button and the slow moving elevator started its ascension to the private docks where the mercs moved their goods quickly and discreetly. They stood around in silence for a bit and watched the indicator intently.

"At least there's no music," Shepard joked to Miranda, breaking the quiet. She stifled her smile.

Grunt hit the side of the elevator impatiently. "How slow does this peace of crap go?"

"You can tell the asari made this elevator," Garrus said in a sagely tone.

Shepard, Jacob, and Jack chuckled at the joke while Grunt and Mordin looked confused.

"I don't get it," Grunt stated.

"Not following either," Mordin admitted.

"The asari are never in a hurry, cause' they live for a thousand…" Garrus started to explain before shaking his head. "Y'know what? Never mind."

"Thane, may I ask you something?" Miranda inquired after the ensuing silence.

"Certainly."

"You said you wanted to meet Samara. Why?"

Thane bowed his head and fell silent. Garrus looked unusually pensive as he glanced at his fellow marksman.

"Does this have something to do with what you said at the Dantius Towers?" Miranda asked perceptively. "You said you were praying for the 'wicked' and you were referring to yourself. You also mentioned atonement."

"Yes," Thane agreed. He appeared reluctant to speak in front of so many people, but forged on regardless. "I had thought to meet the justicar because she could grant me an honorable death. Another way to atone for my sins, I suppose."

"Death in battle," Grunt commented approvingly. "Good way to go. It's better than however you're dying now."

"If it's not too personal to ask, what are you dying from?" Shepard asked curiously.

"It's called Kepral's Syndrome," Thane simply revealed.

Mordin looked completely intrigued. "Kepral's Syndrome? Never heard of it. Interesting. Disease affecting only drell species? Appears fine. No visible indications of illness or symptoms." He engaged his omni-tool and ran a scan over Thane before the assassin could answer him. "Interesting. Lung functions appear affected. Slight impairment. But why? Need more data."

Thane looked unbothered by Mordin's social bluntness. If anything, he almost looked amused. "My people are native to an arid world, Professor. Most of us now live on Kahje, the hanar homeworld. It's very humid and rains every day."

"Ah," Mordin replied in understanding and typed away into his omni-tool. "Sudden environmental change. Unable to physiologically adapt quickly enough due to extreme planetary and ecological differences. Yes, yes, yes." He ran his omni-tool over Thane again. "Indeed. Physical function of respiratory organs mostly intact, but other areas appears blocked. Moisture, I assume?"

"Indeed. Over time, the tissue loses its ability to absorb oxygen. It becomes harder to breathe. Eventually, we suffocate," Thane explained evenly.

"Damn," Jacob simply said.

"That's a really crappy way to go," Jack agreed.

"Like I said, death in battle is much better," Grunt said. "This is definitely the mission for you."

Mordin nodded as he continued to type into his omni-tool. "Environmental illness, not a natural one. Not contiguous to other drell or other species, correct?"

"My illness is not communicable, even to other drell," Thane affirmed.

"So why live on Kahje still?" Garrus asked.

"Or why not use breathers?" Shepard added.

"After Kepral's Syndrome was diagnosed, we started to use breathers. But for many, like myself, it is already far too late," Thane explained. "But drell have a close relationship with the hanar. We rely on each other. That is why we choose to remain on the hanar homeworld."

"Are steps being taken to cure this problem?" Miranda asked.

"The hanar have funded a genetic engineering program. They should be able to adapt us," Thane said. "The project has only been running for a few years. I don't believe my body will still draw breath by the time it bears fruit." He smiled grimly. "I should be fine for another eight to 12 months. The more time I spend in humid environments, the faster it progresses. I think it's safe to say that by the time my body is incapacitated, we'll be victorious. Or dead." He turned to Shepard. "Either way, I won't be a burden to you."

"Interesting. Should we survive, should look into program. Fascinating," Mordin said.

"I'm sure our scientists would appreciate your expertise, Professor," Thane courteously replied.

"Besides being bit fatalistic, you don't really act like a dying man," Shepard observed.

"You have the advantage there, Shepard. I understand that you've already died." Thane glanced at the indicator and saw they were near their floor. "Perhaps later you can give me some suggestions."

Shepard looked up as well and hefted his shotgun. "Arm up. We're almost there."

"Finally," Grunt rumbled. Everyone put their helmets on and brought their weapons to bear.

Shepard took the last minute or so to observe the drell. He was dressed in a unique set of armor, almost skintight, but padded in key areas. It seemed that he favored his speed and agility over conventional armor, though Shepard guessed that the kinetic barriers on the assassin's armor were nothing to scoff at. He wore a dark coat over the armor to conceal his weaponry, though the bulge easily identified that he brought his M-92 Mantis along.

Thane noticed the scrutiny he was under if the tilt of his helmeted head was any indication.

"Is that armor able to function in zero-g?" Shepard asked.

"It is capable of allowing me to survive in a vacuum, yes," he answered.

"Good," Shepard simply said before turning his attention to the elevator doors.

The doors opened to reveal a couple of LOKIs and Eclipse waiting for the elevator. They looked shocked at their sudden appearance. Unfortunately, that hesitation cost them when Shepard's team opened up with a sudden storm of gunfire.

"You have to admit, there are worse ways to die," Jacob commented once they stopped shooting.

"Indeed," Thane allowed.

Shepard and Miranda stepped out of the lift first and swept the room, but found no further threats.

"Come on! Move it! Let's see who else is in our way!" Grunt shouted impatiently as he stomped off the elevator.

"Are we going to be alright with him coming?" Miranda asked Shepard worriedly.

"You want to leave him alone in the Normandy?" Shepard rhetorically asked. He pointed at the nearby doors. "Let's go. Hopefully, they haven't detected us yet."

The doors suddenly opened, revealing two more LOKI mechs. "Intruders detected," a mechanical voice rang out. Jack shot both mechs immediately.

"You were saying?" she asked cheekily. Footfalls were heard as mercs started pouring into the next room.

"I was saying we should probably fight our way to Captain Wasea," Shepard ordered in resignation.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Grunt yelled out enthusiastically.

The squad approached the door warily, ready for any firefight or explosions. What they weren't expecting was an Eclipse biotic lifting a chemical container and tossing it right at them.

"Eat this!" the asari taunted.

"Incoming!" Jacob shouted.

The group scattered immediately. Everyone managed to get out of the way in time, but the container broke open on impact, releasing a red mist into the air.

"_Minagen! Make sure your suits are sealed!"_ Miranda warned from somewhere in the cloud.

Shepard's eyes roamed his HUD and saw that his Kestrel Armor was fine and fully sealed. Activating his Tactical Cloak, he moved through the cloud and into the private hangar. He quickly started counting the mercs the moment he could see again. "_Seven mercs across the gap. Two on the left, five on the right and an open door on the far right. Take'em out!"_

Garrus and Thane cleared the cloud and used their sniper rifles to fire on the two mercs on the left.

Shepard brought out his HMWA and took aim at the mercs on the right when his shields were suddenly struck from behind and slightly to the right. He instinctively ducked down and searched for the threat. _"Damn it! Danger close! Contact right!"_

Grunt cleared the cloud next and rounded the corner where two LOKIs were stomping forward, firing at Shepard's position. He charged forward, his shotgun tearing one easily. Shepard merely held his ground and used his own biotics to pick one of the LOKIs up and toss it over the edge.

"_Scratch one!" _Garrus reported.

"_Target eliminated," _Thane called out a second later.

"_Die!"_ Jack shouted out. Two chemical containers were flying across the room and at the doorway where the four other mercs were huddling around.

A thick red cloud appeared around them, and moments later, frantic shouts interspaced with hacking coughs prompted the mercs to abandon their cover. Three asari Eclipse stumbled out, gasping and wheezing, but evidence of their increased biotic power was evident by their aura of dark energy.

Mordin took the opportunity to use Incinerate on the three mercs while they were trying to recover. _"Enjoy!"_

Two of the mercs died, seconds later after being lit on fire, while a third started running around screaming, only to run into the railing and fall into the empty void below.

"_Nice one!" _Jack laughed.

"_Heavy trooper!"_ Shepard shouted.

A missile flew out of the chemical cloud and impacted on the wall next to them moments after he shouted his warning.

"_That one must have her helmet on,"_ Jacob guessed. He aimed his own missile launcher and waited for the advanced targeting system inside to provide a lock. The moment it beeped, he launched his own missile.

It streaked across the room and exploded inside the cloud, clearing a great deal of it away and revealing another dead merc.

"_Nice shot,"_ Shepard praised. _"I counted six. There's only one more. Let's go."_

Everyone regrouped and moved carefully toward the open door. Their caution was unwarranted when the room beyond was empty of any threats. Instead, they found a stockpile of weapons, some were haphazardly lying on tables and others were already packed into shipping containers.

"_Huh,"_ Grunt said, staring at the various weapons around them. _"We don't need to let this stuff go to waste, right?"_ He walked over to one of the tables and picked up an M-15 Vindicator. _"I mean, no one's gonna know if a few pieces go missing."_

Jacob picked up a few extra grenades and power cells for his missile launcher. _"Whatever advantage we can get, right?"_

"_Nice one here,"_ Grunt commented as he picked up an M-100 Grenade Launcher.

"_We need to hurry,"_ Miranda reminded as she, Thane, and Garrus watched the hallway ahead for any sign of reinforcements.

"_Fine,"_ Shepard responded. _"Gather up everything you can carry. I'm sure Anaya will still have enough evidence to prosecute on weapon's smuggling."_

"_I hear something,"_ Thane cautioned.

"_There's a door on the right,"_ Jack pointed out.

Garrus approached the door carefully. _"Locked. I'll get it open,"_ he said.

"_You two; hurry it up,"_ Shepard called back to Jacob and Grunt. He flanked the door with the others and waited for Garrus to finish the bypass. He could hear someone whimpering inside.

"Oh, Goddess! Oh, Goddess, don't let them see me. If they do see me, don't let them kill me! What am I doing here? !"

"_Got it," _Garrus reported.

"_Go!"_

Garrus and Shepard darted into the room, checking their immediate corners. Miranda and Mordin followed quickly and moved deeper inside.

"_Contact!"_ Mordin called out.

"Don't move!" Miranda ordered. "Step away from the weapon! Do it now!"

"Wait! Stop!" a blue-hued asari pleaded.

"Stand up slowly!" Miranda shouted. She kept her rifle trained on the merc unwaveringly.

"Okay, okay!" The asari stood up with her hands in the air.

"Drop your weapons. Nice and easy," she instructed next when it was apparent that the merc wasn't going to resist.

"Okay. I'm dropping my gun. See?" An SMG clattered on the ground, still in its compact state.

"_Room's clear!"_ Garrus shouted.

"Kick the weapon away," Miranda commanded. The merc did so.

"Please!" the asari begged. "I didn't fire my weapon once. I pretended to because the other Eclipse Sisters were watching, but I really didn't shoot!"

"_She's lying,"_ Jack said immediately.

"Hands in the air," Shepard ordered when he saw that she was lowering her arms. She put them back up immediately.

"I'm not one of them! I'm new!" she cried out. "I thought being Elnora the mercenary would be cool… but I didn't know what they were really like!"

"_She's wearing the uniform. If she's new, she might be the one that murdered the volus,"_ Garrus said. He kept his Reverent trained on her.

"The Eclipse smuggled someone off-world not too long ago. Tell me everything you know," Shepard ordered.

"The Ardat-Yakshi?" she responded with a quiver.

"Ardat-Yakshi? What does that mean?"

"It's an ancient asari word for something that…" Elnora started before swallowing. "I thought was just a superstition. Until now." She took a deep breath. "It means: 'demon of the night winds'. I didn't think they were real, but the boss said that this scary lady was one."

"What's the name of the ship?"

"I have no idea!" Shepard expanded his HMWP and raised it threateningly. "I don't know! It was a few days ago and like I said, I'm new! They didn't tell me anything!"

"One last question: Do you know who murdered the volus merchant, Dakni Kur?" Shepard asked firmly.

Her eyes widened and darted around. "No… I don't know who did it," she replied. Her voice hitched when she answered.

"She's lying," Garrus said out loud, echoing Jack's earlier words. "I bet if we check around we'll get the evidence we'll need."

If possible, her eyes widened further and her expression decidedly looked more panicked.

Shepard noted all of the tells easily. "Alright, you're under arrest."

"I had nothing to do with that!" she asserted vainly.

"You chose your side, Elnora. And you lost. Get down on your knees, hands behind-"

"Screw that bastard! And screw you!" Both incredibly and perhaps suicidally, she allowed her biotics to flare as she pulled her arm back to attack, despite being completely surrounded and outmatched.

She never got the chance. Everyone immediately opened fire on the lone merc. Almost immediately, her shields failed as they mercilessly tore into her. A second later, her corpse fell limply to the ground.

"What. A. Fucking. Idiot," Jack snorted derisively. She kicked Elnora's boot. "One less merc, at least."

"Indeed. Not very bright," Mordin agreed. "Probably had little chance to survive as a mercenary."

Privately agreeing, Shepard turned away from the body and walked back into the hallway. _"Grunt, Jacob. You finished back there?"_ he called into his radio.

"_Almost. Grunt's trying to take a much as he can. And believe me, that's a lot."_

"_Regroup. We're moving on,"_ Shepard ordered to his team as a whole.

As soon as everyone rejoined him, he took point and led them deeper in the base. More and more Minagen containers lined the hallways as they continued further in.

"_How much did Pitne sell them?"_ Miranda asked incredulously.

"_That miserable little bastard…" _Garrus muttered angrily.

"_What's wrong?"_ Shepard asked as he continued to navigate through the halls of the Eclipse base.

"_I got him to admit to bringing the Minagen, but unless we're planning to stay and testify, Anaya won't have the evidence to convict,"_ Garrus explained in frustration. _"I hate red tape."_

"_We still might find something,"_ Shepard encouraged. _"For now, one problem– Shit. LOKIs."_ He stopped dead in his tracks and jumped back around the corner. Moving more carefully, he peered around the corner to assess the threat. _"They're not active, but it might mean more mercs around the corner."_

"_Looks to be another hangar,"_ Miranda observed when she peeked her head underneath Shepard's to assess the situation as well.

"_One of the mercs already demonstrated that it's a long way down and we know that some if not most are biotics. Watch yourself,"_ Shepard warned.

Despite the fact his helmet covered his entire head, Grunt could tell he was looking directly at him. Growling softly at the reminder, he nodded all the same.

"_Prepare to Overload the mechs. I'm going to make a quick count. Garrus, on me."_

"_Understood, Shepard,"_ Miranda acknowledged.

"_On your six," _Garrus acknowledged.

Shepard used his Tactical Cloak and vanished from sight with Garrus following his example. Creeping forward, they slipped past the mechs to see eight more mercs on alert. _"Four on the right side of the hanger. Another four waiting at the door. And they're waiting for us."_ Shepard took a quick look around. _"We got more Minagen crates stacked here too."_ He readied one of his grenades to take care of the four mercs inside the hanger while Garrus raised his assault rifle. _"Let's bring it."_

"_Deploying Tech Overload," _Miranda called out.

Shepard tossed his grenade. The action caused his cloak to fall away. The four mercs turned in surprise to see a human suddenly appear nearby. The three LOKIs were shut down in an explosion of electrical energy while the grenade detonated and killed three mercs instantly. One asari was quick and nimble enough to avoid the explosion and take cover behind a column. She popped out and tried to use her biotics to counterattack, but Garrus was ready and cut her down before she had the chance.

"_Move up!"_ Miranda ordered as Shepard and Garrus started to suppress the other four mercs trying to get through the other doorway.

Eventually, the exchange of gunfire started striking the Minagen containers. Red gas filled both doorways of the hangar, obscuring visibility for both sides and preventing clear shots.

"_Check your fire!" _Shepard ordered. He rested his HMWA on top of a metal crate and tried to see any sort of movement within the cloud to identify if the mercs had finally entered the room and were attempting to rush them.

"What the hell? !"

"What is that? !"

"I don't…!"

A sudden gurgle cut off the last panicked shout.

"Did anyone see that? !"

"Who's there? !" Another strangled scream.

"_What the hell is going on?" _Jacob asked.

A sudden flurry of gunshots and screams started echoing from the chemical cloud.

"_You think that asari broke out of prison already?"_ Grunt speculated.

"_Samara struck me as a woman of her word. I doubt she's here,"_ Miranda said.

"_I have no idea, but this is our chance,"_ Shepard replied quickly. _"Hit'em fast and hard while they're still distracted." _He tensed up and prepared to give the order when Thane's voice cracked over the radio.

"_Threat eliminated."_

Shepard stood stock still before shaking himself out of his shock and looking over his squad. Thane was indeed, missing. Blinking in mild confusion, he stood up and proceeded toward the door.

Jack took the liberty of using her biotics to push the bulk of the toxins away, thinning the cloud and allowing everyone to see what had happened.

Thane stood calmly amidst five Eclipse corpses. Each of them died in a unique manner, ranging from one of his throwing knifes, to a broken neck, to precise gunshot placement. He looked up at Shepard's approach. _"You miscounted. There were nine in total."_

"_Yeah… I've been known to be wrong before,"_ Shepard glibly replied. _"You're really good."_

"_We have intruders inside the base! Locate and kill them!"_ a voice ordered via intercom.

"_And that must be Wasea,"_ Garrus guessed.

"_Come on. Let's go ruin her night," _Shepard joked as he led everyone toward the top of the base.

**-oOo-**

"_Sentry ahead."_

"_Thane. Drop her."_

Thane drew another one of his knives and took careful aim. A flick of his wrist and the asari gasped and gurgled as the knife struck her throat.

"_Nice,"_ Garrus praised.

Shepard pushed forward, moving past the dead merc and peered around the corner. _"Another damn hangar. Looks like a gunship is taking off from this one though." _He held his position and waited for the ship to take off. He bided his time by counting and assessing Eclipse numbers and positions. _"We got a really nice sniping perch on the left side. Garrus, Thane, you're up on high."_

"_Got it." – "Understood."_

"_The rest of us will charge head on. I don't see any Minagen containers here, so no worries about toxic chemical clouds here."_ He took one last look around before ducking back. _"Best count, around four, but this is a big hangar."_

"_If a ship just took off, there has to be more working here,"_ Miranda reasoned.

Shepard turned to his marksmen. _"We're counting on you two to cover us."_

Garrus held up his Viper confidently. _"We got this."_

"_Alright. Let's go."_ Moving slowly, Shepard exited the hallway and into the hangar proper. One Eclipse Heavy was standing on guard at the walkway where Garrus and Thane were to setup. Turning to Thane, he silently gestured to the lone merc.

Thane slowly crept forward and reached the sentry's position. Reach up, he gripped the merc and snapped her neck quickly and caught the falling body. Gently lowering it to the ground, he brought out his Mantis and waited for the rest of the squad to move forward.

While Garrus crawled up to his designated area with the assassin, Shepard led his team toward the mercs that were stationed inside this hangar. Quietly, he stalked the next merc and used his knife to silently take her down. Unfortunately, the motions drew the attention of the other Eclipse and they instantly started shooting. Leaping into action, Shepard's squad launched their own attack. Two hostiles dropped dead as the snipers went to work on the surprised mercs.

"_Eclipse Heavy!"_ Mordin shouted. _"Contact above us!"_ He leapt behind some steel crates as a missile nearly blew him apart.

"_I got her!"_ Garrus informed. Taking careful aim, the Heavy's helmet rocked back as the sniper round penetrated her shields and armor easily. _"Scoped and dropped!"_

Reinforcements appeared at the far end of the room. Using Biotic Charge, Shepard crossed the distance and rammed a Vanguard. Her shields protected her from the attack, but the follow-up shots from his shotgun took her out.

Following Shepard, Jack used Charge as well, taking one merc down. Turning swiftly, she used Shockwave to scatter and distract the others before thundering away with her shotgun. She was forced to duck down when another missile streaked by. _"Aw, damn it!"_

"_On your ass!"_ Grunt shouted. A concussive round impacted against the Heavy. She screamed and fell back, dropping her weapon in the process.

The Eclipse all fell back against the onslaught and soon, the survivors were huddled around one of the larger crates. Occasionally, one would pop out to exchange fire, but sniper fire would end that idea quickly. One Trooper prepped a grenade. "Here's a present for you!"

She tried to toss the grenade, but Miranda thrust out her arm and brought the merc into the air. "Now let's finish you off!" she shouted and thrust her arm downward.

The merc slammed into the ground headfirst and dropped the grenade right next to the other clustered mercs.

"RUN!"

The explosion either killed or pushed all of them out of cover. Any survivors of the blast were easily subdued.

"_Hallway ahead looks to be clear,"_ Jacob reported after he did a quick check of the door and a glance at the hallway beyond.

"_No further visible targets,"_ Thane reported.

"_Regroup," _Shepard ordered. _"Jacob, Grunt: Secure the next room. Go!"_

Both of them complied quickly. Moments later, the both reported the next room empty.

The rest of the squad entered the room and were prepared to move on when Garrus spotted a terminal. He moved closer and read a name out loud. _"Elnora."_

"_Something up, Garrus?" _Shepard asked.

"_Don't know yet,"_ he replied distractedly. He tapped a few buttons and played the latest audio log Elnora recorded.

"_Well, it's official – little baby Elnora is a full-fledged Eclipse merc! I earned my uniform last night when I killed that ridiculous volus,"_ she gushed. _"Up close, exploding rounds. Blew the little bastard's suit wide open! Hah! I can't wait to see some real action! Next time I go home, my friends are going to be so jealous!_

"_Just like we thought," _Garrus stated definitively. He used his omni-tool to download the log. _"Elnora was the killer. It's a good thing we took her out."_

"_She's dead,"_ Jacob said bluntly. _"Why are you bothering getting the logs?"_

"_To close the case conclusively. Otherwise, it stays open," _he explained. _"Done. This should satisfy Anaya. Let's go."_

Shepard turned and led his team through the next set of hallways. After several minutes, they found yet another hangar.

"_Okay. Now I'm getting pissed off,"_ Jack snarled. _"Are we lost? Cause' it sure looks like we're lost."_

Grunt shifted the bags on his back and looked around. _"Huh. I think we might have a problem,"_ he said casually. He dropped his bundles and traded his shotgun for an assault rifle.

"_What?" _Shepard turned to look at the open vista of Nos Astra and cursed. _"Gunship! Scatter!"_

Everyone ran for the nearest available cover as the A-61 Mantis Gunship closed the distance and opened fire with its M350 mass accelerator cannon. Hundreds of bullets started raining all over the hangar as the squad sought protection from the storm.

"_Garrus! How did you disable one of these last time? !" _Shepard shouted.

"_Engine intakes! On top of the wings!"_ Garrus answered.

"_Find a good perch! You too, Thane!"_ Shepard ordered. _"Everyone else! Cover their advance!"_

Jacob popped out of cover with his missile launcher ready and fired a few. They struck the gunship and forced it to fly somewhat erratically as the pilot tried to deal with the sudden explosions. The thick armor plating protected it well enough, but it was forced to stop shooting as the ship swayed. Thane took advantage of the momentary pause to make a mad dash to one side of the hangar. Shepard and Garrus merely used their Tactical Cloak to move to the center and other side of the room respectively.

"_Keep distracting it! We only need a few well-placed shots to bring this bastard down!"_ Shepard called out.

Grunt tried his luck with a concussive round, but the gunship easily shrugged it off. It turned its gun toward him and opened fire. Grunt ran and took cover back at the doorway and waited for another chance. Looking down, he spotted the bags loaded with the weapons he 'liberated' and started looking for the grenade launcher.

Two metal crates arced toward the gunship, courteously of Jack's biotics, and struck the cockpit, but lacked the strength to do any real damage. The gunship rotated again and aimed at the ex-convict. Jack ducked behind the railing she took cover behind before and waited for the machinegun fire. Nothing happened.

"_Oh, no,"_ Miranda breathed out into the radio. _"Run! Inbound missiles!"_

"_Oh, shit!"_ Jack stood up and prepared to use Charge to escape the danger area, but her earlier assumption made her act too late. Two missiles were already launched, but Jacob and Grunt had managed to use their heavy weapons to knock the gunship off its flight pattern, diverting the trajectory of the missiles. They struck the underside of the hangar, causing large chucks of it to fall off the building.

"_Fuck!" _Jack screamed she lost her concentration and balance after the explosion. The part of the hangar she was on started to crumble away. Abandoning her biotics, she started stumbling towards the nearest stable area when the ground beneath her fell away. She screamed as she fell, but stopped when she felt something close around her arm. Gripping onto whatever was holding her tightly, she looked up, and to her everlasting shock, saw Miranda, of all people, leaning halfway over the edge and grasping her tightly.

"_Got you!"_ Miranda glowed with dark energy briefly as she used Pull to easily bring Jack back on to solid ground.

Shepard slid the scope of his HMWSR over his eye as Mordin used Cryo Blast to cover the cockpit with a frozen sheet. Jacob and Grunt paused in their attack after Shepard told them to stand down.

Pushing adrenaline into his veins, he felt the world slow down around him as he took careful aim at the left intake. _"On my mark!" _he called out to Thane and Garrus. "_3… 2… 1… Fire!"_

All three snipers pulled the trigger in tandem. Smoke and fire suddenly erupted from the intakes as the Mantis Gunship started flying erratically. Eventually, the damage started to spread to the other areas of the ship as the pilot valiantly tried to regain control. It was fruitless effort. It listed heavily to the side and eventually crashed against a wall on the other side of the hangar, before plummeting toward terra firma, far, far below.

"_Yeah!" _Garrus victoriously shouted.

Shepard turned around and frantically looked for Jack. The last thing he saw was her falling, but he managed to see Miranda sprinting toward her as well. Looking over, he spotted both Jack and Miranda safe and sound. Breathing an audible sigh of relief, he called out to the rest of his team. _"Anyone hurt? Speak up so we can get you treated."_

Everyone but the present females answered him. Shepard walked over and observed both carefully. They appeared fine. No visible marks on their armor suggested that they were hurt in any way. He did, however, felt the awkwardness between the two of them. Both women pointedly kept their backs to each other and were obviously trying not to say anything either. Shaking his head in exasperation at their stubbornness, but unwilling to antagonize either one for it, he cleared his throat and nodded at Jack. _"You okay?"_

"_Yeah. Fine." _She made a show of brushing her armor clean of dust before looking around. _"Damn it. I lost my fucking shotgun." _She turned to Grunt and made her way over to him. _"Hey! Big guy! You got another shotgun in any of those bags? !"_

Thankful that his helmet concealed his smirk, Shepard turned toward Miranda. "Nice job," he said through his voice module so Jack wouldn't hear through the radio. "I'm sure she's thankful as well."

"It's nothing. We need her for the mission," Miranda said, trying to brush off her actions with cold logic.

Shepard noted that she didn't turn to make eye contact as she usually did. Instead, she was looking at anything but him. She wandered over to her to her Pulse Rifle that she dropped when she ran to save Jack and started fidgeting with it when Shepard continued staring at her. He had the distinct feeling that she was embarrassed.

He knew better than to call her on it though. "It was still impressive. Nice too."

"Thank you, Shepard," Miranda replied modestly while still avoiding eye contact.

Walking up to her and giving a rallying pat on the shoulder, he started marched toward the other door in the hangar. _"If Wasea is sending gunships to take us out, we have to be getting close. No time to rest, people. Let's show her how pissed off we get when these idiots send gunships to kill us."_

Everyone recovered quickly and followed Shepard, leaving the destroyed hangar behind.

The next room was an office or something close to it. Several datapads and terminals were lining the room.

"_This must be where they coordinate their shipping routes,"_ Shepard speculated.

"_Garrus, over here. Take a look at this,"_ Jacob called out. He held up a datapad.

Garrus took the pad from him and browsed through its contents. _"Well, Shepard. When you're right, you're right. This looks like a shipping manifest."_

"_Pitne For?"_ Shepard guessed.

"_Yep. Wow… That little smuggling bastard sold 2000 units of Minagen X3 to the Eclipse. Along with 600 units of red sand."_ He put the datapad in a pouch. _"Looks like we got him. This'll make Anaya's day. Now all that's left is the name of the ship Samara wants and __**we**__ can call it a day."_

"_Shepard. Contact ahead. Not hostile. I think,"_ Mordin said from the opposite doorway.

Moving quickly, he peered around the door and saw what Mordin was pointing at. A volus was standing in front of a vending machine and was swaying side to side as if he had trouble standing on his feet.

Approaching the volus carefully, Shepard stopped a few feet away when he suddenly turned around and drunkenly walked toward him. The volus was apparently oblivious to his surroundings and bumped into Shepard. He staggered backward from the impact.

The squad filed into the hallway and watched him curiously.

"I am a biotic god!" the volus shouted out in greeting. Thin wisps of dark energy surrounded him as he walked up to Shepard again. "I think things – and they happen!" He turned away from the group and walked back toward the vending machine. "Fear me, lesser creatures, for I am biotics made flesh!"

"Oookaaay," Shepard mumbled in confusion. "Look, I don't know what drugs you're on, but stay back and I won't shoot you."

The volus turned around and stabbed a finger at Shepard's direction. "You will regret your scandalous words!" He raised his arm in the air. "I am a great wind that will sweep all before me like a… like a…" He held his pose for a few seconds as he tried to think of what to say. "A great wind. A great biotic wind!" he finished dramatically.

"Wow. No kidding?" Jack deadpanned. "Biotic wind, huh? Scary."

Mordin ran his omni-tool in the volus' direction. "Hmm… actions seem to indication drug induced hallucinogens," he theorized as he continued his scan.

"Yes," the volus agreed. "The asari injecting so many drugs into me was terrifying." He clenched his tiny hands into fists. "But then I began to smell my greatness!"

"I take back what I said," Jack stated in the same deadpan tone. "That sounded scary."

Grunt, Jacob, and Garrus snickered.

The volus seemed drawn toward Jack's voice and started walking over to her. "They may laugh when I fall over, but they don't know what I know in my head." He stopped in front of Jack and pointed at himself. "That I know that I am amazingly powerful." He struck another ridiculous pose. "Fear me!"

"Let me guess," Shepard said. "You're Niftu Cal, part of Pitne For's trade group, right?"

He turned and walked up to Shepard. "When I was mortal, I worked for Pitne. Poor soul is probably terrified that I have not returned."

"No, I don't think he is," Shepard responded.

"He hasn't reported your disappearance," Garrus bluntly said.

"Didn't want to get stuck here," Jack said in a mocking tone.

"Except that asari knew and grounded him anyway. Idiot," Grunt chortled.

"Face it, when the chips are down, even your friends will screw you for an extra cred," Jack finished. She appeared to realize what she just said at that moment because her head involuntarily turned to Miranda before glancing away quickly. Miranda noted this, but thankfully said nothing.

"Bah! I will wreak a just revenge upon his people! But first… the leader of these mercenaries is in the next room," Niftu Cal pointed out. He turned toward the door. "I shall toss Wasea about like a rag doll!"

"Really?" Shepard deadpanned. "You want to fight her?"

"This fellow couldn't dress himself, much less fight," Thane said.

"Forget that. This guy couldn't even tie his bootlaces," Garrus cautioned.

"They're right," Miranda agreed. "Having this incapacitated volus running around our battlefield could compromise us."

"I will tear her apart! My biotics are unstoppable!" Niftu Cal argued.

"Fifteen creds says the little guy doesn't get five steps before the merc explodes him," Jack offered.

"I'd take that bet," Grunt grinned. "She'll let him get 10, 'cause she'd be too busy laughing at him first."

"Not funny guys," Jacob retorted worriedly.

"Wasea will tear you apart. Take a nap – you'll feel better," Shepard said to the volus.

"Are you mad? I'm unstoppable! Feasting on her biotic-rich blood will be the last step of my ascension to godhood!" he said, executing his ridiculous pose again.

"If you say so," Shepard muttered. He gestured toward the door. "Charge," he encouraged in a leaden tone.

"Ha! An ill wind blows upon Wasea, captain of the Eclipse Sisters! After me!" He turned and staggered toward the door. Before he could get two steps though, Shepard rapped his knuckles sharply on the top of his head, causing him to fall face down on the floor.

He slowly crawled back to his feet, mumbling to himself. "But… great wind! Biotic god! I'm… I…" He turned toward Shepard and swayed drunkenly on his feet. "What was I saying? I'm… tired." He stumbled toward the other door. Everyone moved aside to create a path as Niftu struggled to remain on his feet. "You… may be right. Yes, I'm tired… I'll nap. Destroy the universe later…"

"Sleep well, and dream of bulbous women," Thane said when the volus staggered past him.

"Oh… thank you… I think I will…" he said in return as he left.

Jacob chuckled. "Nice."

"And useless," Grunt snorted.

"Well, so much for godhood," Miranda commented.

"Godhood's overrated," Shepard quipped. "Let's go. And be prepared for anything."

**-oOo-**

The squad entered, weapons raised, in what appeared to be the main warehouse of the hangar. The bulk of the Minagen X3 seemed to be stored haphazardly here. Chemical containers littered the entire room. A purple-hued asari stood on the other side of the warehouse, surrounded by a dozen Eclipse mercs. She, herself, was not wearing the traditional colors and designs of the Eclipse, but she paced amongst them anyway with an air of authority.

Captain Wasea didn't look up when Shepard's team entered or when her own personal guards raised their weapons at their entry. She calmly sipped her drink as she poured over a datapad. "Everything's gone to hell since we smuggled that filthy creature off-world." Knocking back her drink, she placed the glass on the table and regarded the intruders. "First a justicar shows up and now a Spectre."

"We want to know about the Ardat-Yakshi and where you've taken her," Shepard growled. "Tell us now or you get to find out what hell is really like."

Wasea started glowing biotically. "How about I turn your head in to a pulpy mass instead!" She levitated a Minagen container and threw it at Shepard's group.

Jack was ready for it though. The moment Wasea let her biotics flare, she did the same. Thrusting out her arm, she countered the momentum of the container and now it hovered between both groups as Jack and Wasea struggled for dominance.

Taking a chance, Shepard thrust out his arm as well. The combined effort between him and Jack was enough to overcome Wasea's efforts and the container flew right back toward the Eclipse. Another asari leapt into the fray and used her biotics to stop the container before it struck them, halting its momentum much like Jack did, a few feet away.

Garrus broke the biotic impasse by aiming his Revenant and shooting the container open. A red plume of toxic chemicals exploded all over the Eclipse.

"Some of them aren't wearing helmets! Use the gas!" Shepard shouted out. He levitated another canister with his left arm and threw it directly at the mercs. With his right arm, he held up his pistol and shot the container in midair.

The other biotics in the group caught wind of Shepard's intent and started levitating all the Minagen canisters they could see. Jack, Miranda, Jacob, and Thane started throwing canister after canister at the thickening cloud.

Garrus, Mordin, and Grunt started shooting, at both the Minagen and the mercs hidden within the red cloud.

Wet, hacking coughs and screams could be heard as everyone continued their unorthodox attack. Mercs that were wearing helmets managed to run out of the chemical cloud, only to be shot down immediately.

After 10 minutes, all the Minagen containers were broken open and used on the Eclipse. A thick, noxious looking cloud hovered over the area Wasea and her guard used to be in.

Shepard panted lightly with the effort it took to toss as much of the Minagen as he could. He held his pistol steady, waiting for any signs of further movement. He opted to wait 60 seconds before moving in. After 45 seconds, an asari lurched out of the cloud and fell on her face.

Wasea glowed dangerously, though the effect was ruined with her face planted on the floor and her gasping and wheezing.

Everyone held their weapons steady as they watched the captain slowly lumber to her feet.

"You…" she snarled, though there was a definite slur in her voice. "Do you know who I am? !" She took a step towards them, but almost fell with the effort. She managed to brace herself against a large container and glared through unfocused eyes. "I… I am… uh…" Her face scrunched up comically as she tried to remember what she was trying to say.

"A biotic goddess?" Jack suggested in amusement to the squad. Garrus, Grunt, and Jacob chucked.

Wasea clearly heard her if the sudden look of realization was any indication. "Yes! I am a biotic goddess! Tremble before me!"

Jack broke out laughing.

"Or you'll what?" Grunt asked tauntingly. "You gonna be some sort of 'biotic wind'?"

Wasea cocked her head before nodding. "Yes, yes." She finally managed to stand tall without assistance. "I shall blow through you like a great biotic wind!"

Grunt broke out laughing at her next.

"You would laugh at me, but you don't know what I know and I know many things!" she shouted in a drunken haze. "I know I am powerful! I know I… um… I…"

"You're immortal?" Jacob suggested next, unable to help himself.

"Yes! I am immortal! I cannot be killed!" she agreed immediately. "You cannot beat me!"

"If she says she's naked next, I'm tossing credits at her instead of bullets," Garrus joked.

"And I'm naked!"

That did it. Garrus and Jacob burst out laughing as well, unable to point their weapons at the intoxicated asari. Grunt and Jack had fallen to the floor and were trying to breathe while they reveled in their mirth. Thane appeared completely composed, though his arm holding his pistol was shaking slightly. Mordin chuckled appreciatively at the situation, but managed to hold his SMG up. Miranda was trying her best to remain professional, but her attempts to suppress her grin were failing.

Even Shepard was in danger of breaking his focus. He continued to hold his pistol at Wasea and thought about just pulling the trigger to be done with it when the merc suddenly fell to her hands and knees, her aura winking out of existence.

"I am a biotic… goddess… naked," she tried to assert before she vomited on the floor between her hands. After she finished she looked up at them with a blank look before falling face first into her own sick.

Shepard blinked a couple of times before turning to Mordin. "On me." Leaving behind the others that were still laughing uncontrollably, he approached Wasea, weapon still raised. Mordin followed close while Thane and Miranda moved to sides to keep the merc in sight.

"Check her," Shepard ordered. He kept his pistol ready, just in case.

Mordin knelt down, careful to avoid the vomit and ran his omni-tool over the Eclipse Captain. "Dead," he pronounced simply.

"And that's why I insist we wear helmets during missions," Shepard said matter-of-factly. He allowed himself to relax and turned away to observe the Minagen cloud. It was still thick and dangerous looking as it was when Wasea stumbled out of it. "So… any volunteers to go into the toxic cloud of death to get information we're looking for?"

Jack and Grunt were still recovering, but Garrus and Jacob managed to walk up to him. "Yeah… You know, you're in charge, Captain," Jacob reminded as he stared at the red cloud.

"That means you're responsible," Garrus translated. "Samara is counting on you to get that information and all."

"There's no 'I' in team," Shepard retorted.

"We'll be with you," he said encouragingly. He pushed him toward the chemical cloud. "Just in spirit."

"Thanks for nothing," Shepard muttered to the turian. His eyes roamed the HUD inside his helmet and ran a quick diagnostics check. No breaches or leaks. His hardsuit was completely sealed. Sighing the sigh of the damned, he boldly walked into the Minagen cloud and searched for Wasea's desk. He tripped and slipped a few times over the bodies and vomit hidden within, but found the table easily enough. Rooting through the various datapads inside revealed a great deal about Eclipse operations on Illium. While that knowledge would be advantageous to Anaya, he focused his search for anything that could help Samara.

_Bingo._

He picked up the datapad and read the contents carefully to ensure no mistakes.

_There's a justicar here! Probably looking for the one we sent off on the AML Demeter. I was happy to see her go; she chilled me to the bone. I just hope this justicar doesn't mess up my operations._

Pocketing the datapads and keeping this one separate from the others, Shepard was about to leave when a nasty idea entered his mind.

**-oOo-**

"Do you think he's alright?" Miranda asked worriedly.

"He's fine," Jacob replied confidently. "It's the Captain. He's tough."

Miranda sighed and watched the Minagen cloud for any signs of movement. It looked like it was finally dispersing, though visibility was still a problem.

Jack and Grunt had finally recovered and were watching the cloud as well.

Garrus was about to say something when the telltale signs of biotics were visible through the cloud. "Uh oh."

Shepard shambled out, glowing with dark energy. He fell into Garrus' arms. "I am a biotic god…" he intoned.

"Shepard! Shepard!" Garrus shouted. He struggled against the sudden weight in his arms and shook Shepard a few times in an attempt to get him back to his senses. "Shepard! Snap out of it!"

"Shit, was his armor breached?" Jacob asked frantically.

"I don't know!" Garrus snapped, still trying to deal with Shepard's thrashing.

Shepard suddenly reached out and plastered his hands all over Garrus' faceplate, obscuring his vision. "BIOTIC GOD!"

"Gack! Come on, Shepard!" Garrus tried to move his head side to side to see, but the Spectre kept moving his hands and slapping his helmet. "Shepard!" Garrus shouted, trying to balance between holding his friend upright, twisting and turning his head to avoid the slapping hands, and stay standing on his own feet. "Someone help me!"

All of a sudden, Shepard's aura faded away and he stood up straight under his own power. "Just kidding. I'm fine." He gave the turian tap on his helmeted head and turned away. Walking back to the entrance, he called out over his shoulder. "Let's go. We got what we came for."

Garrus stood still, staring at Shepard's retreating back before muttering angrily. "Oh, you bastard."

"I wish I could've seen your face!" Shepard yelled back.

"I hate you."

Miranda sighed at their childish behavior. She jogged a bit to catch up to the captain. "You ass…" she muttered, even though she couldn't hide her amused smile this time.

Jacob, Jack and Grunt started laughing again as they walked. "Nice one, Boss Man," Jack praised. She looked around the base exaggeratedly. "This run was pretty good."

"Lots of fun," Grunt agreed.

Thane and Mordin looked around before shrugging to each other and followed at a more sedate pace.

Garrus trailed after everyone, still muttering to himself and contemplating how he was going to get payback.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport, District Police Station**_

Garrus, Miranda, and Shepard entered the station. The rest of the squad elected to wait at the Kodiak. It was now early morning on Nos Astra.

"You're back," Detective Anaya greeted by stating the obvious. "Tell me you have something."

"We got something," Shepard assured. He raised his eyebrow at Anaya and, interestingly enough, Samara.

The justicar was sitting cross-legged on top of a counter just behind Detective Anaya's right shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her hands were resting on her knees as she meditated, appearing unaware of Shepard's presence.

He knew better though and guessed that Samara was well aware of her surroundings.

Anaya noticed his confusion and explained. "The word of a justicar is enough. If she says she won't attack, then she won't. Besides, if we tried to put her in shackles or a cell, she'd be forced to 'defend' herself."

"We've got the name of the ship. Your fugitive left here two days ago on the AML Demeter." He held up the datapad.

Samara opened her eyes.

The Spectre resisted the urge to turn away when Samara studied him with her ageless gaze. He felt as he were being judged and measured.

He seemed to have passed her silent test when she offered a gentle smile, something that put him at ease. "Shepard, you impress me. You fulfilled your part of the bargain and I will fulfill mine." She took the datapad from him.

"Thank you," Shepard replied with a nod.

Samara uncrossed her legs and leapt off the counter in one smooth, graceful motion. Turning to face Anaya, she offered a small bow of respect. "I am ready to leave whenever Shepard is prepared to leave, if that will satisfy your superiors, Detective?"

"You're free to go, Justicar. It has been an honor having you in my station," Anaya returned with equal respect. "And it's nice you didn't kill me too," she muttered under her breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Our shuttle is just over there. We'll take you to the Normandy," Shepard said.

"Understood. But first, I must be sworn to your service, so that I am never forced to choose between your orders and the Code." Samara took a deep, cleansing breath and closed her eyes.

To the surprise of everyone, when she opened them, they were glowing with a white light, nothing at all like the blue or purple of dark energy.

She fell to her knees and bowed before the Spectre. "By the Code, I will serve you, Shepard. Your choices are my choices, your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my Code." After completing her vow, she smoldered with dark energy, far more than any other biotic he'd ever seen. Even Jack. She stood tall again, her eyes still shining brightly.

"I never thought I'd see a justicar swear an oath like that," Anaya breathed out.

"It's the Third Oath of Subsumation," Shepard explained knowledgably.

Samara blinked and her eyes returned to normal. "That is correct," she said. "If you make me do anything extremely dishonorable, I may need to kill you when I am released from my oath."

"Shepard isn't like that," Garrus defended hotly. "He's one of best soldiers I've ever had the honor of serving with."

Shepard grinned and gave the turian a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Thanks." He turned to Samara and smiled. "And I can see that this is a very important act for you, Samara. Thank you."

She smiled back and nodded. "Truly, the life of a justicar can get lonely. I admit, I am looking forward to serving with a company of honorable heroes."

Miranda smiled slightly in amusement. "I'm not sure 'honorable' would describe everyone in our team, but we're dedicated to seeing the mission through at least."

"I understand," Samara replied calmly. "Shall we return to your ship?"

"We have a few things we need to discuss with the detective," Garrus said.

"Good news, I hope?" Anaya asked. Everyone nodded. "Right. Before that though, I want to say thanks for getting Samara out of my district. I can tell my granddaughters about meeting a justicar." She grinned. "And you've just upped my chances of living long enough to have grandkids."

"No problem," Garrus said. He shot a dirty look at Shepard when he said that though.

Shepard merely grinned and said nothing.

"Here's a few things. Proof that the Eclipse was behind the murder of the volus merchant and that Pitne For is a smuggler for them." He handed a stack of datapads over to her. "Also, we managed to recover a lot of intel on Eclipse operations."

"What does he mean by 'we'?" Shepard whispered to Miranda.

"He was with you in spirit," Miranda whispered back.

"Hmm…" Anaya looked over the datapads before nodding in satisfaction. "This will really help us." She looked up and smiled. "Thanks. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about trusting a bunch of strangers," she revealed before looking at Miranda and Shepard. "And no offense, but humans, at that. But you all came through." She turned to look at Garrus. "And you lived up to your reputation, Detective Varkarian."

"You looked me up?" Garrus asked.

"Wouldn't you?" Anaya bantered. She turned to the window and waved at the officers outside.

They marched toward Pitne and his bodyguards and promptly arrested them.

"All of this will be a big help. I can't do much to thank you, but we do have small discretionary bounty fund…"

"Keep it," Garrus said. "How about we just say you owe us one?"

Anaya looked at Garrus shrewdly before nodding. "Alright, I could live with that too."

"If we're done here…" Miranda said.

"We're done," Garrus answered. "Good luck, Detective."

"You too."

**-oOo-**

***ENCRYPTED***

_Recruited Justicar Samara for the team._

_Researching all asari references on 'Ardat-Yakshi'. Intelligence may prove valuable._

**-oOo-**

Author's Notes:

I know Wasea's 'fight' was kinda cheap, but when I played through Samara's recruitment mission, I actually thought it was the easiest out of all of them. The only really danger I conceived was the stupid chemical clouds. What can I say? Not every fight can be epic or every villain a challenge. Especially when you're up against a badass squad like this.

I would like to congratulate reviewer **Shadowfall** for guessing my thoughts on this chapter. I actually had it planned out sometime ago. Kudos to you.

Credit again goes to fellow Mass Effect author, **Ronnie James Dio**, for his excellent characterization of Samara in his story, **Immortality**. He allowed me to use some of his work as inspiration for this chapter.

I decided to use Inferno Armor for Samara because, well, let's face it, she wears red. What can I say? It seemed to work well.

The poll is still up for Overlord on my profile page. Please make your opinion heard.

Please review!


	25. Interlude X

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Armor looks to be done," Shepard commented as he and Miranda piloted the Kodiak into the hangar.

"We'll need to run a few tests to ensure there are no problems with the armor: sensor and engine calibrations, pressure seals, structural integrity, that kind of thing," Miranda reminded. "All things considered though, it's certainly one less thing to worry about."

"I just hope Tali has had luck installing the new cannon," Shepard said.

Gently guiding and landing the shuttle to its designated place, out of the way of the Normandy, her refits and the workers. It was next to the Hammerhead, off to one side of the hangar.. Shepard let Miranda shut down the shuttle while he stepped into the cabin. "Welcome to the Normandy," he said to Samara, gesturing to the frigate through the open doors.

She nodded politely and followed Shepard when he disembarked. "Thank you for taking the time to allow me to retrieve my things."

"No worries."

After leaving the police station, they had to make a quick detour so Samara could retrieve what little possessions she had. A few sets of clothes, her weapons, and a couple of knickknacks, all of which fit into only one bag.

"Right now, she's grounded until the refits are done. We're changing out the armor and adding a new cannon," he informed. "Armor is just about done, so she'll be space worthy again soon. I hope you don't mind the wait."

"Patience is a virtue I have learned to embrace as a justicar," she said.

"We've studied your profile extensively," Jacob revealed. "With your skills, I think you'll be an excellent addition to our team."

"Thank you," she graciously replied. "From an organization such as yours, that is high praise indeed."

Miranda debarked and approached the group as they continued toward the Normandy and their destination, the Armory. "We're still committed to gathering as much intelligence as we can on the Collectors, but I'm afraid our knowledge is still quite limited."

"We honestly have no idea what we're going to find when we hit the Collectors," Jacob admitted.

Samara nodded in understanding. "I will be prepared for whatever we encounter."

"We've booked a hotel for the duration of our stay here on Illium. If you'd like, I can arrange for suitable accommodations," Miranda offered.

"I would appreciate that," Samara replied.

"Is there any specific accommodations you would prefer on board the Normandy?" she asked.

"A room that looks out on the great empty void would be most comforting," Samara requested.

Miranda nodded. "The Starboard Observation Room on the Crew Deck should suffice."

The squad entered the Armory and followed the routine they established after a mission. Piles of weapons were laid on the table for Jacob to sort and log, with the addition of the bags of weapons Grunt had taken from the Eclipse. Shepard merely moved his Spectre weapons to his secure locker for maintenance later.

Samara raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she followed their example. Placing her weapons on the nearest empty table, she patiently waited for everyone to finish and be led to her new lodgings.

"Considering your talent in biotics, I have to say that I'm impressed by your armaments as well," Shepard commented off-handedly.

"I trained myself in a variety of fields. Biotics was merely one discipline I've learned over the course of my life," she explained simply.

"_Captain?"_ Chakwas called via intercom before he could voice another question. _"If you're finished up there, I'd like to have a word with you down in the Medical Bay."_

"Something up, Doc?" Shepard asked. He closed his locker and waited for the reply.

"_There's someone here that would like to speak to you. Tali vouched for her and allowed her entry into the Normandy."_

"Who is it?"

"_Her name is Shiala. Tali told me that she, you, and Garrus have met before."_

Garrus' head snapped up. "Wait, is she that commando from Feros? Here? Seriously?"

Shepard's interest increased as well. "Why is she in the Med Bay?"

"_It has something to do with what she wishes to talk to you about. Professor Solus, if you're on board the Normandy as well, I would appreciate another trained eye."_

"We're on our way," he said. Turning to Miranda and Samara, he said, "Could you lead Samara to the hotel? I need to deal with this."

"Of course, Shepard," Miranda replied easily. "Though maybe I should show both Samara and Thane their future living quarters? To better familiarize themselves with the Normandy." She turned to the two Illium recruits. "That is, if you would like?"

"A fine idea," Samara said.

"I would agree," Thane said.

"Alright, whatever you want," Shepard hurriedly replied. He spun on his heel and left the Armory quickly.

Mordin, Garrus, Miranda, Samara and Thane followed closely behind. Jack and Grunt didn't really care about Shepard's business and went about their own. Jacob merely stayed in the Armory to begin logging the piles of armaments.

Arriving on Deck 3, Shepard and Garrus made their way to the Med Bay. Inside, Dr. Chakwas and Tali were standing around Shiala. The Asari Commando was sitting on the one of the beds and talking on her comm., but stood up at his entrance.

"Shepard," she greeted in relief. She turned back to her call. "No, I haven't had any luck yet. She insists that it was legal. I managed to find a friend that might be able to help us, though."

He looked her over with a critical eye while she talked. She was no longer wearing her leather armor Asari Commandos favored. Instead, she was dressed more functionally, clothes that wouldn't seem too out of place on Illium, but definitely more suited for colonial life. What truly caught his attention was the fact that she had green pigmentation, exactly like the clones the Thorian had created, instead of her natural violet. "Shiala," he parroted. He turned to the other occupants. "What's going on? Is there something wrong with her? Or the colonists?"

Chakwas spun in her chair to face him. "As of this moment, I have no idea."

"She was just telling us about some problems that were occurring at Zhu's Hope before you came back," Tali said. "When that AI informed us that you were on the way, she said she needed to make a quick call."

Mordin walked up to Chakwas and peered over at her terminal. "Curious. Never seen green asari skin tone before. Natural occurrence? Unnatural occurrence? What would be the cause?"

Shepard diplomatically overlooked Tali's remark about EDI and Mordin's rapid-fire questions in favor of their new asari guest. "It's good to see you again," he added when she finished her call and favored the group with a smile.

Garrus walked up, his curiosity plain to see. "You're green again. Only those clones the Thorian made of you were green. Weren't you purple before?"

Shiala sighed and sat back down on the bed again. "That's actually related to what I wanted to talk about." She gestured to her face. "This is only one of many problems we're having on Feros."

"How is Zhu's hope doing?" Shepard asked politely, but with a hint of concern.

She smiled to offset some of his worries. "We've done a lot of rebuilding. We even salvaged some useful material from the geth ship you and your team destroyed." Her smile dropped at the next bit of news. "The ExoGeni researchers got called back to their headquarters, however… along with what was left of the Thorian."

"What's going on, Shiala?" he asked. He sat down on a bed across from her. "Is it ExoGeni pushing colonists around again or did the Thorian somehow survive our fight?"

"Oh, no. ExoGeni has been very supportive of Zhu's Hope. They actually want to help us survive," she said quickly. "And the Thorian is dead… though after all you went through to kill it, I understand your concern."

"I'll say," Garrus muttered as he fingered a part of his chest.

Shepard offered a sympathetic smile. In their efforts to see that no colonists were injured, Garrus had to run directly into the line of fire to lob the chemical grenades at a group of colonists. He was successful, but his shields had failed and a round had nearly penetrated his armor and into his heart.

"However," Shiala continued. "The Thorian is part of the reason why I'm here on Illium." She tried to smile, but it came out more like grimace. "I fear that after our adventure on Feros, my purpose will seem mundane by comparison."

"What's up?" Shepard asked.

"I've reached the limit of my diplomatic abilities and I'd prefer not the start trouble," she replied before fidgeting a bit. "Some of the colonists, as well as myself, has had health problems as a result of the Thorian control. We hired a colonial survey group, Baria Frontiers, to do some medical scans."

"A wise move," Chakwas commented. "Though given the reports I've read, perhaps these scans should have been done sooner. A creature as ancient and alien as the Thorian was bound to have some sort of adverse effect, even if you were feeling fine in the beginning."

Shiala winced. "In hindsight, that would have been the prudent choice. But we were so focused on rebuilding that we assumed we were fine so long as the Thorian was dead."

"So this group, Baria Frontiers, they're the ones you're having trouble with?" Tali asked.

"Yes. The medical contract apparently allows the company to perform invasive procedures without our consent," she answered. "That's why I'm here."

Chakwas turned to her terminal again and started typing. "And how long after the incident did you or the other colonists begin to feel ill?"

"A few months," Shiala replied. "Possibly sooner for the others though, since their problems aren't nearly as visible as mine. My changing skin pigment was the most obvious sign of a problem." She sighed morosely. "My biotic abilities are unstable as well." She started rubbing her arms as if to ward off a sudden chill. "I'm also having vivid dreams… about my time with the Thorian. It is… disconcerting."

Mordin started typing into his omni-tool as well. "Interesting. Must find out more about this 'Thorian' entity. Later though. Focus on current problems." He looked up at Shiala. "Symptoms for asari noted, but what of colonists? Human, I assume? Different ailments?"

"Headaches or muscle spasms similar to what they experience under Thorian control. Sometimes, the colonists near another former Thorian victim shared sensations like heat or pain," she explained. "It has to be a result of trace amounts of the Thorian's parasitic spores. You can see why we'd want it studied. And cured."

"Control? Parasitic spores?" Mordin repeated. He ran his omni-tool over Shiala, but frowned when he couldn't pick up anything. "Must have more data," he mumbled before turning to Chakwas.

"I'll give you the details later, Professor," she promised.

"Hmm…"

Startled, Shepard whipped his head around to see Miranda, with Samara and Thane, standing at the doorway.

Miranda looked thoughtful as she tapped her bottom lip. "I have some experience with contractual obligations. Would you mind telling us more?"

Shiala appeared uncertain as she stared between Miranda and Shepard.

"She's my second-in-command. It's all right," Shepard assured.

"Very well. Baria Frontiers was interested in our problem; they offered to perform medical scans and deliver treatment for next to nothing."

"That should have raised some flags," Miranda commented with a raised eyebrow.

"I know," Shiala said in frustration. "But we were desperate."

"So what did the 'fine print' say?" Miranda asked.

"We apparently agreed to let them perform invasive follow-up procedures if they deem it valuable," she answered angrily.

"And I'm guessing they're abusing that particular agreement."

"Can they actually force these procedures?" Garrus asked in disbelief.

"No," Miranda answered. "No contract would be legal if such acts were 'forced', but these things can be the groundwork for other nasty surprises. Extortion, blackmail, or a huge return of money." She gestured to the green-hued asari. "All Baria Frontiers has to do is declare the colonists in breach of contract."

"We would be responsible for the full price we would have paid normally," Shiala said.

"Which might not be normal for other colonies," Miranda guessed.

"I hate politics," Garrus groused.

"Zhu's Hope just got back on its feet. There's no way we can afford it," Shiala pleaded desperately.

"Okay. I'll talk to the survey group," Shepard offered.

"Thank you," she replied in relief. "The Baria Frontiers representative knows about the issue. She was the one that drew up the contract."

"Where can I find her?"

"Later tonight. She'll be at Baria Frontiers' offices."

"If you'd like, I can look over the contracts to see what might help," Miranda offered.

Shepard turned to her and smiled. "I'd appreciate that."

Shiala smiled as well and turned on her omni-tool. "I'll forward you a copy."

"I see that we managed to recruit the last of our squad," Tali commented as she pointed at the other asari present.

"Right," Shepard said. He stood up and gestured to Samara. "Tali. Justicar Samara." He pointed at Tali. "Samara. Tali'Zorah, my chief engineer."

"A pleasure," Samara greeted courteously.

"Likewise," Tali chirped. "You were really hard to find."

"I needed to keep a low profile in an effort to avoid unnecessary trouble," Samara explained simply.

"You were doing a good job of that," Tali praised. "Our friend, Liara, had a hard time finding you."

Samara turned to Shepard inquisitively. "Liara?"

"Dr. Liara T'Soni. She works as an information broker here on Illium. Two years ago, she was one of the people that helped me against Saren. Her help was instrumental," he answered

Samara looked attentive at that news. "I see."

"I should go," Miranda said as she looked over the contract on her omni-tool.

"Anything you can tell me now?" Shepard asked.

"I can tell you that this is very well-written," she distractedly replied. "There might not be any legal loopholes to exploit here."

Shepard frowned. "Keep looking and keep me updated."

"Of course," Miranda said. She turned to Thane and Samara. "I'm going back to the hotel. Shall we?"

"Please," Samara answered for both of them. "I must meditate on the day's events."

As the trio made their way to the lift, Joker stepped into the Common Area at that moment and sidestepped them as they passed by. He continued hobbling over to the Medical Bay, though he kept watching Thane and Samara over his shoulder. Once he was sure they were gone, he looked back at Shepard. "So… a couple more dangerous aliens on board. Thanks." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the elevator. "I mean, you get a guy that's an assassin, so you expect him to be one. But does your asari have to be a trained killer too? You get everyone at the same store or something?" He sat down on another bed near Shiala's and sighed dramatically. "Why don't you do something safe? Like collect coins or commemorative plates or something?"

Tali giggled while Garrus smirked. "Joker, that trained asari killer you mentioned?" he asked conspiratorially.

"Yeah?" Joker asked cautiously.

Garrus pointed at Shiala. "She's one too. Asari Commando."

Joker gulped and smiled nervously at her. "Um… what I meant was…" he hedged.

Shiala stared at him silently and expectantly.

"I meant it… um, I meant it in the best possible way," he finished lamely.

"I'm sure," she replied in merriment. "I take no offense."

"She's a friend of ours from Feros," Shepard explained with a grin. He was taking obvious amusement in Joker's agitation.

"Right, the zombie people," Joker said in remembrance. "Banging on the hull, screaming and shouting. Good times."

"Shiala is here on Illium to help out the colonists there," Tali revealed.

Joker's eyes widened before he clapped his hands over his mouth. "I meant that in the best possible way too!" he shouted from behind his hands.

Everyone laughed at his plight, forcing him to pull his ever present hat down lower to hide his embarrassment.

"You guys suck," he muttered.

"Okay, enough," Shepard ordered. "Sorry, Joker. Couldn't help it."

"Yeah, right," he continued to mutter, though he grinned all the same. "So…" he drawled out.

"What?" Shepard asked, totally clueless as to what he wanted.

"Admiral Hackett. His package. What's going on?" Joker asked in exasperation.

"Oh, right. That." Taking a deep breath, he turned on the bed to face Chakwas as well. "Admiral Hackett asked me to go visit the Normandy."

Everyone looked confused at his proclamation, though Shiala and Mordin simply had no idea at all of the subject matter.

"The Normandy? What do you…?" Chakwas started to ask before realization dawned on her. "Ah."

Joker looked lost for a moment longer before he finally reached the same conclusion. "Wait, wait, wait. **The** Normandy? As in **our** Normandy? As in SSV Normandy SR-1?"

Tali and Garrus immediately understood and fell silent. The room suddenly lost its earlier humor in a heartbeat.

Shiala bit her lip as she stared at the proceedings. Even Mordin was uncharacteristically quiet as they both allowed the others a moment of peace.

Joker was the first to speak again. "So, what's with the container?"

"A monument dedicated to her," Shepard said. "I'm supposed to place it at her final resting place."

"She was fine ship," Chakwas said.

"We're going there?" Joker asked apprehensively.

"I don't know," Shepard answered uncertainly. "When Admiral Hackett asked, I wanted to, but I'm also supposed to look for any signs of the others down there as well, so…"

The humans fell silent again. This time, Shepard was the one to break the silence. "Right now, we're not leaving yet. So let's put this out of our minds." He turned to Joker. "Can you see to it that the container is loaded into the cargo bay?"

"Yeah," Joker answered, though there was a slight hiccup in his voice. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'll get right on it." He stood up and hobbled out of the infirmary without another word.

"Well, I should, um," Chakwas said before trailing off. She looked around the room before grasping at her excuse. "I should probably talk to you about the Thorian, Professor."

Mordin nodded in understanding. "Yes. Would appreciate it. Sounds fascinating."

Shepard stood up as well. "Shiala, this is Professor Mordin Solus. He's a biologist, medical doctor, and a gifted genius. We're currently on a mission, but until we leave, he'll be happy to help you anyway he can until I can smooth things over with Baria Frontiers."

"Thank you," she responded gratefully.

"I'll talk to Miranda and the rep later tonight and I'll let you know how it goes, okay?"

"Of course."

Shepard nodded and turned to Tali. "How's the armor and cannon?"

"Armor is done. We're running checks now to ensure the installation went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the cannon. Ken and Gabby are out shopping for the parts we need for the upgrades," she reported. "I'll keep you informed."

"Can I see the problem areas?" Garrus asked. "I need to know so I can do my duties effectively."

"Sure," Tali agreed. They left without a word as well.

Shiala looked around, trying not to appear intrusive, but her eyes eventually settled on Shepard again. She looked like she wanted to ask a question, but hesitated.

"The ship we arrived on Feros in," Shepard explained. "Two years ago, she was shot down and we barely escaped with our lives." He purposely left out the part where he actually didn't escape with his life at all. "20 other crewman died, however."

"I'm sorry," Shiala offered sympathetically.

"Yeah," Shepard replied automatically. "I have to go, too."

"I understand."

Chakwas turned away from her explanations of the Thorian to a thoroughly memorized salarian to face Shepard. "Are you going to be alright, Shepard?"

"I'm alright now," he replied. "Just shaking off some bad memories, that's all."

"If you're sure. My door is open if you want to talk about it though."

"Thanks."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Trading Floor**_

Instead of going to his suite at the hotel, Shepard opted to go to his cabin. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he logged onto his private terminal for any messages. He laughed softly at the surprise letter from Oriana and decided to forward it to Miranda.

Finishing his business, he left the Normandy and decided to take a walk to try and clear his head and rid himself of the sudden nervous energy that possessed him. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost bumped headlong into another passerby.

"Sorry," he apologized automatically.

The woman nodded and was about to move on when she did a double-take. "Shepard?" she asked in disbelief.

Shepard turned and nodded before he recognized the individual in front of him. "You're… you're that undercover agent from Noveria." He snapped his fingers, trying to jog his memory. "You're… damn it… you're… Parasini. Gianna Parasini."

"You remember me. I'm flattered," she said with a smile. She looked him over from head to toe. "But what about you? Holy crap… the news said you were dead! What happened?" She shook her head. "No, wait, probably classified. Forget I asked. You'd just have to lie, anyway."

"No, not classified," Shepard corrected. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just… really, really complicated."

"With you? I don't doubt it," she teased.

Shepard looked around and saw a café nearby. "If I recall correctly, Miss Parasini, you owe me a beer."

"Good memory," she praised. "Though, this early in the morning, you really want a drink?"

"Coffee will do just fine," he assured.

"Coffee it is then." She looped her arm around his and led the way to the nearby café. Settling in at an empty table, she brought up the holo-menu and ordered two coffees.

"So, what happened to that administrator… what's-his-name?" Shepard asked as he leaned back in his chair.

Gianna laughed. "I take back what I said about your memory."

"I remember the important things," he defended good-naturedly. "Pretty undercover agents and debts are important. Corrupt officials on Noveria? I'd need perfect recall for that."

She laughed again. "Okay, I'll give you that," she conceded. "Former Administrator Anoleis was charged with the one crime Noveria won't tolerate: taking money. He's doing a few years in a white-collar prison. More importantly, he won't work in the field again." She leaned on her hand. "Your turn. What brings you to Illium? You know, that you can talk about?"

"You know about the attacks on human colonies in the Terminus?" She nodded. "I'm going after the ones responsible. The Collectors."

She blinked before shaking her head. "Damn, Shepard. For me, a tough job involves more paperwork."

He shrugged and grinned at her. "That sound like my nightmare."

She laughed again and shifted her chair so that she could lean in closer to him.

She was in such close proximity now that Shepard could smell the perfume she was wearing. He blinked in confusion until he saw her expression. It was focused, intent. Playing along, he leaned in closer as well, noting that he was using his body to effectively hide her. "On the clock?" he whispered.

"You **are** good," she whispered back.

"So who's the unlucky bastard now?"

"Bitch," she corrected. She held her position for a few more seconds before leaning back in her chair. "And she's just arrived for work."

Shepard turned head enough to see out of the corner of his eye. He spotted a purple-hued asari standing at her a kiosk not too far away.

Their coffee was served. Gianna picked up her cup and took a sip. "Feel like helping?"

Shepard mimicked her actions. "Do I have a choice?"

"Come on, it'll be fun," she said encouragingly. "I remember that smirk you had when I dragged Anoleis out of his office."

"Maybe I was just trying not to laugh at you trying to move in those high heels."

She leveled a mock-glare at him. "Very funny."

"I thought so," Shepard grinned. "What do you need me to do?"

"I don't want to break my cover yet. Hopefully, you'll make this job as easy as you did before." She took another sip. "Hermia, over there, has been smuggling schematics from Noveria. I need you to talk her into showing you the good stuff."

"You owe me. Again," Shepard said. Taking one last sip of his coffee, he stood up and sauntered over to the kiosk. He stood next to the target and pretended to browse through the selection.

"Welcome," Hermia greeted in a friendly voice. "You look like someone who needs high-quality equipment!"

"Serrice Tech," Shepard commented pensively.

"That's right," she chirped. "We have the best tech and biotic equipment on Illium."

Shepard schooled his face to look bored and unconvinced. "Not the first time I've heard that," he replied in an uninterested tone.

"I can assure you, we carry the latest in biotic upgrades and omni-tool modifications. Very high-quality."

Shepard continued to stare at her dubiously.

Hermia looked and leaned in. "Sometimes I even get special items in. No promises, of course."

_Gotcha._ Knowing better than to charge recklessly, he continued to play his charade and make her think he was a big-spending and difficult customer so as not to tip her off. "How do I know this stuff is any good? You're an asari. Maybe your stuff is no good for humans."

"I carry nothing but the best! I offer a money-back guarantee!" she said defensively.

His face continued to look impassive, but with a hint of interest. Inwardly, he was smirking. His tactic was simple. Instead of trying to earn her trust, he was creating a situation where it seemed like **she** had to earn **his **trust.

_Works every time._

"That doesn't help when I'm dead due to equipment failure," he bartered. "Look, I'm dropping too many credits to screw around here."

She squirmed in place at his verbal assault. "Well… perhaps I could give you a preferred rate at the kiosk," she offered. She tapped some commands into the terminal. "Here. A small discount – and when I get special items in, you can take a look."

Nodding in approval, Shepard pretended to browse through the kiosk, though he was sure that either Tali or Miranda had already picked up whatever equipment they'd needed. All on Cerberus' credit too.

"See anything you like?" Hermia asked.

"Nothing that catches my attention," he said imperiously. He sighed impatiently before turning to face her again. "What kind of special items were you talking about?"

"Oh, you know, schematics, designs. Nothing illegal, but I may not have all the licenses to sell them."

"I don't care for details like that, so long as the product is good," Shepard said with a bit more interest injected into his tone. "What do you have?"

She looked around before leaning in again. "Well, there is one thing," she whispered. "Very advanced design. Not publicly available yet."

Gianna strolled in from around the kiosk from where she'd been eavesdropping. "That's because it's still in development on Noveria. And illegal for export." She stopped and smirked in front of the paling asari. "Hello, Hermia," she purred victoriously.

"Parasini!" Hermia gasped. She looked between both humans. "You set me up!" she shouted in disbelief. "This isn't Noveria! You don't have the authority to arrest me!"

Gianna shrugged indifferently. "I don't care whether you go to jail or not. I've got all the evidence I need to fine you out of business."

"Does this mean you don't have the authority to seize the schematic as well?" Shepard asked.

"Hermia was already under suspicion. We leaked a faulty device to her. All this thing will ever do is blow up in your face," she explained with a wicked smile.

Hermia gulped. "I… I need to go. I have to talk to my lawyer." She pushed past both of them and walked away quickly.

"Talk fast, Hermia! When the fines hit, you won't be able to afford him!" Gianna taunted before facing Shepard with a self-satisfied smile. "Ah, that was good. Shall we get back to our coffee?"

"After you," Shepard offered.

"Why, thank you." Sitting back at their table, Gianna opened the holo-menu again. "Breakfast? It's on me."

"Debt repaid," Shepard said in lieu of answering.

After placing their orders, Gianna relaxed in her chair. "Hermia is going to be a very poor woman very shortly. Thanks for the help." She smiled again. "I love nailing asari. So ageless and superior – then you get them and they squeal like schoolgirls."

Remembering his newest squad member, Shepard decided not to comment. "How long were you after her?"

"Only a few weeks, plus transit time. Not nearly as long as Anoleis."

"So, are we actually eating or is there someone else you want me to talk to?" he joked. He exaggerated looking around.

"Nope. That was it," she assured. "You know, I have to hand it to you. If you weren't busy saving the galaxy, you'd do well as a corporate spy. You were damn convincing."

"I'll take that as a compliment." After their orders arrived, Shepard took a few bites before saying, "It must be nice having a job that you really enjoy."

Gianna poked at her food a bit before replying. "I actually wanted to be a cop or C-Sec, but my family had bills. I needed the money a corporate job brought in." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Besides, in this job, you don't see things that make it hard to sleep at night. White-collar crimes tend to be nice and clean."

Shepard nodded in understanding and took a few more bites.

"At least this time, I didn't have to wear heels and a dress," she joked.

"Too bad for me," he bantered. "So how did you end up on Noveria, anyway?"

She chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "Scholarship program and a competitive internship."

"Yeah?" he asked with mild surprise.

"Yeah, but it turns out I was only middling at the science, but I could always ferret out secrets," she elaborated. "You grow up poor and surrounded by rich kids, you get good at hiding yourself. Helps with going undercover."

"So, it's not hard for you to go undercover so often?"

"Not **too** hard, really," she drawled out, mulling over his question. "Go new places, be new people. The only weird part is when you go home and try to talk to familiar faces and you forget how to react. Like it's another cover, y'know?"

Shepard looked at her shrewdly. "Deep down, some part of you likes fooling people. That's what makes you so good at it." He paused to take a sip of his coffee. "Hell, you fooled me. Twice."

She only had an unrepentant smile at that. "Only because it's fun to mess with you, Shepard." She took another bite of her breakfast before speaking again. "I guess there's a part of me that likes doing this, yeah. I grew up poor and working class." She nodded at him. "But you know all about that, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed wholeheartedly.

"Now I walk around the rich and powerful," she said. "Taking notes, getting evidence." She grinned confidently. "And they never see me coming." Taking a sip of her own coffee, she asked, "And what about you? 'First human Spectre'. How do you like your job?"

Shepard paused at her question. He covered his hesitation by eating a bit more, though he doubted the act would fool her. "There are days when I like it and days I don't," he enigmatically said.

"Nice and vague," she noted.

"When I actively help someone and make their lives a bit better, then I'm glad I'm making a difference," he explained. "When I have to make the hard choice, I'll make it, but I don't have to like it. That's when I hate the job."

"Sorry," she said contritely. "Yeah. That's me putting my foot in my mouth. And I just said that your job had to be hard."

"Its fine," he assured. "So, I told you what my immediate plans were. What's yours?"

"Nothing as extravagant as yours, not that you expected it to be," she joked. "Just some research. We've had some hacking attacks lately and I want to make sure they're external." She had a slight frown on her face. "A lot of people are suddenly interested in dark energy. My bosses want to know if it's something to worry about." She shrugged it off. "That'll hold me over until I have to go back undercover, anyway."

"Dark energy, huh?" Shepard muttered, almost to himself.

Gianna raised an eyebrow. "Know something?"

"Not as much as I'd like," he said. "You might remember that I was travelling with a quarian back on Noveria?"

"Vaguely, yeah," she said, uncertain where he was going with this.

"I just met up with her in the Dholen system. The star there is getting too old, too fast. The quarians think it might have something to do with dark energy," he explained. "Now you're telling me that a corporation on Noveria is interested in dark energy. No offence, but the last time I was there, I had to clean up a pretty bad mess."

Gianna narrowed her eyes. "Tell you what, I'll keep a lookout and see what's up," she offered. "You said 'Dholen'?"

"In the Far Rim Cluster."

"I'll check it out." She made a note in her omni-tool. "At the very least, it's someplace to start."

"I'd appreciate that," he honestly said. His comm. beeped.

"_Shepard? It's Miranda. Cerberus xenobiologists has finally sent us some information about the Collector troops. I thought we should go over this information with the rest of the team."_

"Understood. I'm on the way."

"On the clock?" Gianna asked humorously.

"Always," Shepard said seriously. They finished their breakfast and stood up. "It's been a pleasure, Gianna."

She left the appropriate credits on the table and smiled. "Hang on. A little something extra for you. For all your help." She tapped into her omni-tool and sent something.

Shepard glanced at his own omni-tool. "What is this?"

"Something Noveria Internal Affairs gives to all undercover agents," she said. "Not all locks are electronic these days. Some have a few physical components to bypass as well. They're lauded as 'unhackable'," she explained with a shrug. "One of the corporations on Noveria developed this little baby that introduces something called 'quantum threading' which provides the physical part of a bypass."

"Really?" Shepard said reflectively.

"Yep. You need a bit of skill with it though. Kinda like picking those old school locks with a lock pick, but I'm sure you can handle it," Gianna stated confidently. "There's a bunch more improvements in that bypass module too: scanners, auto-correction software, VI assistance… Y'know, in case you need to break into something, somewhere."

"It'll definitely come in handy," Shepard agreed. "I can definitely see why you'd have it."

"What can say? You never know when you need to bypass a lock to get at some incriminating datapads," she said.

"It's all right for you to give me this?" he asked with a hint of concern. "You won't get in trouble?"

"I won't say anything. So long as you don't, I won't have any problems. If my superiors find out somehow, I'll just drop your name to smooth things over, since you're a Spectre and all."

"Thanks," he gratefully said.

Gianna nodded and moved closer to Shepard. "Ah, the hell with it." She leaned in and gave him a modest peck on the cheek. "Much better than an autograph. Take care of yourself, Shepard," she said with a smile before parting ways.

Shepard had an amused smile as well. "You too."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"So what's this about?" Jack asked impatiently from her seat at the Briefing Room table. "I hope we weren't called just to show off the new chairs here."

Jacob shrugged. "I don't what going on any more than you do." He swiveled in his chair a bit. "I gotta admit though, this was a nice touch. Better than standing all the time. Thanks, Tali."

She accepted the praise modestly. "The old Normandy had chairs for debriefings. I don't know why this Normandy lacks chairs."

"It was for the life-sized holographic projections. The table retracts into the floor and allowed for easier conversations," Jacob explained. "Not to mention a full face-to-face meet with the Illusive Man."

"I took that into consideration," Tali defended. "The chairs will retract into the floor with the table."

"Hold up," Jack said, sitting straighter in her chair. "You mean we can talk to the Illusive Man from here?"

"Only if he wants to talk," Jacob said. "Sorry. No cussing out the big man."

"Damn."

Shepard and Miranda entered the Briefing Room then and took their seats at the head of the table and the right hand side, respectively. "Right," Shepard said once he confirmed that everyone was present. "Cerberus intelligence has just forwarded their findings on the Collectors."

"We got a mission?" Garrus asked.

"Not yet," Shepard said. "They analyzed the Collectors and husks we fought on Horizon and categorized them. I called us together to learn about our enemy so we can be better prepared to engage them." He gave a pointed look at the team, sans Tali, Thane and Samara. "I'm sure we all remember that particular mission."

Everyone involved winced and nodded in agreement.

"Miranda will brief us from here. Go ahead."

"Thank you, Shepard," she graciously said. "Right, while most of us are aware of the Seeker Swarms, for the benefit of Tali, Thane and Samara, I will reiterate quickly."

The hologram in the middle of table changed from the Normandy to an image of a single Seeker. "Coming in large numbers, they emit mild disruption fields. With sufficient enough numbers, even individual, short-range radios will cease to function. Long-range communication with the Normandy is definitely out of the question."

The image zoomed in on the stinger of the Seeker.

"Their stingers are strong and sharp enough that it **will** penetrate armor. Mordin's countermeasure makes us invisible to smaller swarms, but against significant numbers, I would advise retreat." Gesturing to Mordin she continued. "Thanks to Professor Solus' efforts, we know they inject nanomachines to paralyze their prey by attacking the nervous system. So far, this has only been tested on humans. For the non-human members of our squad, I can't say what the nanomachines would do."

The image changed to a Collector.

"This is the standard shock troop of the Collectors," she pointed out. "As far as we know anyway. They've been classified as 'Drones'. They don't have any real significant gifts. Some might be able to protect themselves with Barrier occasionally, but for the most part, they're only equipped with something akin to assault rifles. These particular troops will rely on numbers to win, but regardless, they shouldn't be underestimated. They're lightly armored, smaller than the others, and don't appear to exercise any advanced tactics besides brute force and numbers."

"Cannon fodder," Grunt dismissed.

Miranda ignored his comment and moved on to the next image. This Collector appeared more armored and equipped with a bigger weapon than the Drone.

"Collector Assassins, the long range marksmen of the Collector forces. As Jacob and Grunt are aware, these particular Collectors use some kind of particle beam weapons as their preferred armament."

An image of the heavy weapon appeared next to the Assassin.

"It's a rapid fire weapon capable of burning through shields and armor quickly and efficiently. The Assassin's have more moderate skill in biotics and are able to defend themselves with Barrier to supplement their armor, though no offensive biotic capabilities were noted."

The image changed to a large, well-armored, and well-equipped Collector.

"Let me guess, this is the worst of the lot?" Garrus sarcastically asked.

"You would be right," Miranda agreed. "Classified as Collector Guardians, they're the elite Collector combatants and a force to be wary of. In addition to having a superior class of assault rifle, Cerberus researchers noted that they are able to give their weapons some kind of ammunition modification that gives it similar properties of Warp. They've dubbed this ability Warp Ammo for simplistic purposes."

"Whoa," Jacob said. "They got some kinda biotic weapons?"

"It would seem so," Miranda said gravely. "We're attempting to reproduce this effect, but we've less than successful since Collector weaponry self-destructs after a period of time."

"What do you mean by 'self-destruct'?" Shepard asked interestedly.

"Nothing dramatic as a grenade or some such. The internal components just… decompose… for lack of a better term."

"Decompose?" Mordin queried.

"No one can explain it yet, so I can't even begin to speculate."

"What else can you tell us about the Guardians?" Thane asked.

"I'll be honest. We actually didn't fight any Guardians yet," Miranda revealed. "They weren't present on Horizon. Whether it's because we took them by surprise or that ship wasn't carrying any elite forces, I can't say. We learned of them through other sources. What I can tell you is that they have some knowledge of biotics. What offensive abilities they have, we still don't know, though Warp is definitely a possibility. We can also expect Barrier to be part of their repertoire if the trend continues." She looked around the room and noted that she everyone's full attention. "Last, but not least…"

The holographic imaged changed to Harbinger.

"That thing," Shepard muttered.

"It called itself 'Harbinger'. We're assuming it's a Reaper capable of communicating to the Collectors all the way from dark space. How it does this is something we're trying to unravel as we speak."

"Really?" Tali asked in shock. "Communication from that distance? With no lag at all?"

"I really hate that son of a bitch," Jack growled.

"An enemy to be respected then," Samara concluded.

Miranda nodded in agreement. "It seems that Harbinger can 'possess' **any** Collector it wants. Upon doing so, any dormant biotic power a Collector has is fully awakened and at its disposal. What we've observed on Horizon so far wasn't even the extent of its full ability if the researchers are interpreting the data correctly. Warp, Throw, Barrier, even Singularity appears to be at its command, though there were incredible differences with Harbinger's biotics in comparison to ours."

"Like burning out my shield in one hit with some kind of Warp fireball or something," Shepard said.

"Or its ability to affect us regardless of whatever protection we utilize against biotics," Miranda stated. "Its own Barrier is prodigious, requiring only our strongest weapons or attacks to even begin to fight it. Then we must get through its armored carapace, which is another matter altogether."

"You said it 'possesses' any Collector it chooses?" Thane asked seriously.

"Correct. This means that even if we were to defeat an incarnation of Harbinger; if there are other Collectors on the battlefield, it would easily make a reappearance."

"Great," Grunt muttered in annoyance.

"Okay," Garrus said. "What about those husk-like things we were fighting on Horizon?"

"Especially that big one at the end," Jack demanded.

The image changed to the top heavy husk. Its left arm was missing and in its place was a biological weapon of some sort. The head of the husk was dangling around the right shoulder.

"The husk that attacked us and struck Mordin has been called a Scion. As far as our xenobiologists could determine, it appears to be three different husks fused together with a biotic weapon for a left arm. The sac on top contains element zero to provide power for its unique shockwave. They're heavily armored and dangerous, but not too difficult to defeat."

"Concussive rounds work well enough to bring it to the ground," Garrus noted. "After that, we just toss a krogan on it and let him go to work."

Grunt grinned.

Finally, the image showed a large beetle looking husk.

"The Praetorian. The mobile tank of the Collectors. As far as our researchers could surmise, that thing is around 30 husks fused into one."

"30?" Shepard repeated incredulously.

"Yes. It is equipped with powerful twin beam weapons and capable of sustained flight, giving it some mobility. It's Barrier is comparable to our shields on mobile vehicles and has armor to match." Miranda paused to smile at Shepard. "Cerberus was impressed with how you managed to fight this creature on Horizon. It was certainly unorthodox, but effective."

"Well, when you're good…" Shepard started to say.

"You mean desperate," Garrus interjected.

"Ha, ha," Shepard said sardonically.

Tali shook her head wearily. "I missed a lot."

"Okay. That's about it for this briefing," Miranda stated. "If anyone has any further questions?"

No one spoke up. They were still absorbing everything they were told.

"I've forwarded a copy to everyone to peruse at your leisure," Miranda informed.

"Alright. Dismissed," Shepard said. "Garrus, Jacob, Mordin. I'd like a word."

After everyone else filed out, he turned to face the trio. "Alright. Something is going on."

All three shuffled in place and shot figurative glances at each other.

"If you'd like, we can speak privately…?"

"Yes, would like that," Mordin said first.

"Thanks for speaking up," Shepard said. He turned to the other two. "Both you, wait outside. That's an order."

Garrus and Jacob glanced at each other before turning around and leaving.

"What's going on, Mordin?"

"Remember speaking about work? Time with Special Tasks Group. Studying genophage."

Shepard racked his mind before remembering the conversation he had with Mordin and Chakwas not long after he'd joined his crew. "Something you wanted to add?"

"Wasn't entirely honest. Lie of omission. Also other kinds." He stopped when he realized that he was going off topic and took a breath. "Work on genophage was more than just study."

"I had a feeling you were holding something back," Shepard commented knowingly. "You once said that we wouldn't have called on you if it wasn't important. I doubt STG would call on you if it wasn't equally important."

"Assumptions correct. Apologies. Classified information," he explained. "However, circumstances have changed. Met with Captain Kirrahe recently. Allowed me to speak finally."

"You **met** Kirrahe? As in, here on Illium?"

"Yes. Preparing for mission. Utilizing available assets. Me, you, whatever necessary to get job done."

"What mission?" Shepard asked.

"To understand, need full story. Need to know me. What I can do." Mordin turned away. "What I did," he whispered.

"I'm listening."

"Wasn't lying completely. STG initially just did recon. But uncovered data. Troubling." He turned to face Shepard fully. "Krogan population as increasing at faster rate than expected. Krogan were adapting to genophage. Overcoming disease."

Shepard was floored. "You're sure of this?"

"Ran exhaustive tests. Social, environmental concerns accounted for. Population spike caused by adaptation to genophage. No other possibility."

"How did this happen? Did the krogan evolve or did some of their scientists develop a treatment?" Shepard speculated.

Mordin blinked before shaking his head. "Krogan scientists? Hah. Never met krogan scientist worthy of term," he scoffed.

Remembering Okeer's vision of 'science', as well as the krogan that worked with Saren on Virmire, Shepard privately agreed.

"No. Natural evolution," Mordin confirmed. "Krogan physiology incredibly durable. Organ redundancy, backup systems, cellular regeneration." His voice had taken a respectful note as he listed the krogan attributes. "Genophage like any other natural hazard. Krogan evolved past it."

"What did you do when you learned about this?"

"Was chosen to lead a science team. Geneticists, chemists, sociologists, mathematicians," Mordin said with a hint of pride. "Created new version of genophage. Released it on Tuchanka, other krogan-centric areas. Restabilized krogan population."

"This was the only option?" Shepard asked. He had mixed feelings about the whole idea, but without seeing the evidence for himself, had no way of forming an opinion.

"Considered hundreds of options. Thousands," he said. He paced around the table. "Modified genophage offered best outcome. Stabilized population. Avoided publicity that could incite krogan anger. Averted potential genocide or devastating war. Best solution for whole galaxy, krogan included."

It made sense in a way, but it was still unfair to the krogan species as a whole. Shepard shook those thoughts away and leaned against the wall. "How did this new genophage work?"

"Krogan evolution attached garbage genetic code to genophage attack sites. Modification created other areas for garbage code to connect. Left sites clean, capable. Running smoothly," he explained as simply as he could.

"How did you distribute this thing?"

"Covert drops. Hospitals, clan centers, water supplies," he listed off. "Very difficult. Few salarians on Tuchanka." He frowned. "Team got caught a few times. Had to fight free. Messy. Better when things went as planned."

"So what does this have to do with this new mission of Kirrahe's?"

Mordin nodded his head. "Yes. Mission. Still processing data, analyzing likely scenarios. Not sure how to begin. Too little intel!"

"Easy, Mordin. Just tell me what Kirrahe told you."

He took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again. "Blood Pack mercenaries captured former team member. Maelon. STG intel says he was last spotted on Tuchanka. Might torture him. Make an example." He bowed his head and swallowed the lump in his throat. "STG is preparing to rescue him, but aware of your friendship with krogan chief, Urdnot Wrex. Will allow us to conduct rescue mission before they try." He looked up. "Recovering Maelon would be a personal favor to me."

"Do you think they found out your team updated the genophage?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Unclear. STG is still gathering intel. Aware that he possessed a copy of our project before disappearance. Best course of action is to go to Tuchanka ourselves."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "It's your lucky day, Mordin. I promised Grunt that we'd go to Tuchanka anyway. I was hoping to talk to Wrex, so with luck, he might know something."

"Appreciate it." He hesitated before talking again. "My assistant. My student," he admitted. "Want to see him safe."

"I'll see what I can do," Shepard promised.

"Must contact Kirrahe," Mordin said. He turned to leave, but stopped and faced Shepard again. "Also, needed to pass message along. Kirrahe said, 'Glad to have held the line'."

Shepard smiled somberly in remembrance. "Thanks. Tell him that I was glad too. And ask either Garrus or Jacob to come in."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office**_

After leaving the Normandy and the hangar, Samara made a few discreet inquiries. Finding the location was easy, since it appeared that Dr. Liara T'Soni was quite an important figure on Illium.

She entered the building where Liara's office resided and prepared to announce her presence when the door opened automatically.

Liara was seated at her table, watching the justicar expectantly. She beckoned her to enter.

Samara accepted the invitation and approached the table. "Dr. Liara T'Soni, I presume?"

Liara stood up and bowed respectfully. "Justicar Samara. It is an honor to meet you, face-to-face."

"You as well," Samara politely returned. "I understand you once worked with Spectre Agent Shepard."

"I did," Liara proudly admitted.

"Then perhaps you are someone I can trust," Samara said.

"You would like for me to track the whereabouts of the AML Demeter," Liara said before Samara could state her request.

Samara's only response was to raise single eyebrow.

"Or perhaps you would like for me to track a specific passenger aboard? A Morinth, I believe she's called," Liara astutely said.

Samara's other eyebrow joined the first. Her respect for Liara grew as she nodded.

"I told no one of this, Justicar. Not even Shepard. I will find her for you and relay any information I have. It would be my honor to do so."

Samara allowed a small smile to grace her features. "I thank you. If I may, I would also like to offer my condolences for the passing of your mother, Matriarch Benezia. May she find peace in the embrace of the Goddess."

"Thank you, Justicar," Liara replied neutrally. She sat down and gestured for Samara to do the same.

Taking her seat, she looked up at the younger asari. "What do you know of Morinth's whereabouts?"

"The AML Demeter stopped at an Eclipse outpost, most likely delivering illicit goods," Liara disclosed. "Morinth was spotted changing ships. She's now on the AML Valkyrur. It is my belief she will continue changing ships as to mask her real destination. Until then, she probably won't spend more than a few days at any given location."

Samara nodded, fully expecting this. "It is not the first time she used such methods to elude me."

"I will continue tracking her until she finally finds a place to settle down," Liara assured.

"I appreciate what help you can offer," Samara gratefully said.

Liara had a small ironic smile on her face. "Of course, Justicar. We purebloods must stick together."

Samara blinked in surprise. She was about to question Liara when she changed her mind.

_Some things are better left unsaid._

"Thank you for your help," Samara stated. She stood up and nodded respectfully. "In return, I will do all I can to protect Captain Shepard."

Liara had a small, amused smile on her face at her declaration. "If I might be so bold? I think you should ask Shepard for help with Morinth," she suggested.

"That **is** quite bold," Samara stated evenly.

"With all due respect, this is someone you've been chasing for 400 years," Liara pointed out. "As personal as this is for you, I believe you will need a fresh face in this. Shepard is someone I trust. He is someone **you** can trust. And above all else, you will learn that he is a man doesn't need protecting and that he **always** full of surprises."

"You hold him in high regard," Samara observed.

Liara merely smiled again, this time with a hint of mystery. "Good luck in your mission, Justicar Samara," she dismissed politely.

Samara studied the asari maiden before her smiling courteously. "Good day to you, Dr. T'Soni."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"This is something you should've told me as soon as you found out, Jacob."

"I didn't want to waste our time if it turns out to be a wild goose chase, Captain."

Shepard shook his head. "Any distress beacon needs to be answered and verified. You know that."

"It's been ten years," Jacob argued. "I don't know if my old man is even alive."

"I wasn't talking about your father. Not exactly," Shepard said as gently as he could. "**Someone** activated a distress beacon. Maybe it was broken and it took a decade to repair. Whatever the story, someone needs help right now and they've been waiting for 10 years for it."

Jacob turned to Garrus for support, but the turian shrugged and could offer no words. "It's not normal procedure for distress calls to be routed to the Normandy. This was passed to my personal log through Cerberus," he explained.

Shepard crossed his arms as he considered the possibilities. "Who sent this to you?"

"I have no clue. They covered their tracks. I'm guessing they're high-level. That's all I've been able to tell."

"Why would they send this to you anyway?" Garrus asked.

Jacob shrugged. "Someone fishing for favors or someone trying to get under my skin. Who knows?"

"Well, at this point we're aware of the distress call. Either we call the Alliance to assist or we wait for the hull and armor checks to be completed and leave a little earlier than intended," Shepard summed up.

"The cannon isn't working yet," Garrus reminded. "None of the weapons are."

"This is rescue mission. I doubt we'll need orbital bombardment," Shepard said. "Besides, the main body of the cannon is already installed. Tali can replace the components in-flight. She assured me that none of those systems will interfere with standard ship operations." He turned to Jacob. "What do you want to do?"

Jacob went silent for a while. He made eye contact with Garrus who nodded back at him. "I want to know. With your permission, I'd like to conduct the rescue operation."

"Pass the coordinates to EDI. We'll head there straightaway. If whoever activated the beacon lasted for 10 years, they can hang on for a few more days," Shepard said.

"I appreciate this, Captain. And I'm sorry for keeping this from you as long as I did. I should've come clean from the start," Jacob apologized.

"It was personal. Let's leave it at that." Shepard turned to Garrus. "So what's your story?"

"I'll leave you two alone," Jacob said. He saluted to Shepard before leaving the Briefing Room.

"It's not something that'll affect the mission," Garrus stubbornly said.

"But it's affecting you," Shepard countered. "And that matters to me." He narrowed his eyes at him. "This is about Sidonis, isn't it?"

Garrus narrowed his eyes in return and said nothing.

Shepard shook his head in exasperation. "I knew it." He looked back up at Garrus. "Was it Liara? It was Liara, wasn't it?"

Garrus subconsciously clenched his teeth, inadvertently giving all the confirmation Shepard needed.

"Damn it," Shepard said. "What are you planning?"

Garrus turned away and snarled. Whether it was at himself or Shepard, the Spectre couldn't tell. "You humans have a saying: 'an eye for an eye'."

"And a tooth for a tooth."

"A life for a life," Garrus finished. "He owes me ten lives. I plan to collect."

"And in the end, we get a lot of blind, toothless, dead people." Shepard was prepared to lecture Garrus about his course of action before remembering that the turian had little patience for such things. Taking a deep breath, he regarded his friend carefully. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"It's not about what I want!" Garrus shot back. His mandibles and head crest flared, giving him the look of a dangerous bird of prey. "It's about what's fair! And it isn't fair that one coward lives, while 10 brave men are dead!"

"I'm not trying to…" Shepard started before he stopped and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I don't want you making a mistake."

"If there is a mistake, it's letting that bastard live. Me, I'll deal with the consequences," Garrus retorted defiantly. "He betrayed us and he betrayed me. There's a price for betrayal. It's the one thing all species agree on."

"I don't like this and I don't like what it's doing to you," Shepard stated.

Garrus growled and unexpectedly, he grabbed Shepard by his shirt and pulled him close. "You weren't there! I held two men in my arms while they died! I trusted Sidonis with my life!"

Shepard held ground while he let Garrus vent. Calmly, he reached up and grasped the turian's wrists firmly. "I just want to help you," he said. He met Garrus' eyes unwaveringly.

Coming to his senses, he let his friend go and staggered back. "Shepard. I… I…"

"Where is he hiding?" Shepard asked slowly. As much as he didn't like what the issue what doing to him, leaving it alone and letting time run its course wasn't an option. There was already too much at stake.

Garrus swallowed and turned away.

"I want to help," Shepard asserted. "What can you tell me?"

Ultimately, Garrus gave in to his subtle demands. "Liara told me that he's hiding on the Citadel. There's a specialist named Fade that Sidonis contracted to help him disappear."

"So what's the plan?"

"Some of Fade's people work in a warehouse in the Zakera Ward. I want to check it out and stop Fade from tipping Sidonis off. Then…"

"Then we arrange a 'reunion'," Shepard finished quietly.

"Yeah," Garrus muttered quietly.

"We'll go when I can find the time. For now, I got this distress beacon to deal with, then Tuchanka."

"I know. Sidonis isn't going anywhere. Not if he thinks he's still hidden. I can wait," he assured. He swallowed again and bowed his head guiltily. "Thanks for helping me with this and… and I'm sorry."

Shepard gave him solemn nod, but a friendly pat on the arm to show he forgave him, before leaving the Briefing Room and Garrus to his thoughts.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office**_

The rest of the day was spent organizing the hangar. The old ablative armor was placed in large crates and was prepared to ship out. The multitude of Cerberus workers trickled out slowly as their various jobs was finished. The physical mechanisms of the Thanix Cannon were successfully installed beneath the Normandy. The internal workings were still under construction by Tali's team as well as a few remaining Cerberus engineers, but all the weapons were expected to be functional soon.

After getting a late lunch, Liara called Shepard for another meeting, to his surprise. He was bit apprehensive at first, but she assured him that it would be worth his time.

"Shepard," Liara greeted when he entered. She smiled a bit more compared to their previous meetings, but still carried herself slightly distant.

Whether it was because of her position on Illium or because of what she went through in the last two years, Shepard couldn't tell. "Hey, Liara. What did you want to talk about?"

"I regret not being able to help you personally," she started slowly. "As badly as I want the Shadow Broker to pay for what he's done… I don't like the thought of losing you for a second time."

Shepard said nothing. He was already painfully aware of the odds without the reminder.

"To that end, I finally managed to get into contact with someone that can help you with your mission."

"Really? Who is it?"

"Her name is Kasumi Goto. Human. A tech expert, specializing in sabotage, infiltration and stealth."

"Wow," Shepard said, impressed the litany of skills. "An Infiltrator for the Alliance then? Or is she a freelancer?"

"She's a civilian, not officially affiliated with anyone and most certainly not a mercenary," Liara corrected. She had a playful expression on her face.

"What's with the look?" he asked.

"You're not guessing anymore?"

"Assassin," Shepard guessed next, humoring her.

"Close. She's perhaps a step removed from assassin. She's a professional thief."

"You're putting me in contact with a thief?" Shepard questioned skeptically.

"Don't underestimate her. She's quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat and small arms. I'm sure she'll be an asset to your team."

"How do you know a thief?"

Liara shrugged. "She paid me for information a few times. I got her the information she requested. And yes, it tends to be about security and unique and expensive objects. As a precaution, I personally look into my clients, particularly new ones."

"For any connections to the Shadow Broker?"

"You know that he's watching me," she reminded pointedly. Her expression became predatory. "Or watching out for me."

"Alright, I'll give her a chance." He glanced at her. "So what's the catch?"

She smiled indulgently. "Very good, Shepard. She's willing to join you immediately, but wants something in return for her services."

"What? Money?"

"Help on a job. Once I dropped your name, she jumped at the chance to work with you."

Shepard frowned. "What kind of job?"

She shrugged. "She wouldn't say. I'd assume with would have to do something with her 'occupation'. If you want, I could dedicate some of my resources to find out if you don't want to deal with any surprises."

"I'm sure I'll find out from her. Where is she?"

"Right here on Illium. She has to make a few arrangements, but assures me that she'll be ready to leave in two days. She also requests a brief stop at the Citadel to pick up some equipment."

Shepard nodded. "I'll be heading that way soon." He stared at Liara with a significant look. "Garrus has a problem over there that I have to help him with," he hinted heavily.

Liara's expression betrayed nothing. "I'm sure you'll do the right thing. He needs a good friend now."

"Where do I meet her?"

"The transportation hub. I should warn you, the meet itself is something a little… unconventional."

"What do you mean?"

Liara sent the information to Shepard's omni-tool. "Find a specific ad terminal and give the password, 'silence is golden', to identify yourself. Everything is up to you and her after that."

Shepard scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Very cute."

Liara shrugged again. "If it helps, I think you'll like her."

"We'll see."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

"May I join you?"

Shepard looked up from his dinner to see Miranda standing expectantly over him. "By all means."

Taking a seat across from him she opened the holo-menu and placed her order immediately. Turning her attention back to him, she looked all business. "I've finished looking over the contract. The asari that wrote it up, Erinya, is no amateur. There aren't any real loopholes or clauses to use to turn the situation around."

"So Feros is screwed?" Shepard asked in frustration.

"I don't know," Miranda replied apologetically. "There is one thing, but I don't know if it'll help."

"We don't have a lot of choices here, Miranda."

"It appears Erinya is quite controlling. The only way Zhu's Hope is released from this contract is only if Erinya allows it. She's pretty much in charge of all the medical examinations."

"So in other words, I have to convince this Erinya to toss this contract out," Shepard translated.

"I'm sure you can do it. You can be very persuasive when you want to be," Miranda praised encouragingly. She thanked the asari waitress when her dinner arrived.

"Thanks," Shepard muttered to Miranda, lacking the same confidence. He poked at his dinner, considering his options when his ears perked up when he heard the name Erinya from a pair of asari gossiping a few tables over.

"… Erinya, though. I feel like I need a shower."

"What do you expect? She's a pureblood. They're all like that."

Shepard listened more intently.

"Shepard, you sent me a message that I wanted to address…" Miranda started saying.

"Shh!" he hushed.

Miranda frowned and listened to what Shepard was so focused on.

"You know Erinya won't even talk to the non-asari customers? It's like she's turned pureblood into her religion or something."

"I heard she lost her daughters when the geth attacked the Citadel."

"Right. I'm sure she was a pleasure to deal with before that. She's the last of a dying breed. Won't be many pureblood asari left in a few generations."

"I feel kind of sad for her."

"Don't. I heard she married an asari herself, had pureblood kids. She's part of the problem. Purebloods are a waste of genetic material. That's how we get throwbacks like the Ardat-Yakshi."

Both humans took a renewed interest into the conversation.

"I don't like purebloods either, but that's going a little far."

"They should be prohibited from breeding."

"What was your father again?"

Shepard turned to Miranda. "I think I might have an in."

"Ardat-Yakshi… that merc spoke of that was well," Miranda reminded softly.

"Know anything about it?"

"No. It's the first time I've heard of it," Miranda admitted.

"Well, right now, it doesn't matter. I'll speak to Erinya and see if I can't get her to change her mind. I think I'm getting a better handle on her now."

"Because of some gossip?" Miranda asked doubtfully.

"It fits. Zhu's Hope is a human colony. We have someone that's apparently xenophobic. She did business with Shiala, which opened the door. It's more than what I had before. And I've succeeded with less." Almost finished with his dinner, he looked back at Miranda. "So. What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh! Yes. Um, you sent me a message earlier today."

Shepard laughed. "And?"

"I wanted to let you know that I haven't been looking at your messages."

"Really?"

"I might've if I thought I could get away with it," she confessed. "With you though, I'm not entirely confident in my abilities to peruse your messages without tipping you off. You might not be an engineer, but you are cagey and not without resources." She took a sip of her wine. "Honestly though, I didn't want to violate your privacy. Not after all you've done. It didn't seem right."

"I appreciate that," he genuinely said. "Your sister is really something."

"She is," Miranda agreed. "And she's worth fighting for."

Finishing his dinner, Shepard pushed his plates to the side and leaned on the table. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why are you helping me with this? The contract and colonists of Feros, I mean."

Miranda considered the question carefully. "Three reasons. One, Zhu's Hope is a **human** colony and it's actually doing quite well, in no small part to you."

Shepard nodded. It was an answer he was expecting.

"Second. Remember when I said Oriana wanted to work on colonial development? I suppose this is my way of…" She tilted her head to the side, searching for the right words. "Supporting her. Even if she never knows."

Shepard smiled approvingly at her, while making a mental note to write to Oriana about this. _She's probably predicting that I'll do that, anyway._ "And the third?"

She cleared her throat and turned away, seemingly embarrassed. "It was important to you. I wanted to help."

Opening and closing his mouth several times, Shepard cleared his throat as well before raising his glass and saluting. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Baria Frontiers' Offices**_

"Yes, what can I…?" The asari started to say before she turned her head saw Shepard. "Oh, a human," she spat out in disgust.

"A human," Shepard confirmed mockingly. "I'm here on behalf of the colonists of Feros."

Erinya snorted. "Leave," she snapped. "Your life is short enough. Do not waste what time you have left by bothering me." She brushed past Shepard to go to her desk.

Shepard turned and followed closely, unbothered by her rebuff. "I want to know about these tests. More importantly, I want to know what use they can possibly be."

"Their use is not your concern. A legal, binding contract was signed. Nothing else matters," she waspishly said without turning to him.

"That's it? That's all it is to you? A contract?" Shepard asked in disbelief. "These are people's lives you're hurting."

Reaching her table, Erinya threw the datapad on the desk and whirled on Shepard. "What do I care?" she snarled. "All of you, humans, salarians, turians… You come to our planet, then complain that our laws don't suit you." She jabbed a finger into his chest. "The galaxy would be a better place if nobody but the asari had ever dragged themselves out of the primordial muck."

"Why are you so prejudiced against aliens?" Shepard asked evenly.

She scoffed again in disgust. "Where do I begin? Perhaps with salarian explorers unleashing the rachni upon us, then unleashing the krogan to correct their mistake? Or the turians, so eager to bomb every problem away?" She jabbed an accusing finger into Shepard's chest again. "Or humans, the new arrivals who already think they should be in charge?" She panted lightly after her small tirade. Turning away, she shook her head. "Every war that has plagued this galaxy has been cause by all the other aliens. My people's deaths are on your hands."

Shepard looked past Erinya to see a picture frame on her desk. He licked his lips and forged on. "Whose deaths are we talking about, exactly?" he asked carefully.

She turned her head to see what he was looking at. "The mother of my daughters was killed on the quarian homeworld during the initial geth uprising," she confirmed. "My daughters died on the Citadel when the geth attacked. One worked in the Embassy. The other was a greeter for the Consort." When she turned her head to face him again, tears were running down her cheeks. "I'm not speaking in hypotheticals, human. The aliens will **never** be my allies. The best they can do is give me useful medical data."

Shepard sighed and rubbed his eyes. He racked his mind for the names of both asari he met on the Citadel. "Saphyria and… Neynla. They were your daughters?"

Erinya eyes flashed in recognition.

Accepting that as a yes, he pushed on. "Can I ask why your bondmate was on the quarian homeworld?"

Erinya swallowed as she started to lose herself in her memories. "Studying the quarians. Not their technology, but their music. She loved all their art. Said they had old souls," she answered distantly, wistfully. "I think that's where my daughters got it from. Both of them loved talking with people, exploring new cultures."

"They sound like wonderful people. The galaxy is lesser for their loss," Shepard replied sympathetically.

"Yes, it is," she agreed despondently.

"I can tell you loved them very much," Shepard said.

"I do."

Mentally preparing himself, he suppressed the sudden rise of guilt and continued. "I have to ask though: Is this how you show that love? By despising **their **passions?"

Her expression looked like she'd just been slapped.

Already, Shepard felt like an ass, using her losses and her guilt to manipulate her. "Saphyria met and worked with all the Council races at the Embassy every day. Neynla interacted with a host of aliens at the Consort. They loved what they were doing. And here you are, casting aside everything they loved."

"No! That's not what I…!"

"You've suffered. I understand that. But these colonists were trying to live peacefully. They've suffered too," Shepard pressed. "They lost family to the geth and the Thorian creature. Do you really want to hurt them more?"

"No… I… I…" Erinya stammered before her legs gave out from under her. She fell into her chair, covered her face and sobbed quietly. "My daughters… what am I doing?" she cried out softly.

Feeling as guilty as her, if not worse, Shepard grabbed a tissue from the desk and offered it to her.

She accepted it and dabbed at her eyes. "I'll… I'll write a new contract and dismiss the old one. No more tests. No fees." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "There's enough grief in this galaxy. I don't need to add to it."

"Thank you," Shepard said quietly. "And I'm sorry." He turned around left without another word.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"Ah, Shepard. You're back," Chakwas greeted.

Shepard nodded and turned to Shiala and Mordin at the far side of the Med Bay.

The asari was besieged by Mordin as he continued typing away at a terminal while running a battery of tests. He was muttering to himself the entire time, but was speaking too low and too quickly to understand.

"He's been like this ever since I told him all I knew of the Thorian." She shook her head in amusement. "Not that I can blame him. A new, practically undiscovered intelligent being…"

Shepard frowned as he recalled the events on Feros.

"Not that there were better outcomes, Shepard," Chakwas quickly said. "You did what you had to do. If the Thorian didn't wish to release the colonists, it was a hostile act. It was intelligent enough to know this."

"Thanks, Doc."

"Shepard!" Shiala called out.

"Shiala," he greeted. He turned to Mordin and Chakwas. "Can we have a moment?"

"Of course," Chakwas said. "Shall we adjourn for some dinner, Dr. Solus? You've been working hard."

Mordin nodded. "Yes. Would be best. Must go over data. Extrapolate. Theorize. Confirm. So much to learn." He bowed to Shiala. "Thank you for opportunity. Truly fascinating. Will forward any findings. Good night."

"Thank you for your help, Doctor."

Shepard laughed lightly as the Chakwas and Mordin continued talking all the way to the elevator.

"They're quite knowledgeable," Shiala praised.

"They're good at what they do," he agreed. Sitting on a bed opposite of her, he smiled to offset her worries. "I talked to the rep, Erinya, and she's agreed to rescind the old contract and draw up a new one. A better one, I think."

Shiala sighed in utter relief. "Thank you, Shepard. It goes without saying, but you've saved Zhu's Hope again."

"Glad to have helped."

"I don't think I could have…" Her smile faltered. "Is it always like this? Yesterday's problems lingering in some new form? Isn't anything ever just fixed?"

Thinking about the new Reaper threat, Shepard shook his head. "No. Life's always full of problems, I think. More optimistic people would call them 'challenges'." He stood up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You've got the power to make a difference, Shiala. Not everyone does. If people like you and me ever quit, what'll happen to the people that count on us?"

She nodded resolutely. "You're right. You gave us a chance by saving the colony. I can't let them down. I won't." She stood up as well and stepped closer. "Thank you for what you've done here, Shepard. I'll keep doing what I can." She took a deep breath. "Maybe sometime when I'm not organizing the colony and you're not… doing whatever it is you're doing…" Smiling, she placed her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Clearing his throat, Shepard managed a small smile of his own. "We'll see what happens. Shall I walk you out?"

After escorting Shiala out of the Normandy and hangar, they were about to part ways at the transportation hub and she stopped and faced him. With surprising quickness, she leaned in and planted a lingering kiss on his cheek before she pulled away and hopped into her taxi and left for her hotel.

Shepard smiled to himself before climbing into a taxi of his own.

Sitting comfortably, he allowed his mind to drift and reflected on the past couple of days. Unbidden, his mind acutely recalled his conversation with Liara and her connection with Cerberus. He sat straighter in his seat and frowned.

_"Why did the Shadow Broker go after me anyway?"_

_Liara's face took on a dark look again. "He wanted to sell you to the Collectors."_

_"The hell…?" Shepard cursed. "They were still after me, even when I was dead? Why?"_

_"I'm sorry, but that's something even I don't know anything about," Liara responded._

His brow furrowed as he continued to piece everything together.

_"Miranda Lawson was the Cerberus operative I met during our race to find you. We worked together for a bit. She told me… she told me that they could rebuild you. Bring you back to life."_

_Aw, hell._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Azure Spire Hotel**_

"_Coming,"_ Miranda called out through the intercom.

Shepard waited patiently at her hotel room door. A few seconds later, she opened it and blinked in surprise. "Shepard. Is there something I can do for you?"

"There's something I wanted to talk about. I wanted to earlier, but with Samara's recruitment, it slipped my mind."

Seeing the serious look on his face, she stepped aside. "Come in."

Accepting the invitation, he entered and moved to sit on one of the couches in her suite.

"Wine?"

"Sure."

She picked up the open bottle and her half-full glass from the table she was working on and placed it on the coffee table in front of him before retrieving an empty glass and settled herself in another couch adjacent from him. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked while she poured him a glass.

"Liara and I talked. She told me everything," Shepard said as he took the proffered drink.

"Define 'everything'."

"She told me that the Collectors were after me, even after I was dead. They hired the Shadow Broker to 'retrieve' me." He frowned. "You knew about this, didn't you?" he accused.

Miranda leaned back in her seat. "Of course I did," she said. "I'm surprised that you didn't. Or at the very least, figure it out sooner."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because there's nothing more to tell. As of right now, you know as much as I do," she said. "All **I** know is the Collectors, and by proxy, the Reapers, have a vested interest in you. They evidently don't care if you're alive or dead and what plans they might have for you is something we can't possibly even begin to guess."

"Why? I was dead. What possible threat could I have been?"

"Perhaps they don't think of you as a threat? Perhaps they might consider you a resource. After all, that's what the Reaper's consider us to be," she theorized. "Harbinger has an interest in you after all."

"A dead body as a resource," he replied skeptically. "They're going through all this trouble to bring in the colonists alive, what use could I be when I'm dead?"

"Who knows?" Miranda shrugged. "If Cerberus developed the technology to bring you back, it's probably safe to say that the Reapers and Collectors would have even superior tech to do the same."

"Maybe they might put a 'control chip' in me this time?" Shepard suggested.

Miranda coughed lightly into her fist at the reminder of one of their earliest meetings. "Yes, well, there's also indoctrination to consider. In the end, you were, and still are, an important individual. Perhaps they were planning to use you for their own ends, much like Saren was used." She had a ghost of a smile on her lips. "You did best Saren after all. Perhaps you would be a 'superior' resource."

While Miranda was merely speculating, maybe even kidding, but both humans suddenly reconsidered her last statement.

"That… makes a lot of sense, actually," Shepard commented.

"I didn't even think of that until now," Miranda admitted.

"Do you think the Illusive Man knows?"

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not."

Shepard leaned back in his seat as well and rubbed his eyes tiredly again.

"When was the last time you slept?" Miranda asked.

"Two days ago."

"You need sleep," she said.

"Thanks. I wasn't aware of that," Shepard teased.

Miranda looked like she wanted to say something more, but hesitated at the last moment.

Picking up on it, he sat up straighter and waited patiently for her to say something.

She licked her lips and tried again. "I… I wanted to apologize," she finally said.

"For the control chip thing? That's water under the bridge."

"No. I have to admit that I didn't fully believe you'd be up to the task," she confessed softly. "And it seems I was wrong."

"Why didn't you think I could handle this?" he asked.

"Because we had to ask you to work with Cerberus and the Illusive Man," she said. "And then there was your background. Even after studying your achievements, there might have been a small part of me didn't believe you did everything they say you did." She sighed. "Not to mention your past. A kid from the slums of Earth, no family, little formal education..." She looked back up at him. "Frankly, based on what I've seen, I wish Cerberus had recruited you earlier."

"I've always appreciated your candor, Miranda and I trust **you**," he stressed. "But I don't trust Cerberus. Several of your experiments cross the line."

"A great many of them perhaps, but I recall a Spectre who crossed a few lines while hunting down Saren and the geth."

Shepard shrugged. "I did what I thought was right."

"Believe it or not, so does Cerberus," she pointed out. "Though not everyone shares your judgment. We'd be lucky to have you. Too many join us out of simple xenophobia. We need more people here for the right reasons."

"Maybe I'm being a bit obstinate here, but I remember your bases like it was yesterday for me. Rachni, Thorian creepers, husks?" Shepard shook his head. "You were playing with fire and I had to put it out."

Miranda ran a hand through her hair. "The husks were already dead and worse, the Thorian creatures were mindless creations, and the rachni were abandoned once we understood their intelligence," she defended. "We were just trying to understand what uses we might've had for them. Expendable shock troops for high-risk scenarios."

"Husks and Thorian creepers? There's something wrong when we have to use… **things** like that for combat. And the rachni have proven to be intelligent. It was borderline torture," Shepard argued.

"How many soldiers died in Saren's attack on Eden Prime? How many would have lived if we'd just had a dozen rachni soldiers on our side?"

"And what about Jack? What was Cerberus trying to prove by experimenting on children?" Shepard shot back.

She narrowed her eyes. "A mistake. No question. Not mine. And one that was corrected once we discovered the extent of the experiments being performed," she snapped. "I would never resort to anything like that in any of my missions." She scoffed in derision. "Bullheaded scientists trying to use brute force for results, it's despicable. Even Wilson had a bit more tact when we were working on you."

"And Admiral Kohoku? Corporal Toombs?"

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "I had nothing to do with either of those incidents. But yes, I don't agree at all about how that was handled. But the Alliance isn't innocent either. They've conducted black ops that cross the line frequently. You were part of some of those missions, I recall."

Shepard sighed and nodded in agreement. He let the argument drop since he couldn't blame Miranda for all of Cerberus' dealings just like he or the Alliance weren't saints either. Leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of wine, he studied the woman in front of him. "With your intelligence, you could have landed any job you wanted and still disappear entirely from your father. Why choose this?"

She took a breath to calm down and think about the question. Sipping her wine, she leaned back as well. "I envy the time Mordin spent with the Special Task Group, working with people as smart as he is. Cerberus never tells me that something is impossible. They give me my resources and say, 'Do it'." She took another sip. "And they've given you even more. A new life, a new ship, the Illusive Man's personal attention..."

"A suicide mission against impossible odds to save countless lives," he joked, hoping to ease the tension from their earlier argument.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt at humor, but smiled all the same. "There's something about you," she said. She stared at him as if answer would be plain to see. "Something special. A fire that makes someone willing to follow you into hell itself."

Shepard found himself extremely flattered by her words and was inexplicably drawn to her cobalt eyes. She was still studying him, probing him, trying to solve whatever mystery that eluded her. He had to force himself to remember to breathe.

"You've done more than I ever could." She sighed and turned away, freeing Shepard from her gaze. "Despite everything my father did to make me perfect, you're... you're the best humanity has to offer." Abruptly, she stood up and walked to the window, looking through it, but not really seeing the Nos Astra vista.

Standing up, he followed her and stopped at arm's length away. He was able to see her reflection in the window clearly. She had her arms crossed, as if to ward off a chill, despite the comfortable temperature the room. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Everything I did… everything I did was because I had the drive to see it all through." He took a step closer. "Your father doesn't deserve the amount of credit you're giving him. He gave you an advantage, but everything you did, including me, that was all you. You made the choice and then you had the drive to see it through."

She turned around and faced him. Her head was tilted, but she no longer appeared despondent.

"I think you should be proud of your accomplishments just as much as you judge your mistakes."

"The real difference between you and me is that you're born to greatness long before. I was engineered for it," she reminded, echoing her words from several weeks ago. The argument sounded half-hearted, however. This time, she took step closer so much that had to look up to meet his eyes. "You're practically the perfect human specimen."

"Perfect human specimen, huh?" Shepard repeated with a roguish grin.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get cocky. I'm the one who put you back together remember? And I do damn good work."

"I can attest to that," he freely acknowledged. "You were working on me for two years, after all. I doubt I was modest at the time."

Challengingly, she took another step closer until they were almost nose-to-nose. "Careful, Shepard. Your ego is showing."

"Really?" he drawled out.

"Really," she affirmed.

Neither of them could explain what happened next. If asked later, they wouldn't be able recollect who instigated the next move.

Shepard had his right arm around Miranda's waist. His other hand was resting between her shoulder blades, pulling her closer and holding her in place.

Miranda had her left hand splayed on Shepard's chest. Her right hand was behind his head, pulling him closer and holding him in place.

Their bodies were pressed against each other's as they kissed passionately. It was an interesting duality between romance and dominance as they were lost in the moment. It was unclear if they were discovering any latent feelings or were simply daring to push each other's boundaries.

Miranda moaned lightly as the kiss deepened. Shepard moved until he pressed her against the glass window. They ventured as far as they were able, until the need for air prompted them to separate.

The moment was lost.

Panting lightly, Shepard stared wide-eyed at his XO. Hesitantly, he took a few steps back to create some space between them.

Miranda was no better. For once, she had an obvious flush on her cheeks and was completely unprepared for what had happened, leaving her a bit open and vulnerable.

He tried to say something, but felt the words get caught in his closing throat.

She managed to speak first, though it sounded like she was a bit dazed. "What… what the hell was that?"

"I have… no idea," he admitted. "We just…"

"We just..." she said at the same time. Shaking her head to regain her senses, she couldn't meet his eyes anymore. "God, I need to think. And work. I need... I need to go. I'll talk to you later." She started walking quickly to the door.

"Yeah. I need to get some sleep. I… Wait. I'm in **your** room. **I **need to go."

She stopped in her tracks and turned away from the door. "Oh. Right. Um… good night."

"You too."

Now it was Shepard's turn to make for the door as quickly as possible. On the way out, he passed right by Miranda and an involuntary smile crept across his face. He tried vainly to suppress it. And failed miserably.

"And stop smiling, damn it!" were the last words he heard before closing the door and taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

He moved next door to his room and entered. Taking another deep breath, he swallowed the lump in throat and prepared to either go to bed or take a cold shower when his comm. beeped.

"_Captain Shepard?" _EDI called.

"This better be important, EDI," Shepard warned as he tried to get his heartbeat under control. A small sense of guilt racked up in his mind as his thoughts suddenly went back to Ashley. _What the hell am I doing…?_

"_It is."_

"Sorry, EDI. Stressful night," he apologized. "What is it?"

"_The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you. He has new intelligence to offer on the current location of the Collector vessel."_

**~o~O~o~**

Author's Notes:

Hahahaha! I did it! A full blown Shepard/Miranda scene! Woohoo!

That final scene was perhaps the hardest scene to write. At this point, feedback would be greatly appreciated. If you find anything lacking, leave a review I'll take it into consideration for any changes necessary. Credit will be given where it's due.

Remember: This is the first time I've actually written romance (Or the beginning of one at least. Or anything at all.) Here's hoping that I'll do you all justice.

As promised, Kasumi will be added to the fic. The votes were: 108 to 15.

The Overlord poll remains open and more than three quarters of the way there. Make your opinion heard!

_**Edit: **_After going through my outline, I realized that if I want to add Kasumi in some meaningful way, I needed to do it sooner. I took the liberty of having her travel to Illium, rather than having Shepard travel to her.


	26. Correspondence IV

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Oriana **__**(Lawson)**_

_**Subject: Guardian Angels**_

I hope this is the right Commander Shepard. I'm Oriana. My sister only told me a little, but I don't think it occurred to her that I'm as smart as she is. I poked around a little and found an information broker who got me this address.

I got to thank her, but I never got to thank you for helping me. My parents don't really understand it, but I know how much Miranda did, how many little things over the years were her looking out for me. I'm not going to tell them. I still want to go to school and get some degrees. But I wanted you to know that I know you saved me.

I had a guardian angel all these years. I don't know if my sister has anybody. She said she's working for you, and it was pretty clear that you were doing something dangerous. Make sure she comes back alive, okay?

-Oriana

PS: Don't tell her I sent you this. It would just make her angry.

PPS: Miranda, quit looking at Shepard's messages. Oh, don't act like you don't. It's what I'd do.

**-oOo-**

_**To: Miranda Lawson**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Fwd: Guardian Angels**_

Your sister sent me a letter. I thought it'd be nice for you to hear from her, even if it was addressed to me.

Just don't shoot the messenger.

Shepard

(Don't read my messages. I'll find out if you are somehow.)

**-oOo-**

_**To: Oriana (Lawson)**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Guardian Angels**_

You're very welcome. Miranda is a good friend and a valued crewmember. I was glad to help her (and you) anyway I can.

I believe she's aware of how smart you are, but I think she's underestimating how inquisitive you are as well. Liara's a good friend of ours, so I'm not surprised she would give you this address.

This mission we're on is important. Very important. You've probably already guessed that danger involved is usually proportional to the urgency of any given mission. Regardless of the risks, I'm committed to see to both the success of our task as well as the safety of those that choose to travel with me, including Miranda. Far be it for me to deny another family reunion.

By the way, I forwarded your message to Miranda. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Shepard

PS: She recently helped me out with a situation regarding the colony in Feros. Just her way of connecting to you.

**-oOo-**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Lizbeth Baynham**_

_**Subject: Appreciate the Help**_

Hey, Shepard,

Shiala called us about what you did on Illium, and I wanted to thank you for helping out Zhu's Hope one more time. We're surviving, if barely. Most of ExoGeni left, but I stayed behind as an attaché, and to make sure that nothing was left of the Thorian. We don't need that problem again.

Also, I'm really, really sorry that I shot at you. I'm pretty sure I said that, but I just wanted to reiterate it.

Good luck and thanks. Zhu's Hope is alive again because of what you did.

Sincerely,

Lizbeth Baynham

**-oOo-**

_**To: Lizbeth Baynham**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Appreciate the Help**_

It was good to see her again and good to hear from you.

After everything you've been through at Zhu's Hope, I'm glad you're doing well. And I'm happy to hear that you've stayed behind to help.

Again, don't worry about 'shooting' me. Kinetic shields save lives. And you missed anyway.

Keep up the good work. If you need any more help, you know how to contact me.

Shepard

**-oOo-**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Jeirt**_

_**Subject: You Changed my Life**_

Greetings, Captain Shepard,

Liara T'Soni gave me your contact information. I was one of the cleaning crew in the Dantius Towers. You helped get me out of there. According to T'Soni, you also found the guy that went after Nassana Dantius. He took down some of the Eclipse mercs trying to gun us down and I wondered if you could pass along my thanks.

The way he moved… one was dead before they even knew he was there. He snapped another's neck, then shot a third, all in the space of a few heartbeats. It was incredible. He moved like a dancer, grace and power in constant motion.

Seeing him change my life, woke up something in me I don't fully understand yet. I don't know what I'm going to do, but salarian lives are too short to waste as custodians, especially when there's so much else out there. I'm going to find something that lets me capture what I saw in him, that beauty, that aesthetic perfection.

I'm also going to buy some nice clothes.

So if you could tell him that… or just whatever parts you think appropriate… I'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Jeirt

**-oOo-**

_**To: Thane**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Fwd: You Changed my Life**_

Sounds like you got a fan. I'd watch out for this one. The last time I met one of my fans like this, I pointed a gun at him. Later, when he started causing trouble (in my name), I had to shoot him in the foot. (More like nicked him.)

The situation was resolved though. Ask Garrus if you want the full story. I'm sure he'll give you all the lovely details.

Shepard

**-oOo-**

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Miranda**_

_**Subject: Re: Fwd: Guardian Angels**_

First off, I do not read any of your messages. EDI warned me that she was under orders to warn you if something like that were to occur. However, I do wish to reiterate how much I (and Oriana, evidently) appreciate what you've done for us.

I must admit, it's quite flattering how she views us, isn't it? Though it irked me a bit when she believed I would underestimate her intelligence, her tenacity is something I should I admire, I suppose.

I also want thank you for forwarding me her letter. It means a lot to hear from her again.

And on a more personal note, I also wish to convey my gratitude for your discretion. I don't know how much I want to tell her about my life, but I'm glad that you're a part of it.

-Miranda

**-oOo-**

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Kate Bowman**_

_**Subject: Glad You're Okay**_

Shepard,

I called in some favors and found out how to get you and what you're working on. We've got a big celebration planned for the anniversary of you and the others saving Terra Nova. Last year, we added a memorial for you, too. I guess that was premature, huh?

I figure finding out who's attacking colonies is why you had to go undercover, so I won't invite you to come give a speech or anything. But I wanted you to know that all of us living on colonies are worried about what's happening in the Terminus Systems. And I'm really glad you're there to help. There's a lot of crazy military talk going around. I'm glad someone's there who's not going to take the easy way out.

Thanks.

Kate Bowman

**-oOo-**

_**To: Kate Bowman**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Glad You're Okay**_

I'm honored that you would remember me; much less construct a memorial in my name. It's my regret that I won't be able to attend the festivities. It'd be nice to visit Terra Nova without some planet wide emergency to deal with.

My mission is important though and I need to help those people in any way I can.

Best of luck to you and the rest of Terra Nova. If you happen to see Simon Atwell, give him and his family my regards as well.

Shepard

PS: I've reached the rank of captain now. Just in case anyone's doing a speech on me.

**-oOo-**

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Thane**_

_**Subject: Re: Fwd: You Changed my Life**_

I thank you for the message and the warning. I will speak to Garrus when there is time. It sounds like it would be an entertaining tale.

Yours truly,

Thane

**-oOo-**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Martin Burns**_

_**Subject: Thank You Again**_

Councilor Anderson said this would reach you. I wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten what you did for me the day those crazy biotics took me hostage. You talked them down and got me off that ship alive.

I won't lie to you. I took this job for the pull and the power. I saw the biotics issue as a stepping stone, something good to put on my resume. And I was wrong.

We all serve humanity in our own way. I don't know what you're doing, but I'm going to see to it that humanity reaches its potential with a minimum of bloodshed. I'm getting letters of thanks from L2 biotics who just received their reparations. Those letters should really be coming to you. I just thought you should know.

Good luck. I've taken some political heat, so I don't know that any offer to help you would ever be useful. But if you need me, I won't let you down.

Martin Burns

Chairman, Subcommittee for Transhuman Studies

**-oOo-**

_**To: Chairman Martin Burns**_

_**From: Captain Shepard**_

_**Subject: Your Support is Appreciated**_

I'm glad to hear you're doing all right for yourself. I'm even more pleased to hear that you're making a difference, instead of becoming like most other politicians: self-serving people interested in their own agendas than the people they're supposed to represent.

Hearing about your goals honors me. I look back on that day and I felt disgust that you were using L2 biotics issues for your own ends. Now, I'm truly grateful for what you've accomplished and what you're aiming to accomplish. Noble goals.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, an Alliance Marine that assisted me in retaking the MSV Ontario, was an L2 biotic. He would've been gratified to know that the issue is being taken seriously and led by a good man. Enjoy those letters. You've earned them.

I will keep your offer of help in mind. It's nice to know that there are people I can count on to do the right thing.

Captain John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

**-oOo-**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Oriana Lawson**_

_**Subject: You Told Her!**_

Miranda just sent me a message. It was nice and had all the pleasantries, but if you read between the lines, it was obvious. You told her, didn't you?

I hope she wasn't angry, unless that was your intent, of course. There's nothing wrong with a little teasing. As serious as your mission sounds, I firmly believe that my older sister needs to loosen up a little. Live life, y'know?

Just try not to get her really angry. I know what I'm like when my buttons are pushed. Fair warning.

-Oriana

PS: Thanks for letting me know about Miranda's role with Feros. I've been taking an interest in that colony and I'm glad that the both of you are helping them despite how busy you must be.

**-oOo-**

_**To: Oriana Lawson**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: You Told Her!**_

Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind.

Shepard

**-oOo-**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Detective Anaya**_

_**Subject: Still Alive**_

Greetings, Captain—

I'm not completely sure this will get to you, but thanks again for helping me deal with Samara. The Eclipse mercs have gotten real quiet around here and my superiors have backed off, too. No idea if the two are related, but hopefully, the next time I meet a justicar, I can give her the respect she deserves.

I still can't believe I worked a case with one of them. You're a lucky human. If I find more data on her target, I'll pass it along.

Thanks,

Detective Anaya

Illium Law Enforcement

**-oOo-**

_**To: Detective Anaya**_

_**From: Captain Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Still Alive**_

Good to hear from you again, Detective.

I'm hoping that the Eclipse problem will stay down for a few months. I'm sure Samara or any other justicar would be honored to receive your hospitality. Hopefully, that means they won't have to kill you.

As for Samara, I'll let her know that you're helping. I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

Captain Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2


	27. The Collector Ship: Preparation

_**Location: Unknown**_

The Illusive Man was facing the bi-colored sun when Shepard arrived. The bright star cast a dark shadow over most of his features, save for his eyes, which glowed unnaturally. He turned his head slightly, stealing a glance at Shepard before turning away. It was the only reaction that he presented to show that he was even aware Shepard was there. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an expensive looking lighter and brought it to his face. Finally, he turned slightly to the side, showing his profile to his guest while smoking from a freshly lit cigarette.

Shepard crossed his arms, unimpressed with the theatrics and impatient to get to the matter at hand.

"Shepard – we caught a break," he said. "I intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled on to a Collector ship beyond the Pamyat System." He finally turned around to face Shepard. "The turians were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel." He calmly walked to his chair, moving through the myriad of holo-monitors surrounding it. After making himself comfortable, he looked up at the Spectre. "I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to get to their homeworld."

"I'm having trouble believing that a turian patrol could disable a Collector ship," Shepard bluntly stated.

"Reports indicate the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline," he replied. "They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"The hull is intact?" Shepard repeated skeptically.

"So our reports claim."

Narrowing his eyes at the enigmatic figure before him, Shepard could already tell something was off. Given what he knew about turian tactics, the only way they would ever disable a vessel is by putting large holes in one. Turian strategy was simple in concept, but difficult in practice. If they were forced to withdraw, they would ensure the enemy would be firmly discouraged from following. Organized retreats, support fire, even ambushes if they could manage it. If they were aware that they were about to be defeated, suicide runs and an all-out attack was to be expected. Subtly was rarely employed unless they had the advantage and the means. "If they had a patrol out there, why aren't the turians sending a recon team in?" he probed.

"They will. Eventually," came the prompt response. "I intercepted the transmissions. While you're investigating, we're feeding them false reports. It should buy you enough time to be in and out before the turians learn the truth."

That much, Shepard could believe. If there was any organization that could pull the wool over any non-human military group, it would have to be Cerberus. But still…

_A disabled, intact Collector ship._

The information they could learn about their foe would be incredible if the databases were still functioning. All of their technology, weaknesses, locations, long-term goals, even why they're targeting humanity could be there. If they were lucky, maybe information about the Reapers could be found as well.

_Too good to be true._

"Are you sure this information is good?" he asked dubiously.

"Information is my weapon, Shepard," the Illusive Man stated with supreme confidence. "It's good."

Shepard stared at him stonily for another minute. The Illusive Man didn't even bat an eye at the intense scrutiny he was under. He coolly took a smoke during the lull. Eventually, Shepard came to a decision.

_Trap or not, this is too good to pass up._

"Send the coordinates."

"Already sent," he said. "Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 Relay." He paused to take another smoke. "Good luck, Shepard."

With that said, he tapped a button and ended the transmission.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**_

"EDI, status of the Silaris Armor?" Shepard requested quickly.

"Armor installation is complete. Diagnostics are estimated to be completed in three hours," she dutifully reported. "No problems have been reported thus far."

"Make it two hours. The Thanix Cannon?"

"According to Chief Zorah's latest report, all weapons systems are currently offline. Maintenance, upgrades, and diagnostics are expected to be completed in one week."

Shepard cursed under his breath. "Fine. Nothing we can do about it. Recall everyone. Leave has ended. We're heading out in three hours," he commanded.

"Please be aware, the weapons will not be ready by the time we arrive at the Pamyat System," EDI cautioned.

"If we wait, the Collector ship might not be there. This is our only chance to get some real intelligence about them. Ready or not, we're doing this."

"Understood, Captain. Recalling all crewmen back to the Normandy immediately."

"Also, put me in contact with Liara. Right now."

"Contacting… connection established. Standby."

Shepard moved away from the center of the room. A few seconds later, Liara's visage appeared where he was standing moments before.

"Shepard?" she asked drowsily. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry about the hour, Liara, but I just received new intelligence about my mission. We're leaving in three hours," he informed.

Suddenly more alert, she peered at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I need you to get in contact with Kasumi. She needs to be ready in two hours. Otherwise, I'm leaving her," he stated.

She rubbed her eyes to wake herself up and nodded. "I'll contact her and update you in 30 minutes."

"Thanks."

The table and chairs returned to their original positions as Shepard contemplated all variables in this mission and how best to approach the situation. "All officers not aboard the Normandy have responded your orders and are en route to assist with departure, Captain," EDI reported. "Operative Taylor is at his station in the Armory. Chief Zorah is at her station in the Engine Room."

"Thanks, EDI. Keep me apprised for any problems," he distractedly replied, still mentally analyzing every angle he could conceive.

"Understood, Captain. Logging you out."

Walking swiftly from the Comm. Room, Shepard entered the armory to see Jacob finishing his duties.

"On me," Shepard ordered as he turned right and headed for the airlock.

"On your six," Jacob replied instantly. He turned off his terminal and fell in step.

"Make preparations to leave. I want us off of Illium in three hours."

Jacob knew better than to ask questions when his superior officer seemed like he was in a rush. "Aye, aye."

Both left the Normandy and started ordering the crewmen that weren't on leave to begin arrangements for departure. The Cerberus workers that were still left to finish some of the mundane jobs: paint, visual checks, and last minute reports, were tasked to assist in their speedy preparations.

Ten minutes later, the rest of squad and a great deal of Normandy crewmen arrived at the hangar with their luggage. Despite the flurry of activity, everyone moved with purpose as they conducted their duties. Bags, personal items, and purchases were placed at their designated areas. Ordinance, spare parts, and fuels cells were loaded and secured. The Hammerhead and Kodiak were returned to their original places within the Normandy, while various other crewmen were at their stations, assisting with pre-flight checks to get the Normandy as space-worthy as quickly as possible.

Exactly 30 minutes later, Liara called Shepard while he was overseeing the multitude of tasks occurring around him within the hangar. "Shepard here," he said briefly as a greeting.

"_Kasumi has agreed to meet. She'll be waiting at the prearranged meeting spot in one hour," _Liara informed quickly.

"I'm a bit busy here, Liara. I'm not in the mood for games. You said she was ready to come with us immediately," Shepard testily replied. A loud boom was heard when an unsecured crate slipped off the forklift. "Damn it! Get that crate up and on the ship! Move it!" he yelled.

"_Kasumi didn't get to where she is without exercising caution. My word won't be enough. You have indulge her this one time, I'm afraid."_

"Sorry, sir! I'll get it!"

Shepard sighed impatiently. "Fine. Only because you're recommending her," he said to Liara while tersely nodding to the Cerberus worker.

"_I'm sorry I can't go with you…"_ she started to say.

"I'm already asking a lot of you," he responded in a softer tone. "You've helped me a lot since I arrived. I can take it from here."

"_Good luck, Shepard. Stay safe."_

"Your 'mission' is just as dangerous. Watch out, yourself," he countered. "If you need any help, contact me. I'll help you in any way I can."

"_I will. Until next time."_

Finishing his call, Shepard turned to the nearest officer. "Jacob!"

"What's up? !" he called back.

"We're getting another recruit! You're with me!"

Jacob looked perplexed at the sudden news, but jumped off the crate he was on and jogged up to his commanding officer. "Another?"

"She's going to be waiting for us at the transit hub. I just want to bring an extra gun and another pair of eyes for the meet, that's all."

"I'll get my sidearm." Snapping off a quick salute, Jacob sprinted back into the Normandy.

"Tali," Shepard called into the radio.

"_Tali here,"_ she acknowledged.

"Status?"

"_If you're asking about the weapons, we're working as fast as we can, but if you're asking about departure, we're almost ready. 20 minutes."_

"Alright, good job. Thanks," Shepard replied shortly. He looked around the hangar for his turian friend. He spotted him and Thane nearby. "Garrus! Thane!" he called out and waved them both over.

Both men put down whatever they were doing and jogged up to him. "What's up?" Garrus asked quickly.

"I need you two to buy some 'special' ordinance. Be back in one hour," Shepard requested. He sent the details to them via omni-tool.

Garrus looked down at the list and twitched his mandibles thoughtfully. "This stuff isn't exactly found at the local shopping kiosks."

"Thane, tell me you have contacts that can help," Shepard requested.

"I believe there are several individuals I can speak to that will provide what you seek," Thane assured.

"Garrus, help him."

"On it."

After both aliens left, Jacob came back with his pistol secured. "Ready to go, Shepard."

Nodding in response, he looked around the hangar one last time and spotted Miranda. He was about to call out to her as well when his mind abruptly and acutely recollected their last meeting, only a few scant hours ago. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before regaining control of himself. Forcing himself to remain impassive and professional, he tried calling out again. "Lawson!" Internally, he cringed at how awkward he felt, calling her by her surname.

Miranda turned around and her eyes held an uncertain look, before a cool, neutral expression settled on her features as well. She walked briskly toward him and nodded. "Sir," she greeted neutrally, almost coldly.

He noted that she never called him 'sir', before. She had always called him by his rank or name, but never 'sir' unless it was to answer his questions or acknowledge his orders in a professional capacity.

Jacob looked between the two in confusion, uncomfortable with the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Jacob and I are going to pick up one more recruit. You're in charge. Make sure you get a head count to confirm all crewmen are present and accounted for," Shepard ordered evenly. "We should be back soon."

"Of course, Captain. I'll see to it right away."

"If there any problems, no matter how small, let me know."

"Understood." She nodded curtly and left.

"Let's go, Jacob," Shepard said. He started walking toward the exit.

"Um… right. I mean, right behind you," Jacob answered back uncertainly. He followed in Shepard's footsteps, occasionally glancing back at Miranda before they left the hangar.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Transportation Hub**_

"_Explorer ships have reported seeing vessels of an unknown make, but whose silhouette strongly resembles ancient rachni ship profiles. The few ships sighted have been small scouting vessels that rapidly retreated. The Council has pledged a full investigation."_

Shepard hid his smile from Jacob as he quickly made his way past the news terminal and to the arranged meeting.

"So," Jacob started to say before trailing off. He glanced tentatively at Shepard as they rapidly made their way to the transit hub.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"What's the deal with… the new recruit?" Jacob asked.

Shepard turned his head to look at Jacob out of the corner of his eye. He had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to ask a different question, but decided to let it slide. "Liara put me in contact with her. She's a thief."

"A thief?" Jacob asked incredulously. "We're recruiting a thief?"

They entered the transportation hub. Shepard glanced around to see if there was anything amiss. "Liara vouched for her. I trust her judgment."

"I get that, but are you sure…" Jacob started to ask when he was interrupted by a nearby ad terminal.

"Captain Shepard. Enter the password and receive a free gift!"

"Damn, I hate those stupid things," Jacob griped.

Shepard turned his head and examined the ad terminal. A hooded woman was displayed. Judging from her accent, he placed her as someone with strong Asian roots, maybe even someone with full Japanese ancestry.

_With a name like Kasumi, I guess this is her._

"What's up, Shepard?" Jacob asked in confusion.

"Got problems with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services!"

Shepard turned away from the ad terminal and observed the hub carefully. He couldn't see anyone or anything out of the ordinary. An itching sensation was running down his neck, giving him the feeling that he was being watched.

_If we're supposed to meet her here, we probably are._

"Captain Shepard. We have the finest companions waiting for you. Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?"

Turing back to the terminal, he regarded the image in equal parts annoyance and amusement.

All of this was lost on Jacob, though. "Why are we standing in front of this ad terminal? I mean, she's cute, but aren't we supposed to be finding your thief?"

"Why thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

Jacob jumped back when the image spoke directly to him.

"I always like my men tall, dark, and handsome," the ad flirted teasingly.

"What the hell?" Jacob breathed out and trying to get his heart rate under control.

"For future reference," Shepard said to Jacob and the image. "Ad terminals don't display the same individual to announce different advertisements." He smirked with suppressed humor. "Just something to think about, especially if you're trying to be low-key."

"Hmm…" Kasumi tilted her head. "That's a good point. Guess I'm too clever for my own good."

Shepard shrugged. "It happens. Silence is golden."

"Good to finally meet you, Captain Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan," she said. "And who's your friend?"

"Jacob," the Cerberus Operative introduced himself. "Jacob Taylor."

"Nice to meet you too," she replied in a friendly voice.

"Is all this sneaking around really necessary?" Shepard asked with a hint of impatience. "I have a warship to oversee. We need to get going ASAP."

"I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous," she explained. "Need to watch my step to keep it that way."

"I don't get it," Jacob said.

"You can't arrest what you don't know," Kasumi quipped. "Ego is the most dangerous kind of hubris, followed by greed. Once you're caught, the authorities have a name and face to find you with." She smiled cattily. "Some people are in this business for the fame. Me? I'm in it because I'm attracted to rare, beautiful, and expensive things. Shiny works too."

"Oh," Jacob simply replied. "Heavy risks, but the prize, huh?"

"A man after my own heart," she playfully complimented. "I also needed to make sure all of this is legit. Not that I don't trust Liara, but I like to see things with my own eyes." She nodded decisively at the Spectre. "And I have no doubts now – You're the real Captain Shepard."

"What makes you so sure?" the man in question asked.

"There's a certain… aura about you," she said, trying to put her feelings to words. "Like you've seen things no one else has. Even without knowing what you looked like, I knew it was you."

"I doubt you're seeing my 'aura' though an ad terminal," Shepard said. "Now that you know who I am, why don't we do this face-to-face?"

"Awww," she pouted playfully. "You never know. Maybe I can. Maybe I'm just that good."

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck again to rid himself of his gut instinct. He looked around the station again, but still saw nothing.

"Wow, you're really good. Most people don't even know I was ever there," Kasumi commented as she observed Shepard's agitation.

"I understand that you're ready to join up with me. We're leaving soon. Very soon," he stressed when he turned back to face the ad terminal again. "As in right now."

"So I heard."

Both men whirled around to see Kasumi Goto, in the flesh, standing inches behind them.

"Damn!" Jacob involuntarily shouted.

Kasumi laughed at their expressions. "Sorry about that. I can't help myself sometimes." She placed her hand on her hip as she considered the both of them. "No need for violence. I was just having a bit of fun."

Shepard and Jacob had instinctively reached for their pistols, though they didn't draw them. They released their grip on their weapons and stared at the petite woman.

"Yeah, I can see why you'd want her on the team, Shepard," Jacob said in admiration. "She's pretty good."

"Thank you. You're reaction time was pretty spot on too," she replied approvingly. She turned to Shepard. "Liara called me. Said it was urgent that I meet with you earlier than planned, but if I wanted more information, I'd have to pay her or talk to you. I've taken the liberty of slipping my things aboard your ship."

Shepard crossed his arms. "I'm really curious to know how you managed that."

"Come on, Shep. A girl's got to have some secrets," she said impishly.

"_Captain?"_ Miranda called.

Shepard put his hand to his ear. "Shepard, here. Go ahead."

"_There's something you should know. I was taking inventory of our supplies when I noticed a small discrepancy."_

"What discrepancy?"

"_The shipping manifest says we were expecting to have 9 crates designated as 'explosive', the labels we use to identify munitions, armaments, and the like. I counted 10. The extra crate's shipping label identified it as grenades. I had the crate opened to reveal artwork and a luggage bag. There are some paintings, sculptures, that kind of thing. The bag contained a change of clothes and some weaponry. The shipping label itself was a forgery. A very well-done forgery, I might add."_

"Just load it on the Normandy, Lawson. I'll explain it later," Shepard ordered with a significant look at Kasumi.

Jacob raised his eyebrow at the unfamiliar manner Shepard was speaking toward the XO.

"_There was also another container shipped to us. This time the shipping manifest corresponds to this shipment, but EDI and none of the crewmen I've questioned made such an order. It was supposed to be shipment of Javelin Disruptor Torpedoes."_

"Let me guess: they weren't."

"_Believe it or not, it's a large statue of Saren."_

"Saren," Shepard deadpanned. He was glowering at the Asian woman now.

"Oops," was all she said in response.

"_EDI ran a check on the manifest and confirms that someone hacked their way into Illium Shipping Customs to add this to the manifest and have it sent to us. Orders?"_

"Still standing. Load it on the Normandy. I'll explain later." Shepard crossed his arms. "We found your crate and your container. Artwork? A statue of Saren?"

"Busted," she said with a shrug and a smile. "Whoever that was, he must be pretty thorough. Then again, my fault for underestimating the crew of a warship. Usually, I just sneak onto merchant vessels and freighters to get from place to place. Much less security and too much cargo to keep track of that no one notices an extra piece here and there."

"She," Shepard corrected automatically. "The executive officer, Miranda Lawson." Unbidden, his mind remembered the feeling he had when he kissed her. Shutting down that line of thought immediately, he checked the time. "Shall we get going then," he said. It wasn't a question.

Kasumi nodded. "Lead the way," she chirped.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Trading Room Floor, En Route to Normandy SR-2**_

Shepard walked at a brisk stride, setting the pace on the trip back to the hangar. On the way, Shepard remembered the price for securing Kasumi's services. "Liara told me that you need help with something in return for your assistance. I'm guessing it has something to do with the luggage you tried to smuggle in."

"I'm looking for my old partner's graybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it and I'm planning to get it back."

"You mean steal it back," Jacob translated.

She shrugged. "Same difference."

"Graybox?" Shepard prodded.

"It's a neural implant," she explained. She tapped the side of her head. A holographic visor appeared over her eyes, signifying that she had her own graybox to interface with. "Illegal in most places. Stores memories, thoughts… secret codes, illicit information." She turned off her visor. "This one in particular belonged to my partner, Keiji Okuda. We worked together for a long time, before Hock killed him."

"Revenge? You don't want to kill him, do you?" Jacob asked in concern.

Kasumi shook her head. "Not the way I do things. If I happen to kill him in 'self-defense', that's a different story. For now, I just want Keiji's graybox."

"Sounds like he meant a lot to you," Jacob observed.

"Keiji was the best hacker and entry man I've ever known," she said with pride before frowning. "Unfortunately, he slipped up and made himself infamous."

"Name and a face," Shepard parroted.

"Yeah. He slipped up and stole something he shouldn't."

"What did he steal?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know. He warned me it was bad, something that could spark interstellar war if it got out." She bowed her head. "That information… got him killed."

"I'm sorry about your partner," Jacob offered sympathetically.

"Thanks," Kasumi replied with a smile, obviously trying to stay upbeat.

"Do you know what he found?" Shepard asked.

"He wouldn't say what it was, just that it was dangerous. He said if it got out, humanity would be in trouble," she answered ominously.

Both Shepard and Jacob glanced at each other, each wondering what kind of information could do something like that.

"He encrypted it, wrapped it up in his own memories," Kasumi continued. "To decode the information, you have to sift through all the time we spent together. Now all those memories are all that's left of him."

"I can see why you'd want it back," Jacob commented.

"Getting it back will be easier with help," she added. "That's where you come in, Shep."

"Fine," Shepard agreed. "Tell me about the heist."

Kasumi surreptitiously looked around. Despite being in the dead of night, people were still out and about and enjoying themselves to whatever pleasures Illium offered. "Not here. You'll get a briefing when the time comes. I need time to nail down the details, anyway."

"Fine. Just try not to make it last minute," he said. "What can tell me about Donovan Hock?"

"Mr. Hock is a well-respected 'businessman'," she said evenly. Both men could easily hear the distaste in her voice though. "Arms dealer, **murderer**, generally not a great guy."

"We know the type," Jacob stated.

"His mansion's famous for being hard to crack," she continued. "But I have a way in and I think you're going to love it."

"**Now** I got bad feeling about this," Shepard said semi-seriously.

"And I thought it was just me," Jacob added.

"I doubt Hock's the kind of guy who takes kindly to people sneaking into his house," Shepard deduced.

"I always expect trouble. That's why you're here," Kasumi remarked.

"In my experience, I think you're guaranteed trouble now that Shepard's on the job," Jacob observed.

"Funny man," Shepard replied sarcastically.

"Oh yes, are you busy in two weeks?" Kasumi suddenly blurted out. "That's when our window of opportunity presents itself."

"I have no idea," Shepard admitted. "We'll see though."

"Try to free up your schedule of saving the galaxy, then," she said. "I should let you know, I've taken the liberty of getting you some evening wear. You'll want to look presentable."

"My bad feeling just got worse," Shepard muttered. "Undercover in a party?"

"Oh, come on!" she protested cutely. Her eyes glinted with undisguised glee, though. "It'll be fun! I made sure it was tailored to your size!"

Nearing the hangar, Shepard whipped his head to gape at the feisty thief. "How the hell could you get information like that?"

"You're famous, Shep. You'd be surprised what kind of information you can find on the extranet now. Especially if you know where to look."

Jacob started laughing at his CO's expression.

Shepard tried to ignore Jacob's mirth and remained focused on the subject at hand to avoid any more potential embarrassment. "So, just to be clear, we're just stealing this graybox? We're not trying to go after Hock or anything?"

"I'm not adverse to the idea of something bad happening to the man, but he's the type to have a small army on hand. Fighting him would be a bit unwise unless you're offering to bring in your entire squad to help me storm the place."

"Another time."

"Pity," she said with a shrug. "Don't worry. If we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun."

They entered the hangar to see it much emptier now that they were prepared to leave. The assembled team was standing around Miranda and was asking her questions about the sudden recall. She was trying to placate them when she spotted the trio and waved them over. Nearby, Garrus and Thane had arrived in a truck and were directing the unloading of several more crates. Several Cerberus workers were still outside of the Normandy putting on the final touches and completing their business on Illium. All of the crewmen, except the ones helping Garrus and Thane, were on board and at their stations.

"Preparations are almost complete. All crewmen are accounted for except Joker," she reported.

Shepard furrowed his brow. "Where is he?"

"Over here!"

Everyone turned to see Joker hobbling as fast as he dared toward them. Following behind him at a more sedate pace was a well-dressed purple-skinned asari.

"You're cutting it close, Joker," Shepard reprimanded.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," Joker panted. "You won't believe how hard it is to get a damn taxi!" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "This asari, Siris, was nice enough to give me a lift though."

"Right," Shepard said with a grateful nod to the asari. She appeared calm and placid with the events around her and nodded back silently. He gestured to the bubbly thief at his side. "This is Kasumi Goto, newest member of our team."

"Pleasure," she greeted.

"I was unaware of another recruit," Miranda said.

"Last second addition. Liara put me in touch with her. She's a professional thief."

"A thief?" Garrus asked skeptically.

"She has the Thane's skills and Tali's knowledge," Jacob explained. "She's sneaky, knows her tech, and can get the drop on people to take them out."

Garrus considered his words before nodding. "That works."

"Lawson, be sure to give her a copy of Cerberus' findings on the Collectors," Shepard ordered.

"Of course, Captain." Miranda engaged her omni-tool and sent the information to Kasumi.

The squad, even Kasumi, looked at Shepard and Miranda in confusion or in interest. It was easily apparent that something was between them, an invisible barrier of some sort that forced them out of sync. Their attitudes were strictly professional, even distant, than to what it had been before, though it was a bit forced and artificial.

Kasumi looked between the Captain and XO for a few seconds longer before smirking. "If you don't mind, I think I'll settle in at the Observation Room on the portside. It's on Deck 3, right?"

Shepard blinked. "How did you know the layout of the Normandy?"

"I was in here earlier. Just checking the place out, you know?"

"Wait, you were here and we didn't detect you?" Jacob asked in astonishment.

"Like I said, I'm the best," she stated confidently. She grinned at Shepard. "By the way, nice room. Love the aquarium. The tiny model ships are cute too."

Joker shook his head. "Okay. I like her, but why do I feel like I need to check Illium or even the Citadel for parts she may have pawned?"

The asari suddenly cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "My apologies for intruding, but I had an ulterior motive for coming here."

"What? Really?" Joker asked in shock before huffing. "I knew getting a free ride was too good to be true."

"My apologies, Mr. Moreau. I came here because I wished to speak to your friend. Since you were in a rush to return, I thought it would be to our mutual benefit to travel together."

The Spectre crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "How did you two meet?"

Joker stopped muttering to himself to answer. "Outside the hotel. With the crew leaving in exodus, all the taxis were gone. She offered to give me a ride, free of charge."

Shepard shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Mom always said never to take rides from strangers, but your message said we were leaving and I was getting a bit desperate," he said defensively.

"We're in something of a hurry here, so whatever you wanted to talk about, you need to make it quick," Shepard said to the asari.

The asari bowed respectfully. "My name is Siris," she said. Her smile matched Samara's in tranquility as she studied the Spectre. "Even if I didn't know who you are, I could tell, just by your aura alone. I'd recognize you anywhere, Agent Shepard."

"See? I told you," Kasumi said triumphantly.

Shepard scoffed to himself. "What is it about my 'aura' today?"

"Maybe you should've checked your horoscope," Joker suggested.

"I was asked to give you a message if I saw you. It's from a friend you made on Noveria."

Garrus, Tali, and Shepard perked up at that. "I've met a lot of people on Noveria. Could you be more specific?" Shepard asked.

She smiled mysteriously. "I believe the message itself should make it clear." She closed her eyes and took deep breath. When her eyes opened, they were rolled up to the back of her head. Her entire demeanor was stiff and jerky.

The last time Shepard saw this on Noveria, the body of a dying Asari Commando had been possessed by the rachni queen. He took an involuntary step back.

Siris began speaking in a raspy voice, exactly like the possessed asari back on Noveria. "Shepard. We hide. We burrow. We build. But we know that you seek those who soured the songs of our mothers. When the time comes, our voice will join with yours, and our crescendo will burn the darkness clean. Thank you, Shepard. The rachni will sing again, because of you."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what the asari said before they burst out with questions.

"You know about the rachni?" Garrus asked.

"Did you see her?" Tali added. "Is she still on Noveria?"

"I thought the krogan clans killed them all," Grunt said.

"Impossible. Rachni extinct. Message must be incorrect or falsified," Mordin dismissed. He whirled on Tali and Garrus when he picked up their questions. "You **saw** rachni? When? How?"

Shepard let out a shrill whistle to restore order while Siris blinked and seemingly returned to her senses. "Okay, everyone calm down!" He turned to face Siris. "You okay? This is **you**, isn't it?"

"Yes. The rachni queen does not control my thoughts. That was merely the message I was asked to deliver."

"I recall the report you gave to the Council," Miranda said thoughtfully. "They weren't happy that you released the rachni, though I suppose that they would be equally displeased if you chose to complete the rachni genocide as well."

"Politics," Jacob grumbled. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Garrus snickered a bit in agreement.

"All traces of the rachni vanished from Noveria shortly after that incident. How did **you** find them?" Miranda asked interestedly.

"I encountered her on an uncharted world," Siris answered. "She saved my life. More than that, she gave me purpose." She smiled again, wistfully. "They are an amazing people, Shepard. The galaxy owes you a great debt for giving them a second chance."

"I'm just as interested to know how you found them," Shepard asked. He resisted the urge to glance at Miranda. "Some details, please?"

"I was working as a courier. Pirates ambushed my ship and I was forced down on an uncharted planet," she explained. "I was badly injured and near death… then they found me. The saved me."

"You obviously got off-world again. Did the rachni give you a ship?"

"No, countless workers repaired my ship. It runs better now than it did before." She looked thoughtful. "They remind me of the keepers on the Citadel, in a way. All working together, each with a purpose."

"I'm sorry," Miranda interrupted with raised hands. "Did you say 'countless'?"

"They are growing in numbers again, but are content to keep to themselves." She shook her head. "If you're wondering where they are, I cannot help you. I don't have the information any longer." She pressed her hand to her head in remembrance. Or lack thereof. "After I met the rachni queen, that information was… removed. It's not painful, but I simply don't remember." She smiled gently. "I'll remember when I need to. And her caution is understandable. The galaxy isn't yet ready for the return of the rachni."

"What happened to the pirates who attacked you?" Samara asked intently.

"They were obliterated, Justicar. As they should have been," Siris answered without remorse. "The rachni are not aggressive, but they do what they must."

"You said the queen gave you a purpose. What do you mean?" Shepard asked. "You're working with her now?"

"The queen shared her song with me as I recovered. I saw the rachni as only an asari could. They are so beautiful… and so vulnerable."

"Fascinating," Mordin whispered in scientific reverence. He looked like he was conflicted between all the new knowledge he'd learned in the last few hours. "First Thorian, now rachni. Extraordinary. Incredible. Phenomenal. Truly exciting."

"Definitely not the impression I had when we fought either of them," Garrus whispered to Tali. She silently nodded in agreement.

"They needed someone to purchase things they cannot make themselves. Someone to work within the system. An agent, if you will," Siris continued. "I am happy to help. My life as a courier was empty and shallow. Now I'm helping a great race rebuild itself."

"You're really comfortable walking away from your old life?" Shepard asked carefully.

"You're concerned that the queen is controlling me," she astutely deduced.

Shepard shrugged, but didn't refute the claim.

"I understand, but it doesn't work like that," she explained patiently. "Our minds were in perfect harmony. I saw their beautiful spirit and their need. I knew what I had to do. If some part of that is suggestion, then it was a side-effect from their efforts to save my life. I am happy."

"Okay…" Shepard said uncertainly. "I got that she was grateful. What else was her message saying?"

"That the first Rachni War was a mistake. Something soured the voices of her people," she tried to explain. "In rachni psychology, that would be like mind control, I think. It doesn't really translate. Anyway, she believes you are fighting the ones that did that. And she promises to help."

"Mind control, huh?" Shepard muttered to himself.

"You're thinking it's the Reapers that caused the Rachni War?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah," Shepard distractedly said. His mind buzzed at the possibilities and scenarios.

"That's… surprisingly good news," Tali said. "I meant the part with the rachni helping us," she hastily added.

"The queen didn't mention the Reapers specifically?" Shepard asked.

Siris shrugged. "I can't say for sure. But she was certain that her ancestors were forced into war against their will. Her people aren't naturally aggressive. If they made war, it was not of their own doing."

Shepard nodded and checked the time. "Thank you for delivering that message. I'm glad she's doing well."

"Be well, Agent Shepard," Siris said. She bowed respectfully again. "You will not see me again."

"We'll see," Shepard replied. After she left, he turned to his squad and issued his orders before they could speak. "We're leaving. Finish up here and board the Normandy. Report to the Briefing Room. Joker, get to the helm. We need to hurry."

They all complied with his directions and quickly entered the frigate, though Mordin looked reluctant. He looked like he was on the verge of firing off dozens of questions within a minute.

Half an hour later, the Normandy finally took to the sky and eventually flew into the vast empty space beyond Illium.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System**_

"_Coordinates punched in. ETA: Two days, five hours. Let's go find us a Collector ship,"_ Joker said from the cockpit.

Nodding in satisfaction, Shepard stepped away from the galaxy map and toward the Briefing Room where his squad was waiting. Once there, he strode up to the head of the table and sat down. "Listen up. Cerberus has found a disabled Collector ship."

A round of surprised mutterings filled the room as everyone assimilated that bombshell.

Shepard raised his hands for silence. "Evidently, a turian patrol managed to do it, before they were wiped out."

"Wait," Garrus interrupted. "You said a turian **patrol** stopped a Collector ship?"

"It gets better," Shepard said. "The hull is supposed to be intact as well."

"This is a trap," Garrus replied instantly.

"Probably," Shepard agreed whole-heartedly.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Jack called out. "If this is a trap, what are we doing? We're not going, are we?"

"We have to," Miranda said. "We don't know enough about the Collectors. If we can access their ship, we might find out everything we need to know on how to fight them."

"Fuck you. This won't help us if we get ourselves killed," Jack argued.

"We have no choice. We can't just keep flying around forever. If we have to take this fight to them, we need something to go on," Miranda countered hotly.

"Enough!" Shepard ordered, raising his voice above the din. "We're doing this, trap or no," he resolutely stated with a look that brooked no argument. "Either they know we need information or they're simply presenting a target of opportunity, doesn't matter." He looked around the room to ensure he had everyone's undivided attention. "That ship might have everything we need, so we can't ignore this. Our mission: Infiltrate the Collector vessel, locate the bridge or whatever they store their databases and establish an uplink with EDI so she can get the data we want or need. And then, escape."

"Oh, good. And here, I was worried things were going to be complicated," Kasumi commented with a touch of humor.

"Just board their ship, steal their data, and run," Garrus summed up.

"No way it's going to be that fucking easy," Jack said.

Shepard shrugged. "You said you were a pirate once, so this should be easy for you."

"Fuck you too," Jack retorted. She didn't argue further, however.

"Is this wise?" Thane asked. "I understand that the Normandy's weapons are currently not functioning. Should the Collectors attack, we would be almost defenseless."

"I'll get to that in a moment. Time to go over the details then," Shepard said when everyone quieted down. "Because this is trap, I won't risk the entire squad to fetch the data. I'm taking our heaviest hitters in. Hopefully, we'll blow through whatever the Collectors have in store for us with sheer brute force." He started pointing at the chosen few. "Garrus, Grunt, Jack, and Samara. You're with me."

Garrus and Samara nodded seriously while Grunt grinned maniacally, obviously eager for some action. Jack pretended to look disinterested, though her lips curled into a slight frown. She maintained her silence, though.

Tapping on his omni-tool, Shepard accessed the hologram in the center of the table to display a metal cylindrical canister. The hologram played out, showing the canister opening to reveal a blue painted metal dodecahedron suspended within. Half of the pentagonal faces had metal rods extending away from the polyhedron.

Only some of the squad members recognized it for what it was. "A DX-57 Tactical Bomb," Miranda said with shock. "When did we get this?"

"Just now," Shepard informed. "I had Garrus and Thane make a last second run."

"What the hell is that thing?" Jack asked.

"A DX-57 bomb is a very powerful conventional explosive. It produces a blast radius over 300 meters," Miranda explained in a lecturing voice. "The advantage of a DX-57 is that it's small and portable. It's a little over a meter in length, though it weighs 70 kilos."

"Exactly," Shepard said, regaining everyone's attention. "We all know that the Normandy's weapons are offline. Not that I'm blaming you or your team, Tali," he hurriedly said to the quarian engineer. "It's something we can't help. To that end, once we retrieve the data, we're going to use one of the DX-57's and scuttle the ship."

Grunt laughed in glee. "We're going to shoot our way in and blow our way out! This is getting good!"

"Pretty excessive," Tali commented nervously.

Shepard shrugged. "We have no choice. The trap is more than just luring us in. The Normandy will be in range of the enemy ship's weapons as well. Without weapons, she'll be unable to fight back." He smiled in morbid humor. "And I really think that getting shot at is a poor way to test our new armor."

No one had any real argument against his logic and remained silent.

Miranda cleared her throat. "And the rest of us? We're to be on standby?"

"You're not that lucky," Shepard said seriously. "My team **will** establish the uplink. We're not failing in that regard, but there's a real chance that we'll be unable to arm the DX-57." He looked over at the remaining squad members. "To that end, Garrus and Thane have also secured demolition charges. If this ship is like the one on Horizon, I doubt demo charges will destroy a vessel that big. I'll settle for crippling it. At the very least, that'll give the Normandy a chance to escape."

"That's where we come in," Miranda guessed.

"My team will be going deep inside the ship," Shepard explained. He nodded at Miranda. "You'll be leading the rest of the squad to other critical areas to set the charges. Mostly likely they'll send smaller squads to fight you while the bulk of their forces engage us."

"Either destroy the ship or cripple it," Mordin simplified.

"Whatever comes first," Shepard affirmed.

"Shouldn't be **too** hard," Jacob mused.

"It gets worse," Shepard countered.

"How much worse can we be talking here?" Jack complained.

"The Collectors have proven that they can jam our communications. There's a chance they can stop remote detonation as well."

"Which means that planting all these bombs will be useless," Garrus said in confusion.

"Unless they're set on a timer," Shepard corrected. "The moment the mission begins, the moment we leave the Normandy, all explosives are on a two-hour countdown."

"Just two hours?" Thane asked.

Shepard nodded. "If we're still on the Collector ship by then, something has gone horribly, **horribly**, wrong."

Everyone shuffled in their seats.

"There are the stakes. Does anyone have any questions?"

"When will the guns be up?" Jacob asked.

Tali shook her head. "Some of the components require my staff and I to go into the maintenance shafts replace the nessessary components. A week at the earliest, but realistically, I'm expecting the upgrades to be done in two."

"We don't know how long the Collector ship will be there. For all we know, we might not get there in time and the ship will be gone. That's why we're doing this now," Shepard explained. "We **need** this data."

No one spoke up.

"All right, dismissed. Get some sleep," Shepard ordered. As everyone filed out of the room, he laid on hand on Miranda's hand before she could get up and leave. Both of them nearly flinched at the contact. "I need a word. Go over a few details," he said. It was only half of the truth.

Miranda nodded stiffly and sat back down. A few people straggled at the doorway, namely Garrus, Jacob, Tali, and Kasumi. Shepard's stare got them moving again.

After everyone left and the door closed, Shepard rubbed his eyes tiredly and fidgeted in agitation. Miranda barely looked any better. "We should talk," he invited.

"Yes, I think we should," she readily agreed.

After that announcement, they lapsed into silence. Both were reluctant to start first. They shot furtive glances at each other when they weren't avoiding eye contact.

Miranda broke the stalemate first. "About what happened earlier tonight…"

"Yeah. That was… um…" He forced himself to look back up to meet her eyes.

She flushed a bit. "Yes. That was…" she trailed off.

Shepard swallowed the lump in throat and nodded. He could think several words to describe their kiss. Part of him thought it was electrifying, exciting, exhilarating. Another part of him was much more self-recriminating when his thoughts turned to Ashley: He was a jerk, an asshole, a bastard. "We should probably talk about it later?" he suggested. "After we clear our heads?"

"Good idea. We have a mission. We can't afford to be distracted."

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Look, are **we** alright? I can get past this if you're willing to."

"We're fine," she assured. "After the mission, we'll sit down and talk about this like rational adults."

"Okay," Shepard repeated. He chuckled a bit when some of the awkwardness between them vanished. "Glad we cleared that up."

Miranda smiled in response. "It was just… unexpected, that's all."

"'Unexpected', you say." He shook his head. "I'm not sure that's how I would describe it, but I'm glad we're able or… going to be able to work through it. I don't think we were very discreet about our dilemma."

She nodded in agreement. "I just hope the rest of the crew doesn't catch wind of this. The last thing we need are rumors spreading through the ship."

"Right. So…" he trailed off, unsure where to go next.

"Down to business, Shepard."

"Business is good. I can talk business," Shepard agreed before hesitating for a heartbeat. "Miranda," he finished. Using her given name felt comfortable again, familiar, though he had to mind his thoughts before they started travelling down avenues that were **too** familiar. "You said that Cerberus is aware that the Collectors use only one kind of ship to go through the Omega-4 relay? That cruiser?"

"Yes. Whether or not it's the same ship we encountered on Horizon is something we don't know, however."

"Same ship or not, they're still similar, right? So let's pull up the scans from the one on Horizon and find out where the data cache might be and where are the best places to plant the demo charges."

She nodded approvingly. "Good idea."

The hologram at the center of the table changed to the scans of the Collector cruiser from Horizon.

Miranda started pointing out her observations while Shepard studied the image intently. "I think there's an entry point we can use here…"

**-oOo-**

An hour later, Shepard entered the Armory completely exhausted. With two days of hard travelling ahead of them, sleep beckoned. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Jacob, Garrus, Tali, and surprisingly, Kasumi were huddled around and talking. They stopped immediately when he appeared. "Something wrong?"

"No," Tali said quickly. "Just talking."

"Is there something going on between you and Miranda?" Kasumi boldly asked. "I may be new, but I thought I sensed something going on." She pointed at others. "They wanted to know what was going on too."

"No we don't!" Jacob denied immediately.

"There's nothing wrong," Shepard answered quickly before Garrus and Tail could voice their protests. "I don't know what you could be talking about."

Kasumi shrugged. "I just thought I felt a weird vibe."

Shepard turned around at the sound of footsteps behind him. "Miranda? Is there something wrong?"

She raised an elegant eyebrow at the question and glanced at the other occupants in the Armory. "No. Nothing that I can recall."

"You see?" Shepard said. "Just your imaginations."

Miranda sighed. "Really, don't any of you have anything better to do than gossip?" she criticized before heading toward the CIC and presumably, her office. "Good night," she called out.

"Night," Shepard echoed. He turned to the others and chuckled at their bewildered expressions. "Get some sleep. We're gonna need to be well rested." With that said, he left for his cabin.

**-oOo-**

Despite his exhaustion, sleep eluded Shepard. After only a few hours, he rolled out of his comfortable bed and proceeded to get ready for the day. With the knowledge that he and the others were about to encounter the Collectors again soon, he grabbed a quick breakfast and made his way to the Armory to run maintenance checks on his weaponry. He was a bit surprised to see that he wasn't the only member of his squad that was still awake.

"You're a light sleeper," Shepard commented as a greeting. He walked over to his locker and started gathering his weapons.

Garrus didn't say anything. He continued running diagnostics on his sniper rifle.

"Something bothering you?" Shepard asked with concern.

"I… I didn't sleep," Garrus answered shortly, before remembering who he was talking to. "Well," he added hastily.

Sighing, Shepard placed his armaments on the table across from his friend. "Sidonis? Or your team?"

He didn't answer, though he started punching the terminal keys a little harder than necessary.

Shepard felt like kicking himself. Or better yet, picking up one his guns and shooting himself. He was so preoccupied with the mission that he hadn't given enough consideration to how Garrus was holding himself up. The fact that he didn't complain and continued his duties despite the events on Omega was a testimony to his strength and their friendship. To have survived and fought as well as he did on Omega meant that he had to have been close to the other members of his mercenary squad. In an environment like that, trust was everything. Now he was forced to turn his back on them to help Shepard. In the human's eyes, it was a lot to ask for. Almost too much. "Have you slept at all?"

"A little. Mission is on my mind right now. You didn't get too much sleep either, it seems," Garrus tried to deflect.

He was dissuaded though. "Since you joined me?"

"I'm fine, Shepard."

"You didn't answer my question."

Garrus made a sound of annoyance and impatience and turned away from his work. "You were always a persistent bastard."

"Maybe that's why I'm still alive," Shepard grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Now, how much do you sleep?"

"Chakwas gives me something to help me sleep. I don't use it when we're about to go on missions, though," he confessed. He rubbed his face tiredly, haggardly. "I keep seeing their faces. All of them. Even Sidonis."

There wasn't anything Shepard could say. He just there and listened, hoping that it would be enough.

Garrus picked up on his reticence, though he interpreted it incorrectly. "You're not going to tell me that I shouldn't kill Sidonis." It sounded like a cross between a question and a demand.

"For now, let's focus on this mission. Getting the data is one thing, but finding something useful is another. We'll have some time while we sort out the relevant intel." Shepard licked his lips before speaking again. "There's nothing redeeming about killing a man in cold blood," he eventually said. "That's my opinion though. This was your squad. I don't have the right to stop you, but…"

"But what?" Garrus nearly growled, but kept his temper in check.

"I don't want anything happening you."

"I'll live with the consequences."

"That's the problem," Shepard pointed out. "I'm not sure I want you to."

Both men lapsed into silence. They simply preoccupied themselves with their preparations.

**-oOo-**

Finishing his work with his weapons, Shepard left the Armory. He still felt guilty over his inability to see how much Garrus was sacrificing to help him and resolved to do what he could to help when time allowed.

He spent the much of the day in the Briefing Room with Miranda. They poured over every bit of intel Cerberus, the Alliance, or the STG intel Mordin provided on the Collector cruiser. Entry points, extractions, structural weakness, and timing were considered. They called on other members of the squad to assist occasionally. Jacob, Garrus, Kasumi and Thane walked in and out of the Briefing Room to lend their expertise and then go about their own preparations. Shepard and Miranda had stayed put and continued to plan out their respective missions, even eating lunch together. They were more comfortable with each other's presence, but something still lingered in the background. Their 'relationship' for lack of a better term was unclear, but they were functioning together again.

Near evening, Shepard stretched and yawned. He took to walking around the frigate, greeting any off or on duty crewmen. Kelly praised his ability to persuade Samara to join the team. "There is nothing more absolute than the oath of an asari justicar." She explained that she had met with Samara earlier in the day and learned a great deal about the monastic and little known group. Taking a cue from the friendly redhead, Shepard decided to finally speak with the justicar.

He stopped at the starboard Observation Room with the intent to get to know Samara. Upon entering though, he saw that Jacob had beaten him to the punch. He was sitting cross legged directly across from Samara on the floor. His eyes were closed, but blue haze had engulfed his entire body. He continued breathing evenly, appearing unaware of Shepard's presence.

Samara herself was facing Jacob and the open window. It showed a kaleidoscope of colors and energies visible in FTL speeds. She was sitting cross legged at well, but seemed much more comfortable than Jacob. She had her arms slightly held out in front of her and a small orb of dark energy was suspended right in between the palms of her hands. Wisps of the energy not a part of the core of the sphere were orbiting her creation. Despite having her back to him, she called out his name when he entered. "Shepard."

"Am I interrupting?" Shepard asked as he stepped deeper into the room. He saw that Samara's eyes were glowing again, exactly like how they were when she swore her oath to him.

"No. In fact, I do believe we should finish for now. You've made remarkable progress, Jacob," she praised.

Jacob took a deep breath and relaxed. The Barrier he created faded away. He groaned as he stood up, unused to sitting in that position for long periods of time. "Thanks for the help. I can't believe I missed something so obvious."

"It is obvious to the asari," Samara amended gently. "You were on the right track, however. I am glad that I was able to assist you."

"Yeah, well, Ascension never taught us to sit on the floor while we practiced. Maybe I should recommend it," he joked. "All kidding aside, you're a great teacher. I learned a lot."

Samara smiled. "You're quite welcome."

"Captain," Jacob greeted before leaving. He was shaking his legs as he walked, trying to regain feeling in them again.

"That was nice of you," Shepard commended. "He's been trying to figure out Barrier ever since I met him."

"He is an earnest young man. Events will either forge him into a great one or destroy him," she replied.

"I was wondering if we could talk a bit."

"I have spent much of the last 400 years on my own; it is nice to have so many colleagues to chat with," she said. Her entire body glowed gently as the orb she held faded away. She turned her head to smile at the Spectre.

"Long time," Shepard commented. "For a human anyway."

"Indeed. It is a significant amount of time for an asari as well," she agreed. "Forgive me. I may be a bit rusty, but if you are patient, I would love to talk."

Shepard sat down at the spot Jacob just vacated and settled himself in the same position Samara was sitting. "I understand you spoke to some of the crewmen. So what do you think of Cerberus so far?"

"I've yet to form an opinion just yet," she calmly replied. "I've only heard rumors, but learned long ago to form my own impressions. There is too much room for interpretation in the opinions of others."

Shepard frowned. "If you didn't have first-hand knowledge, why are you so willing to work for them?"

"I work for you, Shepard," she corrected. "Our methods may be different, but our goals are not."

"Is there anything you want to ask me about our mission?"

"I have sworn an oath to follow you, and you seek to destroy the Collectors. That is enough for me."

"You don't want to know why the Collectors need to be fought?" Shepard asked.

She bowed her head. "When you live by a code that compels you to harsh action, you learn the dangers of curiosity." She turned her head to see Shepard staring intently at her. "If I must kill a man because he has done wrong, do I really wish to know that he is a devoted father?"

"Ignorance is bliss," he muttered to himself.

"I have heard that saying before," she said. "It carries more wisdom than you think."

"I guess I'm just too curious for my own good then," Shepard admitted. He regarded the aloof woman in front of him. "Can I ask about the criminal you were chasing on Nos Astra?"

Her normally confident and serene eyes held a hint of sadness when he asked. "I hope you will understand if I wish to avoid this topic. It is deeply tied to my Code and beliefs." She stared at him with ancient eyes. "You might say it is personal."

"Will it impact the mission, then?" Shepard carefully asked, not wanting to offend her.

She considered the question carefully. "It will not."

Nodding, he prepared to leave when he hesitated. Sighing to himself, he decided to disclose what he heard from Elnora. "I questioned one of the Eclipse in the base when I was trying to find the name of the ship you were looking for."

Samara regarded him with an unreadable look.

"She mentioned an Ardat-Yakshi. 'Demon of the Night Winds'. All of the mercs seemed to be afraid of her." He blinked and tried to rid himself of the uncomfortable feeling he had as Samara continued staring with unblinking eyes. "I thought I should let you know that I know that much."

"Thank you for telling me," was all she said.

"I should get back to work, then." Standing up and stretching a bit, he watched as Samara briefly glowed with dark energy before her eyes changed and the orb appeared again.

"It has been my pleasure, Captain."

**-oOo-**

With less than a few hours left until they reached their destination, the entire crew was on edge. Word had passed quickly that they were about to engage to Collectors once again. Except the Normandy wasn't prepared. With the weapons offline, they couldn't shoot the ship and destroy it, even if they wanted to. If the Collectors attack, the only choice would be to run, something that didn't settle well with anyone. Instead, the plan was a daring infiltration to steal some data and then set bombs within. A slim chance of success, but such was the task they were given. Longer shifts and shorter sleeping hours became common. Those that couldn't sleep either hit the gym in the hangar or took to talking in low voices in the Common Area, speaking about anything and everything.

The Engine Room had to be sealed off. Off-duty crewmen would walk by the doors or pop in and ask how the weapons were coming along as casually as they could. Tali had reached the limit of her patience and shouted down an unfortunate and cowering Matthews before closing and locking the doors in his face, threatening to unleash Jack on anyone else 'inspecting' her progress.

Mustering his courage, Shepard used his authority to unlock the doors and entered the Engine Room quietly. Inside, Tali wasn't at her usual station, though Ken and Gabby were. He presumed that Tali was personally replacing the necessary parts to upgrade the conduits somewhere within the maintenance shafts.

"Alright, that should do it," Gabby said with relief.

"What's wrong?" Ken grumbled. "The Boss is already running us down. What other things needed work?"

"The new armor reinforcements really threw off the gravimetric profiles. But the engines are good to go. I rebalanced the Gilbourne coefficients and adjusted the anterior intakes on the second tier stabilizers," she explained. Much of the information went right over Shepard's head.

"I love it when you talk dirty," Ken said teasingly.

Gabby rolled her eyes and didn't bother dignifying him with a retort.

Ken's head snapped up when he thought of something. "Gabby, you'd say the Normandy is a she, not a he, right?"

"Of course. The Normandy's the sweetest girl there is," she agreed.

Shepard crossed his arms from the shadows and continued eavesdropping. He heard Tali walk up right beside him and mimic his actions.

"And EDI's a she. Tali's definitely a she," Ken continued.

Gabby sighed impatiently. "What are you getting at, Kenneth?"

Ken grinned lecherously. "I'm just saying I'm feeling a wee bit threatened here. A lot of female energy and I'm just one man, locked in this room."

"You're such a dick," Gabby snapped back.

He pointed a finger at her. "See! Look where your mind went! I've got to watch out for myself."

"That much is true," Tali said, revealing both her and Shepard's presence.

Ken leapt up in surprise and turned around. "Boss! Captain! Um…"

"I don't want to know. I really, really, don't want to know." She brushed past them and marched to her station. "Run the diagnostics and tell me where we're at."

"Aye, aye, ma'am!" He started typing rapidly at his terminal.

"If you're here about the weapons, I think the GARDIAN Lasers will be back online in a few hours," Tali said to Shepard irritably. "Though tomorrow seems more likely."

"I'm checking on my crew, not the weapons," he informed patiently. "We already have a plan and we're committed to it."

Tali sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a bit on edge, that's all."

"So I heard. I heard Matthews is afraid you now."

She giggled a bit as she remembered Matthews' expression.

"I'm so glad you're proud of yourself," Shepard teased.

"I'm fine. Just a lot of work, right now," she assured.

"Alright. Just be sure to get some rest too, okay?"

"Of course."

**-oOo-**

Returning to the Common Area, Shepard retrieved his dinner from Mess Sergeant Gardner. He turned to the tables and saw Thane sitting alone at the corner with his back to the wall, his eyes sweeping the room constantly.

"Evening, Thane," Shepard greeted. He sat across from the drell and began eating.

"Good evening," he cordially returned.

They ate in silence for a while. Shepard observed the room to note that the crew that was present was unusually subdued.

Every minute they approached their destination was every minute everyone became more and more quiet. Instead, they focused on their duties with intense commitment. Unlike Horizon, the Normandy herself would be placed in jeopardy and with it, the crew. They all prepared themselves for whatever might happen as they've been trained.

After another minute, Shepard returned his attention to the man in front of him. "If you don't mind me saying, you're not like other assassins I've fought," he commented quietly.

Thane had ghost of a smile. "So I've been told."

"You seem more like a monk," he continued.

"In my experience, those who are truly dangerous don't act like they are. The hanar trained my body for this role since I was six years old."

"Wait, you've been killing since you were six?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Thane said. "I didn't make my first kill until I was 12. They were training me. I was not to be used and thrown away. I was an investment."

Shepard frowned. "I think our definition of 'investment' differs here."

"Perhaps I'm giving you the wrong idea," he amended. "They valued me. Yes, as a resource. But also as a person." He bowed his head. "They… regretted their need for me."

Nodding in acceptance, Shepard continued to frown, though this time in confusion. "I'm a little surprised that the hanar would train you to be an assassin. I mean, they're excessively polite, almost single-mindedly worship the Protheans…"

Thane shrugged. "Every species trains assassins. The hanar are only unusual in that they need other species to do the killing for them." He paused to consume some of his dinner. "They have a strong grip and natural toxins. But have you ever seen one move quickly outside of water or fire a gun?"

"The drell live on the hanar homeworld, don't they?"

"Yes. I know many think the hanar difficult to understand. It's just that they're very formal with those they don't know." He smiled in remembrance. "We know them quite well. If you ever get close enough to a hanar that they'll tell you their Soul Name, you would find them warm."

"I thought hanar talk using bioluminescence. That's more of an obstacle than their politeness," Shepard pointed out.

"True." He tapped the side of his head. "Many drell have had their eyes genetically modified to perceive their higher frequency flashes."

"Did you?"

"Yes. I can't tell the difference between a dark red and black, but I can see ultraviolet light as a silver color."

"Huh," was all Shepard could say. "And Soul Names? I imagine that if the hanar were willing to train you to be an assassin, you would be close to some of them."

"You would be correct. Most of my commissions were for the hanar. I grew close to my regular contacts."

He and Shepard finished their dinners. Picking up their trays and dropping it off with Rupert, they walked toward the Life Support Plant.

"Soul Names tend to be poetic," he continued. "A hanar known for its cynicism might take a name that means "Illuminates the Folly of the Dancers."

"Long name."

"For those that speak aloud using sounds, yes, but it is quite normal for the hanar given their preferred method of speech."

Both men sat down at the table provided for Thane. "The hanar used your talents frequently?" Shepard asked.

He nodded. "You might say that I am their military might. If pirates or slavers attacked any hanar colonies, I am contracted with finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice."

"I suppose that makes sense," Shepard said. "But you were six when you were trained. Why did your parents agree to that?"

"The agreement was made under the Compact. It was an honor for our family."

"The Compact?"

"We live on the hanar homeworld because they rescued us," he started to say before bowing to head. "Some of us – from extinction. We owe them our lives. That is the Compact."

Shepard easily remembered the drell species introduction into Citadel space since it was, more or less, recent history. It had only happened a little more than a century ago. The hanar used hundreds of ships to transport thousands of drell from the overpopulated and dying world of Rakhana. As it stands, drell only number in the hundreds of thousands, making them the most endangered sapient species in Citadel space, more so than the quarians. "So what exactly are the terms of the Compact?"

"There are many things the hanar can't do, even with mechanical aid. They ask drell to assist them," he patiently explained.

"They just ask, right?" Shepard clarified. "You can refuse if you want?"

"We're not slaves, if that's what you're worried about," he assured. "Anyone can refuse to serve. Few do. We owe our existence to the hanar. We are proud to repay the debt," he stated proudly.

"So… you becoming an assassin? It's an honor for you?"

"Indeed it is."

Shepard leaned back in his chair, still curious about the perplexing nature Thane presented himself. "From your dossier, you're a freelance assassin now. If you don't work for the hanar, then something changed."

"I was asleep for a long time, yes. I paid no attention to what my body was asked to do. But then –" All of a sudden, Thane sat up straight. His eyes appeared intently focused on something that Shepard couldn't see. He began talking rapidly. /"Laser dot trembles on his skull. One finger-twitch, he dies. Then the smell of spice on the spring wind. Sunset-colored eyes defiant in the scope. The laser dances away."/ He closed his eyes and took a breath. "My apologies. Drell slip into memories so easily."

Shepard looked bewildered at the strange behavior. Before he could question it, EDI contacted him.

"Captain. We are approximately two hours away from the location of the Collector ship the Illusive Man provided for us."

"Understood, EDI. Bring us up to battle stations," he ordered. "Engage stealth systems and order the ground teams to report to the hangar in two hours."

"Understood, Captain," EDI acknowledged. Her voice echoed throughout the ship. "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man their battle stations."

Loud thumping noises could be heard outside Thane's room as the entire crew of the Normandy rushed to the duty stations.

Shepard turned to Thane. "We should get ready."

"Yes. I would prefer if we talk later as well. I've wasted too much of your time," he said.

"It was my time to waste," Shepard said easily. "I'll see you at the shuttle in two hours."

"IES Stealth Systems are engaged, Captain. We are running silent," EDI reported.

"Thanks, EDI." He stood up and quickly made his way to his cabin to retrieve his armor.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System, Normandy SR-2**_

The Normandy flew at a steady pace. As reported, the pseudo-organic cruiser was there. It simply floated, apparently dead in space as the Normandy approached from its stern.

All too soon, she flew along the broadside of the inactive vessel. The size difference was clear. It looked as if the Collector cruiser would come alive and consume the stealth frigate whole. Approaching the first infiltration zone, a floodlight was activated, shining light on the opposing ship. The enemy vessel didn't react at all.

Coming to a stop, just slightly past the midline of the Collector vessel, the Normandy bravely held her position against the monstrous size of her opponent.

**-oOo-**

Shepard was the first to enter the hangar and promptly made his way to Kodiak.

At the shuttle, Hawthorne and Goldstein were standing nearby.

"The Captain has put together an impressive team. I've never worked with so many aliens before," Hawthorne admitted.

"They're as tough as an army. We might just pull this off," Goldstein said optimistically. She looked past Hawthorne's shoulder and snapped off a salute. Hawthorne followed her example moments later.

After saluting them back, Shepard waited for the others to arrive.

"_We're at OP-1, Captain,"_ Joker reported.

"Very low emissions. Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold," EDI informed.

"_This thing is massive. How the hell did the turians take it out?" _Joker breathed out.

"**If** they even disabled it at all," Miranda said, announcing her presence. Jacob and Garrus were trailing behind her. "What else can you detect, EDI?"

"LADAR scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline," she reported.

"And any signs of the turian patrol?" Shepard pressed. "Debris? Signs of battle? Anything at all?"

"There are signs of at least six other ships nearby, Captain. All are destroyed."

"And the Collector cruiser has no visible signs of damage?" Shepard asked.

"None that I can detect."

"Six ships and no visible damage..." Miranda muttered.

"This is getting better and better," Jack grumbled as she approached the shuttle. The rest of the squad had finally reached the hangar.

"Yeah. Exciting, isn't it?" Grunt said. His attitude was a definite counterpoint to Jack's.

"Grunt, you have the DX-57?" Shepard asked.

The krogan turned around to show he was carrying a long bag on his back. He was also equipped with a missile launcher taken from the Eclipse base back on Illium. It was an inferior model compared to the Cerberus modified version Jacob was packing, but it was better than nothing.

"Your team have the demo charges?" Shepard asked Miranda.

She nodded. "We're ready," she assured.

He turned to address the squad as a whole. "Right. Remember: My team is 'Spectre'; Miranda's is 'Cerberus'. The moment the shuttle leaves the Normandy, the two hour mark begins." He engaged his omni-tool. "Alright, everyone. Sync your chronos." Everyone turned on their omni-tools and waited as Shepard sent out the commands from his omni-tool. "Done." He turned to Miranda, his face serious. "Remember what we talked about. If I'm not back within the two hour limit, you know what to do."

She took a breath to steady her nerves. "Of course. Save the ship."

Shepard grinned. "No, you come get me."

Miranda blinked before she realized he wasn't serious. "And risk the ship? I think not. She's very expensive. Certainly costs more than you," she retorted.

The assembled crew chuckled and felt a bit of the tension drop a bit.

Shepard nodded to everyone. "Alright. Let's go."

**-oOo-**

Author's Notes:

Dodecahedron is any polyhedron with twelve flat faces, usually composed of 12 regular pentagonal faces. It is one of the five platonic solids in geometry.

DX-57 was something I took from **Soldier**, starring Kurt Russell. Not a bad movie, per se, but I needed something to show how you can get a big explosion with something you can carry. Obviously, I'm not going for the whole bang shown in the movie. For those savvy enough to figure it out, you probably know that this isn't the only time I'm introducing this particular explosive.

As I was writing this chapter, it started getting obscenely long. To that end, I'm breaking it up. Preparation is about mental condition just as it is physical. Everyone is on edge with the thought of the Collectors and the majority of the squad has their minds on their "loyalty missions". This was something I couldn't ignore writing.

Next chapter, "Engagement" will be coming very soon.

I hope that I explained the Thanix Cannon well. It made no sense that you could acquire it from Garrus BEFORE you boarded the Collector ship. If that was the case, why not shoot the crap out of it instead of running away? One less problem during the suicide mission, right?

Credit goes to **nitefyre410** for helping me remember the **Firefly** reference. See if you can't spot it.

**EDIT: **After looking at a video, there were ships around the cruiser. I changed the story a bit to reflect that. Thanks to **Lord Europe** and **BiowareFan** for pointing that out.


	28. The Collector Ship: Engagement

_**Location: Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System, Disabled Collector Ship**_

The Kodiak moved slowly along the length of the cruiser, moving farther away from the Normandy and closer to its first destination. Floodlights from both the shuttle and the frigate lit up the large ship as they searched for the predicted entrance.

Inside the dropship, the assembled squad members were mentally preparing themselves for anything they could possibly conceive. They were also extremely aware of the two dozen small bombs and one large one they carried were active and counting down.

**-oOo-**

_**Mission: Investigate the Collector Ship**_

_A Collector vessel has been found floating adrift, evidently damaged by a turian patrol. This is a rare chance to retrieve intelligence about the Collectors._

_-Ingress and reconnoiter the Collector ship and look for useful information_

_-'Spectre' team: Set the DX-57 Tactical Bomb deep within the vessel to scuttle the ship_

_-'Cerberus' team: Set demo charges within key areas to disable the ship should DX-57 fail to detonate_

_-Egress back to the Normandy within 2 hours_

**-oOo-**

_**Spectre Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 2 hours**_

"_Approaching OP-1. Stand by,"_ Goldstein reported.

Shepard and his team gripped their weapons in anticipation and prepared to secure their landing zone. Moments later, they felt the shuttle lurch slightly as it landed inside the enemy vessel.

"_Touchdown!" _Hawthorne called out.

"_Go!"_ Shepard ordered. He and Garrus ran out of the shuttle, sweeping the immediate area while Jack and Samara pushed a little further to see if anyone was coming down the corridor.

"_LZ is clear,"_ Shepard said. He turned back to the shuttle and nodded.

Grunt lumbered out of the shuttle. He shifted the heavy bomb on his back and held his M-8 ready.

"_Alright. Cerberus team, we have 1 hour 58 minutes. Get to work," _Shepard ordered.

"_Good luck, Shepard,"_ Miranda said before the doors closed and the shuttle took off.

"_Kodiak heading for OP-2. Good hunting, Spectre team,"_ Hawthorne said as he pulled out.

"_I have never seen a ship like this before," _Samara confessed as she watched the surrounding area warily.

"_Love what they've done with the place," _Garrus said sarcastically.

"_Looks like a giant insect hive," _Jack observed.

"_Stay frosty everyone. Horizon was one thing, but this is another. We're on __**their**__ turf now. Let's move out." _Shepard took point and led his team deeper inside. The lack of atmosphere and artificial gravity was expected with the shipwide power loss, but it was the silence that remained that felt foreboding.

The team observed everything critically. Parts of walls were metal; others were decidedly biological, warm and moist. The vessel was incredibly unique, unlike like any other ship in known space. The Spectre team moved slowly, aware of their time limit, but not willing run headlong into anything nasty. The organic components of the ceiling dripped with a viscous liquid and the organic components of the floor pulsed unevenly and unnervingly as they continued deeper in.

Everyone was on edge. They peered around corners carefully, fully expecting something leap out at them, only to see nothing at all. The sounds of their footfalls seemed unnaturally loud, as if it echoed through the entire ship. Light was provided from some silvery biological sacs, though it appeared to create shadows rather than illuminate them. The darkness created an element of claustrophobia compounded by the heavy atmosphere. The moist organic parts of the ship made the humid air feel uncomfortably dense, almost feeling like it was pressing down on the small group.

After several tense minutes of cautious exploration through the alien ship, the stillness was broken with EDI's sudden report. _"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with the Collector databanks. Uploading to your omni-tool now."_

"_Son of a bitch!" _Jack cursed in surprise.

Shepard took a deep breath to calm himself down. _"Anything else of note you can tell about this ship?"_ he asked as evenly as he could without snapping at the AI.

"_I have analyzed the ship's EM signature. It is the same vessel you encountered on Horizon."_

"_Interesting," _Shepard mused.

"_The missing colonists might be aboard," _Garrus said.

"_If they're still alive,"_ Jack pessimistically replied.

No one had any argument against her.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System, Normandy SR-2**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 51 minutes**_

"Are you sure it's the same ship from Horizon?" Joker asked for the umpteenth time.

"My calculations are accurate, Mr. Moreau. This is the same vessel," EDI insisted matter-of-factly.

There was something that was bothering him. For once, it wasn't the ever present AI floating at his elbow, but rather what it said.

"What's wrong?" Hadley asked nearby from the bridge.

"I don't know," he mumbled. "It just seems hinky."

Matthews leaned back in his seat to see down the bridge and at the cockpit. "What does it matter? So it's the same ship, so what? The defense towers softened it up for the turians and they crippled it."

"Yeah, the defense towers 'softened' a ship by **not **penetrating its kinetic barriers before it took off, for a turian patrol that disabled a ship without destroying the hull. And instead of going back through the Omega-4 Relay for repairs after Horizon, they decide to pick a fight with the turians instead of humans just to shake things up, while we were relaxing on Illium for a week," Joker listed off sarcastically. "Something isn't right and it isn't the fact that this smells like a setup."

"What are you thinking?" Hadley asked.

"Do you guys think it's strange that the same ship we fought on Horizon is right here? Seriously, why not use another ship?"

Hadley shrugged and jerked his thumb at Matthews. "Maybe to let us assume we tore them a new one on Horizon?"

"Or maybe…" Joker said before trailing off in thought. After a few minutes, he turned to EDI. "Run through the databases of the SSV Normandy. Everything we scanned on the ship that attacked us and then match it against this ship. I got a bad feeling here."

"You think this is the same ship that attacked you two years ago?" Matthews skeptically asked.

Joker just stared intently at the monitors in front of him as EDI began her scan.

**-oOo-**

_**Location: Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System, Disabled Collector Ship**_

_**Spectre Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 49 minutes**_

"_Cerberus team to Spectre Team. We've successfully infiltrated OP-2 and are laying demo charges now,"_ Miranda reported.

"_Understood, Cerberus. EDI might've gotten an idea where we're supposed to go. We're moving now," _Shepard responded. He led the way, going a little quicker, but paused when he spotted a pod ahead. It was open and laying on its side. It was empty. _"Look."_

"_Here too," _Grunt called out.

Shepard turned to see a few more also cast aside and empty.

"_All of them are empty," _Garrus said, voicing Shepard's thoughts.

"_Being trapped like this…"_ Jack said. _"I can't believe it, but I'm thinking prison was better."_

"_It's small, like my tank. Bet they begged for mercy,"_ Grunt replied. _"Who knows what the hell the bugs want. Or would do."_

"_I think I have the answer to that question,"_ Samara said. _"Over here." _She was standing before a large batch of human bodies, all of which were dead.

"_Nasty,"_ Jack commented as she approached.

"_What a mess,"_ Grunt added. _"Lots of dead meat."_

Garrus took a look around. _"Over there. More." _He pointed out to another pile of corpses further on._ "This can't be a good sign…"_

Samara knelt down to inspect the bodies more closely. _"Some of them are very recent. Others have been left here for weeks, at least."_

"_Why would the Collectors leave a pile of bodies lying around?" _Jack wondered.

"_Testing,"_ Grunt said immediately. _"Like Okeer did. These weren't worthy and were discarded."_

Shepard shook his head and turned away, not wanting to speculate as to what happened and why. _"EDI, do you detect any life signs on board? Human and otherwise?"_

"_I am afraid not."_

"_I don't think this will be a rescue mission, Shepard,"_ Garrus said. _"We should focus on our objectives."_

It was a cold thing to say, but Shepard knew he was just being realistic. Just because EDI couldn't detect anything didn't mean there wasn't danger. Looking around, he spotted a console at the end of the corridor. _"Over there. Something's still working."_

Everyone approached the lit terminal. Next to it was a pod similar to the others they've seen, but instead of a human, like they expected, a dead Collector was inside. Judging from the large size and thick armor, it was a Collector Guardian.

"_Whoa. Are these bastards experimenting on one their own?"_ Jack asked as she peered into the pod.

"_Carving into their own… what do you think they're looking for_?" Grunt asked.

Shepard walked up to the glowing terminal and used his omni-tool to interface with it. _"EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they're up to."_

"_Data received. Analyzing."_

The group looked around the area they were in while EDI was working. There were several more pods, placed carelessly around the room. Only three were attached to the terminal EDI was interfacing with and only one was 'occupied'.

Checking his chrono, Shepard saw that there was an hour and 43 minutes left on the clock.

Jack wandered ahead and spotted something on the ground buried in some debris. As she bent over to pick it up, EDI chimed in with her results.

"_The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity,"_ EDI reported.

"_Are they looking for similarities or something?" _Shepard asked.

"_I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable."_

Shepard activated his omni-tool as EDI transmitted her findings. A display of an alien DNA strand was shown.

"_A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."_

"_My god…" _Shepard breathed out. His mind tried to wrap around the implications. The shock was almost as bad as learning about the existence of the Reapers and his meeting with Sovereign. _"The Protheans weren't harvested. They're working for the Reapers now."_

"_Wait, you're saying that the Reapers turned them into some kind fucked-up bug things?"_ Jack asked. She walked back to the group carrying an intact Collector Assault Rifle. Her omni-tool was on and scanning the abnormal weapon.

"_Slaves,"_ Garrus muttered. _"But why? That AI on Ilos __said the Reapers wiped them all out. Harvested them. Why would they need them as slaves?"_

"_They are no longer Protheans. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs," _EDI said.

"_Maybe the Reapers harvested a few trillion and kept the rest as slaves, just like the Keepers,"_ Shepard theorized. He looked down on the dead Collector Guardian. _"But you'd think somebody would've picked up on this."_

"_No one has had an opportunity to study a Collector genetic code in this detail," _EDI reminded. _"I have already matched two thousand alleles to recorded fragments. This Collector likely descends from a Prothean colony in the Styx Theta Cluster."_

"_Not exactly how I imagined what a Prothean looked like,"_ Garrus commented.

"_There are signs of extreme alteration. Three fewer chromosomes. Reduced heterochromatin structure. Elimination of superfluous 'junk' sequences,"_ she listed off.

"_So, we either die and get harvested or live as some kind of mutated slave," _Shepard summed up in disgust. _"At this point, killing a Collector seems like a mercy."_

"_No species should have to suffer through this," _Samara agreed wholeheartedly.

"_So we're still blowing this place?"_ Grunt asked impatiently. _"We need to give these bastards a lesson."_

"_Whatever they used to be, the Collectors work for the Reapers now. And we still have to stop them,"_ Shepard affirmed. _"EDI, forward everything you've learned to Cerberus team. The rest of you, let's find what we need and get the hell out of here. Move out."_

**-oOo-**

_**Cerberus Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 39 minutes**_

"_I don't believe it," _Miranda whispered in disbelief.

"_We've been fighting the Protheans the entire time?" _Jacob said in shock.

"_So much to process! Learned about the continued existence of three extinct species in one week!"_ Mordin excitedly said. His rapid breathing matched his rapid speech as he thought about all the possibilities of research, of how much he could learn. _"Completely unexpected. Thought I joined to help fight against Collectors. But to learn so much!"_

"_At least someone is excited to be here,"_ Tali mumbled as she placed a charge near a conduit.

"_I understand your enthusiasm, Professor," _Thane interjected before Mordin could continue voicing his thoughts. _"But we are on something of a schedule."_

"_Krios is right,"_ Miranda concurred. She turned to the newest recruit. _"You're sure you know how to arm the charges, Goto?" _

"_Of course,"_ Kasumi replied confidently. _"And I thought I asked you to call me 'Kasumi'?"_

"_Let's just hurry, __**Kasumi**__," _Miranda said_._ She attached a charge to a support structure on the wall and activated it._ "We haven't run into trouble yet, but it's only a matter of time."_

"_We haven't run into anything,"_ Jacob reminded. _"And that's what's worrying me. There's no sign of any of the crew here."_ Setting another demo charge himself, he turned to the thief. _"So how do __**you**__ know how to handle explosives?"_

"_You sound surprised,"_ Kasumi teased.

"_I just thought that you'd be all stealthy and stuff. Explosions tend to be… y'know, loud,"_ Jacob reasoned.

"_Which make them excellent diversions,"_ she pointed out. _"Also, some vaults tend to be stubborn. Explosives can usually solve __that."_

"_Nice,"_ Jacob chuckled.

"_Cerberus team, this is Spectre team. Status?"_

"_Miranda here. We've placed demo charges near the stern, close to the main propulsion system. We're moving forward toward the midline soon."_

"_Alright. EDI's identified what might be what we're looking for. We're heading there now. Prepare yourselves."_

"_You too, Shepard. Cerberus team, out."_

"_Keelah… Everyone, get over here! You __**have**__ to see this!"_

Miranda had a bad feeling as she ran toward Tali and whatever she discovered.

**-oOo-**

_**Spectre Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 35 minutes**_

_Goddamn…_

That was the only word floating through Shepard's head as he gazed at the room they were in. Cargo hold didn't seem like the appropriate term. Hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million, pods were lining the chamber they had entered.

"_Spectre team! We found something. You're not going to believe this,"_ Miranda said.

"_I think I will," _Shepard said as he tried to absorb the scope of the Collector's ambitions.

"_Holy shit…" _Jack whispered.

"_This is… big,"_ Grunt uttered in agreement.

"_We found some sort of giant storage facility. Inside–"_

"_- Is a __**lot**__ of pods. As far as the eye can see,"_ Shepard finished.

"_You found another?"_

"_Either __that or you're at the other end of the same room we're in. Way, way at the other end."_

"_They could take every human in the Terminus and not have enough to fill this room," _Samara said, her normally peaceful voice struck with awe as she started to understand the breath of the Collector's crimes.

"_Earth,"_ Jacob whispered in realization. _"They're going to hit Earth."_

"_You guys don't kid around,"_ Kasumi said, her voice unusually serious, even a bit somber, for once. _"This is practically evidence of a declaration of war__."_

"_Not if we stop them. Let's get to work. Cerberus team, finish setting the charges and we'll get the DX-57 ready," _Shepard ordered over the radio. _"Spectre team, out."_

Shepard's team trekked deeper inside, their weapons ready. But their weariness of the gravity of each new revelation and the deadly quiet of their surroundings continued to build. The stillness remained constant, a steady pressure on their nerves as they pushed on.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, an odd thought popped into Shepard's mind, prompting him to physically shake his head to refocus.

Garrus caught the motion. _"What?"_

"_It's nothing,"_ Shepard replied.

"_You sure?"_

Shepard snorted to himself. _"I was thinking of the hanar for some reason. The 'Enkindlers'. If they ever learned what __**really**__ happened to the Protheans…"_

Garrus chuckled appreciatively. _"That'll be a nightmare to deal with."_

They fell silent, moving along the carved out, seemingly twisting walkway toward their objective.

Jack started lagging behind, prompting Grunt to turn around and shout at her. _"What the hell are you doing? You're falling behind!"_

"_I'm just checking this thing out," _Jack retorted. The Collector rifle was still in her hands. A big chunk was now missing from the foregrip, exposing the inner workings of the weapon. Despite the organic skin covering the outside, there was a mechanical component as well. She was scanning that part with her omni-tool while attempting to tear more of the outer cover off.

"_We need to hurry, Jack,"_ Shepard said. _"One hour, 23 minutes left."_

"_I'm coming, Boss Man. Just wait a sec." _After physically tearing another piece off the foregrip and another off the grip, she jogged up to the rest of the team. Her omni-tool continued to scan the rifle.

Making a mental note to ask what she's doing later, Shepard led the way again. His eyes kept glancing at the massive amount of pods lining the walls, the ceiling, and the large drop far below the walkway they were traversing.

"_Fuck," _Jack said as she stared at the room. _"How many do you think are in there?"_

"_Too many,"_ Shepard said in a low tone.

"_I detect no signs of life in the pods,"_ EDI said.

"_You said you didn't detect any life at all," _Garrus reminded pointedly. _"It's like this entire ship is dead."_

"_It is probable that the occupants within expired when the ship lost primary power."_

"_No way it's that easy,"_ Grunt argued.

"_We'll find out soon enough," _Shepard said with finality.

"_Besides that test subject, I don't see anything else. No other Collector bodies, no signs of the crew…"_ Garrus pointed out. He took a look at the pods scattered around and saw that they were empty. _"No other humans…"_

"_I concur,"_ Samara said. _"Something is wrong."_

"_Captain, Joker here!"_

"_What is it, Joker?"_ Shepard asked. He stopped at a rise and saw a hexagonal platform ahead.

"_You gotta hear this! On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship!"_ he rapidly said.

EDI took over the explanations. _"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match."_

Shepard narrowed his eyes. _"The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence."_

"_Something __**really**__ doesn't up, Captain. Watch your back,"_ Joker warned.

"_They attack Horizon first because Ashley is there and now we got this…" _Shepard said aloud.

"_They're really after you with a vengeance,"_ Garrus commented.

"_Come on. It looks like we finally found the control panel EDI told us about,"_ Shepard ordered. He pointed at the pipes surrounding a metal hexagonal platform overlooking the massive storage room of pods. Three consoles were situated at the center, angled from each other and running parallel to one of the sides of the hexagonal dais. The center console was lit with a soft green light. Five hexagonal shapes were displayed, with alien symbols were flashing through each of them. Their meaning was a mystery to the boarding party.

Shepard stepped up to what he guessed to be the command console and engaged his omni-tool. _"Cerberus team? EDI? I'm setting up the bridge now. Be ready."_

"_Ready, Spectre team,"_ Miranda acknowledged. _"We're almost finished and will egress to the rendezvous point soon."_

Seconds after Shepard established the link, EDI's avatar appeared on top of the console. "I am mining the data banks now," she reported.

The alien symbols changed to become something only marginally more comprehensible. At the very least, it was now a language Shepard could read, but the fast-moving data was far too technical for him to even begin to decipher.

"Data-mine in progress, Captain."

Moments after she said that, all five monitors flickered once before displaying nothing but static. EDI had also vanished.

Shepard glanced down at his omni-tool to double-check if the link was still active. _"EDI? What's going on? Are you-"_

The holographic interface glowed briefly. However, instead of EDI's familiar blue orb, an image of a Collector appeared on the console. Shepard took an involuntary step back. This Collector appeared different from the others. It was short and stout, the head was disproportionally larger than the rest of its body, and it possessed several extra appendages. Unlike the other Collectors he'd fought up to this point, this Collector didn't seem geared toward combat, but rather logistics or perhaps intelligence.

"_EDI?"_ Shepard called out again.

The radio crackled and Joker's dismayed voice was heard. _"Uh… This can't be good…"_

_Goddamn it._

The pipes around them started pumping. The cavern echoed with the sudden noise, a stark contrast to the dead silence moments ago. The floor began vibrating as the supposedly disabled ship began coming back to life.

The team raised their weapons, anticipating an attack. They swiveled their heads, looking for any signs of the enemy.

"_What the hell just happened? ! Report!"_ Shepard called out.

"_Major power surge! Everything went dark, but we're back up now," _Joker answered.

"_I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems. The engineering staff is handling the rest," _EDI said. _"This was not a malfunction. This was a trap."_

"_Did you see that?"_ Garrus suddenly asked. He was aiming his assault rifle at a ledge high above their position.

"_What?" _Grunt asked, scanning the area the turian was pointing at.

"_I saw it,"_ Samara said. _"Something moved up there."_

"_Tell us something we __**don't**__ know, EDI,"_ Shepard said as he held his HMWA ready.

"_There is someone else in the system attempting to shut down the link. Multiple incoming hostiles are now visible on my scanners," _she reported. _"They are approaching both your position, as well as Cerberus team._

"_Cerberus team, finish up and get the hell out!"_ Shepard ordered just before the platform beneath his feet started moving.

"_What the hell? !"_

"_What's going on? !_

"_Hold on!"_

The team tried to stay on their feet as the platform started floating and took them deeper into the ship. The height they were flying at ensured that getting off was not a favorable option.

"_Cerberus team, here! We're under attack!"_ Miranda reported frantically. Sounds of gunfire could be heard. _"They ambushed us, but we're able to fight them off. We're falling back to the rendezvous point!"_

"_We need a little help here, EDI,"_ Shepard stressed. He gripped one of the consoles to keep his balance.

"_I am attempting to regain control of the system. Stand by."_

The platform suddenly stopped in midair. Grunt roared as he lost balance and fell, luckily landing on his side, to prevent damaging the bomb. Garrus and Samara both knelt down and hauled him to his feet while Jack spotted the incoming platform.

"_We got company!"_ she shouted. Dropping the now useless Collector rifle, she armed her shotgun and watched as the Collectors closed in on them.

"_I must finish the download before I can override any systems,"_ EDI warned.

"_Then get it done fast, EDI. Grunt, put that bomb down! This is as good as we're gonna get!"_ Shepard ordered. _"Let's light'em up!"_

**-oOo-**

_**Cerberus Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 21 minutes**_

"_Incoming husks!"_ Jacob shouted.

Miranda chanced a look and grimaced. The Collectors continued to suppress them while the husks ran at their position in a suicidal charge. _"Mordin, Kasumi!"_

"_On it!" _Mordin shouted. A flashbang grenade and a blast of ice halted their charge, allowing him and Kasumi to use their Tempest SMGs to tear them apart.

"_Fall back! Fall back!"_ she ordered. She stood up and continued to fire on the advancing Collectors. _"Spectre team, we've completed our objective, but we're under heavy attack!"_

"_Understood, Cerberus! We've sprung the trap over here. We'll try to get back, but it might take a bit of time. Return to the Normandy, ASAP!"_ Shepard ordered.

"_Roger that!"_ Miranda acknowledged. _"Let's go, people! Back to the shuttle!"_

Miranda's team began covering each other as they started back down the hallway. The Collectors saw what they were up to and renewed their attack, hoping to stop them.

"_Hawthorne, meet us at OP-2! We're coming in hot!"_ Miranda shouted. She and Thane launched Warp as quickly as they were able, shattering the Barriers the Collectors erected to protect themselves. Jacob and Tali took advantage as best they were able, but their numbers appeared limitless.

"_Roger, ma'am! We're on our way!"_

"_They're still coming!" _Tali shouted. She peddled backward, lobbing a grenade at the Drones and husks charging at them.

Thane burst into action. The grenade temporarily halted the enemy's advance, allowing him to close the distance and mount a rapid counterattack. His twin Predators killed a Drone in his path. He gracefully leapt over the falling body, rolled on the ground to avoid a burst of gunfire from a Guardian, and hopped to his feet to rain fire on three more Collectors. His aim was perfect as the Collectors fell against his uncanny skill.

A Collector Assassin fired his Particle Beam weapon, tearing through Thane's shields. He countered with a grenade and fell back. The explosion covered his retreat.

Miranda continued to lead her team back toward the exit. Utilizing her biotics, tech, and weaponry as needed, their withdrawal seemed assured when Tali's pained scream was heard over the radio. She whirled around and saw the younger girl stagger back.

Tali had dropped her shotgun and was clutching her arm. Another group of Collectors were attacking from behind, cutting off their escape route. _"They've surrounded us!"_

"_Tali!"_ Miranda called out.

"_My shields are down!"_ Tali shouted as she tried to find cover.

One Guardian brought his weapon to bear. Without shields, Tali's light Colossus Armor would hold up against two or three shots at most.

_No!_

Miranda focused herself and tried to cast Warp. She already knew it would be too late, but failure wasn't something she tolerated. Even more so now since Shepard was counting on her.

Just before the Collector pulled the trigger, its gun was forced up, the series of shots fired erratically at the ceiling.

Miranda finished her motion, her arm thrust out and the biotic attack struck the Guardian, shattering its Barrier.

A flicker of motion and a blade was seen, jutting out of the Collector's back before it was savagely pulled out of its chest. The blade hovered in air before vanishing in a crackle of energy as the body fell limply to the ground.

Tali scrambled back and drew her pistol. Her right arm dangled painfully at her side.

Miranda ran up to her and covered her with a few bursts of fire from her assault rifle. Tali managed to hide behind a metal archway in the confusion. A quick look revealed that the engineer wasn't bleeding at least and her arm had regained some motion.

Jacob, Mordin, and Thane continued to suppress the attacking Collectors, but it was the surprise ambush that captured Miranda's attention.

Two flashes of steel were literally cutting through their ranks. Collector after Collector were falling dead from their attacker, deep cuts marking each corpse. A distortion continued to dance around them, striking down all in its way.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Miranda aimed her Pulse Rifle at the outliers away from the distortion and started firing, thinning the ranks and clearing a path.

"_Goddamn it!"_ Jacob cursed. He was on his back and trying to get his bearings again.

"_Jacob's down!"_ Tali reported.

"_Can you get him, Tali? !" _Miranda asked. Only a few more Collectors stood behind them. The blades were still cutting through the Collectors despite their best efforts to kill whatever was attacking them.

"_On it!" _Tali lurched to her feet. Her right arm was clutched tightly against her body, but she managed to cross the distance and grab Jacob and drag him behind cover. _"He's okay! The helmet protected him, but it's dented!"_

"_Son of a bitch!" _Jacob growled. He shook his head to clear his dizziness and tried to get back to his feet.

"_Kasumi, clear the fire zone!"_ Miranda ordered to the fast moving distortion.

Kasumi reappeared with a flash of electrical arcs as her cloak fell away. Her twin kodachi flashed and two more Collectors fell dead with deep gashes in their necks. Displaying even more agility than Thane, she somersaulted, leapt, and flipped out of the immediate reach of the Collectors. _"Gift for you!"_ she taunted as she tossed a grenade into the remnants of the ambushing Collectors.

Miranda tossed her own grenade as Kasumi's flashbang grenade went off. The explosion took care of any stragglers. _"Path is clear! Fall back!"_

Tali raised her pistol and start firing in the general direction of the Collectors. Mordin utilized his Cryo Blast again, trying to stem the charge of the numerous enemies attacking them. Thane helped Jacob get back to his feet and before helping suppress the enemy as well.

"_Kasumi, plant a demo charge right here!"_ Miranda pointed at the archway they were hiding behind. _"Set it to a short timer! 20 seconds!"_

"_On it!"_ she chirped. She twirled her kodachis expertly before sheathing them on the scabbards on her thighs. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out one of the extras they had brought and started fiddling with it quickly.

"_Let's go!"_ Miranda shouted. She started laying down cover fire to assist with their chaotic escape.

Thane guided Jacob down the corridor, firing blindly with one of his pistols when he was sure of a clear line of fire.

Mordin and Tali followed next. Tali dropped her Combat Drone to further buy time for their escape.

"_All set!"_ Kasumi reported. She pulled out her Tempest and started shooting as she and Miranda started shuffling away. They continued firing, stopping only for Kasumi to pick up Tali's shotgun. They acted as the rear guard for the team until they turned a bend.

Miranda threw a grenade as far as she could to hold the Collectors in place before turning around and running as fast as she could. _"Live charge planted! 10 seconds left! RUN! ! !"_

After leading her team around another bend and mentally counting down the seconds, she held up her arm and crouched. Everyone followed her example.

The explosion was deafening, prompting another string of curses from Jacob as he tried to quell the pain from his pounding head. The ground shook violently. If any of them had been running or standing, he or she would have definitely found themselves on the floor.

"_Cerberus team, do you copy? !"_ Goldstein's voice was thick with worry. _"Scanners show a large explosion near your AOE!"_

"_We're fine, Kodiak. Just leaving a present for our pursuers. Status?"_ Miranda asked as she looked over her team.

"_We lost communication with Spectre team a few minutes ago. EDI's still in contact with them though. They're facing heavy opposition. We're at OP-2 and awaiting your arrival."_

"_Stand by. We're coming,"_ Miranda assured.

Tali's armor held against the round that struck her shoulder, but she was still in obvious pain. Jacob was no worse for wear. The angles on his helmet deflected much of the force, causing a slight dent and a headache, but he was standing tall again and ready for action. Everyone else had no injuries to speak of.

_For now. I hope Shepard has better luck._

"_Tali?"_ she asked in concern.

The quarian shook her head. _"I'm fine. I can make it."_

Miranda studied the wound a bit more. Fighting with little or no atmosphere was incredibly dangerous. The smallest suit puncture could mean difference between life and death. _"If you're sure…"_

"_I'm sure. My suit integrity is holding. I think my arm might be fractured. I'll get Dr. Chakwas to look at it when we get back."_

"_Alright." _Looking over the others, she nodded decisively._ "Let's move out."_

**-oOo-**

_**Spectre Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 1 hour, 1 minute**_

Shepard screamed in pain.

Getting blasted off his feet and smashing his back against the console he and his team were trying to defend didn't feel nearly as bad as getting struck with the initial hit of Harbinger's unique biotics.

Gasping for air as he struggled to stand again, making a mental note to update Collector findings. Evidently, depending on what kind of Collector Harbinger possessed, it would be stronger if it used a more elite class of Collector. In this particular case, much to Shepard's dismay, Harbinger was using the body of a Guardian. The power of its biotics was far greater than what it displayed on Horizon.

"_**THIS HURTS YOU."**_

_Really? No shit. I couldn't tell…_

His ribs protested as he took deep breaths to try and keep the pain at bay.

He and his team were floating 150 meters above the ground on a hexagonal platform that was only 25 meters long, defending a console EDI was trying to hack, while simultaneously trying to survive the ambush the Collectors had arranged. Drones, Assassins, Guardians, and Scions had all made an appearance on separate floating platforms that flew in and connected to theirs. That was their only single advantage; the more reinforcements that arrived, the bigger the battleground. The disadvantage was the small army they had to push back.

At the moment though, Shepard's primary concern was Collector Guardian-possessed Harbinger. Victory against a Guardian had seemed assured until it started convulsing. An explosion of fiery energy later and the tables had turned very quickly.

"_41% complete."_

"_Come on, EDI… Speed it up…" _Raising his sniper rifle, Shepard tried to counterattack with explosive rounds, but Harbinger's Barrier was as powerful as ever. Every shot sent a shudder through his chest, sending waves of pain throughout his body.

_Must've cracked some ribs…_

"_Another platform coming!"_ Samara warned from somewhere within the chaos.

Unfortunately, he couldn't count on the others to help him since they were occupied with the flood of reinforcements flying in. Grunt and Samara were holding the front lines against the bulk of the forces while Jack and Garrus were playing keep away with a pair of Scions. Its Shockwave created an additional hazard since getting hit might mean a long drop to the ground.

Harbinger launched its biotic attack again as he continued to stalk the Spectre.

Shepard rolled over the surface of the console and landed heavily on his hands and knees on the other side. The Reaper's attack struck the console and caused the floor to shake slightly. Gritting his teeth in pain as his cracked ribs were pushed harder than safe, he stood up and aimed his rifle again.

Harbinger had stopped next to the DX-57 Grunt left behind and held its hand over the screen. More fiery energies erupted from its hand, but instead of damaging the bomb, it seemed to be interfacing with it.

Firing his HMWSR again and again, Shepard tried to stop it, but it ignored his attack, even when its Barrier started rippling. To his dismay, a few seconds later, the bomb deactivated.

_Son of a bitch…_

"_**YOU ARE SHORTSIGHTED. OUR POWER IS UNMATCHED. THE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE BEND TO US."**_

It turned its head to face him. Four fiercely glowing eyes met two defiant blue ones hidden beneath the faceplate of Shepard's Kestrel Helmet.

"_**NOTHING STANDS AGAINST US."**_

Harbinger prepared engage Shepard once again. Despite the human's best efforts, its Barrier still hadn't fallen.

"_84%,"_ EDI said.

"_Hurry the fuck up! We need to get out of here!"_ Jack shouted.

"_I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in over 8,000 nodes. I am tasked to capacity."_

A biotic attack struck the Reaper-controlled Collector. It turned to see both Garrus and Jack aiming their weapons at it and were shooting nonstop, trying to take it down.

Thrusting out an arm, a wave of power tossed the both of them back onto a different platform. They struck the railings and fell to their hands and knees.

Harbinger focused on Jack as she stood back up and used Warp to try to disable its Barrier.

"_**HUMAN; VIABLE POSSIBILTY, GREAT BIOTIC POTENTIAL."**_

It turned to Garrus and launched its own Warp at him.

"_**TURIAN; YOU ARE CONSIDERED… TOO PRIMITIVE."**_

Garrus growled in response. Vaulting over the console to shield himself from the biotic attack, he popped back out and continued thundering away at Harbinger with his rifle. The Barrier was flickering tantalizingly, just on the verge of breaking down.

Using his own biotics, Shepard launched his own Warp attack at the weakened Barrier and finally succeeded in shattering it.

"Die, damn it!" Jack shouted. She threw her arm out in an arc, attacking with Shockwave.

Harbinger didn't even flinch from the attack. It launched a trio of fiery energies at the protagonists forcing all of them to duck down.

Shepard popped out his cover to continue the onslaught, but Harbinger had crossed the distance with unnatural speed and stood before him. It reached over the console and gripped Shepard's left arm tightly before lifting the human up by his limb.

He gritted his teeth against the waves of agony as Harbinger started closing its hand around his forearm, threatening to grind the bone into powder despite his hardened bone weave and the protection his gauntlet offered. Dropping his sniper rifle, he drew his HMWP and open fired at point blank range into Harbinger. The rounds ricocheted and bounced off uselessly against the nigh impenetrable carapace.

In response to the futile attack, Harbinger merely flicked its arm and tossed Shepard aside.

Shouting in surprise, Shepard flew across the length of the platform and landed roughly face-first. His ribs screamed out in agony, making every breath a brutal effort. Sliding a short distance, he went over the edge of the small platform and fell. His arms flailed around and managed to grip the edge before he plummeted to almost certain death.

Struggling to climb back up, he saw Harbinger stalking toward him.

"_**THIS IS WHAT YOU FACE."**_

Stopping at the edge above Shepard, it raised its arm and another ball of blazing energy gathered in the palm of its outstretched hand, pointing directly at the helpless human.

Just before it finished Shepard off, Jack used her Biotic Charge and rammed it from behind. The sudden attack tipped it over the edge, the falling body just missing Shepard by inches.

Twisting his head, Shepard looked down to see Harbinger plunge toward the ground, only for it to extend its wings and begin to take flight. The crack of a sniper rifle and the explosion of a concussive round clipped its wings and took away all hope of recovery.

"_How's that for 'primitive' you son of a bitch,"_ Garrus growled out.

"_You're way too popular with these guys, Shepard,"_ Jack said. She used her biotics to lift him back onto the safety of the platform.

"_Unlucky me,"_ Shepard managed to gasp out. His ribs continued protesting the abuse he constantly put them through. Thanks to Jack, he managed to scramble back on the platform, but opted to stay on his hands and knees until the pain receded.

"_You okay?"_ Garrus asked in concern.

"_I'm still breathing,"_ Shepard assured with a small cough. _"Barely."_ He coughed once more before pointing towards the sounds of gunfire. _"Go help the others. I'll be fine."_

Garrus hesitated for a moment when Grunt's voice crackled into the radio. _"More incoming!"_ Judging from the sound of his voice, this was a battle he wasn't enjoying at all.

_That serious, huh…_

His decision made, Garrus picked up his Viper and sprinted off to the others.

"_My progress has halted at 94%. Captain, my link to the command console has become tenuous. You must reestablish the link,"_ EDI said.

Forcing adrenaline into his veins to keep the pain at bay, Shepard staggered to his feet and picked up his dropped pistol and sniper rifle on the way to the center console again.

Jack stayed close by to offer additional fire support. Her head cocked to the side when she heard the ever increasing familiar sound of flying hexagonal stages flying toward them. _"I don't believe this! There's another goddamn platform coming!"_ she screamed out in frustration. _"This doesn't fucking end!"_

"_Stand clear!"_ Samara shouted from somewhere. _"I'm creating a Singularity!"_

Running as fast as his battered body allowed, Shepard leaned over the console and started hacking his way back into the databases.

"_Scratch one!"_ Garrus crowed.

"_Shields down!"_ Grunt growled.

_Almost there… _

An Assassin managed to flank them and started firing at Shepard.

Jack launched Warp with one hand to destroy its Barrier while using her other hand to levitate a dead Scion and used its body as a projectile.

Shepard worked furiously as his team continued fighting back the next wave of Collectors.

"_Grunt's hit!"_

"_I'm fine!"_

"_Got it! It's done!"_

The green displays glowed briefly before EDI's image reappeared. "I have control."

"Shut down the platforms! Redirect them, let them fall, whatever you can do!" Shepard ordered. "Just get rid of them!"

"Stand by."

All at once, the approaching platforms stopped moving. They hovered in place for a few seconds before flying toward other areas of the ship. Where they were going, Shepard didn't care, so long as it was far from his current position.

"Thanks, EDI. I knew you wouldn't let us down," he said gratefully.

"I always work at optimal capacity."

"_Regroup,"_ he ordered. He looked over his team with a critical eye. Samara was gingerly favoring her right side and clutching her ribs. Grunt was rotating his left arm, but appeared unbothered by whatever wound he received. Jack and Garrus were relatively unhurt. "Everyone alright?"

Various positive answers floated back to him.

"Get us outta here, EDI." As their platform floated toward another section of the large chamber, Shepard looked down at the bomb and tried to activate the timer again. After a few minutes, he shook his head. "It's dead. There's no way we can reactivate it." He turned to the console display. "Did you get what we needed, EDI?"

"I believe I have found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega-4 Relay. It will take time to sort through all the information," EDI said. "I have also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."

Garrus cocked his head to the side. "Seems logical to me that they would've sent the initial message as bait."

The platform landed safely some distance away from where they entered. Narrowing his eyes, Shepard dreaded to ask. "What are you getting at?"

EDI displayed a series of numbers and graphs. "Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption." Another series of graphs overlaid with the first. "It is present, but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

"What makes you say that?" Shepard asked.

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

"_He knew it was a trap?"_ Joker's astonished voice chimed in. _"Why would he send into a trap?"_

"Same reason we decided to walk into one. We need this data," Shepard explained before growling. "But he didn't say anything to me… He **wanted** to send us into Collector hands on purpose."

"Son of a bitch!" Jack cursed. "I knew Cerberus would screw me again. I'm going to crush his head."

"And here I thought I had my betrayal and attempted murder quota filled for this year," Garrus said with a shake of his head.

A humming sound suddenly could be heard all around them. The ground vibrated slightly as the various electrical equipment activated.

"I doubt this is a good sign," he commented dejectedly.

"EDI? Joker? Is this what I think it means?" Shepard asked.

"_Big problem, Captain. The Collector ship is powering up."_

"It seems our trials have not yet ended," Samara said.

"_You need to get out before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"_ Joker said.

"They don't want the Normandy. They want me," Shepard ominously said. "Anything else is just a bonus."

"I do not have full controls of their systems," EDI cautioned. "I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction."

Shepard knew his crew wanted answers from the Illusive Man, and he did as well. But those answers would have to wait, there were more important things to deal with first, like getting out alive._ "Come on. Time to move!" _he ordered as he hopped of the platform and started moving toward the door._ "Cerberus team, status!"_

"_We're almost to our extraction point. We've encountered some resistance and we have wounded."_

"_We retrieved the data and are making our way to our extraction point. No resistance yet. Harbinger deactivated the DX-57, though. We'll need to settle for crippling this ship instead."_

"_Roger. See you soon."_

Shepard and his team approached a fork in the corridor.

"_Take the door on your right."_

Just like that, the door opened, allowing them entry.

_Maybe we finally caught a break._

Samara and Garrus had taken point now. Shepard's ribs were hurting far too much for him to run at a steady pace.

"_Incoming!"_ Garrus said.

Several Collectors were flying in from an opening in the ceiling. The door shut on one of them when it tried to enter the fray, cleaving it in half.

"_I will attempt to slow the bulk of their forces,"_ EDI announced.

"_Thanks, EDI… Aw, damn it."_ The other Collectors had renewed their assault. _"Take'em out before Harbinger comes back!"_ Shepard ordered.

**-oOo-**

_**Cerberus Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 48 minutes**_

"_There's the shuttle!"_ Kasumi said. _"Almost there, Tali!"_

"_Contact left!"_ Miranda shouted. _"Mordin, move!"_

Without hesitating, Mordin dove to the side without even bothering to see what was attacking him. His decision to trust Miranda's words paid off when another Scion unleashed its deadly Shockwave at him. Rolling to his back, he used Cryo Blast to try to bring the top heavy husk to the ground.

It stumbled from the ice, but remained upright. Tandem Warps from Miranda and Thane struck the Scion, but it managed to endure the biotic attacks to unleash another Shockwave at the prone salarian just as he was trying to get up.

Thane acted instantly. He crossed the distance quickly and pushed Mordin out of the line of fire, just as the Shockwave ripped right through his right leg. He could hear the sounds of broken bones, even with the atmosphere as thin as it was.

Hitting the ground with a grunt of pain, he tried to move, but his mangled leg impeded his progress.

"_Cover Krios!"_ Miranda ordered. She and Jacob immediately launched a counterattack against the Scion and surrounding Collectors. Kasumi left Tali at the shuttle and regrouped with the rest of the team to assist.

"_Go get them, Chiktikka!"_ Tali ordered from the opening of the shuttle.

The Combat Drone immediately drew the Collector's attention as it darted back and forth firing its electric shock indiscriminately on the enemy. Kasumi took advantage of the distraction to drag Thane back to the shuttle. To his credit, he only grunted in pain, but remained otherwise remained silent.

"_Flammable! Or inflammable. Forget which. Doesn't matter!"_ Mordin said as he launched his Incinerate tech.

The Scion screeched when it was lit on fire. It targeted the attacking trio with another Shockwave.

"_Move!"_ Miranda said. She, Jacob, and Mordin scattered and managed to avoid the bulk of the attack. She grunted and saw her shields were drained from just a glancing hit. _Bloody hell… "My shields are down!"_

"_We're almost there! Come on!"_ Jacob said.

"_Use your launcher! Bring the Scion down!"_ Miranda ordered. She tossed a grenade down the hallway after seeing Tali's Combat Drone explode.

"_On it!"_

"_Mordin, back to the shuttle!" _she ordered.

"_Moving!"_

Two Assassins began firing on the two remaining Cerberus operatives. Cursing, Miranda aimed her Pulse Rifle and tried to suppress them, but their range made it difficult to get an accurate shot. The crack of a sniper rifle, however, easily reached the distance and downed one Assassin.

Turning to glance behind, she saw Thane leaning heavily on the side of the shuttle. His Mantis sniper rifle was out and pointed downrange. Despite the pain he must've been in, his shooting was remarkable.

The Scion finally fell after several missile strikes. Jacob stood up and began backpedaling, launching missile after missile at the approaching Collectors. Despite how many they've killed, they continued attacking, ignoring the bodies of their dead. _"They're not stopping!"_

"_It's more than enough! Get to the shuttle!" _Miranda ordered. She prepped the last demo charge for 20 seconds and dropped it before sprinting for the Kodiak.

Kasumi pulled Thane's arm over her shoulders and helped him inside. Mordin and Jacob continued their suppressing fire, stopping when Miranda was close to the shuttle.

Just before she entered, she felt a round strike her back and she pitched forward. Mordin caught her before she fell and dragged her past the threshold of the shuttle doors.

"_We're in! Go!" _Jacob shouted to the pilots. He stood in the doorway, glowing a hazy blue. His Barrier was already flickering, but managed to stop several shots from hitting the others inside the cabin.

"_Hang on!"_ Hawthorne said.

The doors closed, but they could hear the bullets striking against the hull as they took off. A few seconds later, the Kodiak shuddered from the shockwave from the explosion of the demo charge, but it quickly subsided.

Miranda grit her teeth as she slowly shifted her arms and back muscles to ensure everything was working. A sharp stab of pain flared when she rotated her left arm. _"What's the damage?"_ she asked as she sat on the floor.

"_Armor intact. Single round. Left shoulder blade. Should be fine,"_ Mordin said. He poked and prodded the area before nodding. He moved on to Thane and started inspecting his leg.

"_Status of Spectre team?"_ Miranda requested. She held back a groan as she tried to shift her back muscles to relieve some of the pain.

"_They are currently attempting to reach the extraction point, but are facing heavy resistance. Probability indicates that they will not reach the coordinates in time,"_ EDI said.

"_Damn it." _Miranda flexed her left arm one more time, suppressing a wince at the pain the action caused and picked up her rifle from the floor. _"Hawthorne! Take us to OP-1!"_

"_Orders were to take you back to the Normandy before making a run for the other team, ma'am,"_ he reminded. _"Captain's orders."_

"_I'm countermanding those orders! We're going to secure the LZ and try to give them a chance!" _Miranda commanded with no room for argument. _"Get us there. Now!"_

Hawthorne fell silent. A few seconds later, the shuttle banked hard. Away from the Normandy. _"Aye, aye, ma'am. Heading for OP-1."_

She turned to the others inside the cabin. "Anyone that can't or won't help is welcome to stay on the shuttle and return to the Normandy. Anyone that wants to help, come with me."

No one objected.

"Krios? Tali? Are you sure you can do this?"

"I will able to hold the shuttle," Thane assured. He held his rifle confidently. "However, that will be the limit of my assistance."

"I can still fight," Tali added. "Let's get them."

"_Approaching OP-1!"_

"We hold the LZ and surrounding area. If Shepard calls for reinforcements, we'll assist as best we can," Miranda said. "Let's do this."

**-oOo-**

_**Spectre Team**_

_**Time to Detonation: 42 minutes**_

"_Sniper, up high on the right!"_ Shepard warned.

"_I got him!"_ Garrus aimed his Viper and took a moment to steady his aim and pulled the trigger. _"Scoped and dropped!"_

Another explosion of machinery forced Shepard to duck back down. The room they were fighting through was littered with pipes, consoles, and monitors. Stray fire destroyed the equipment around them and some tended to react violently.

Thus far, they've been able to kill every Collector in their way quickly before Harbinger could reappear with liberal use of biotics and his M-490 Blackstorm. Much of the enemy forces were trapped in other areas of the ship thanks to EDI running interference with some of their systems. She was unable to penetrate their more critical areas, such stopping the shipwide power up procedures or their weapons systems, though she was able to slow everything down and buy them precious time.

Somewhere in the room, Jack screamed. Engaging his Tactical Cloak, Shepard ran from cover and up a short ramp to see her splayed on the ground. She was moaning and barely moving when he arrived. A few Collectors popped out of cover to finish her off.

Throwing his arm out in an upward arc, tiny balls of dark energy manifested along a line through the Collector ranks just before detonating. The explosions stopped their attack and a few went down in a mess of crushed limbs.

His Cloak fading away, Shepard grabbed Jack's arm and dragged her out of danger while simultaneously blind-firing his HMWA. _"Grunt! Clear the rabble!"_

"_On it!"_ The large krogan ran up the ramp and started tearing his way through the Collectors before any other surprises popped up.

"_Are you alright?"_ Shepard said as he ran his omni-tool over the ex-con. Her armor took some serious hits and was scorched as if she was struck by a grenade. Her left arm and a one of her ribs were broken. Quickly, he applied medi-gel to ease the pain and help her get back on her feet as carefully, but quickly as he could.

"_I'm fine," _she snarled, obviously trying to avoid looking weak. _"Some kind of red husk attacked me. It fucking blew up in my face!"_

"_It __**blew**__ up?" _Shepard repeated as he quickly finished the first aid.

"_Yeah," _Jack grunted out. She cradled her left arm against her chest and hissed at the pain. _"Just what we needed: suicide bombing zombies."_

"_All clear!" _Garrus reported.

"_We should hurry,"_ Samara stressed. _"I can hear more coming."_

"_I got them all over here,"_ Grunt called out.

"_Let's go."_ Grasping her right arm, Shepard pulled Jack to her feet and retrieved her shotgun for her.

Taking her Scimitar back, she put the weapon in its place on its harness at the small of her back and drew her pistol instead.

"_How much time do we have?"_ Samara asked as they started down the maze of hallways and chambers.

He took a quick glance at his chrono. _"35 minutes and counting. Gotta keep moving. We don't want to be here when the explosions go off." _He led the way, occasionally guided by EDI's instructions. They were making poor time; constant attacks from the Collectors, as well as their ever growing list of injuries, all compounded by the fact that they had to be deep inside the ship to get what they needed.

Leaping down from a tall ledge, he jogged lightly into the next room. Hissing quietly in pain from his cracked ribs, he surveyed the room quickly. It was another large chamber. The white organic sacs were glowing faintly, providing a little bit of light. Large support beams were placed haphazardly to hold up the ceiling. The metal framework of the ship could be seen, jutting up from the organic portions of the floor. Across the way, two large doors were seen, though both were locked.

"_EDI?"_

"_I am opening a door on the far side of the room,"_ she said.

The team made a beeline for the door only to stop dead in their tracks.

A small throng of husks were charging through the open door, including the new red ones that attacked Jack. What really caught their attention was the Praetorian that was hovering toward them.

"_Take cover!"_ Shepard ordered. He unleashed Shockwave to take care of the husks, noting that the red ones did blow up in a visceral display of gore. Hiding behind one of the columns, he winced when he heard the Praetorian's beam attack strike against his cover. His luck took a turn for the worst when he heard the sounds of flapping wings. _"Incoming Collectors!"_

"_I see them!" _Samara said. _"On the right, coming from above!"_

Taking a quick peek, he saw only a pair of Drones. Unfortunately, he also saw that the door had closed during their retreat. _"EDI, we got a problem here!"_

"_A temporary setback on Firewall 3217. Rerouting commands through Firewall 7164."_

Leaning out of cover again, he blanched when he saw the Praetorian was flying directly at him. _"Make it fast!"_ Trading his assault rifle for his shotgun, he touched on his biotics and used Charge to appear on top of the giant husk. He aimed at the same area he shot at the Praetorian back on Horizon and tried to create a hole again.

The Praetorian unexpectedly banked hard to the left, nearly dislodging him. Jack appeared next to him using her own Charge. They started shooting when all of a sudden, the husk stopped moving and dropped hard to the ground. An explosion of energy rippled from its underside, but the impact was enough to dislodge both humans from its back.

Shepard grunted with the force, but his pain was nothing compared to Jack's broken bones. She screamed the moment she hit the ground and couldn't get back up.

Scrambling to his feet, he bodily picked up the petite woman and carried her to safety while the Praetorian hovered back to its normal altitude.

"_Scratch one!"_

"_Enemy down."_

The Praetorian turned toward Garrus and Samara. They just downed the two drones before Harbinger could possess either one. Its twin beams fired directly at them. Samara neatly dodged the attack, but Garrus lacked similar agility. He ducked behind a column, but the attack tore through and caused the structure to buckle. Debris rained down on the turian and buried him.

"_Garrus!"_ Shepard shouted. _"Grunt! Samara! Distract that thing! Jack, take care of the husks!"_

Several missiles streaked toward the husk, striking against its Barrier, but not doing any real appreciable damage. The Praetorian turned to engage the biggest threats, ignoring Shepard for the time being.

Letting Jack mow down the husks with Shockwave from behind her cover, he dashed across the room and stopped at the pile of rubble. He started levitating everything he could, clearing enough to free his friend. _"Garrus? !"_

"_Oww…" _he groaned out.

Checking him, Shepard saw one of his feet was bent at an unnatural angle. _Definitely broken._

"_Shit. I don't really feel too good right now…"_

Looking around, he saw Grunt throw his empty missile launcher at the Praetorian. It did nothing, of course. Samara levitated everything in the room that was loose and was throwing it all at the tank-like husk, causing more of a distraction than any real damage.

"_I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall. I will keep it open as long as I can,"_ EDI said.

"_We'll make a run for it,"_ Shepard replied. He turned to Garrus. _"Can you move?"_

"_Do I have a choice?"_ he ground out slowly. He took stock of his injuries. _"Ankle's definitely broken. I might have some busted ribs too." _

"_We'll need to Cloak and get to the door."_

"_I'll make it,"_ Garrus resolutely said.

"_Grunt, Samara, keep holding that thing's attention! I'm taking Garrus to the door!"_

"_Understood." – "I got this!"_

"_What about me?" _Jack asked from her hiding spot.

"_You stay put. I'll come get you myself,"_ Shepard promised. _"Let's go."_

Both men Cloaked and dragged/limped as fast as they could. Grunt had run up a ramp and was firing nonstop from the high ground. Samara utilized Warp, damaging the Praetorian's Barrier. Grunts attacks were far less of a threat, so the husk focused its particle beams on the nimble justicar.

"_Almost there,"_ Garrus gasped out. He was breathing heavy from the throbbing in his leg and chest.

"_Almost,"_ Shepard agreed, trying to bolster his friend's confidence.

They cleared the threshold, allowing Shepard to place him behind the frame of the doorway.

"_Ah! Damn it!"_ Garrus shouted.

"_Sorry. Cover us from here, alright?"_

"_I got your back."_

Racing back into the chamber, he spotted Grunt and Samara taking turns in annoying the Praetorian and hiding from its attacks. Sidling up to Jack, Shepard readied his sniper rifle and used Warp to get its attention.

"_What are you doing? !" _Jack asked when the Praetorian turned toward them.

"_You two, make for the door while we distract it! Go!"_ Shepard said.

"_We? !"_

Shepard threw out another Warp before firing away with his HMWSR. Grunt and Samara saw their chance and made a break for it.

"_That thing is coming,"_ Jack growled out. She used Warp as well, but even her biotic powers weren't strong enough to tear down the tank-like husk's Barrier.

"_Let them escape! Once they're clear, we'll use Charge to cross the distance and run like hell!"_

Twin energy beams gouged the surrounding pseudo-organic and metal defilades they were hiding behind.

"_If we survive that long…"_ Shepard mumbled out loud.

"_If I die, Shepard, I'm haunting you_!" Jack screamed.

"_EDI, get ready to close that door…"_ Shepard watched the Praetorian carefully. _"Go, Jack! Now!"_

Standing up, she vanished with a crack of displaced atmosphere.

Shepard followed seconds after. _"Close it! Close it!"_ he ordered frantically when he appeared past the doorway.

The Praetorian turned around when it realized that everyone was on the other side of the room. It powered up its weaponry before the doors finally closed. The sounds of the particle beams striking the metal could be heard.

"_We need to go,"_ Shepard said. He checked his chrono and cursed. _"20 minutes left."_

"_Fuck. Are we gonna make it?"_ Jack asked.

"_We'll damn well try. Grunt, pick Garrus up and haul him with us. Samara, you're on point with me. Jack, hold our rear. Let's move people!"_

"_Shepard –" _Garrus started to say.

"_Shut up, Garrus. I'm not leaving anyone behind. Just pick up your damn weapon and let Grunt drag your ass back to the Normandy,"_ Shepard ordered with finality.

Garrus chuckled a bit before groaning. _"Ah, damn…"_

Grunt picked him up and slung him over his shoulder and ignoring the gasp of pain.

Shepard and Samara led the way down the corridor. Thankfully, it was devoid of enemies, though everyone knew that would change soon.

Their hope was renewed when Grunt pointed at an opening in the floor. _"Hey, down there. That where we came in?"_

Shepard looked down to see the Collector test subject below. _Hard to believe that was almost two hours ago__…_

"_We must be getting close to the end,"_ Samara said.

"_17 minutes. Let's go!"_

The team continued their mad dash through the ship. Peeling around a corner, Shepard and Samara stopped in their tracks when they saw several Collectors fly in from a hole in the ceiling. _"Company!" _Shepard shouted.

Ducking behind some organic structure, its purpose something he couldn't even begin to guess, he immediately started shooting. It was a fruitless exercise. There was a long ramp leading upwards, giving the Collectors the high ground, organic protrusions above allowed them cover, and the opening on the upper left had husks pouring in.

Grunt put Garrus down at the hallway and ran into the fray, shooting at anything that moved. Some Assassins targeted him with their beam weapons, cutting his charge short and forcing him to duck back down.

"_We won't make it!"_ Samara said as everyone exchanged fire.

"_**I WILL DIRECT THIS PERSONALLY."**_

_Fuck me…_

"_He's here!" _Samara tossed her Singularity at Harbinger while Shepard pulled out his Blackstorm.

Harbinger detonated the Singularity with its Warp. What was different though was that the sphere of fiery energy continued traveling down toward them, untouched by the detonation of the Singularity.

The event even took Samara by surprise. The attack struck her dead center and blew her back. She impacted against the wall with a sickening crunch and hit the ground limply. Her moaning indicated that she was still alive at least.

"_**ASARI; RELIANCE UPON ALIEN SPECIES FOR REPRODUCTOIN SHOWS GENETIC WEAKNESS."**_

"Coming from the bastards that need to **harvest** other species!" Shepard defiantly shouted back. He popped out of cover with his Blackstorm fully charged. Firing his own black hole, the gravity-well travelled up the ramp, pulling husks, Collectors, and whatever else stood in its away. Harbinger clutched a railing and dug in its heels, resisting the pull, even when it travelled only a few meters away from it. Its Barrier rippled like water, stretching toward the moving singularity.

The black hole stopped at the top of the ramp, drawing in all the foes and crushing several of them before detonating, killing the rest.

Harbinger was dislodged from its position from the massive explosion. It flew forward, down the ramp and landed roughly, face first into the ground. It tried to stand up before Grunt mounted it and gripped the sides of its head. Roaring, the krogan started twisting the head left and right, looking to either snap the neck or separate head and body completely.

"_Yeah! Rip that fucking bastard's head off!" _Jack cheered.

Amazingly, Harbinger continued to its feet, actually picking Grunt up. Grunt kept trying however, roaring and shouting with effort. Harbinger started flailing, trying to dislodge the massive krogan that was piggyback riding him. It stopped struggling and suddenly backpedaled with unbelievable speed, slamming Grunt against a wall with incredible force.

This time, Grunt roared in pain when his leg broke under the impact and he fell off. Landing on his back, he pulled out his shotgun and started shooting at point blank range.

Astonishingly, its Barrier failed from the simple attack. However, despite the next series of shot impacting against its armor, it appeared unbothered.

"_**KROGAN; STERILISED RACE, POTENTIAL WASTED."**_

It paused when it felt a barrel pressed up against the back of its head.

Shepard turned his face away instinctively from the mess of gore when Harbinger's head burst from the explosive rounds shot from his HMWSR. _"Grunt? You okay?"_

Grunt only nodded and stood up carefully, hopping on one leg as he did so.

"_Samara's okay. I think she's going to feel it tomorrow though,"_ Garrus reported. He had crawled from his hiding spot and managed to rouse the justicar to consciousness.

"_Yes. I will be fine,"_ she breathed out. _"Although it would be in __our best interests to leave immediately."_

Shepard checked his chrono. Nine minutes left.

_Shit…_

"_How the hell are we going to do this?"_ Jack asked. _"We got two guys that can't walk here."_

"_Samara will support Garrus. I'll do the same with G__runt. You take point and use Shockwave on anything coming at us,"_ Shepard directed.

"_And if Harbinger makes another appearance?"_ Garrus asked slowly.

"_Then we're fucked,"_ Shepard bluntly said. He was unwilling to lie about their meager chances now.

"_Uh, Captain? Hate to rush you, but those weapons are about to come online,"_ Joker reported nervously. _"Might want to double-time it. You know, so we can leave before they blow the Normandy in half."_

He tapped into his radio. _"Normandy, this is Spectre team. We might not make it to the shuttle. Take off now. We'll try to get to the shuttle and regroup at the mass relay."_

"_Are you sure?"_ Joker asked worriedly.

Shepard took one of Grunt's arms and supported some of his massive weight. His entire chest felt like it was filled with fire as his ribs throbbed. Sucking in a breath, he waited for Samara to do the same. Once ready, the group trudged on, moving even slower than ever. _"We still have the other half of the squad onboard. If we don't make it, they can still finish the mission. Get going!"_

"_Spectre team, this is Cerberus team. We're at OP-1 and have secured the LZ. Jacob and I will begin clearing a path toward you."_

"_Wait. Miranda? !"_

"_You can reprimand me later. According to EDI, you're almost to OP-1. Get moving!"_

Mentally thanking her for disobeying his orders, Shepard picked up the pace. His breathing was getting better since his ribs were already healing from his implants. Grunt growled softly at the thought of being someone slowing them down, but held his shotgun ready all the same. Samara was breathing heavily, but stood tall and firm. She had a slight limp in her gait, but she never wavered despite the pain she must've been in. Garrus limped along with her, his assault rifle held loosely in one arm.

Jack led the way, pausing at corners to take a peek before rushing onward. Soon, they heard ghastly moans coming down the hall.

"_Son of a bitch!"_ Jack screamed out in fury. _"I'll kill you!"_ A series of biotic explosions roared down the hallway, easily scattering and stopping the husk charge. Many had their legs blown out from underneath, rendering them useless.

Letting go of Grunt, Shepard took out his HMWSG and started firing round after round at the husks when they closed the distance. His shotgun tore a path through their enemies allowing them to push forward quickly. The second he had a breather, he glanced at this chrono. _Five minutes_.

"_Scion!"_ Jack shouted.

Shepard pulled Grunt down behind cover and waited as the crystalline Shockwave impacted heavily against their barrier. Standing back up, he gathered his energies and put all of his focus into Throw. Taking a deep breath, his biotics manifested into a blazing fire around him just as he thrust out both arms.

A wave of energy streaked toward the lumbering Scion and the shambling husks. All of them were blown back by the biotic attack and slammed into the walls, ceiling, floor, or each other. The husks were no longer a threat, but the Scion was still 'alive' and struggling to get to its feet.

A salvo of missiles coming around the far corner ended that final threat.

Miranda, Jacob, and Kasumi rounded the corner to see the besieged Spectre team.

"_Did you miss us?"_ Kasumi quipped.

"_Get Garrus and Grunt,"_ Shepard ordered. _"The rest of us can still run."_

"_Three minutes until detonation,"_ EDI warned.

"_We're out of time, Captain! We have to go!"_ Joker stressed.

"_You heard him! Let's go!" _Miranda shouted. She knelt down and helped Jacob support Grunt while Kasumi did the same for Garrus. _"Move!"_

Everyone made a mad dash for the end as quickly as they were able. The shuttle came into view, a welcome sight after everything they'd endured.

"_Take off, Joker. We're at the shuttle!"_ Shepard gasped out.

"_Roger that!"_

Mordin, Thane and Tali were waiting for them. Bodies of husks littered the way, but there was nothing else to worry about.

"_Two minutes until detonation."_

_Except for that._

Everyone piled into the shuttle chaotically. Shouts, grunts, and curses of pain filled the cabin, but they endured their discomfort.

The doors closed and the shuttle took off. _"Hang on, everyone!"_ Goldstein advised. _"We are outta here!"_

The shuttle raced away from the Collector ship and into the black. _"Joker, ever try a Barnyard Swallow?"_ Hawthorne asked.

"_Always wanted to!"_

"_We need a fast dock and even faster exit. Setting course for the mass relay. Pick us up!"_

"_One minute until detonation."_

"_Almost in position, Hawthorne. Let me know when you're ready!"_

"_Five seconds… 4… 3… 2… 1! Do it!"_

**-oOo-**

The Kodiak pushed itself at top speed toward the mass relay. The Normandy flew in from above, positioning herself so that the shuttle was lined up with the open hanger at her belly.

"_All hands: clear the hangar__! I repeat! All hands: clear the hanger. Now!"_ Joker ordered. _"The Kodiak is coming in hot!"_

All crewmen inside docking bay rushed to the stairs and out of the way in an orderly fashion. Within 30 seconds, the hangar was empty of personnel and clear for their insane maneuver.

The frigate easily outpaced the shuttle and scooped it into the hangar. The shuttle applied counter thrust to kill its speed and landed roughly on the floor of the hangar. A horrible metallic screeching sound was created as the Kodiak slid along the floor before impacting lightly against the back wall.

"_Yeah! Shuttle retrieved!"_ Joker shouted victoriously. _"Strap yourselves in people! We're gonna make them work it this time!"_

The Collector vessel turned around and fired one shot from its bow toward the nimble frigate. The Normandy banked low and to the right to avoid the shot.

"_Detonation in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"_ EDI counted down before pausing. _"Detonation confirmed."_

Throughout one side of the cruiser, explosions ripped through the hull of the Collector ship. Its main gun immediately stopped charging and went dim. The main propulsion ceased functioning. Smoke wafted from the damaged areas in thick, noxious plumes. The vessel started floating erratically, pushed off course by the multitude of blasts and carried on only by its momentum.

"_Yeah! Suck on that you bastards!"_ Joker crowed triumphantly before engaging the FTL drives.

Her course set, the Normandy accelerated to FTL and vanished, well out of range of her crippled foe.

**-oOo-**

***ENCRYPTED***

_Gathered vital intel regarding Collectors and Omega-4 Relay._

_With Shepard's escape, Harbinger knows our true capabilities and will have to adopt new tactics. Will have to be careful, as Harbinger's information network may rival Cerberus or Shadow Broker's._

_Also appears impossible to block his ability to possess minions._

_EDI's work was exceptional, however, proving the value of shackled AI__._

**-oOo-**

Author's notes:

Okay! Another story arc finished!

First off, 400+ reviews! Yeah! You guys are awesome! I never would have thought I would make that much when I first started. I was looking at half that at the most. Its things like that which tells me that I have to finish this fic!

A Firefly/Serenity reference here. Review if you spot it.

Also, I've put up my first vid on YouTube:

.com/watch?v=0GkeRRitoG0

Basically a Mass Effect 2 Trailer. Check it out if you got the time. Just be sure to delete the space front of the ".com" since doesn't allow multiple symbols to be put next to each other. Or just go to my profile and click the link there.

I've just downloaded and played the new DLC, **Lair of the Shadow Broker**. There are a few things I will need to update in my previous chapters. Nothing significant, but noteworthy to me. Also, a few things in the next few chapters will change now. So again, this is a novelization. If you have not played the new DLC, _spoiler warnings apply now_. For those that _have_ played the new DLC, all similarities were purely coincidental and in context, completely unintentional and undesired. (You know what I'm talking about if you go back to chapters 21-25)

Continue to review. I love to hear from everyone.

**_Edit:_** Credit to**_ Dhamon45_** for pointing out a tiny mistake I should've seen.


	29. Interlude XI

_**Location: Hades Nexus Cluster, Pamyat System, Normandy SR-2**_

"We need some help here!" Miranda shouted. "Dr. Chakwas, report to the hangar, ASAP!"

"Am I dead yet?" Garrus choked out in humor before groaning in pain.

"That ain't happening until I stop breathing," Shepard gamely retorted. He gritted his teeth as a fresh wave of agony rippled through his beaten and bruised body. He was sitting on the floor and leaning against the chairs, too tired and hurt to even sit down properly.

"Nice of you," Garrus said. Wisely, he chose to lie motionless on floor of the shuttle to avoid any more spurts of pain. "So… are **you** dead yet?"

Shepard chuckled only to groan immediately after when his ribs protested against the mistreatment. "I don't know. I suppose that's for Chakwas or Mordin to determine. Maybe Miranda too."

"Seeing as you still have your sense of humor, Shepard, I suspect you'll be with us for a while longer," Chakwas stated as she practically ran into the shuttle with her omni-tool already on. She was about to run it over him when Shepard protested.

"Garrus first. I know my injuries. We don't know about his," he gasped out.

The turian was lying still on the floor, staring up at the ceiling after Mordin managed to remove his helmet. "I don't know. I think I'm all right if don't do anything. Like moving. Or breathing. Or –"

"Talking?" Shepard suggested cheekily.

Mordin was already running his omni-tool over the worst set of Garrus' injuries, since he was the unluckiest of the lot. "Multiple broken ribs, broken ankle, several hairline fractures, some internal bleeding. Stay in Medical Bay for few days, should be fine."

"Joy," Garrus deadpanned.

"I'm more worried about Grunt," Chakwas interrupted. She ran her omni-tool over him quickly. "This leg doesn't look good."

"I'm fine," Grunt rumbled.

"No, you are not," she argued. "Your armor is compressed against your leg. If we don't remove this greave, we may need to remove your entire leg instead."

"I got some equipment in the Armory that can do it," Jacob offered. He frowned and added, "Except I've never modified armor while someone was still wearing it."

Chakwas shook her head and replied, "A first time for everything. Let's get these two upstairs quickly."

"Get some stretchers. Load us up two at a time in the lift." Shepard turned his head to look at Jack. "You need a stretcher too? Or are you tough enough to walk?" he asked while moving slowly to his feet in an effort to stand.

Jack look affronted at the question. "I'm tough enough. I can walk it," she declared.

"Oh, good. One less stretcher then," Shepard said. He sat back down on the floor of the shuttle. "Need someone to carry me. Don't worry about Jack; she can walk."

"You son of a bitch," Jack said. Defiantly, she sat down on one of the chairs lining the cabin of the shuttle. She kicked Shepard's boot out of spite, but grinned all the same.

"Never mind. We need a stretcher for Jack too," Shepard called out.

Garrus chuckled as he was being loaded on a hover-stretcher. "Hahaha… ah! Damn it! Don't make me laugh right now…"

"Miranda? Think you and Jacob can get Grunt on a stretcher?" Shepard asked.

"We got it."

Grunt growled deep in his throat as he tried to block out the pain as only a krogan warrior could.

"You're not doing well either," Chakwas stated as she checked over Samara.

"I will be alright," Samara asserted. There was a hitch in her throat when she tried to breathe, however.

"I don't think anybody on my team is," Shepard observed. "Things got hairy down there."

"It wasn't easy for us either," Miranda admitted. Jacob was pushing the stretcher to the lift, being very careful not to aggravate the injured krogan on it.

"It was certainly more difficult than I had anticipated," Thane agreed. He held still as Mordin continued his scans on him while Chakwas finished looking over Samara. "I can understand why you would label this as a 'suicide mission'. Even in reconnaissance, there was a slim chance of survival."

"Then we defied the odds. Let's hope that trend continues," Shepard said.

Thane nodded. A couple of crewmen walked in and placed him on another floating stretcher before carting him out. Another pair walked in to help Samara.

"You know what depresses me?" Jack rhetorically asked. "This actually isn't the worst part of your damn mission."

"Lovely thought," Miranda sarcastically said. She ran her omni-tool over Shepard herself while Chakwas and Mordin trekked back to the Med Bay to begin preparations.

"We'll be fine," Shepard assertively stated.

"You really believe that?" Jack asked dubiously.

Shrugging in response, he leaned against the side of the shuttle and closed his eyes. The last thing he heard before drifted off was Miranda's exasperated comment.

"Well, you have to admit, he certainly doesn't lack confidence."

Sleep claimed him seconds later.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

The Illusive Man studied the files EDI forwarded to him with almost single-minded focus. The data received was certainly a boon. It revealed a great deal of the past history of the Reapers. To learn that they would repurpose other species, besides the Keepers, to help with their harvesting cycles was interesting. The Prothean's continued 'existence', for lack of a better term, was intriguing. Sadly, there was a lack of information on the Reapers themselves, but he had already had a dedicated site to study their origins and more importantly, their technologies. He expected to learn great deal about them soon enough. Most notably learned were the protocols hidden within the mass relays that the recon mission provided. Knowledge to unlock the full power of the relays could very well mean the difference of victory and defeat in **any** given battle.

What pleased the Illusive Man the most was the projected location of the Collector homeworld or base. The information he imagined that could be found there caused a small self-satisfied smile to creep along his face.

"Sir? Contact established," an aid reported via intercom.

"Dr. Chandana," the Illusive Man acknowledged, when balding, dark skinned scientist appeared on the holo-monitor.

"Sir," Chandana greeted respectfully.

"Report."

"We've established our presence here and have begun collecting samples. Some of the artifacts are… well…" Chandana looked at something off to the side. "It's truly remarkable. I'll have a report ready soon. I think you'll be pleased with the results."

"Very good," the Illusive Man praised lightly. Taking a sip of brandy, he regarded the head researcher. "I've received intelligence concerning your project, Dr. Chandana."

"Sir?"

"There is an advanced 'Identify Friend/Foe' system aboard. They're used to trigger encrypted protocols within the mass relays." Pausing only to take a smoke, he gave his orders. "I want you and your teams to search, recover, and secure this IFF. Highest priority. I'll send someone to retrieve it once you confirm you have it in your possession."

"An IFF?" Chandana queried.

"You don't need to know more than that, Chandana," the Illusive Man mildly cautioned.

The scientist nodded in understanding. "Of course. I'll see to it personally."

"Just get it done. I'll be waiting for your report." He narrowed his eyes. "The knowledge we could learn here is important. Remember: I expect **daily** reports."

Once again, Chandana nodded. "Understood."

Terminating the link, the Illusive Man leaned back in his chair and tapped his cigarette to remove the excess ash. Another series of holo-monitors appeared at the press of button, allowing him to continue to study the mission reports and the results of the Shepard's successful infiltration.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Caleston Rift Cluster, Balor System, Normandy SR-2**_

Waking up in the Med Bay, Shepard blinked his eyes against the bright light and turned his head away. Sitting next to his bed, Miranda stopped reading from a data pad to observe him.

"You're awake," she said with undisguised relief.

"Yeah," Shepard said. He sat up a bit and stretched a bit. "I feel pretty good, actually."

"You've only been asleep for three hours," she informed with a bit of surprise in her voice. She picked up a flashlight and peered into his pupils. "You're feeling better?"

Enduring her examination, he poked and prodded areas he was sure he was injured. Bandages covered his torso and left arm. "My arm feels a little tender. Harbinger nearly crushed the bones there. My chest feels fine. I thought I cracked a few ribs."

"My initial scans revealed that too," Miranda replied. She moved away and engaged her omni-tool to continue her examination.

"So what's the prognosis?" he asked after a minute or two.

"Your implants are doing their job. Quite well, really." She sounded pleased.

"I'm glad to have validated your project and provided proof of your intelligence," Shepard teased.

Miranda smiled at him cattily and leaned in closely to whisper in his ear. "I told you before: I do damn good work."

The hot air blowing against his ear scattered his thoughts a bit, preventing an immediate reply. Memories of what transpired on Illium when she first said that flooded back with perfect clarity though.

"Finally awake, I see," Chakwas said before Shepard could make a rebuttal. Her voice was filtered through the helmet of an environmental suit. Stopping at her table, she took off the helmet placed it on the desk, followed by the gloves. She walked up to his bed afterwords and started typing at the terminal nearby. "You've been making friends, Shepard."

"Yeah, I'm real popular," Shepard groaned. He started twisting his upper body to test the range of motion as well as stretch the bandages a bit. Since they were soaked with medi-gel, coupled with his own rapid-healing implants, he was feeling much better than he was hours ago. "How's the status of your team?" he asked Miranda.

"Tali took a hit, but it didn't penetrate her armor. Thane's leg was badly broken from a Scion's Shockwave. He'll be out of action for the next few days," she reported. "The rest of us are fine."

"Executive Lawson and Mr. Taylor were also injured, but like Tali, their armor protected them from any lasting injuries," Chakwas added. "Those two have bruises to show for their troubles. Tali has a slight, hairline fracture that I've already treated. She informed me that she lost feeling in her right arm for a bit as well. The round struck a nerve cluster that numbed it."

"Is she alright?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"She's fine. She has full motion of her limb. A full day of rest and she'll be fit for duty, though at her insistence, she said she's ready for duty now. Against my better judgment, I'm clearing her." She nodded her head at the AI Core Room. "She's currently in the next room. I had it sterilized so she could take off her environmental suit and allow me to treat her."

_Well, that explains why the Doc is wearing an environmental suit__._

Shepard nodded and looked around. Garrus was resting nearby. Mordin was running scans over him while he slept. Samara, Thane, and Jack were awake. Both Samara and Thane were sitting up on their beds, eyes closed in meditation. Jack was just lying in the next bed over, but sat up when Shepard woke. Grunt was nowhere to be seen.

"Garrus should be awake shortly, I suspect. He's just resting. All of his injuries have been tended to, though he won't be cleared for duty for at least a few days, as well as Mr. Krios," Chakwas said. "Samara and Jack will need to stay overnight for observation, but I suspect they'll insist on leaving, citing they are 'fine' and will ask to go back to their rooms. Grunt's leg was treated, but he decided to go back to his room a few minutes ago, against my recommendations." Chakwas sighed in exasperation. "Does everyone on your team have to be so stubborn?"

"When recruiting the 'best', you have to expect a bit of pride," Shepard explained with a smirk. Chuckling a bit when Chakwas rolled her eyes, he turned to Miranda. "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"We've evaded the Collectors. That was the easy part since their ship was disabled from the demo charges," she reported. "We've cleared the mass relay and have retreated to the Balor System as per your orders. Right now, we're currently discharging our drive core and venting the IES heat sinks. Joker informed us that our hard burn to reach the Collector vessel strained our fuel supplies, so we'll need to refuel as soon as possible. No new intelligence or orders have been given, so we have nothing to do for now."

Shepard nodded.

"I had your weapons taken to the Armory," she added. "Carefully. No direct contact to avoid the security precautions built into them. They're sitting in the corner."

"Appreciate it."

"Captain? The Illusive Man wishes speak to you," EDI informed.

Shepard scowled at the news.

"I got a few words to say to that bastard," Jack snarled. She tried to get out of bed before Chakwas bravely restrained her. "Hey!"

"I need to finish checking to see how much your arm has healed. Remember, your bone pierced your muscles. You will need rest or risk losing some motion," Chakwas sternly said. "Let Shepard talk to him. If you show up, the Illusive Man will simply hang up and call again later."

Jack growled, but complied with the good doctor.

"And me?" Shepard asked.

"I would also recommend rest for you as well, Shepard," Chakwas replied. "Unfortunately, I also know that you will ignore my advice since you're the most prideful and stubborn one of the entire lot. You're cleared for duty."

"We all have our flaws," he quipped. Despite the humor, his face was grim, bordering angry. Getting out of bed, he looked around for his shirt when Miranda wordlessly passed the garment over.

"Thanks," Shepard said. He could've have sworn he saw Miranda and Jack checking him out.

"Leave the bandages on for at least six hours. Come down and either Dr. Solus or I will remove them," Chakwas added. She turned back to the terminal and continued her examination of Jack.

"Got it, Doc." With that said, Shepard slipped on his shirt and stalked out the Med Bay.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

The Illusive Man was sitting and facing Shepard when the connection was established. "Shepard," he greeted. "Looks like EDI extracted some interesting data before the Collector ship came back online."

"Don't start with this bullshit," Shepard snarled. "You set us up and you better have a damn good reason for it."

"We needed information on the Omega-4 Relay. That required direct access to the Collector data. It was too good an opportunity to pass up." He paused to take smoke. "Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other human may as well be dead."

"Agreed. But I don't like surprises. Especially when my ass or my team's is on the line," Shepard retorted.

"I admit, it was trap… but I knew you would suspect as much and I was confident in your abilities. Tipping you off could have alerted them in any number of ways." He crossed his legs and tapped his cigarette in the ashtray. "And don't forget EDI," he reminded. "The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me? You say I'm important, but you sure try hard to get me killed," Shepard ground out.

"If I didn't think you could handle it, I wouldn't have sent you in," he replied smoothly.

Shepard resisted the urge to growl. He knew he lost this argument. Any further words would be pointless and would only serve to attack his abilities and competency regarding the mission. "You have one job: information. If I can't trust your intel, you're useless to me," he warned.

The Illusive Man narrowed his eyes. "It's never that simple. You of all people should know that," he responded in a matching tone.

"The usual go-to excuse people use when they don't like justifying their actions," he countered. "If it isn't simple, it's complicated; the ends justify the means after that."

"I've never lied to you, Shepard."

"Coming from you, that means absolutely nothing," Shepard said, reigning in his temper and schooling his features to become more impassive. "Instead of lying, you omit the truth, making everything you say or **don't **say just as worthless. I'll be lot more careful. With the Collectors and with** you**."

The Illusive Man clenched his jaw. "This is no time for petty grudges."

"Any problems you and I have between us are **never** petty."

Both men stared each other down, neither gaining nor losing ground in their silent contest of wills.

Eventually the Illusive Man broke the silence between them. "EDI confirmed our suspicions," he said. He paused to take a smoke. "The Reapers and Collector ships use an identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize." He exhaled the rest of his smoke and tapped his cigarette into the ashtray again. "All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"You have a plan." It was a statement, not a question.

"I have another team tasked with retrieving the IFF. Once we have it, it'll be sent to you," the Illusive Man replied, more calm than he was a minute ago. "Until then, I suggest you tell your crew that I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily." He took a drink from the tumbler at his side. "It will make things easier going forward."

"How about you take your 'suggestion' and go to hell," Shepard snapped. "I'll tell them what **I** think of you and let them draw their own conclusions. You want my trust? Go out of your way to earn it. Otherwise, you get what you ask for."

"Shepard..." The Illusive Man tried to say. Or warn.

He would have none of it. Turning around, he 'left' the office.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Caleston Rift Cluster, Balor System, Normandy SR-2**_

Stepping away from the cylindrical scanner, Shepard calmed down when he saw the familiar metal walls of the Normandy. More importantly, he heard nothing further of the Illusive Man's words. "EDI, terminate the transmission and tell the squad to assemble. Those that can't make it: set up video conferencing with the Med Bay. We got a lot to talk about."

"Of course, Captain."

Shepard sat down in his seat after the table and chairs returned to their original places. Running a hand down his face and blinking tiredly, he waited until the others arrived.

Jacob was first, having been in the Armory. Miranda, Mordin, and Kasumi entered next. Tali and Grunt were the last to enter. The others were displayed via holo-monitors on the center of the table. Garrus was awake and responsive, though still confined to bed as was Jack, Samara, and Thane.

"Well?" Jack asked impatiently once everyone was settled in. "What did that bastard say?"

"He admitted that he knew it was a trap and said that telling us might tip the Collectors off. He relied on EDI as our hidden weapon," Shepard listed off before smiling humorlessly. "And he also said that he knew we could handle it."

Jacob scoffed. "So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could've fooled me."

Mordin nodded. "Lied to us. Used us. Needed access to the Collector data banks. Necessary risk."

Shepard leaned back in his chair. "I should probably let you all know: He also wanted me to tell you that he didn't risk our lives unnecessarily and that understanding what he did will make things 'easier' going forward."

"You mean 'gullible'," Jack spat out furiously from the Med Bay. "Y'know what? 'Fuck that and fuck you'. That's what you say the next time you see him."

"I'll take that under advisement," he replied. "He tries something like that again and the Collectors will be the least of his problems."

"So what now?" Tali asked.

"We wait," Shepard said. "The Illusive Man is securing a Reaper Identify Friend/Foe system from… somewhere." He shrugged. "We'll install it and use it to get through the Omega-4 Relay."

"Is it going to work?" Garrus asked from his bed.

"EDI?" Shepard asked.

"My analysis is accurate, Captain," EDI assured. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel."

"Really?"

A miniature image of their galaxy appeared over the center of the table. One area was highlighted in red. Everyone leaned forward, studying EDI's findings with varying degrees of disbelief.

Miranda broke the silence. "That can't be right…"

"That's interesting," Shepard mumbled.

"The galactic core?" Tali asked incredulously. "Impossible. There's no way…"

"The core is just black holes and exploding suns. There aren't any habitable planets there," Jacob said.

"Could be an artificial construction. Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields," Mordin theorized.

"Even the Collectors don't have that kind of technology," Miranda argued.

"They don't, but the Reapers might," Shepard pointed out. "They're the ones that built the Citadel and the mass relays. And that's the technology they wanted us to find and use."

"That's what Sovereign said back on Virmire," Garrus agreed. "By using their technology, we develop tech based off everything they wanted us to make."

"While keeping the best for themselves," Shepard finished. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. "It's the perfect defensive position and completely uncharted. No wonder nobody's ever returned from a trip through the Omega-4 Relay."

"The logical conclusion is that a small safe zone exists on the far side of the relay," EDI said. "A region where ships can survive."

"And we're going there?" Kasumi rhetorically asked. "I heard you were hardcore, Shep. But this is something else."

"This is actually something of a personal record for trouble for me too," Shepard replied with a sigh before turning back to EDI. "How does the IFF work?"

"Using standard relay protocols, drift of several thousand kilometers is common and would be fatal in the galactic core," EDI explained. "The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advanced, encrypted protocols."

"Any idea when we're supposed to get this IFF?" Jacob asked.

"No," Shepard replied. "It'll be sent to us when the Illusive Man gets it and I have no idea where or when **he's** getting it."

"So what are our immediate plans?" Miranda asked.

"We're going to the Alpha Draconis System."

Jacob's head snapped up at the news. Interestingly, Miranda also paid rapt attention as well.

"What's over there?" Tali asked in confusion.

"A distress beacon. We're going to investigate and rescue any survivors of a downed ship there," Shepard explained. "Only Jacob and I will be going to assess and secure the area. The rest of you will remain aboard and relax. Mordin, you'll be on standby. If we find any injuries, you'll need to come down to render any medical assistance."

"Understood," Mordin said.

"Jacob? Is that alright with you?"

"It's your call, Captain. Whatever you decide, I'm with you," Jacob acknowledged evenly. There was a subtle undertone of gratitude in his voice though.

"Any more questions?" Shepard asked.

Several people shook their heads.

"Okay. Dismissed." Everyone filed out or their monitors vanished, but Kasumi and Mordin hesitated at the doorway.

"I remember, Kasumi. I'll try to keep my schedule open and we'll head to the party soon," Shepard assured, taking a guess at what she wanted.

She smiled appreciatively and left.

"Mordin," Shepard said before rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked up from his seat to see the anxious look on the professor's face. "Look, I want to help your assistant, but distress calls need to be answered. I promise: after we help the survivors, we'll make for Tuchanka immediately. I just need you to be patient."

Mordin sighed, but nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Shepard. Know you're busy. Understand your reasoning. Will help anyway I can."

"Thank you," Shepard gratefully returned. After Mordin left, he stood up and trekked to the Armory to place his weapons into his locker. Jacob and Miranda were talking in low tones at the other side of the room, but stopped when he had entered.

Miranda gave Jacob a nod before approached the Spectre. "The crewmen asked if they can have another party."

Shepard chuckled. "Alright. Since we're not in danger, I guess I can relax some of the rules. Just make sure they drink in moderation, though if anyone wants to get piss drunk, its fine too. Just this once."

She looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

"The couple of days have been hard on them. I'm willing to cut everyone some slack."

"Very well. There is one problem," she said. "Kasumi has taken residence in the observation lounge. We'll need to move the party to the Common Area. Is that all right?"

"It's fine. It'll allow the others in the Med Bay to join in a little. I'll probably go myself this time."

Miranda smiled. "I'll see you there, then."

Shepard nodded and followed her into the CIC. She entered the elevator while he made his way to the galaxy map.

Kelly was at her station and sighed in relief as his presence. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Captain."

"So am I," he replied. He stepped up to the galaxy map and inputted their newest destination.

"I was really worried when you were trapped on the Collector ship. Thank goodness for EDI," she said.

"The Normandy crew delivered. EDI included," he said.

"_Coordinates locked in,"_ Joker acknowledged. _"Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis system. We can leave in ten minutes, but we'll need to refuel somewhere and then make a long run in FTL to get to the Alpha Draconis System from the mass relay. Total ETA: 25 hours."_

"Got it, Joker. Just get us there as quickly as possible," Shepard replied.

"The Illusive Man made sure EDI was installed for this mission. Now I see why," Kelly continued.

"So do I," Shepard agreed wholeheartedly. The ambush was fresh in his mind.

Kelly studied his face. "You look tired."

Shepard laughed lightly. "That's because I **am **tired. I'm going to get some rack. Let me know if there's anything that needs my attention. Or when the party starts."

"Of course, Captain. Pleasant dreams."

**~o~O~o~**

A shower and a brief nap did wonders for the aches and pains Shepard suffered from after surviving the Collector ambush. Kelly dutifully informed him that the party was well underway in the Crew Deck an hour after their conversation. Getting dressed, Shepard casually made his way to the lift. As he descended, the music from the gathering could clearly be heard in the elevator before he even got to Deck 3.

The festivities were in full swing when Shepard arrived. Despite being moved from the Port Observation Room, the crew was still having a good time. Glancing at the Med Bay, he saw that the windows were transparent. Garrus was sitting up and chatting with Tali. Thane and Samara were nowhere to be seen.

A voice from behind answered his thoughts. "They decided to rest in their quarters."

Turning around, Shepard spotted Chakwas walking up to him with a drink in her hand. "Sorry. I would've had this done in the hangar, but with the Kodiak's landing…"

"They're all resting," Chakwas said with a shrug. "Just resting in their own ways, though. I suppose with a squad such as yours, I have to take what I can get."

Laughing good-naturedly, they chatted for a bit before Mordin ran up to Chakwas. "Doctor! Glad to see you! Must talk! Acquired samples from Collector ship! Would like second opinion!"

"I heard the news. Protheans… It's quite shocking," Chakwas admitted. "Then again, a great many things seem to happen around you, Shepard."

"Two supposed extinct species and one undiscovered one!" Mordin chattered excitedly. "Can't wait to see what else you may have discovered!"

"I'm not an archeologist, exobiologist, geneticist, or xenogenealogist, Mordin," Shepard pointedly reminded. He couldn't help but grin at the salarian's infectious enthusiasm though.

"No, but very fortunate regardless," Mordin argued.

"In more ways than one," Chakwas commented.

Shepard cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to say, that was pretty much the limit of the unknown species I've met."

"For now. With you, Shepard, who knows?" Chakwas added teasingly. She turned to Mordin. "Well, Professor. Shall we take this to my office then? I should check on Garrus anyway."

"He's fine, right?" Shepard asked.

"He is. But I'm not allowing him to return to active duty for some time. I'll let you know when he's up and about," Chakwas replied. "And be sure to come by so we can remove those bandages."

"You're the doc, Doc."

She and Mordin made their way to the Med Bay, leaving Shepard alone. Surveying the room, he saw that Rupert was back on bartending duty. Donnelly, Matthews, and Hawthorne were engaged in a drinking contest, fully taking advantage of Shepard's change of heart about alcohol restrictions. Judging from the way Ken was shouting exuberantly after every round, he was probably winning. Credits were exchanging hands as various crewmen placed bets and shouted encouragements.

"I know you said 'moderation', but I lacked the heart to tell them to stop," Miranda said as she approached. She offered Shepard a drink. "I see you're not being a stranger this time."

Taking the proffered drink, Shepard smiled. "Thanks. I'm surprised you're not laying down the law a little."

"I would, but as you said, everyone was feeling the pressure." She took a sip of her own drink, before rolling her head side-to-side to relieve her own pent up stress. "I really can't blame them. Once we acquire the IFF…" She gestured to the assembled people. "I thought it would be alright to let them have some small pleasures."

"I have to admit, that's something I never would thought you would do," Shepard confessed.

She shrugged and before smiling. "Perhaps you're a bad influence on me."

"Speaking of influences, I want to thank you."

Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"For disobeying my orders and probably saving the lives of my team as well as myself," he clarified. "I really am grateful for the help."

"You're welcome," she replied before smirking. "Though, in your case, I saved your life twice."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Shepard exasperatedly said.

"As the woman that brought the most famous human back to life, how could I resist?" she said with a small laugh.

Shepard rolled his eyes, but laughed with her all the same. He tried to ignore how musical her laugh sounded and instead, nodded his head in time with the music as he watched the party. Matthew's had bowed out of the contest, leaving Hawthorne and Donnelly to continue. Taking sip of his drink, he turned back to Miranda. "We should talk."

She looked at him quizzically before realizing what he meant. "Now?"

He shrugged. "Whenever. Soon. If you're not comfortable…"

"Maybe after the rescue mission?" she suggested. "It's not that I'm not comfortable. I just don't want to complicate things." She sighed and took another sip. "And what had happened… it's very complicated. I don't even know how to express what I felt."

Thinking back to that night, he couldn't help but agree. Even now, he couldn't help but be captivated of the woman before him. The feelings he had when his thoughts drifted to a certain Alliance Operations Chief faded just a bit, the sting of their break-up lessening. "Alright. But we **do** need to talk."

"I know. We will. Just…"

"Not yet."

"Right." She finished her drink off and turned to face him fully. "We're still okay though?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Good," she said, before sighing. "If it means anything, I wasn't… entirely adverse to our… moment," she confessed hesitantly before grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the rest of the crewmen before he could say anything. "Let's get another drink then. I believe Jacob and Kasumi mentioned a toast for a mission well done. It's only appropriate that the man of the hour should be in attendance."

"But Grunt's in the hold. Should I go get him?"

She rolled eyes and jerked his arm a bit harder than necessary.

Her smile couldn't be suppressed though, Shepard noted. He tried vainly to ignore how beatific it looked on her as he was dragged to the middle of the party. He remembered Ashley's words on Horizon.

"_It's been two years. I've moved on."_

At that point, Shepard wondered if he should do the same.

"…_you all split up and moved on with your lives while I was just catching up to the fact that I lost two years of __**my**__ life."_

Amid the cheers and the applause for the successful mission, he made a resolution that despite the missing out on a couple of years, he should try and move on. Just like everyone else had, for better or worse.

Ken drunkenly whooped in victory when Hawthorne passed out.

**~o~O~o~**

Jack studied the readouts on her omni-tool, but this was something well beyond her abilities to understand.

_Being educated in the penal system doesn't really help me here._

She took another pull from the bottle at her feet. The party ended an hour ago, but that redhead, Kelly, came down with a plate of food and some beer a while ago.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" she had asked.

Jack scoffed. The idea that she would ever join Cerberus in anything, much less in celebration was laughable. Still, she had to admit, with a deep sense of irony, that this was the best setup she'd ever found. Free food, drinks, a personal 'room', clean bathrooms, and all the fights she could want. It would've perfect if she didn't see the Cerberus symbol stenciled everywhere.

Huffing in frustration, she stood up and climbed the stairs. Entering the engine room, she marched right up to the quarian.

Tali was at her station as well as the other Cerberus engineers. They were working on something or other that Jack didn't care about.

Walking up behind Tali, Jack tapped her shoulder to gain her attention.

"Yes? What…?" Tali asked before turning around. "Oh. Um, hi," she greeted slowly.

"I want to talk to you about something."

Tali tilted her head, her posture suggesting that she was surprised.

Jack expected this. She'd barely said a whole sentence to the engineer since coming aboard.

"Um… sure," Tali replied uncertainly.

"In private," Jack stressed. "No **prying** ears."

Nodding in understanding, Tali gestured Jack to follow her into the Tantalus Drive Core Room. Jack glared at the other two engineers as they walked by. The man jerked his head the other way while the woman slugged him in the shoulder and snickered at him.

Stopping at the mass effect core console, Tali turned back to regard the convict. "We can talk here."

Jack looked around suspiciously. "You sure?"

"Bugs don't work here at all. Too much interference. The AI might be able hear us though, but there's nothing we can do about that thing."

"Damn it," Jack groused. "Can't be helped, I guess."

"Something up?"

"I need you to look at this. **Only** you. Definitely **not** Cerberus." Jack turned on her omni-tool and sent the information she'd collected on the Collector Guardian Assault Rifle.

Tali looked down at her own omni-tool and looked through the data. "What is this?"

"Remember how these Collector Guardians can charge their guns with Warp?"

Tali nodded and looked closer at the data. "This is it?"

"I tore apart one of their weapons back on the Collector ship and scanned as much as I could. I was wondering if you could do something."

"Like reverse-engineer this and repurpose it for you," Tali said.

Jack nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Maybe. I'd need to study this. Biotics isn't a specialty of mine though."

"Whatever you can do."

"I'd have to tell Shepard," Tali warned.

Jack narrowed her eyes. "I don't want Cerberus knowing about this. The only reason I'm telling you is because you hate them almost as much as I do."

"We're in agreement about that, but I trust Shepard."

Huffing again, this time in annoyance, Jack crossed her arms. After a moment to consider the options, she nodded in agreement. "Fine. So long as he keeps his mouth shut about this. Last thing I want is Cerberus getting their hands on some new weaponry."

"A weapon modification that allows bullets to be imbued with biotic powers? I wouldn't want them to have it, either," Tali concurred. "This will take a lot of time and I got a lot to do already."

"No rush. I just wanted someone I could trust to work on this. You ain't with Cerberus and you hate them. That works for me. Tech isn't really my thing."

Tali giggled. "I'm sure. I'll let you know when I have something, then?"

"Perfect," Jack replied before turning around and leaving.

**~o~O~o~**

In spite of her best efforts, Samara could no longer find her center. The mediation exercises she had been practicing for centuries failed to work this time. She couldn't achieve inner peace. Her mind would unwillingly go back to her first mission alongside her new companions.

She fought all manner of mercenaries, pirates, and other assorted villains throughout her life, even before giving herself to the Justicar Code. When Shepard offered the opportunity to combat the Collectors, she knew they would be difficult foes. At the time, she relished the idea of pitting her talents against them.

_Hubris strikes me with impunity._

The reality of the situation was far more than she could hope to prepare for. Scions, Praetorians, and Harbinger, in particular, proved to be more than anything she'd ever fought. Their frantic push through the Collector vessel showed how dangerous this undertaking would be. The young biotic woman, Jack, and the assassin, Thane Krios, were right. Even reconnaissance held a close brush with death; with the worst still to come. Dying wasn't the cause of her unease, however. It was knowing that her task, the reason she choose the path of the justicar, would remain unfulfilled. It was a distraction she couldn't afford.

Despite the doctor's instructions, Samara left the confines of her room. The party had ended some time ago, leaving the Common Area a mess with a few crewmen cleaning up after everyone. Politely acknowledging them, she glided across the room. The injuries she sustained were now minor, though it certainly felt significant earlier.

The men's bathroom opened behind her with the familiar pneumatic hiss, but she heard no footsteps. Turning around she saw Thane step out. She raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed with the drell.

He moved with a noticeable limp, though the doctor assured him that he would be fine within a few days. Despite the injury, he moved in complete silence. If the door hadn't opened, she wouldn't have detected his presence at all.

Thane silently, but respectfully nodded in greeting, before slowly making his way back to his room in the Life Support plant. As he passed by her though, Samara could detect a faint sense of worry in his manner.

She never fancied herself as the prying sort, even more so when she became a justicar. Some things were better left unknown. But there was something the compelled her to indulge in her curiosity. For reasons she couldn't fathom, she politely asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Thane paused and turned around. His face was neutral, but she could tell he was mildly surprised by her inquiry. "No. My injury bothers me a little, but it's nothing I haven't endured before."

"Forgive me. I wasn't referring to your injury," Samara said. "I was under the impression that something was bothering you personally."

He smiled thinly. "I could say the same of you."

Her respect for Thane increased. He was quite astute in his own ways. "I… was thinking of our last mission."

"As was I," he quietly said. He bowed his head. "Excuse me. There are several contacts I need to speak to." Looking back up, she saw his eyes. There was something there that she couldn't identify though it seemed so very familiar. "There is someone I would like to check … I need to know how he's doing."

"Of course. There is someone I need to speak to as well." Letting Thane go back to his room, Samara continued to the Miranda's office. Tapping the holographic display to announce her presence, she waited until she heard the intercom.

"Enter."

The door opened with a soft hiss. Samara walked inside and stopped short of the desk.

Despite the late hour, the Executive Officer was still up, typing away at her terminal. Working for a few seconds more, she shut down the holo-monitor and looked up. "Something I can do for you, Samara?"

"I need to use the communications room. There is someone I'd like to contact," Samara requested.

"May I ask who and what about?"

"Dr. Liara T'Soni on Illium. She is helping me locate my quarry while I assist with your mission."

Miranda nodded. "Permission granted. If I may ask, and you don't have to answer, what exactly is an Ardat-Yakshi? I've never heard of something like this."

"It isn't well known outside asari space," Samara said. "To put simply: it an asari that kills through mating due to a genetic anomaly. With every kill, she grows stronger. The effect is addictive, meaning she will keep on killing."

"And how long has she been doing this?" Miranda asked.

"She has been killing for over 400 years."

"So she's that dangerous now?"

"Very."

Miranda nodded and typed a few commands into her terminal. "I suppose that will be all. I've arranged for you to use the Comm. Room. I'm contacting Liara now."

"Thank you." With nothing more to be said, Samara left. Making her way to Command Deck, she moved through the empty Armory and into the Comm. Room.

Liara's image was already waiting when she entered. "Justicar Samara."

"Have you any news?"

"I'm afraid not. 'Mirata' has proven quite… elusive."

Samara's face betrayed nothing. She was, however, beginning to suspect that the people Shepard surrounded himself with would continue to amaze and impress her as their time together continued. "She was always very capable."

"I must confess, my contacts almost lost her more than once, but I believe I have an idea where she may stop. If only for a little while."

"Where?"

"Omega. Death happens often enough over there that she could kill and be unnoticed. It would also provide sufficient means of escape from hundreds of ships, should she ever get wind of your presence. Finally, there is enough injustice there that you would be obligated to follow your Code, giving her ample time to get advanced warning and flee," Liara explained before shrugging. "At this point, it's a supposition, but ships she has been travelling on have very strong ties to Omega. Rest assured, I will continue to watch her."

Samara nodded. "I thank you."

"Good luck on the mission, Justicar."

"You as well."

Trekking back to her quarters, Samara sat back down and returned to her meditations. She felt assured that Liara would keep her word. The young woman proved most clever thus far. That knowledge settled her fears. Samara could feel her mind return to a state of tranquility. The sphere of dark energy returned to its place between her hands. As her thoughts calmed, she took a deep breath and relaxed into her trance.

It was in this state she vividly recalled her strange compulsion to speak to Thane. Her unusual interest into his affairs. His face when she asked. His eyes when he answered…

"_There is someone I would like to check on. Someone… I need to know how he's doing."_

His eyes… Abruptly, the justicar lost her concentration again. The wisps of dark energy in her hands dispersed and faded away.

She recognized the look in his eyes now; the haunted, devastated, anguished appearance. Whatever the species, that kind of pain always remained the same.

_First hubris, now curiosity._

She saw those eyes every time she remembered her bondmate. Every time she looked into a mirror.

She had the same eyes every time she remembered **her** crimes.

**~o~O~o~**

Business as usual continued on the Normandy. The crewmen recovered from their frivolities to return to their shifts to ensure the frigate continued running smoothly.

Shepard was pleased to hear that the GUARDIAN lasers were back online. The Disruptor Torpedoes would soon follow in a few days with the Thanix Cannon not too long after, barring any further problems. Tali also mentioned that she was working on a 'personal' project for Jack and she would give him the details soon.

Dr. Chakwas cleared Samara this morning. Thane and Garrus were to remain off-duty. Shepard travelled below decks to see Jack had almost fully recovered, but also considered inactive until the doctor was satisfied. Grunt had already healed from his injuries as per the norm of his species and was also cleared for duty. Everyone else, including Shepard, was fit for active duty as well.

With only a few hours left until their destination, Shepard was sitting with Miranda at the Common Area eating lunch and talking about trivial things. Minutes before, she had informed him that Jacob had sequestered himself in the Armory a few hours ago and was exercising to try to release some of his nervous energy. Shepard made no comment, knowing exactly what might await them on Aeia. He suspected that Miranda knew as well. They avoided talking about the previous or upcoming mission since the entire crew still buzzed about their latest encounter with the Collectors, particularly the incredible discovery within.

"I can't believe the Collectors were once Protheans," Hawthorne said with a shake of his head. He was drinking quite a bit of water to assist his recovery from last night's drinking game.

"I always pictured Protheans being regal. Not giant… bugs," Goldstein said in agreement.

"Who knows what the Reapers did to them. Creepy."

Shepard and Miranda continued to talk until their conversation was interrupted by Mordin's jovial greeting. "Hello, Shepard. Executive Lawson."

"Professor," Miranda courteously replied.

"Afternoon, Mordin." Shepard took a bit out of his meal before speaking again. "Sleep well last night?"

"Only slept for an hour. Needed run more tests," he answered negligently.

Shepard and Miranda ceased whatever they were doing to stare at the salarian. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes. Fine. Excited to learn more about Collectors. Protheans. Even rachni. Sacrificed sleep to continue to work. Hopefully get samples of rachni someday," Mordin said. He paused only to take a breath. "Would love the chance to study them. Was always curious about their species. Had always wondered why they instigated war."

"I actually have a theory about that," Shepard said.

"Really?" Miranda asked.

"You don't need to sound so surprised," he grumbled.

"Oh. No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just…" Miranda trailed off, slightly embarrassed by her slip.

"I get it," he said. "And it's fine. You're the scientists, I'm the marine."

"It's not like that. You're very intelligent in your own right," Miranda quickly and awkwardly said before shaking her head. "Just… never mind. What's your theory?"

"It pretty much boils down to the Reapers, really. The VI at Ilos, Vigil, once told us that Saren may have been Sovereign's most public agent, but not the only one."

"Ah, rachni indoctrinated by Reapers to cause war?" Mordin asked.

"Rachni have a hive mind. All Sovereign had to do was indoctrinate a queen the rest would follow. The rachni lived in an area that was undiscovered. They could multiply quickly, were powerful, and were dangerous; the perfect weapon for Sovereign. It'd use the rachni to attack the Citadel so Sovereign could activate the mass relay there, just like Saren and the geth tried to do. It was probably hoping to amass an armada powerful enough to overwhelm all of Citadel space."

Miranda nodded in understanding. "But salarian explorers unlocked the mass relay and made first contact with the rachni, forcing Sovereign to accelerate its plan."

"Except it didn't count on the resistance posed by the krogan," Shepard said. "Its existence managed to remain secret, but it definitely had to be careful and try again some other way." Shepard leaned back in his chair. "And now, we got a hidden rachni army that wants to help us fight the Reapers. Finally, something that goes our way."

"Hmm. Interesting. Adequate facts to support supposition. But still… too little information." Mordin sighed. "So much to study… so little time… May have to lose more sleep to keep up."

Shepard and Miranda laughed at his plight.

"That's actually a valid theory, Shepard," Miranda praised.

"I have my moments."

**~o~O~o~**

After lunch, Shepard decided to kill a bit of time by chatting with Kasumi since he lacked the opportunity last time. He walked to the Port Observation Room and entered. And then blinked in confusion. The room resembled an art gallery, rather than a social communal area.

"Ah, I see you like what I've done with the place."

Locating the source of the voice took a bit of effort. Kasumi was sitting on one of the leather couches next to the landscape window. Her dark clothes blended well with the dark sofas.

"I thought you said you packed light," Shepard said.

She smiled and shrugged. "Maybe I understated that." She stretched on the couch and made herself comfortable. "I usually travel hidden away in cargo bays. It's nice to be able to look out a window for a change," she said as she turned her head to see the flashing waves of energy seen in FTL.

"I see." Shepard took a closer look around the room. "Where do you get all of this stuff? Is all of this from your heists?"

"A few, but not all," she said. Standing up, she pointed at one of the paintings. "That one isn't one I've stolen, but it's still my favorite piece…"

She started explained the various works around him. Her favorite painting was done by a child, a prodigy, whose life she saved. It was made as a reward. Another painting was a memento of the first time she and Keiji met. Shepard grinned when he imagined the petite thief actually tackling someone. A bust on the table was something she had stolen on a dare from her late partner.

Shepard picked up a red rose on the table and glanced at her.

"The red rose," she explained fondly. "That used to be my calling card when I first started out. In place of whatever I took, I left a single red rose."

"Very theatrical. I was always under the impression that you had a flair for the dramatic."

She grinned. "Guilty as charged. It wasn't until I met Keiji that I realized how silly it was. He had a way of making you realize when you were just being sentimental."

Placing the rose down, Shepard turned to the shelf next to the cot in the corner. He looked through the spines of the books placed there, even recognizing a few. He couldn't help, but snicker at a couple of other titles.

"Don't laugh," Kasumi scolded with a swat on his arm. "I like those books." Her voice took on a wistful tone. "Romance novels-" She glared when Shepard tried vainly to hold in his laughter. "-Crime novels, the classics," she listed off. She picked up one of the books and turned its pages randomly. "There's something about the feel of actual paper in your hands, their musty smell… it's relaxing."

"Huh," Shepard simply said. He carried a few paper books up in his cabin, but he had never thought twice about it. Certainly nothing like the way Kasumi felt about paper books. In an age where holographic interfaces were common, paper seemed trivial and cumbersome. "I don't think I've ever looked at books that way before."

"Your loss, Shep," she teased before delicately placing the book in its rightful place. "Keiji used to find books for me while on the job. Some of these are more valuable than the objects he was hired to steal."

"Because of the information or the rarity?"

"Either. Sometimes both."

Shepard nodded and looked around before settling his eyes on a holopad. On it was a picture of the statue of Saren, prompting him to frown.

Kasumi followed his gaze and reached to turn off the holopad. "Still finishing the last minute details. Don't worry. Everything will be ready in time."

"I've stolen things for the Alliance before, but certainly not like this," he said.

"Not used to dressing up and going incognito, Shep?"

"I've done undercover work before," he said, trying to keep his voice from sounding defensive.

Kasumi laughed and sat down at the desk. "By the way, did you see the formal wear I left for you in your closet?"

Shepard blinked and shook his head. "I guess I must've missed it. Unless you're sneaking around my ship again."

"Take a look when you get the chance. Latest style. Much better than your Alliance dress uniform. I'm sure you'll look splendid." She didn't confirm or deny his accusation.

"Great," he mumbled.

Laughing again, Kasumi turned back to the datapads and continued working before turning around again. "Hey, do you know if there's anything going on between Miranda and Jacob?" she asked in an innocent tone.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the question. "I don't know, I've never asked. Why are **you** asking?"

"No reason."

"Yes there is," Shepard countered childishly.

"Is there anything going on between you and Miranda?" she boldly asked.

Shepard crossed his arms and said nothing.

Smiling impishly in return, she turned back to the table and continued working on her newest heist.

"Well, I'm glad to see you've made yourself comfortable," Shepard said before turning to leave.

"Thanks," she replied without looking up. "Though I was a bit surprised by your assistant. Kelly, wasn't it? I thought she was coming on to me at first, but I guess she was just being friendly to the new girl."

Shepard shook his head and waved before excusing himself.

"_We're approaching Aeia. ETA: 2 hours. And if anyone sees Hawthorne, tell him he owes me for taking a double shift because he's too hung over to fly,"_ Joker said.

"I'm sorry! Okay? !" Hawthorne shouted from the Common Area. "Damn Donnelly. Drinks like a camel or something…"

Chuckling to himself, Shepard entered the elevator with Kelly and hit the button for his cabin while she hit the button for the CIC. Because of Shepard's authority, the elevator would go to his destination before anyone else's.

As the lift ascended, Kelly turned to him. "I saw you leaving Kasumi's room."

"I just wanted to see how she was adjusting. I understand that you talked to her as well."

"She's an interesting addition to the crew. I can see why she's good at her work… she never reveals anything meaningful about herself," Kelly said.

"Really? I thought I learned quite a bit about her," Shepard said.

"Maybe because it's you?" Kelly replied with a grin. "All I got was the surface, the face she presents to the world. It'll be a challenge getting to know who she really is."

The doors opened, revealing the entrance to the Captain's Cabin. "You mean besides being a kleptomaniac?" Shepard jokingly said before stepping out.

The doors closed before Kelly could respond.

**~o~O~o~**

"Distress beacon received, Captain," EDI reported.

Equipping his armor, Shepard turned to the orb next to his aquarium. "And?"

"I have identified it as the MSV Hugo Gernsback, registry BW4610034087. It is a privately held civilian ship under the command of Captain Harris Fairchild and first officer Ronald Taylor."

"Survivors?"

"Preliminary scans show a sizable settlement not too far from the crash site. Thermal scans indicate the presence of fires. I believe there are multiple survivors. I will get a more accurate number as we approach."

"Call Jacob. Tell him to arm up and meet in the hangar. This is a rescue mission, so only light arms. Is Hawthorne cleared for duty?"

"Dr. Chakwas has approved Hawthorne for duty one hour ago. I will inform Operative Taylor, Mr. Hawthorne, and Ms. Goldstein to report to the hangar."

"Thanks, EDI." Finishing his prep, Shepard got on the elevator and quickly retrieved his armaments. Hadley and Matthews were inside, temporarily taking over Jacob's duty while Shepard equipped himself.

"So the Collectors were once Protheans, repurposed by the Reapers. Sad end," Hadley said.

Matthews nodded in agreement. "Makes you wonder if the keepers on the Citadel were once something different." Looking up, he spotted Shepard and snapped to attention. "Sir!"

Hadley followed his example. "Sir!"

"Log my weapons," Shepard ordered. He was only equipped with his HMWP and HMWSG.

"Yes, sir," Matthews acknowledged before typing away at the terminal. "All done."

Absently nodding, Shepard traveled to the hangar and spotted Jacob standing impatiently next to the Kodiak. He was only equipped with a pistol.

"Captain," Jacob tersely said before realizing who he was addressing. "I mean-"

"Its fine, Jacob. Remember: this is a rescue mission. We're to recon and secure the area before calling in the Alliance."

"Understood, Captain." Jacob swallowed and took a deep breath. "Thanks for this."

Shepard gripped his shoulder. "Don't mention it. I just hope we'll find some good news about your father."

"I'm not getting my hopes up, but thanks."

"_We're almost in orbit. ETA: 10 minutes."_

Just as he and Jacob were about to board the Kodiak, Miranda called out to him.

"Shepard!"

Both men turned around to see Miranda walking toward them. She was in full armor, sans helmet, and equipped with her Predator Heavy Pistol. "Going somewhere, Miranda?"

"Permission to come along," she requested.

He turned to Jacob. "Your call."

Jacob stared at her for a bit, silently considering her offer, before nodding. "Yeah, she can come."

"Permission granted," Shepard said.

Goldstein's head popped out from the door of the shuttle. "Captain? According to the scans, there's a suitable LZ near the wreckage of the Gernsback."

Shepard entered the shuttle first and helped Jacob and Miranda inside. "Prepare for launch!"

"_Aye, aye, Captain,"_ Hawthorne acknowledged. _"And don't worry. I don't feel hung over at all!"_ he cheerfully added.

"Hawthorne, if you kill us, I swear to God, I'll disembowel you," Jacob retorted.

Shepard couldn't help but laugh as he settled in and awaited the signal to depart.

**~o~O~o~**

Author's Notes:

Well… another very original chapter. For me, at least.

In the course of characterizing everyone, I find rather interesting little things about them. I had never thought Samara and Thane to be so similar (Outside the meditation thing) until I realized that they had children to look after. In Samara's case, she had to kill her daughter. Thane was trying to save his son. They both carry themselves distantly from the rest of the squad, not because they are outcasts or anything, but because they are tortured by their past. Writing this chapter certainly opened my eyes to their personas. Especially to what drives them.

I felt that, while neither of them fears dying, the mission proved their mortality and thought of their respective children forced them to look into their 'loose ends'. Seemed like a good time after the Collector ship mission.

About Samara, when I say 'her' crimes, the meaning is a bit deeper than at first glance. Hope you spotted it.

New poll up regarding Kasumi's loyalty mission. Graybox: Keep or destroy. 20 vote limit.

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	30. The Gift of Greatness

_**Location: Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis System, Approaching Orbit Around Aeia, Normandy SR-2**_

Jacob paced impatiently next to the Kodiak as the Normandy approached the planet Aeia. He looked over the message EDI gave him once again. It was the distress signal the VI of his father's ship was transmitting.

"_General distress: MSV Hugo Gernsback, registration BW4610034087. Impact at unscheduled suborbital deceleration recorded. Message repeats."_

Unsurprisingly, the message was brief, uninformative, and frustratingly unhelpful. No details or names or anything that could help him find out what the hell was going on. It was shit like this that was putting him in an irritable mood. And it was that mood that made him turn to see Shepard standing nearby and greet him with impertinence. "Captain," he curtly said before realizing his mistake. "I mean-"

"Its fine, Jacob," Shepard said, forgiving his faux pas. "Remember: this is a rescue mission. We're to recon and secure the area before calling in the Alliance."

He knew that this was way more than a rescue mission, but he was put at ease by Shepard's easy confidence. "Understood, Captain." He took a deep breath to calm down. Shepard was already going out of his way to help him out. This was something that he couldn't let himself take for granted. "Thanks for this."

Shepard gripped his shoulder and tried to boost his morale. "Don't mention it. I just hope we'll find some good news about your father."

_After all this time? Yeah, right._ Jacob remembered the last message his father had prepared if the worst had come to pass. Reading it hurt, but like the rest of his past, it healed. There were too many missed opportunities, too many missed moments, that any promise Ronald Taylor made was expected to be hollow and artificial. Jacob had no reason to see why the trend would change now. At this point, it was better to expect the worst than presume the best. "I'm not getting my hopes up, but thanks."

"_We're almost in orbit. ETA: 10 minutes,"_ Joker announced.

He and Shepard were about to board the shuttle when Miranda's voice called out. "Shepard!"

Turning around, Jacob couldn't contain his curiosity at her presence. While he confided to her about the possibility that his father might be alive, he didn't think she really cared. Just enough to lend an ear for him to vent, but not much more.

She approached them, dressed in full gear and armed with her pistol. Like both men, she had also forgone her helmet.

"Going somewhere, Miranda?" Shepard asked.

"Permission to come along," she requested.

Shepard turned to him. "Your call."

Jacob's surprise increased. He stared at her, trying to gauge her intentions. As always, she presented an aloof façade that he could never hope to read. Thinking quickly, he decided there was little harm in it. She already knew everything and if she wanted to come, then there had to be a reason for it. "Yeah, she can come."

"Permission granted," Shepard stated formally.

Goldstein popped out from the door of the shuttle. "Captain? According to the scans, there's a suitable LZ near the wreckage of the Gernsback."

Shepard climbed into the shuttle first and offered a hand.

Accepting the gesture, Jacob allowed himself to be pulled into the cabin and seated himself. Already, he could feel antsy again. The lack of information about what he could find down there settled into his stomach like a rock. He always hated surprises.

After Shepard and Miranda settled themselves in, the Spectre closed the doors and gave the signal. "Prepare for launch!"

"_Aye, aye, Captain,"_ Hawthorne acknowledged. _"And don't worry. I don't feel hung over at all!"_ he cheerfully added.

"Hawthorne, if you kill us, I swear to God, I'll disembowel you," Jacob retorted.

Shepard couldn't help but laugh as he settled in and awaited the signal to depart.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jacob cracked a smile when Shepard laughed and managed to relax a bit.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis System, Aeia, Crash Site of the Hugo Gernsback**_

When the Normandy achieved geosynchronous orbit above Aeia and the crash site, the shuttle hummed to life and took off. Hawthorne was able to pilot the shuttle with his usual skill, lending credence to his earlier remark that last night's party was not affecting his abilities. They entered the atmosphere smoothly and leveled out, flying at a steady velocity toward the landing zone. Within a half hour after departure, the wreckage of the Hugo Gernsback was seen from the shuttle's windows.

Jacob pressed himself against the glass, trying to divine any clue as to the condition of the crew. Or his father.

The ship was a total wreck. It seemed like the crew crashed their doomed vessel in the water before it collided with the land. The front portion was practically sunken in the sea while the rest of the ship was beached on land or partially submerged in the shallow parts of the ocean. The overall tonnage made it impossible to land it in one piece. From the look of things, the Gernsback was in three separate parts with debris found everywhere for miles.

"You okay?" Miranda asked, her voice laced with concern.

"There it is. And more intact than I would've thought," Jacob whispered.

"_Captain, the scanners estimate around 50 survivors. Only a dozen are in the camp. The rest are scattered in the surrounding areas. Thermal imaging shows active mechs just outside the camp."_

"It's been years. Who knows what we're going to see," Jacob said. "Or happened during all that time."

As Goldstein promised, the Kodiak flew just past the Gernsback and landed on some flat ground that overlooked the downed ship. When the doors opened the team was greeted with an uncomfortable blast of humid air that quickly flooded the cabin.

Shepard stepped out first, pausing at the doorway to survey the surroundings. Jacob and Miranda followed after, emulating the Spectre's example and observing the immediate area.

"We're clear," Shepard said to Hawthorne once everyone got off. "Fly up to high altitude and await further orders."

"_Roger that. We're gone."_ The Kodiak ignited its thrusters and took off. Within minutes, it was well out of sight.

"Let's take a look at the wreckage before going to the settlement," Shepard suggested. "There might be some information about the decade-long delay there."

Neither Jacob nor Miranda had any objections and followed along wordlessly.

Trudging down the hill and toward the beach, the full extent of the damage to the ship became readily apparent. What wasn't seen from above was the work done to salvage what resources the survivors tried to make use of. A long metal bridge extended from the beach to whatever part of the Gernsback was above water. Boxes, crates, and other, now useless, supplies littered their surroundings as they approached. Nearby, the beacon was on. A holographic VI interface was active and repeating its automated message over and over again.

"Looks like it was stripped after the crash," Jacob observed. "They'd have tried to get a beacon up as soon as possible."

"If it was possible at the time," Miranda reminded. "I'm amazed the ship is in the condition it's in. Vessels this large aren't meant for atmospheric entry. Who know what was damaged or how much the initial casualties were."

The beacon VI continued to speak as they approached. "Repeat: Toxicology Alert. Danger of rapid neural decay. Local flora chemically incompatible with human physiology." The beacon flickered erratically. "Override: Beacon resumed. Pause time: 8 years, 237 days, 7 hours."

"On the other hand…" Miranda muttered when they heard the beacon mention a 'pause time'.

Shepard knelt down and observed the base of the holographic projector closely. "There's a lot rust here. A lot of growth on the base of this thing, too. Actual plant growth, not just moss or fungus. This has been here for a while. Why wait years to signal?" Shepard asked to his companions.

The VI assumed the question was directed itself and answered. "Pause beacon protocol: 8 years, 237 days, 7 hours. Pause is recorded as: RECORD DELETED by Acting Captain Ronald Taylor."

"Dad…?" Jacob whispered. "He's alive… He's actually alive…"

"It said: "Acting Captain". I suppose Captain Fairchild didn't survive the crash," Miranda speculated.

"Ronald Taylor was promoted under emergency command protocols," the VI explained. "Other flagged issues: Unsafe deceleration. Local food and neural decay. Beacon activation protocols."

"Where's Ronald Taylor?" Jacob demanded harshly.

"The location of the remaining crew of the Hugo Gernsback is unknown. This beacon has been unattended for several maintenance cycles."

"Why'd the ship crash?" Shepard asked. "And what happened after?"

"Cause of malfunction is unknown. Following an unspecified impact and sublight drive failure, the Hugo Gernsback made an unscheduled descent at 465% of theoretical recommended sub-orbital velocity. The Hugo Gernsback then decelerated at 782% of theoretical recommended approach velocity, sustaining significant damage to investment and crew."

"Theoretical speeds?" Jacob asked in confusion.

"The Hugo Gernsback was constructed off-world. It is not rated for suborbital descent and doing so exceeding operational parameters."

"As usual, VI's tend to be quite literal about their interpretations," Miranda commented with a shake of her head.

"This is why I hate pop-ups," Shepard muttered in annoyance.

"All right. Why the hell did it take so long for the beacon to be turned on?" Jacob pressed impatiently.

"This emergency beacon became functional after 358 days, 12 hours, following unscheduled suborbital descent of the Hugo Gernsback," the VI answered. "Activation was triggered remotely after 8 years, 237 days, 7 hours, on the authority of Acting Captain Ronald Taylor. Pause in beacon protocol is recorded as: RECORD DELETED."

_He could've called for help for years and he __**didn't**__. What the hell is going on?"_

"The local fauna impairs brain functions," Miranda reiterated to the holographic avatar. Her omni-tool was on and transmitting. "Describe the effects."

"Impairment of mental function due to chemical imbalance begins within seven days of ingesting local flora, regardless of decontamination or preparation. Impact on higher cognitive abilities and long-term memory is cumulative, but significant within a standard month."

"That doesn't sound good," Shepard said.

"Is this damage, this 'neural decay', permanent?" Miranda asked.

"Unknown. Data collection was not completed," the VI replied.

"Did you get all that, EDI?" Miranda asked.

"Received. I am forwarding all information to Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Solus," EDI said.

"And this is why I'm warming up to AIs," Shepard said approvingly. He turned to the others. "We should be careful approaching the crew. If they're affected by the neural decay, who knows how they'll behave now," he carefully cautioned with a glance at Jacob.

Jacob knew Shepard was only trying to point out the worst case scenario with as much tact as he could, but it didn't make the blow any easier. He was still reeling from the news that his father was alive all this time, but didn't call for help after nine years. While he had more news than before, all it raised was more questions than answers and any answers he got was either unhelpful or painting bad picture. "Let's check the ship. See if there's anything that can tell us what happened. Logs or something. The beacon was ready for almost nine years. Maybe… maybe that neural decay affected him."

"Maybe," Miranda agreed uncertainly, perhaps even dubiously.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jacob asked in an accusatory tone.

"What she means is that the beacon was activated remotely. If the neural decay is as bad as it sounds, how could he do that?" Shepard logically answered in her defense.

"Avoiding it for a decade does seem… unlikely," Miranda hesitantly finished.

Identifying the uncharacteristic uncertainty in her voice, Jacob took a breath and tried to calm down. "Let's just keep moving."

Shepard led the way again. Taking Jacob's advice, he carefully preceded the group as they made their way to the downed ship. The metal bridge was rickety, but serviceable. The water wasn't deep and the distance was short. Inside, remarkably, there was still power feeding a few terminals, but not much more. Plant and evidence of animal life lined the interior in every nook and cranny. The only other thing that surpassed the life growing inside was the rust that covered every inch of the hull.

Jacob walked over to one of the few working terminals. The holographic interface didn't even appear at his presence. The monitor just continued flickering. Activating his omni-tool, he wirelessly tapped into the terminal and played the most recent log.

A few seconds of static crackled before the audio log began playing. Even then, it was degraded and full of hissing noises in the background. _"… will… okay… crash you can't expect the luxury of due-due-due process, but this i-i-i-isn't a military ship. Just bumping the command line up a notch doesn't work. C-C-C-Captain Fairchild knew this crew. His replacement doesn't command the same level of respect. I'm hoping the man has it in him, but I doubt-"_

Jacob shook his head. He knew his father wasn't the greatest man in the galaxy. Looking around the derelict ship, he couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through the minds of the survivors. Would they get rescued? Were they stranded, to be doomed on this planet? What would happen? All those questions needed answers. Those answers rested on one man's shoulders. The same man who couldn't even handle his raising his own family. Privately, Jacob couldn't help but agree that Ronald Taylor might not be the best leader in a situation as desperate as this. He even had doubts that he could do better.

The sounds of the waves crashing against the beach were all he could hear in the following silence. Turning away from the flickering terminal, he sought out the others when the sounds of another degraded log played from around the corner. Following it to the source, he saw Miranda running her omni-tool over another damaged terminal. Judging from the surroundings and broken down equipment, the room was probably once the Med Bay of the Gernsback.

"_What… what was her name? Sarah. S-Suzanne. My God, I can't remember… I can't remember her face! We need to get out… so I can remember, can think straight. They have to hurry!"_

The woman, the doctor presumably, sounded frantic. Desperate. Completely expected considering the situation.

"It sounds like the neural decay began affecting her," Miranda said to him without turning around. She studied the time stamp on the log. "Strange. This log was created not long after the crash. I suppose they lost most of the food and resorted to eating the toxic plants instead."

Turning around, she nodded to him and moved on to explore the rest of the ship. Both of them checked the nearby rooms, but couldn't find Shepard anywhere. They did find another working terminal though.

"…_don't… never… pretty… always said no. She even threatened a report if I didn't stop sending messages. But now she's so innocent. They all are. And that look she gives when she smiles… It's sure is easier now. What's the harm? We're stuck here any-"_

"Bastard," Miranda hissed in disgust. "Probably taking advantage of the neural decay."

Jacob said nothing. There wasn't anything to say.

Suddenly, another audio log echoed through the ship. Both of them tracked the source to near the entrance. Shepard was there, fiddling with the terminal and trying to fix it physically.

_Guess we just missed him somehow._

After another minute, the log finally began to play.

"… _along with this anymore. We've done horrible things to this crew. The condition they're in, they don't understand what we're doing to them. Distract them for two seconds and they forget what you did before the bruises show. It's got to stop. I'm talking to the others as soon as-"_

The log degraded from there and all that was heard was static.

Jacob narrowed his eyes. Coupled with what he and Miranda just heard from the last log, the incident wasn't isolated. "What the hell is going on here…?"

Shepard turned to face them. "This is all I got, you?"

"The doctor was eating the local food and began feeling the effects," Miranda said. "We discovered another log where one of the officers appeared to take advantage of the toxic effects and used it as a kind of 'date rape' drug," she finished with no small amount of loathing.

"Sounds like it happened more than once," Jacob couldn't help but add.

"With nearly a decade? Who knows?" Shepard said. "Let's forward everything to Mordin and move on. I think we've learned all we could here."

_Learn. Yeah, right._

Jacob had entered the remains of the Hugo Gernsback looking for answers. He was leaving with only more questions and a sick feeling in his gut that the answers would be something he wouldn't like. For a brief moment, he entertained the idea of leaving; let Shepard and Miranda handle everything and he'd catch up on the details later.

He snorted quietly to himself and shook his head at the idea. He wasn't a coward. Whatever he'd find, he'd see it to the end. All he could do was hope that things weren't as bad as it seemed. And that his own father wasn't into this kind of shit.

It was almost a relief when Shepard held up his arm and stopped them when they returned to the beach and near the beacon. "I hear something."

Straining his ears, Jacob could hear the sounds of the ocean, the cries of alien birds, and the creaks and groans of the massive ship beached nearby. A few seconds later, he heard the sounds of crunching sand coming closer and closer. "Someone's coming."

"Someone's running," Miranda corrected.

Shepard jogged forward, toward the piles of rusted debris. He stopped when a solitary figure appeared from around the cliffs, running right toward them.

It was a woman. At one point, she might've been considered pretty. Time on this planet had taken its toll, however. Her uniform was in tatters, her hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes had a wild look in them.

Guilt welled up in Jacob at the sight. When he found the message indicating that the Hugo Gernsback was sending out a distress signal, he just sat on it. All he could think about was his father and not the people that were working with him. It was only thanks to Shepard's mild rebuke that he even started wondering about the state of the crew and that someone else might've activated the beacon, not just his father.

_Leave it to Shepard to see the big picture._

She stopped a few feet away from them and panted heavily from exertion. She was doubled over and had her hands on her knees to support herself. "You-you came? From… from the sky?"

"Calm down," Shepard soothed. "Just breathe."

The woman ignored the advice. She just stared him like he might've been a hallucination, a cruel trick of the mind. "You're real?"

"We're real," Miranda assured. "Where are the others?"

"At the camp." She smiled in relief, though it was strained. Almost as if she hadn't smiled before in years. "The leader said someone would come! He delayed for so long, but he still has power!" The stranger finally took a deep breath and stood up straight. Her face took on an upset look. Deep worried lines marred her face. "Some have lost faith. The hunters! They will have seen your star! They will not let you help him!"

"Slow down," Shepard said. "I don't understand what you're saying."

She furrowed her brow and rubbed her hands together in agitation. "I… I… uh… I don't remember how to say it." Her eyes were unfocused and distant as she tried to pull her scattered thoughts back into coherency. "He's our leader and we serve so… we can go home. But some want to fight him. They were… they were cast out."

Jacob listened intently. While leader may not mean 'acting captain', she was suffering from the neural decay. Her words could be interpreted in a variety of ways. Like Shepard, he couldn't make sense out of what she was saying either.

A flicker of movement in the distance caught his eye. Miranda and Shepard noticed it too and moved around the woman to better see.

It was a man. He was running low to the ground, as if he was trying to be subtle in his approach. He stopped and was trying to hide behind some rocks. Trying and failing. He could be seen easily.

The woman didn't notice the alert posture the three rescuers were presenting and continued talking. "He exiled them, so they hunt his machines and those who help him. They don't believe-"

"Watch out!" Shepard yelled. He leapt and pushed the civilian out of the way.

The man pulled out an old looking pistol and was shooting right at the spot the woman was standing at moments before. Jacob and Miranda reacted immediately and returned fire. Jacob's shot tagged him in the arm and he went down screaming. No kinetic barrier materialized to protect him. "They don't have shields!" Jacob reported.

"Hold fire!" Shepard ordered. "Hold your fire!"

"Hunters!" The woman screamed with her arms over head. She cowered behind the rusted crates. "They won't stop until the leader is dead!"

Additional sounds of gunfire ricocheted off their impromptu cover.

"Kill them! Agents of the liar! He will not escape!" a guttural voice rang out.

Miranda took a peek. "10 of them. Looks like they're using some older version of Hahne-Kedar pistols."

"Kessler," Jacob supplied. "I recognize it. They sold that stuff to the Alliance at bulk until a couple of years ago."

"They should overheat in a second if they keep this up," Shepard said. "They always had an overheating problem."

Sure enough, the sounds of gunfire petered out, save for the occasional burst from one or two that hadn't overheated yet.

"Avoid killing them. Shoot to wound. They're civilians, so they won't have kinetic barriers," Shepard ordered. "Use your biotics to try to bring them down non-lethally as best as you can."

Both Jacob and Miranda acknowledged his orders and used their superior abilities to outmaneuver and overpower the wild and untrained Hunters. Even without using advanced tactics, the advantage of having the protection afforded from shields and armor practically ensured they would be all right.

Without shields, the civilians were getting beaten almost handily. Any shot that hit brought them down. Their feeble and clumsy attempt at ambushing the protagonists amounted to nothing without training and better tech. The only fighting chance they had was the standing order to bring them in alive. Unfortunately for them, that advantage did little to help. One Hunter went down, clutching his wounded leg. Another fell from a biotic Throw. Shockwave blew through their meager cover and rendered many unconscious from the explosive and concussive blasts. Overload disabled their ancient weapons, prompting the civvies to drop their useless guns and run. Within minutes, all was quiet again save for the low moans and cries of the wounded.

"Secure their weapons. Ensure they're no longer a threat," Shepard ordered as he gestured to the injured men on the ground. He tapped into his radio. "Normandy, this is the ground team. Do you copy?"

"_Reading you, loud and clear,"_ Joker said.

"Get Mordin. Assemble any of the squad that's cleared for active duty. Get Rolstron and Patel to supplement them. I want the second team down here and securing the area around the LZ. We have civilians wounded here."

"_I'll pass it along."_

"Kodiak, do you copy?" Shepard asked.

"_Kodiak, here. You're five-by-five,"_ Goldstein acknowledged.

"Rendezvous with the Normandy. Get the second team down here."

"_Roger that, Captain. Kodiak, out."_

Jacob listened to the conversation with half an ear. He was glancing at his omni-tool to check his shield status and looking over his pistol for a quick thermal clip count. Finishing quickly, he walked back to the woman that greeted them and did a cursory examination.

"You killed them!" she yelled. She was still cowering behind the crates. Her head was tucked between her legs as she curled into a ball to instinctively protect herself.

"We didn't kill anyone," Jacob tried to assure.

"There are more every day! They want to fight, but I just want to go home!"

"Relax. We're not here to hurt anyone if we can help it. You'll get to go home," Jacob said. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

Before he could pose any more questions, the woman looked up at his touch. Her eyes regained a semblance of focus as she stared at him. Then she screamed.

Jacob backed away quickly. "What? ! What'd I do? !"

Shepard and Miranda ran up to them and looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the threat.

"What's going on here?" Shepard demanded.

"I don't know. She just started screaming," Jacob replied.

Miranda produced a sedative from her field kit and injected the contents into the hysterical woman. Seconds later, she was out like a light. "What did you say?"

"I was telling her that she'd be fine. That we weren't here to hurt anyone!" he defended hotly.

"Might be the decay," Shepard postulated.

"For her, maybe," Miranda stated. She pointed at the wounded civilians they were forced to injure. "**That** wasn't 'neural decay'," Miranda stated. "Those men are feral."

"Something is very wrong here," Jacob said.

"And getting worse by the second. Let Mordin and his team take care of the wounded. They'll live long enough to get treatment. We need to get to the camp," Shepard ordered.

Jacob couldn't agree more. "We need to find someone who can make sense of this."

_If they haven't gone crazy from all the toxic food._

**~o~O~o~**

After gathering the old Kessler Pistols and disarming the 'Hunters' to ensure they were no longer a threat, the small team made their way up the beach and around the cliffs toward the settlement.

The signs of battle were easily visible. Bullet holes, blood, and destroyed mechs paved war-torn path toward the camp.

Jacob knelt down and inspected one of the earliest models of LOKI mechs. "Stripped for parts. Tech's wearing out. Those Hunters must be laying on the pressure."

"That might explain why the beacon was finally activated. The distress call wasn't because they were stranded, it was because of this schism between groups," Miranda theorized.

"So this has been happening for nine years on purpose. Why?" Jacob muttered to himself.

"The blood is fresh. Hours, maybe a day or two ago in this humidity," Shepard said when he inspected some of the bloody tracks. "Judging from the droplets, the Hunters were running away from the camp."

Their investigation of the clues around them completed, they marched up the hill. After several minutes of walking, a rocky archway was visible in the distance. More supplies and salvage from the Gernsback was seen lying haphazardly all over the place.

"There's the settlement," Jacob said. "They'd better be friendlier than the beach group. I need answers."

"_Shepard. Mordin here."_

Shepard put his hand to his ear and moved back between Jacob and Miranda as they continued moving to the settlement. The call would most certainly distract and without knowing the threat level, both Cerberus operatives could cover him in the few precious seconds in the beginning of an ambush if it were to happen. "I'm reading you, Mordin."

"_Have arrived at LZ and secured area. Assisting wounded civilians. Brought sedatives in case they turn violent."_

"See if you can't do some sort of preliminary work on the plant life too," Shepard requested. "Find any data that can help the Alliance medical teams to treat these people."

"_Of course. Will try, but must maintain priorities," _Mordin reminded.

"Civilians come first. But we can't let them on the Normandy. Just do your best here."

"_Understood."_

"We've reached the settlement without encountering any more problems. You and your team and push ahead once you're finished at the LZ," Shepard said.

"_Will be there shortly."_

"Joker?"

"_Joker here."_

"Prepare to call the Alliance and transmit the SOS. Give them our location, but not our names. I want to be gone before they arrive."

"_Roger, Captain."_

The group arrived at the settlement, but once again, it wasn't like anything that they expected. And given what they had learned from the Hugo Gernsback crash site, their expectations were already low.

The camp had only a dozen or so people inside, just as EDI said there would be. What she didn't say was that it was filled with only women. The tents or fire pits were ramshackle, but given what they had to work with, it was probably the best they could do. None of the people made eye contact. At their approach, every female bowed their heads and turned away.

The only time Jacob had ever seen people act like that was when he broke up batarian slave outposts. Even rescued, the slaves were conditioned similarly. Speak only when spoken to, bow your heads, and do whatever you're told. It was sickening. He hoped that none of what he was seeing matched to what he was thinking. He spotted something glitter off to the side and moved to examine it. Brushing away the layers of dirt and grime revealed it to be the plaque for the Hugo Gernsback. The last time he saw this, it was when his father had taken him to the ship and given him a tour. It was proudly hung at the Captain's Cabin. At the time, he could sit on his father's shoulders and look at everything in child-like wonder.

_Must've been 5 or 6 years old when I last saw this thing._

Shepard and Miranda had stopped at the entrance and were conversing about the camp and the inhabitants within. "They're clearly docile, but in the same uniform remnants as those who attacked us."

"There aren't any men here," Shepard observed. "Maybe it affects genders differently? Makes males get violent?"

"Possibly," Miranda said. "But the woman on the beach said the exiled ones came back as Hunters."

"So is this an earlier stage or did the exile make the others violent?"

Miranda could only shake her head. "I don't know."

Dropping the plaque, Jacob regrouped with them. "It doesn't matter right now. One of these people must know what my father has to do with this!"

At his exclamation, the survivors looked up and turned to his voice. Immediately, they started shouting and pointing. "You have his face!"

Jacob snapped his head toward them as they backed away fearfully, still crying out.

"He promised to call the sky, but he sends nothing!"

"He forced us to eat! To… decay!"

"You are cursed with his face!"

Jacob looked around helplessly, unsure what to do or say.

"I think your question has been answered," Shepard said, just as bewildered as him. "I got a bad feeling about this."

Jacob could only stare at the camp and the people within. There were still no clear answers, only clues. Breadcrumbs. The more he learned, the worse it all seemed. A twisted mockery of everything he believed. What he hated most was that he was starting to think that his father might actually be the one responsible for the entirety of the hell these people were put through.

His feet moved, almost like on autopilot. He looked around, wondering how bad the situation really was.

The women had calmed down slightly, but muttered to themselves at his passing. Each time they spoke, their words drove the proverbial knife deeper and deeper in his gut.

"Go away, you are like him. You will keep us here."

"I don't want… punishing."

"The hunters will kill you. They fight because he exiled them and waited too long."

"He is bad. He has a bad face. You'll hurt me."

"He keeps us. Protects us. And we please him like he demands."

_**Please him?**__ What the fuck does that mean?_

In the center of the camp, there was an artificial structure. It was obviously manmade, but served no function. It was a crude statue or symbol, planted in the ground and supported by rusty beams and wires.

_That's borderline worship…_

The stench of rotten food filled the air at one side of the camp. _Spoiled food stores. They've had to eat toxic crap the entire time…_

"_Shepard! Under attack!"_ Mordin called over the radio.

Shepard moved to one side of the camp, away from the inhabitants to avoid alarming them. "They're civilians without training, armor, shields or any advanced weaponry. Bring them down, **gently**. That's an order."

"_Understood! Utilizing non-lethal force!"_

"Speaking of attacks…" Miranda warned.

Jacob and Shepard turned to see four rusty looking LOKIs shambling toward them from the other side of the camp. Their movements were jerky and clumsy looking, showing how ancient these particular models were.

Shepard brought his arm out in an arc. Orbs of dark energy manifested around the mechs and exploded, ending the confrontation before it began.

"Patrols like that are a little much against this bunch," Miranda noted.

"Maybe it was just for defense," Jacob muttered. "Probably against the Hunters."

One of the LOKIs was still active, but crawling on the ground feebly. Jacob raised his pistol and fired twice, destroying it.

"_Hey, Shep. Kasumi here. We brought down these guys. They weren't any trouble."_

Shepard put his hand to his ear. "Where's Mordin?"

"_Busy. __**Really**__ busy. I didn't think to bring my flashbangs and we're all equipped with pistols. Except Rolstron. He has a shotgun. Either way, we kinda shot everyone and now Mordin has to deal with another group of gunshot wounds."_

"_Except the people Kasumi attacked,"_ Tali added. _"She stabbed a few."_

"_Hey!"_

"_We're administering first-aid as best we can on the others, Captain,"_ Patel said, taking over the report while Tali and Kasumi were heard bickering in the background. _"Just stabilizing the people here until Mordin can treat them. He's triaging as best he can."_

"Some rescue this is turning out to be…" Shepard muttered.

"_Shepard? This is Chakwas. I can come down to assist."_

"Negative. AOE is considered hostile. I don't want you in danger. We'll handle things here."

"_If you're sure…"_

"I'm sure."

While Shepard was dealing with the logistics of their ever-changing mission, Jacob heard the sounds of footfalls and turned around, keeping his pistol in his hand, but in a nonthreatening stance. It was a dark-skinned woman. Something about her was different from the others of the camp though.

"Here! Over here!" she cried.

He recognized her voice. She was the one on the log in the Med Bay of the Gernsback.

She ran up to him and looked at his face before peering into his eyes. He endured the scrutiny silently and studied her in return. He could tell the doctor was affected with the neural decay, but appeared to have more of her mind than the others in the camp. Her eyes were slightly dull, but retained some clarity within. She was focused, intent, and trying very hard to push through the toxins to keep her rational mind. She was prettier than the others, less evidence of being tired and worn out, but what made her stand out from the rest was in the way she carried herself. A measure of defiance, pride, and strength still lingered in her body language.

Evidently, she liked what she saw in him as well, because she stood straighter, more confident. "You… have his face… but you fight his… machines. You might stop this."

"That's what I'm going to do," Jacob replied. "No matter what."

The doctor nodded and pulled out a datapad from her pocket and handed it to him. "This… I forget how to… read, but this… was the start. What he promised and what they did to us." She backed away, her strength fading. She looked like the others now, hunched over and head bowed. "We need the sky," she whispered desperately. As she walked back to the camp, she pleaded once more to him, "Take us back to the sky."

"Jacob?" Shepard asked, getting his attention. "What does it say?"

Tapping the datapad, Jacob quickly perused the contents. "It's a crew logbook. Some of them thought the beacon repair was taking too long. They were afraid they'd run out of supplies and lose their minds to the decay." His eyes zoomed in on an entry that had Ronald Taylor's name attached. "My father restricted the ship food for himself and the other officers so they wouldn't be affected. Everyone else had to eat the toxic food and hope for treatment later."

"Hard decision to make," Shepard said.

Jacob read the next set of lines and frowned. "The rest is a casualty list. A few mutinied over the decision. My father and the officers turned the mechs on them."

"Hard decision that people didn't appreciate. Once the pressure built, everyone wanted to look out for themselves. The only way to keep the crew in line was violence," Shepard said. "Desperate times led to desperate measures and someone needed to fix the beacon."

Jacob knew he was only trying to rationalize it, make it easier to swallow. Make it like his father wasn't the monster he seemed to be. It didn't work. A glance at the camp told one frightening story. The datapad told more. "It might've been the right call in the beginning. If everyone gets the decay, who's left to fix the beacon? You'd never get out. But it didn't stop there. More incidents, harsh punishments. It's like they're **cattle**. Or **toys**." He scrolled down the pad. "In a year, all the male crew members are flagged as 'exiled' or dead. They separated out the women. Assigned them to officers like **pets**."

Miranda and Shepard glanced worriedly at each other.

Jacob continued reading. "And after the beacon was fixed, the officers appear in the casualties, too. **After!** My father took control and didn't stop it."

Miranda looked around the camp. "He had the officers killed?"

Jacob poured over the logs. "There were five after the crash: medical, engineering, and the remaining bridge staff. Should've had no problem fixing the beacon and keeping people safe. All killed within the same week. About a month after the beacon was repaired."

She waved her arm at the camp. "And all this? Do the logs say why he separated the men and women?"

"Or is it as bad as it seems?" Shepard asked carefully.

Jacob shook his head. "Turns to gibberish. Maybe the men got violent early on, but from the state of this place, I think the Hunter thing is recent. The beacon was fixed, but the signal wasn't sent until now." He growled angrily as he looked over the victims. "What he allowed here… I don't see any justification."

All the clues finally added up to the answers. The story had become clear. And it was nothing short of monstrous.

Jacob gripped the datapad tightly in his hands. "The beacon was broken. Ronald Taylor was in charge. He and his men would eat the ship's rations while the crew suffered with neural decay. Some of the crew mutinied and were killed by the mechs. As time when on, some of the officers saw the females had become docile and took advantage of the situation. A year later, when the beacon was finally fixed, Captain Taylor didn't want to be rescued. One of the officers from the log at the ship said he didn't like that and was killed for standing up to him. The rest followed a week later. Assassinated to ensure no further threats to his authority," he summed up in barely restrained rage. "Abuse of power doesn't get any clearer than this. The time here had transformed him into a monster. He let this happen and now it's biting him in the ass."

"Quite the regular 'Lord of the Flies' happening here," Miranda commented in equal parts revulsion and contemplation.

The reference was completely lost on Jacob, but Shepard understood if his scoff was any indication.

"Instead of a stupid shell, we get decade-year-old mechs," he bitterly said as he gazed around the camp.

"You're more well-read than I had assumed, Shepard," Miranda said with a hint of approval.

"Thanks," he replied wryly. "Occasionally, I have been known to read a book or two. And they might not actually be filled with pictures."

"What are you two talking about?" Jacob asked.

"It's nothing, just a reference to classical literature. Basically, it's about what might happen should we be left far away from civilization. Stranded with no amenities and no hope, even the most well-educated may regress to a primitive state. A descent into savagery."

Though Jacob had never read the book, as he looked around the 'prison', he realized that the reference was too close for comfort. "I need to find this man."

Nodding in agreement, Shepard pointed at a path at the other end of the camp and led the way there. "Sounds like your father is following the 'will to power'," he said as they marched.

Jacob glared. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Now you're just showing off," Miranda chided to Shepard. Her admiring look could still be seen in her eyes. "Friedrich Nietzsche," she explained to Jacob. "Nietzsche described the 'will to power' as the main driving force in man. The motivation to reach highest possible position in life."

With one last look at the settlement, Jacob snarled. "And this is what he does with it…"

_Father or not, he needs to pay._

**~o~O~o~**

A crude fence was placed at the far end of the path, reinforcing Jacob's opinion that the camp was really a prison.

A blast from Shepard's biotics removed the obstacle easily.

Just before crossing the threshold, a voice crackled on the radio on a general broadcast signal. A voice he hadn't heard in more than 10 years.

"_This is Captain Ronald Taylor. Thank God you're here! My crew went insane. I only just got free!_

"Goddamnit. It's really him," Jacob muttered. He heard the logs, read the records and talked to the people, but this is the first time he had actual verification that his father was alive. It was that shock the almost made him miss the other half of the call. "Wait, 'just got free'? He's covering his ass!"

"Take a look at this," Shepard called out.

He was standing over a pile of corpses. Each one was shot. The oldest corpse stood out from the rest though.

"The old corpse has been posed, like a warning. The newer ones were left where they fell," Miranda observed.

"The Hunters started fighting back," Jacob muttered.

Moving up the hill, more salvage from the ship littered the area. Metal barriers were also placed semi-strategically all over the place.

_Defilade. He made himself a fortress._

The sounds of clunky marching could easily be heard long before they made it to the top of the hill at the 'checkpoint'. Without fanfare, the aged machines started shooting, but their stock weaponry was little threat against the newer tech in their armor.

"_Careful. I automated my defenses after the crew turned violent. They keep attacking! I had no choice!"_

_Bullshit! He had plenty of choices. Now all he can do is blame the victims? Bastard._

What the LOKIs lacked in strength, they made up for in numbers. Even then, they were outdated. Miranda's Overload easily tore them down, Shepard's Shockwave blasted through their ranks, and Jacob's Incendiary Ammo in his Carnifax Hand Cannon gunned down any he shot at. Against unshielded and untrained civilians, the mechs would have little trouble suppressing the threat. Against three trained operatives, it was child's play.

Jacob felt his anger bubble over and started tearing his way through the meager resistance. Pull sent several into the air, allowing Miranda and Shepard to take some easy shots. He pushed forward, blazing a trail toward the end. The rusted armor protecting the mechs proved to be little trouble against him.

Another batch of LOKIs rounded a bend of the cliffs.

"_I had to keep them busy, distracted, but it's getting dangerous. Thank God you've come!"_

The reinforcements weren't any better than the ones Jacob blew through and were destroyed in short order. He bared his teeth and suppressed the urge to abandon his teammates to run up the hill by himself and riddle the old man with bullets.

_He had his fun and now he wants out. That son of a bitch!_

Shepard and Miranda were able to keep pace with him. Neither one appeared to want to stop him, so he continued the charge up to the top of the hill. Ahead were set of 'gates' leading into the 'castle'.

At their approach, Ronald Taylor called again. _"It took years to train my guards. I'm afraid you'll have to fight them to rescue me."_

"That motherfucker," Jacob snarled. "Throwing people's lives away just like that. That… thing… is no father of mine."

"We're here to save them," Shepard pointedly reminded. "Don't-"

"Kill them," Jacob finished angrily. "I know. There's only one man I'm planning to kill."

Before Shepard could say anything more, Jacob ran up to the threshold of the gate and peeked inside. A quick glance showed that this gate was an outer gate, with an inner gate leading deeper in. _Just like the sanctum of a fortress. _"Damn it. At least 10 civvies. And something that looks like a YMIR mech."

The fanatical guards opened fire the moment they saw Jacob's head poking out from the side of the gate. Focusing on his biotics, he engaged his newfound talent, Barrier, and rushed inside to take cover deeper in, firing as he did so and striking a survivor in the arm.

The zealot went down screaming and clutched his wounded limb.

The YMIR mech turned slowly, trying to track Jacob. Unlike the modern versions, this mech only had one mass accelerator cannon on one arm and one rocket launcher on the other. It still proved dangerous as it began firing on Jacob's cover.

Shepard dashed in and slid behind suitable cover. Letting his shields take the brunt of the attacks from the small arms fire, he readied his shotgun and started pounding away at the primitive YMIR. The shielding around it flickered from the attack, already on the verge of breaking down from brute force alone.

Miranda ran through the gate next and used Overload immediately before hiding behind some crates to avoid the gunfire from the Kessler pistols.

The heavy mech's shielding failed and it started seizing. The actuators made horrible grinding sounds as it jerked and shuddered. All of a sudden, it pointed its cannon at the nearest human, one of the civilians, and open fired.

The man lurched forward as the massive bullets tore through his back and out through his chest.

The YMIR turned its rocket arm at the next guard and obliterated him.

"Oh shit," Shepard whispered. He turned to his teammates. "The IFF system got fried! It's going to kill them all!"

Miranda popped out of cover to use Overload again, but a burst of gunfire from the frenzied guards threw her aim off and she missed the mech completely. "Damn it! They're still attacking us!"

Despite the mech rampaging through their ranks, the guards still fought the would-be rescuers with a crazed single-minded focus.

"We need to save them!" Shepard ordered. "I'll take care of the mech! You two, do whatever you can to help them!"

"They're trying to kill us!" Jacob argued.

"Do it!"

Growling in anger, partly at the mentally impaired attackers, but mostly at his father for putting them in this position, Jacob ran directly at a group of four guards, letting Miranda handle the surviving three. Letting his Barrier and shields take the brunt of the assault, he leapt right over the cover the civvies were using and engaged them in hand to hand. They rushed at him clumsily, but ferociously. Jacob lashed out with a kick to one man's knee, fracturing it and bringing him down.

The second tried to use his pistol like a club, but Jacob managed to catch his arm and shoulder throw him into the third man. Both went down, but Jacob still held the limb of the second. Twisting sharply, a cross between a pop and crack was heard, signifying that the arm was dislocated. The man screamed and lost his grip on his pistol.

Kicking the weapon away, Jacob grunted when the fourth man managed to hit him in the head from the side. Shaking the dizziness away quickly, he blocked the next attack and rabbit punched him. The guard fell to his knees choking, unable to defend himself from the follow-up knee to the head, rendering him unconscious.

"Damn it! Jacob, look out!" Shepard warned as he tried to regain the YMIR's attention again.

Jacob turned to see the mech was looking at his direction, but not directly at him. It was heavily damaged. One of its legs was spraying hydraulic fluid, making it limp around and robbing it of its mobility. The arm containing the rocket launcher was completely torn off, but other arm was raised and taking aim.

Following the direction it was targeting, he saw the mech was about to shoot the third guard that was just getting back to his feet to continue the fight. Cursing, he leapt and tackled the civilian back to the ground just as the mech fired its cannon. Using his body to protect the struggling man, his Barrier flickered, almost at his limit to maintain.

A crashing sound was heard and the hail of bullets stopped. Looking up quickly, he saw the YMIR was crushed by a giant rock. He noted that both Miranda and Shepard had aura of dark energy that was already fading away.

The man beneath him continued struggling and was trying to fight back, but he lacked the leverage to lend power to his blows. Growling again, this time in annoyance, Jacob grabbed the man by his collar, reared back, and gave him a solid head-butt. The guy was out like a light.

Standing up, he looked around and saw that the other guards were too wounded or dead to be any further threat.

"Everyone okay?" Shepard asked. He was sporting a head wound of his own, a thin gash at his temple that was trickling a little blood. The cut had already scabbed over, but his sweat kept the some of the blood from congealing.

"I'm fine," Miranda said. She had a small cut above her eyebrow, a little deep, but nothing she couldn't handle. She had removed a bandage from her first-aid kit and was applying it to her wound after dabbing away as much blood as she could. The sweat and grime she accumulated during the mission would prevent the cut from properly healing until it was cleaned and disinfected.

"I'm alright," Jacob parroted. He head throbbed a bit, but no blood. He wasn't dizzy anymore, so probably no concussion. At most, he'd have a bruise.

Shepard touched his head lightly and hissed. Staring at the film of blood on his glove, he shook his head. "From now on, always bring helmets. Doesn't matter what the mission is. Always wear a helmet."

"Lesson learned," Miranda said sagely. She looked at his wound closely. "The bleeding has already stopped. Another hour and it'll look like you were never hurt." She lightly touched her own injury and winced a bit. "I wish I could say the same. No doubt Chakwas will want to inspect us all when we return."

Satisfied that everyone was all right, more or less, Jacob turned to the last gate and snarled impatiently. "Let's go. Enough is enough. I need to look at this man in the eyes and hear him justify this." He stomped over to the gate and gripped one of the doors. Giving it a mighty tug, it creaked and slid open a bit. Shepard hurried to help.

Between the both of them, the door yielded to their efforts and opened wide enough to enter. The group cautiously walked past the gate and into what appeared to be a long trail that led to a balcony overlooking the bay. Everything in this area was definitely manmade, taken from what was useful from the Hugo Gernsback and used it its construction. The railings, the walkway, the terrace…

_The goddamn throne. Motherfucker._

Jacob narrowed his eyes at sight of the man, **monster**, at the end. He was standing next to the makeshift throne and looking absolutely relieved at their presence.

Time hadn't been kind to him. He looked as if he aged 20 years, rather than ten. His hair was thinning, with gray hairs sprouting everywhere. His once neatly trimmed beard had grown to shaggy proportions. His clothes were torn and unkempt. Dark rings lined his eyes, suggesting many sleepless nights.

Had he not introduced himself as Ronald Taylor, Jacob would have never physically recognized him as his own father. Given what he had seen, heard, and learned, he could barely believe that everything that had happened was because of him. It was almost enough to make Jacob wish that he **had** died in the crash.

"You're here!" Ronald Taylor cried out. "I knew a real squad would blow through just fine. Sorry if the mechs scuffed your pads."

Shepard walked passed him without as much as a glance. Stopping at the railing, he leaned against it and looked as if he were appreciating the vista.

Jacob felt his anger rise to new heights. His father had rebuffed his presence, choosing to focus on Shepard.

_He doesn't even recognize me._

Maybe his anger was irrational, that the likelihood that his father was expecting him to be the rescuer was slim to none, but he was beyond caring. The crimes Ronald Taylor had committed were well beyond forgiveness that anything more was just another inch deeper in the hole he was digging.

Ronald looked a bit off-balance by the cold dismissal Shepard was presenting. "I'll get you something nice when we get back to Alliance space," he offered. "I've got to have some back-pay coming."

"What about your crew, '**Acting Captain**'?" Jacob harshly asked. He crossed his arms and glared.

Ronald gave him a glance before turning to face Shepard's back. "Total loss. The toxic food turned them wild. They propped me up here in some kind of ritual behavior."

Shepard still hadn't favored him with so much as a look. Miranda scowled, but thankfully remained silent. Jacob assumed that he was still the voice for the group and scoffed. "That's the best you can do? You had all this time and that line of shit is all you came up with?"

Ronald glared at him this time. "You let all your people talk back like that… uh…" He turned to face Shepard again. "Who are you exactly?"

Shepard finally turned around and leveled a glare that would've even given the Illusive Man pause. "Captain Shepard of the Normandy." He waved his hand at Miranda. "My XO, Miranda Lawson." She coldly glared at him. He didn't introduce Jacob. Yet. "**You** are running a very questionable setup here, **Captain**. Explain yourself. Now."

Jacob found himself enjoying the sight of him squirming under Shepard's piercing stare.

Ronald wiped the sweat building on his forehead and nodded. "Of course. It was chaos after the crash and the crew never really accepted me as captain. They rebelled and trapped some of us here. Once they started eating the toxic food, I couldn't control them and I couldn't get to the beacon."

"You really gonna spoon feed us this bullshit and call it candy?" Jacob belligerently asked. "We know what you did to your crew. Why let this go for ten years, huh?"

Ronald's patience and apparent hospitality had finally reached its end. He turned and glared at him again. "Who the hell are you?"

Jacob marched right up to his face. "Taylor. Lieutenant Jacob Taylor."

The blood drained out of Ronald's face instantly. He staggered back from the words as though they were physical blows. "Jacob?" he whispered in utter shock. "My Jacob? No…"

"Why not me? Would ten years of everything you've done look better to anyone else in the galaxy?" Jacob snapped.

"Not who you expected, **Captain**?" Shepard spat out the title like a curse.

"I was hoping not to have to explain this to him. Or anyone, really," Taylor admitted.

Jacob thought it was probably the first time he told the truth in ten years.

"Now that we're all acquainted or reacquainted, I want to hear the truth. All of it," Shepard demanded.

"I… well, that is… it's not…" Taylor stammered out before sighing in defeat. "Please. You have to understand, the realities of command, they change you. I wasn't ready for that." He could barely meet Jacob's eyes. "I made sure you were taught right. Before I left. I had hoped to leave it at that."

"Bullshit," Jacob shot back.

"We're not biting, **Captain**. We've heard the logs and spoken to the crew. At some point, you **chose** to do this to your crew. **You**," Shepard said.

Jacob walked right into his father's face and jabbed him in the chest. "What was the moment? I want to know that there was an actual reason!"

Ronald stepped back until he bumped into the railing. "There was resistance to the plan. Mutiny. We had to take a hard line to keep order. And things finally settled down. As the decay set in, we made sure the crew was comfortable."

"How benevolent of you," Miranda sarcastically said and breaking her silence for the first time.

"Their expressions… Some seemed happier," he said defensively. "Ignorance is bliss, right? And they were grateful for guidance, like an instinct. Pure authority was… easy. At first." He turned away from Jacob's accusing glare. "Months set in, the effect lowered inhibitions. They got territorial. Rank, protocol; they didn't understand. We had to establish dominance. After a while the perks seemed… normal."

"That's it? That's all you can say? You created a harem and played king? Ten years in a sick, juvenile fantasy?" Jacob asked with disgust. Even in his anger, he noted that Shepard was holding his pistol loosely in his hand and occasionally glancing back at the entrance.

"I can't point to where it all went wrong," Taylor said before he turned back around. "But when the beacon was ready, revealing what happened didn't seem like a good idea."

"What happened to the other officers?" Shepard asked.

"Anders found his conscience a little late to step back. He had an accident."

Jacob sincerely doubted it. At this point, if his father had said that water was wet, he wouldn't have believed him.

"Things got… tense. End of the day, I was the one with the mechs," Ronald explained. "I got a little basic in setting examples, but I was kind to my people-"

Jacob's disgust grew tenfold at the words: 'my people'.

"-once things settled down. Seemed like I'd earned some peace."

"You fought and used people like they were toys. Things," Jacob said.

"Ten years of hell for these people, just because of you, Taylor. There's no way I'm letting this slide. You don't get to walk away without paying a price," Shepard said.

"You're damn right he doesn't. What happened here, I should vent his head." Jacob drew his pistol and pointed it right between his father's eyes. It was close thing. He could feel his finger itching, a twitch away from pulling the trigger.

Ronald backed away slowly, his hands in the air and his wide eyes fixed on the gun.

Throughout their 'reunion', he didn't apologize, not that Jacob expected him to. He never made apologies. Instead, he'd tried to make things right or own up to his mistakes, just like how he taught him. Here, he wouldn't even acknowledge his crimes. Instantly, Jacob knew there was nothing left of the memory of his father left in the man in front of him. Nothing to admire, respect or even love. Lowering his weapon, his face held nothing but contempt at the man in front of him. "He's not worth pulling the damn trigger. I don't know who you are. Because you're not any father I remember."

"We'll secure him for an Alliance court. For every here year, he'll have ten to think about it," Shepard said.

"Give him all the time in the galaxy. The man who did this doesn't know right from wrong," Jacob coldly said with one last glare. Despite his words though, the idea was more appealing than cold-blooded murder. He remembered something his old CO once said: 'Kill a man and his pain is brief; destroy his life and his pain is forever'. The more he thought about it, the better he liked the idea. Turning away, he made to rendezvous with Mordin's team to assist in helping secure the civilians. He couldn't stand the sight of Ronald Taylor anymore.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I did the best I could," the unknown man/monster said. The despondence in his voice was tangible, but it wasn't enough. Too little, too late.

"I'm ten years past believing that," Jacob said without a backward glance. He saw that some of the Hunters had followed in their wake. Shepard and Miranda easily held them at bay. He moved around them and continued down the path by himself.

Ronald Taylor didn't move to stop him or call out to him as he left.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis System, In Orbit Around Aeia, Normandy SR-2**_

The women at the camp were secured and were being treated by Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Solus. It took a bit of time, but the Hunters realized that Ronald Taylor's reign of oppression was over and surrendered peacefully. They were all disarmed and placed in restraints to ensure they would be no danger to themselves and to others. Ronald Taylor himself was secured and placed far away from the main group. He was in shackles and prepped for pickup and processing.

Joker reported that the Alliance were on their way with an ETA. The crew of the Normandy remained on Aeia to ensure all was in order. One hour before the Alliance was expected to arrive, everyone was shuttled off-world quickly.

Shepard, Jacob, and Miranda were the last to leave. They boarded the dropship and were en route to the Normandy.

Just minutes before the Kodiak docked, Jacob remembered the strange message he received and wondered who sent it. Remembering the level of secrecy that surrounded the message, he could only assume that the Illusive Man did it or knew who did it.

His contemplative look wasn't missed by his companions. "Something on your mind, Jacob?" Shepard asked.

"I need to talk to the Illusive Man. I need to find out who sent me that message about the Gernsback. Him or whoever else," Jacob replied.

"I sent it."

Both Jacob and Shepard turned in surprise at Miranda.

"**You** did? Why?" Jacob asked, completely off-guard from her admission.

"There was a time when it mattered to you," Miranda said in a soft tone. "Sending it along seemed like keeping an old promise."

The shuttle jerked lightly as it completed its docking procedures.

Miranda stood up and opened the door. Before she left, she glanced at the two men that were still seated. "And I keep my promises." With those parting words, she left.

"You had no idea Miranda did that?" Shepard asked as he stood up.

"No," Jacob honestly said. He stood up as well and followed Shepard out of the shuttle. "She's got a good memory. Selective, but good. I haven't thought about those days in a long time." He racked his memories trying to figure out when they talked about his past to when she evidently gave her word, but nothing came to mind. "Can't figure which promise she meant. Not sure I really want to know."

They entered the elevator when it arrived and made their way to the CIC.

Jacob glanced at Shepard's profile and regarded his CO thoughtfully. "She… requires a better man than I," he admitted.

Thankfully, Shepard didn't comment further on that. "You good with all this, Jacob?"

"It's all bull, Shepard. Captain Taylor can rot in prison. It doesn't change who I am or what I know. I've already mourned the man he used to be." The wound was well-healed. Even now, he couldn't dredge up the same anger he had before. He was still appalled at the crimes committed, dedicated to stopping those crimes and saving the innocent people, but it no longer felt personal. He smiled dryly. "I guess he was a good enough father that even he can't screw up what he taught me."

The elevator reached their destination. Stepping off, Shepard nodded to him. "Come on then. We got work to do."

"Aye, Captain," Jacob replied easily. Before the Spectre could reach the galaxy map, he called out to him. "Shepard? Thanks for the help."

Smiling back, Shepard reached out and shook his hand. "Anytime, Jacob."

As Jacob made his way to the Armory, he heard Joker's voice overhead.

"_Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka. Coordinates locked in. IES Stealth Systems engaged. We're running silent. Alliance ships are inbound to secure Captain Taylor and his crew. We'll be long gone by the time they get here."_

"Don't even give them the tail lights."

"_Roger that, Captain."_

Entering the Armory and leaving his weapons on the nearest table, Jacob turned on his terminal and inputted his passwords to get into his personal files. After a few seconds of searching, he found what he was looking for.

**To: Jacob Taylor **

**From: Ronald Taylor **

**Subject: I'm Sorry**

_Son, _

_If you're reading this, then I'm gone. With the inherent dangers of these missions, it seems foolish not to have some letter like this ready, so I'm sending this before we get too far from your last relay. _

_I remember the look on your face when I left. You wanted to ask me not to go, but you didn't. You've grown to be a wise young man with a strong sense of duty. I wish I could take credit for that, but it has more to do with who you are than anything I taught you. _

_The truth is: I haven't been around enough. And if you're reading this, then I'm never going to have the chance to fix that. My job is an important one, but a man can't hide behind the pressures of work. This was to be my last trip. Easy for me to say now, I know, but the money from this expedition would have let me settle down with you and your mother to carve out some kind of peaceful quiet life far away from the pressures of space. Before I left, you were talking about joining the Alliance. I hope you find the same kind of peace and camaraderie with your team that I've found on the Gernsbeck. _

_I love you, son, and I'm proud of the man you've become. I wish I could have told you that one last time. _

_Love, _

_Dad_

Jacob breathed one last sigh of regret before hitting the 'delete' command. The message vanished from the screen. Logging out of his personal files and returning to his professional ones, he started logging the weapons and sorted which needed maintenance in order of priority.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

The final tally was: 52-18 in favor of arresting Ronald Taylor.

One of the things I wanted to do in this chapter was the plot holes/continuity errors. The Hugo Gernsback crashed in 2175. The events of Mass Effect 1 occur in 2183. The events of Mass Effect 2 happen in 2185. Thermal clips were invented between 2183 and 2185, well **after** the ship crashed.

Why the hell are there thermal clips everywhere? And why where they equipped with weapons that use thermal clips?

Next was the level of weaponry they were using. These guys were supposed to establish a colony on the planet. Stake the claim in the name of the Alliance. Why would they have something more than a pistol that was probably used by security guards on the Gernsback? And given the damage from the crash, how many weapons could function if they were found at all? Not likely that they were using military grade hardware. And if anyone had kinetic barriers, it would be a few guys acting as guards. Who probably died in the crash.

Finally, my gripe is the mechs. Fine, if there were dangerous animals or some such, mechs would be perfectly disposable. Even having only one YMIR mech would be used for huge security concerns. But why the hell are they so advanced for 10 year old mechs when ME 1 barely employed drones? Boggles the mind.

So, I dumbed down the weaponry, made them shoot like they might hit the broadside of a barn with enough bullets, and no shields since all I saw was them wearing rags. Without knowing when mechs were employed, I just said they were old, poorly maintained, and crappy all around.

Credit for the quote Jacob thought about is to **Skyllian Blitz** from SpaceBattles. Com forum. Credit of the find goes to reviewer **Amir-015**.

There is a new Kasumi poll up. I deleted the old one. Thanks to reviewer **someone ()**, who gave me some massive inspiration regarding Kasumi's Loyalty Mission. Instead of making a concrete choice, I leave it to her, but I don't actually say what the choice is, thus, leaving the ending up to you and your imagination. The poll has been removed and a new one is placed so that everyone that voted can vote again in light of a new choice, dubbed "cliffhanger." Vote now!

Review button is right below!


	31. Inamorata

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka**_

Jacob remained painfully subdued after returning from Aeia. Miranda and, surprisingly, Kasumi, were seen entering and leaving at the Armory periodically in an attempt to get him out of his despondent thoughts. Unfortunately, time seemed to be the ultimate factor since both women always left with nothing to show for her efforts.

_Still nice of them to try,_ Shepard mused.

Kasumi's presence, while unexpected, nevertheless matched her exuberant personality to cheer up the people around her. Miranda proved to be a bit more puzzling. Months ago, Shepard would've thought she would have let Jacob try to sort it all out himself and keep everyone at arm's reach. It appeared that she valued her friends more than he thought, leading him to wonder how much he didn't know about the enigmatic operative. Despite his desire to talk to her, until Jacob broke out his mood, Miranda seemed like the best person to help him.

_Though I'm sure Kasumi will put up a good effort._

Still, with 76 hours to get to Tuchanka from virtually the other end of the galaxy, there would be time. Instead, Shepard chose to occupy his time with something completely different.

The mission reports submitted by Mordin and the rest of the team reflected the difficulty Shepard and his team had in subduing the civilians without casualties. What caught his interest were the Professor's anecdotes about Samara's display of biotic skill. Thankfully, he was descriptive and detailed, perhaps too much so. But it intrigued Shepard enough to seek the justicar out.

Samara was meditating, as usual, in the Starboard Observation Room. Without looking she already knew it was him. "Shepard."

"I was wondering if I could ask for a favor."

"Of course."

He moved to sit down in front of her. "I want to learn how to fight like a biotic."

The orb of dark energy faded from her hands. Her eerie shining eyes returned to normal as she turned her to gaze to regard the human. "Truly?"

He nodded. "I remember seeing Jack take care of four YMIR mechs back on Purgatory, the prison ship, by herself. One of the security vids we downloaded from their mainframe showed her using her biotics in a way I've only seen asari commandos do. She just leapt in the air and blew two mercs away like they were nothing. She was practically flying. **I** was struggling with a rusted, beat up, heavy mech back on Aeia. Jacob could've been killed. It's one thing to learn techniques, but I want to learn how to use my biotics **like** a biotic."

She continued to judge his worth with her penetrating stare. He met her eyes confidently. "It will be difficult. Most asari huntresses train for decades to fight as such," she finally said.

"I'm told I'm a quick learner."

She graced him with a small smile. "There **is** something about you… I am learning more and more that I shouldn't underestimate you. And why you were chosen to lead this mission." Studying him for a few minutes with an intense scrutiny, she nodded as an instructor would and stood up. "Very well, I will teach you all I can if you are willing to learn."

Shepard stood up as well. "Thank you."

"Would you like to start now?"

"No time like the present."

**~o~O~o~**

The hangar only had a few crewmen inside, mostly working out at the gym or servicing the Kodiak. There was ample room for whatever Samara had in mind.

_Unless she wants me to sit and meditate here._

Having no idea how either Jack or Samara fought with their unique talents, Shepard tried to keep his mind open to whatever training the justicar was prepared to offer. He was reasonably sure it wouldn't be meditation since he could have done that back at her room or even his cabin.

"Are sure you wish to proceed with this?" Samara asked. "The training can be quick for some, but long and arduous for others. It depends on how well a trainee can adapt and how capable they are."

"I can handle it."

"And you do understand that what I will teach you will not be easy? Or gentle?"

"If it were easy, there'd be more commandos," Shepard glibly said in attempt to lighten the mood.

Samara's face remained unchanged despite his levity.

They reached an empty section of the hangar free of personnel or equipment. Turning around, she regarded the Spectre with one more warning look. "Are you certain?"

Shepard nodded resolutely. "Let's do this."

Samara had ghost a smile on her face before she suddenly glowed with dark energy and lashed out with a viscous kick to his chest.

Shouting in surprise, Shepard was knocked flat on his back from the sudden attack and barely had the presence of mind to roll out of harm's way when she followed up her unexpected attack with a leap and her right arm cocked back and glowing.

She struck the ground with her biotic punch, causing a small wave of energy to explode from the epicenter that narrowly missed him, both the physical and the biotic blow.

He got back up and raised one his arms in a defensive position while rubbing his chest with the other to sooth the fire of pain welling up. "What the hell!"

She still had a shadow of a smile on her face, though her eyes were intent and lit with purpose. "Defend yourself," she finally warned before launching into another attack.

Backpedaling quickly, he blocked as many of her strikes as he was able while simultaneously trying to find a gap in her defenses and figuring out what she was doing and why she was doing it. However, within a few seconds, her rapid assault snaked past his defenses and allowed her to execute a wicked left cross on his cheek. Stars exploded in his vision as he turned with the blow to minimize the force, which unfortunately caused him to lose sight of the nimble justicar.

His tactical mind went into overdrive in the few precious milliseconds he had to realize that the best attack now would probably come from behind and at his legs since most people would defend the head after taking an initial hit there. Dropping to the ground and rolling, he could feel the tip of Samara's boot just past his back when she tried to sweep him.

Completing the roll and changing momentum, he turned back around while Samara was just rising back to her feet from the missed opportunity. Recognizing this as his chance at a counterattack, he threw himself at her with the direct approach. His first punch connected with her abdomen, his second into her chin.

Somersaulting backward and still glowing with dark energy, Samara regrouped and renewed her attack. Shepard met her head-on, but it was a foolish mistake. His training in hand-to-hand, while considerable, was lacking against her speed and experience. He found himself giving ground again, unable to even focus his own biotics to defend himself with. Another kick to his chest followed by an elbow strike to the temple had him reeling, before Samara flared with dark energy and thrust both arms at the ground between them.

The pulse she generated with her biotics rocked him off his feet and back on the ground again. As he lied on his back, he could see her float above him, at least three meters above the ground before elegantly backflipping once and landing in a crouch. One leg was on the ground next to him, supporting most of her weight and distributing the full force of the blow away from her other knee, which was firmly planted on his chest and signifying her decisive victory and his crushing defeat. Grunting in pain, he looked up to see her genuinely smile at him before getting off.

Samara offered a hand to help him back to his feet. Warily, he accepted. His caution was unwarranted though, since she didn't attack or throw him unexpectedly this time. "That's the training?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady to hide the desire to wheeze out every breath.

"The martial arts and biotics are taught in tandem during training. Young recruits are often paired with experienced huntresses to learn the way. The more you experience, the more you will learn," Samara explained. "Fighting physically with the use of biotics requires an intimate knowledge of your own body. During sparring, further techniques and tactics are also imparted, should the recruit be strong and skilled enough to identify them."

"As well as a healthy dose of humility," Shepard dryly commented.

"Indeed." She looked at him from head to toe and back again. "I will ask again-"

"I can do this," he interrupted, unwilling to back down. "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy."

She graced him with another smile, this time with a hint of admiration and pride, before lashing out with a kick again.

To Shepard's credit, he was on guard for another attack and managed to block it. The subsequent punch, he wasn't nearly so quick to defend against. Within seconds, he was on the ground again, but determinately got back on his feet to continue.

_I hope I know what I'm doing. This might take a while…_

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard sighed as he let the hot shower wash away the minor, but many injures of his newest training regimen. Samara had insisted on sparring for three straight hours, giving new meaning to 'teach by example'. He put up a fight as he could, when he could and even managed to get a few solid hits in with some biotic powered blows. But at best, his attempt could be considered scrappy. It was clear that she was the victor in their series of matches. Certainly far better than he could hope to be in both hand-to-hand and biotics though he was dead set on continuing to learn. At the very least, to earn one good win against her. He consoled himself with the fact that she was doing this long before he born and he probably won't truly best her… ever, probably.

His thoughts returned to the details of their fights, analyzing her technique. It was evident she knew how to integrate biotics with physical combat easily, almost making it look natural. There was little doubt he would learn a lot from her at his expense of bumps and bruises. She had explained that biotics did not enhance her physical strength, but rather allowed her to manipulate the world around herself, lending power to her movements and attacks. Jumping higher and running faster were the results of mass lowering fields, much like using Pull on yourself, while attacks were aided by either mass raising or unstable fields.

"_Time and dedication will allow you to call upon biotics instinctively and allow you to use your talents in a fast-paced battle,"_ she had lectured before starting another fight and ending it with another biotic attack.

Turning off the shower, he stretched, letting his muscles burn with soreness, but it was the kind that came from a long workout now, rather than being a punching bag. Looking down at his thigh, the bruise that was the size of his fist before his shower was almost imperceptible now. Another testament to his implants.

After drying off and getting a fresh change of clothes, Shepard made his way to the Med Bay to drop in on Garrus.

The turian was awake and appeared pleased to see him. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," Shepard greeted before plopping down on the nearby chair. "Feeling better? When is Dr. Chakwas releasing you?"

"I'm alright. She's releasing me tomorrow. But I'm still off-duty for a couple more days after that," Garrus groused.

The woman in question entered the Med Bay with a tray of food for her patient and herself. Upon seeing the captain, her lips pursed disapprovingly. "Here for your exam?"

Shepard tilted his head in confusion. "Exam?"

"From what the crewmen tell me, Samara gave you quite the thrashing. I assume you're here to be checked out?" Chakwas said as she placed the tray on the table next to Garrus.

Shepard sighed before glaring at his turian friend when he started snickering. "I'm fine," Shepard said to her before rounding on Garrus with a challenging look. "Why don't you fight her? See how you stack up?"

"I'm not stupid," Garrus retorted.

"Just scared," Shepard countered.

"Enough," Chakwas sternly said to both men before they continued to squabble. "Shepard, don't antagonize him. I don't want you filling his head with those ideas that he has to prove himself by getting beat up. Much like you."

"Beat up?" Garrus repeated indignantly.

"And you, Garrus. Don't listen. I'd rather not have you as a guest in here again because of some fool notion that you have to accept such childish challenges of masculinity," she snapped.

Now Shepard looked indignant when his character was called into question. "Hey!"

Taking no notice of their sputtering, outraged denials and excuses, she turned back to her terminal and started working, occasionally stopping to eat her lunch.

Thane chose that moment to walk in and see the cross looks on Shepard and Garrus' faces while Dr. Chakwas was steadfastly ignoring both of them. Clearing his throat to get her attention and unintentionally receiving the attention of the other occupants in the Med Bay, he gestured to the cast on his leg. "My appointment, Doctor?"

"Of course, Mr. Krios," Chakwas said. She pointed at the nearby bed. "Sit down and I'll get ready."

"Thank you," Thane courteously replied before following her instructions.

"How are you feeling?" Shepard asked.

"Better. Thank you for asking," Thane said. "Doctor Chakwas informed me that she will conduct a few tests to ensure no further complications. Once she's satisfied, I will be cleared to return to combat should you need me."

"I foresee no complications if you followed my instructions and rested your leg. I trust that you remained active in other areas, though?" She ran her omni-tool over Thane's leg for several minutes before nodding satisfaction. "The cast can be removed. Just one moment."

While she busied herself with her preparations, Shepard chatted idly with Garrus before noticing that Thane was sitting up with his eyes closed. "Do you often meditate or pray?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Both. It would often depend on the situation," Thane replied.

"I'm thinking that most species tend to lose faith in their religions during a large scale tragedy, like what happened to your planet and the other drell. So what or who exactly do you pray to?" Garrus asked.

"I am one of the few that continue to practice the original beliefs. As to whom, that would also depend on the circumstance," he said. "To find my targets, I speak with Amonkira, Lord of Hunters. When I act to defend another: Arashu, Goddess of Motherhood and Protection. And when I have taken my target, I speak with Kalahira, Goddess of Oceans and the Afterlife."

"Polytheistic? I didn't know the drell had many gods," Shepard admitted.

"It is one of our older beliefs. Mr. Vak- I mean, Garrus, is right. The old ways are dying. Many embrace the hanar Enkindlers now or the asari philosophies." He smiled wryly. "There are so many ways to interpret one's place in the universe. Who needs the wisdom of our ancestors?"

Dr. Chakwas came back with a laser cutter. "Stand still, now. I'll be finished quickly," she cautioned before working on remove the cast.

"The younger generations don't believe they can help us fathom genetic engineering, orbital strikes, or alien races," Thane continued to say as he observed Chakwas' progress.

Joker wandered in Med Bay while he was speaking and sat down on the nearest bed with a pained grimace. "Yeah, young kids think they know everything. 'Aero-gel displays and optical solid-state... Man, it's all so primitive. I can hardly wait for the future'. Feh, what do they know?"

"You okay?" Garrus asked.

"Just peachy. I'm here for a checkup," Joker replied and sighed in relief as he relaxed on the bed.

Garrus turned to Shepard with a mixed expression of concern and confusion on his face.

"Joker tends to sit for long periods of time. In humans, inactivity like that can lead to a few medical complications," Shepard explained shortly without divulging more details about the helmsman's personal life.

Joker appeared unconcerned about it though. "Blood clots, embolisms, and spinal cysts are just some of the hazards of the job. Lucky me, eh?"

"All finished, Mr. Krios. Let me run a few more scans to confirm everything is in working order before I clear you," Chakwas said. She moved to the nearby terminal and began checking Thane's leg for any further problems. Occasionally, she'd ask him to move his limb or ask how it was feeling.

Shepard turned back to the assassin. "Oceans and afterlife don't seem to have much in common," he commented, returning to their earlier conversation.

Thane looked away from Chakwas to focus on him. "Consider. The ocean is full of life. Yet it is not life as you or I know it. To survive there, we must release our hold on land. Accept a new way to live. So it is with death. The soul must accept its departure from the body. If it can't, it will be lost."

"Considering that Kadje is filled with oceans, I imagine that particular goddess does rather well," Garrus joked.

Thane smiled. "Indeed."

"Better than the 'Enkindlers'," Shepard added.

Joker shook his head. "That was a hell of a shock. Do you always have to have life changing news happen at the drop of hat?"

"Only around you, Joker," Shepard said.

"Two years and everything hits the crapper. That'll teach you to die on me," Joker retorted.

"All finished, Mr. Krios. You're cleared for duty," Chakwas said, masterfully working around the banter around her.

"My thanks," Thane said as he stood up and stretched his now functioning limb. He bowed to everyone in the Med Bay before leaving.

"How's Jacob?" Garrus asked. "I haven't seen him down here."

"I don't know," Shepard confessed. "I didn't want to bother him yet. Miranda and Kasumi have been talking to him. I don't want to add to the crowd."

Joker looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. That, uh, that stuff with Jacob's dad. It's bullshit, right? Because it looked like bullshit to me."

"What events transpired down there is none of our concern. It was a rescue mission and now it's done. It's best to leave Mr. Taylor alone unless he wants to talk about it," Chakwas said as she stood next to Joker to begin her examination. "It won't do you any good to gossip about it."

"Sorry," Joker muttered to her. He perked up immediately and turned to Shepard with a wicked grin. "So, Captain, who should I be betting on? Y'know, the next time you and Samara go at each other?"

Shepard sighed and idly rubbed his left arm that still remained slightly sore. "At this point, **I'm** willing to bet on her to kick my ass."

**~o~O~o~**

After eating lunch in the Med Bay with Garrus, Joker, and Chakwas, Shepard returned to his cabin to review the reports, check the status of the ship and crew, and keep up-to-date with anything that does or will eventually need his attention.

The backlog of work took most of his time, all the way until well past dinner. Fortunately, Kelly was thoughtful enough to bring some food up to his room.

Waking on the second day of travel, he rolled out of bed with a groan and prepared himself to meet Samara down in the hangar. She had requested that they meet early in the morning as so they could 'spar' for another three hours. The schedule would remain so long as he wanted to learn and could endure.

'_Spar'. More like getting a beat down,_ Shepard thought as he trudged to the lift and started making his way to Deck 4. The elevator stopped at Deck 3 and opened to reveal Miranda. She was dressed in track pants and a tank top and was carrying a bag with her. She looked a little startled at his sudden appearance, but was quick enough to hop on and travel downward with him.

"How's Jacob?" Shepard asked.

"He's still sorting his through some personal issues, but appears more or less back to normal. He and Kasumi are having breakfast together in the Common Area right now," she replied.

The elevator reached their destination, allowing them to make for the hangar. "What are you up to, right now?" he asked, making a mental note to speak to Jacob when the opportunity presented itself.

"Practicing my biotics. Maybe brush up on some hand-to-hand," Miranda said. Before they entered the hangar, she stopped and faced him fully. "I'm ready to talk if you are."

"I'd like that," Shepard gamely said. "Where and when?"

"My office? Tonight? Maybe after dinner?"

"Perfect."

She offered him a bright smile before entering the hangar and moving to one side to begin stretching for her own workout.

Shepard met Samara at their agreed upon area. She was sitting on the floor, facing away from in him in mediation. Without any pleasantries or fanfare, she initiated the first move. One moment, she appeared to have been patiently waiting for him, the next, she was right in front of him, attacking in a flurry of kicks and punches.

Shepard prided himself as one of N7's top hand-to-hand combatants; only second to the former, disgraced, and dishonorably discharged N7 marine lieutenant, Kai Leng. Despite his better efforts, he could only put up a token resistance. He was throwing himself wholeheartedly into his training, but it looked as if Samara only viewed this as a mild distraction. However, whenever he attacked or counterattacked in a way that pushed her back or threw off her rhythm, she seemed to genuinely revel in the moment, as if it was a source of enjoyment for her. It was somewhat surprising to see her display so much emotion during their fights more than any other time he'd seen her exhibit since they'd met.

_At least she's enjoying herself,_ Shepard grumbled to himself as he crawled back to his feet after another consecutive loss.

"Damn. You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

He looked up to see Jack sitting on a crate nearby and smirking in amusement at his predicament. "You of all people should know. What doesn't kill us-"

"Makes us stronger," Miranda finished for him at her designated area of the hangar. She was toweling off and taking a drink from her water bottle.

To Shepard's eyes though, it looked like she was determinedly looking away from Jack. Especially when the younger woman barked out an acerbic laugh at the ancient proverb.

"And what **does** kill us, makes us stronger still," he added as he stood tall from his most recent loss. He turned to face Samara. "Again."

**~o~O~o~**

Kasumi looked up from her datapad and pouted cutely. "Awww. I would've sparred with you if you asked."

"I've seen her in action, so to speak," Miranda said with a knowing glance at the agile thief. "I'd advise against it. It's bad enough that Samara bests you regularly, but I'm not entirely sure if your ego can handle getting beaten yet again." She smirked at Shepard, who was trying his hardest to look impassive and uncaring of the teasing around him. At the very least, hold on to some modicum of his pride.

"Especially by a woman," Garrus thoughtlessly said before blinking and looking at the various females around him. Even Shepard looked up from his lunch to stare. "Wait… that came out wrong."

"From you? I'm almost sure you meant it the way you said it," Shepard said with a vicious smile.

Garrus shook his head rapidly. "No! What I meant was- Ow!" He reached under the table and rubbed his shin.

"What **did** you mean, exactly?" Kasumi asked innocently. The only reason anyone suspected she was involved with Garrus' new leg pain was that she was sitting directly across from him.

"Nothing," Garrus muttered as he rubbed his wounded limb and glared balefully at the mischievous woman. "I probably deserved that."

She smiled sweetly at him before turning to Shepard again. "So! How are you lessons going? I mean, I heard the gossip, but I'd like to hear the story straight from the source."

"Fine," Shepard muttered, hoping to end the conversation and steer it away from more teasing. He wasn't that lucky.

"Are you learning a lot? Like how much the floor of the hangar needs to be cleaned? Or how to fall and make it look like you did it on purpose?" she asked, amusement glittering in her eyes.

"I'm learning that I have a high tolerance for pain and a low tolerance for jokes," Shepard muttered. "And it's called the 'deck', not a 'floor'."

"Touchy, touchy. Are you always this grouchy when you lose? A lot?"

Miranda swallowed her bite before smirking. "I'm sure it's a trait that will be beaten out of him soon enough."

"Should've had lunch in the safety of my cabin," Shepard grumbled to himself.

"Although I'm sure that your threshold for pain was something you possessed long before the Lazarus Project," Miranda said thoughtfully.

"I can attest to that," Tali quipped as she sat down nearby. "Most of the things we fought would've killed most humans several times over."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Shepard deadpanned. He smiled all the same.

"I wanted to let you know that all the original weapons systems should be working within the week, maybe in a few days. The Thanix cannon should be ready for testing a few days after," Tali reported. She turned to Garrus. "I'm sorry to say, there will be a lot of calibrations to be done to restore accuracy."

"I'm still grounded until Chakwas is satisfied that I'm healthy. At least it'll give me something to do," Garrus replied.

Kasumi gasped and put her head under the table to see which leg she kicked. "I'm sorry! I forgot! Did I hurt you? Are you alright? I mean, **really** alright?"

Garrus waved off her concerns. "I'm fine."

"You kicked the leg that had a broken ankle," Shepard informed as he casually ate his lunch. Inwardly, he was smirking at her sudden distress. "Nothing to worry about."

"I'm sorry!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

"Dr. Chandana," the Illusive Man greeted in a benevolent tone. "I trust everything is going well?"

"Yes, sir. We're making progress, but this technology… It's all so alien…" Chandana said with hint of reverence in his voice. He physically shook himself out his reverie, an action the Illusive Man watched very carefully. "Regarding my other assignment, I believe we've located what you've requested."

Knowing that the conversation was being recorded to review later, the CEO of Cerberus nodded. "And?"

"I have a team removing it as we speak. I, myself, will go back to oversee their progress after my report. Given its importance, we're taking every precaution we can conceive of to bring in the IFF intact. Unfortunately, that will also mean that we must take care to advance slowly and carefully. Once again, sir, we don't know for sure it's the object you're looking for, but I'll personally confirm whether or not we've found it once I've analyzed it thoroughly."

"Very good, Doctor," the Illusive Man praised. "Take as much time as you think you need." Pausing to take a smoke, he tapped his cigarette into his ash tray before speaking again. "I also want this artifact copied if you can manage it."

"For use on other ships?"

"Its use is no concern of yours," he rebuked mildly.

Chandana nodded. "Of course, sir."

"I look forward to hearing more good news from you, Chandana."

"Yes, sir."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster, Thorne System, Derelict Reaper, Cerberus Science Vessel**_

Chandana sighed in relief when the Illusive Man disconnected the call.

"You didn't tell him?"

"About what?" He asked irritably. He didn't even turn to see who was talking. His teeth were clenching again and his right eye felt like it was throbbing.

"About the headaches some of the crew has been complaining about? And the doctor had to issue more sedatives to calm some of them down. They're still edgy."

"I'm not going to waste his time with something as insignificant as headaches and cowards," Chandana snapped. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and took a breath to alleviate his own headache. "Let's go. We need to retrieve that IFF. Remember, the Illusive Man doesn't tolerate failure."

_I hope this is the IFF. With something this alien, who the hell knows?_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka**_

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Shepard asked when he stepped into the Tantalus Core Control Room.

Tali nodded and looked to see Gabby working at her station while Ken was in the maintenance tunnels, double-checking the conduits. "Remember that project I was working on?"

"You told me you were working on something important, but beyond that? Nothing."

"It's about Jack."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms expectantly.

"Nothing bad," Tali quickly said. She pulled up some information on her omni-tool. "Jack told me she scanned one of the Collector weapons back on the cruiser. Most likely belonging to one of the Guardians."

"So that's what she was doing…" he mused to himself as he recalled the events on the Collector ship. "So what did you find?"

"I think I might be able to reverse engineer their ammunition converter and their ability to make their bullets infused with Warp. Eventually, I can adapt it to our own weapons." Tali said excitedly. "Only biotics can make use of it though."

"Warp Ammo? Really?" Shepard asked with thoughtful tone. "They tend to use Barrier often… If we can modify our weaponry to incorporate Warp, that'll give us an advantage."

"That's the hope."

"How long? I mean," He stopped and gestured at the various pipes and consoles around him. "We've got you working pretty hard right now, so if you need time…?"

"I do. For now, I thought I should let you know. I promised Jack that I'd work on it. Also…" She looked around as if she expected someone to walk in on them at that moment. "I really, **really,** don't want Cerberus to get this."

He nodded. "I understand your concerns. We'll keep this between the three of us."

"Thank you, Shepard."

"Thank **you**, Tali," he said. Patting her on the shoulder encouragingly, he left her to her work.

Moving through the decks of the Normandy, he stopped at the Armory to finally talk to Jacob, only to see no one there. His next stop was the hangar to see if he was hitting the gym, but his search came up empty. He finally stopped at the Crew Deck to see if Jacob was catching a late lunch or early dinner, but no such luck.

Sighing, he turned to the nearby pedestal. "EDI, do you know where Jacob is?"

"He is currently in the Portside Observation Room with Miss Goto," EDI dutifully informed.

Raising an eyebrow at the information, he walked the short distance to Kasumi's room. The door was unlocked, but he tapped the panel to announce his presence to the occupants inside instead of just walking in.

Just in case.

A muffled, "Come in!" was heard. He opened the door to see Kasumi wave at him in greeting before pointing at her favorite painting and describing its creation to Jacob. He was sitting on the couch and looking attentive at the tour.

"This one was painted by a child prodigy from Elysium," she said before taking on a wistful tone. "She was the cutest thing. She was kidnapped by slavers who hoped to sell her on Omega."

"But you saved her?" Jacob half-asked, half-stated.

Shepard crossed his arms and patiently waited, already familiar with the story.

"Of course I did. I wasn't about to let that happen," Kasumi said. "I set up an ID as a buyer's rep to get a special tour of the slavers' vessel. Once aboard, I freed the girl and smuggled her off the ship."

Jacob grinned. "Nice."

She grinned back at him. "Thanks. She painted this for me on the way home." She turned to study the beautiful artwork. "I'll never forget how it felt to watch her work," she whispered in remembrance.

Jacob was about to say something more when Shepard stepped into the room a bit more and getting his attention. "Hey, Shepard," he greeted.

"Jacob," Shepard parroted. "I'm sure you've been asked this a few dozen times already, but-"

"I'm good, Shepard."

"I can see that," Shepard said with a smirk as he glanced as Kasumi.

Jacob coughed lightly and stood up. "Yeah, well…"

"I was just showing him some of the things here," Kasumi said. "Nothing saucy… yet anyway."

Jacob and Shepard stared wide-eyed at the bubbly woman before the Cerberus operative cleared his throat. "Right. I was just listening to some of her stories. That's it."

"Right," Shepard indulgently said, though his eyes kept darting between the both of them.

"By the way, thanks for diverting to the Gernsback, Shepard," Jacob gratefully said. "I appreciate being able to clean up that mess."

"You sure you're okay?"

"It's over," he replied. "It **will not** affect how I do my job. I'm with you all the way." He stood up and saluted. "Speaking of which, I probably should get back and finish up my duties before dinner."

Shepard nodded. "Okay."

Jacob turned to Kasumi. "You're definitely the best thief in your business. And not because you can get through tight security and steal things either. Nice to know you're one of the good guys," he said before realizing what he said. "Girls. Women… you know what I mean," he quickly blabbered out before leaving quickly.

Kasumi and Shepard shared a laugh after he left. He turned to face her. "Getting along?"

"Just fine, Shep," she answered. She sat down on the couch, brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I have to say, that Jacob? Mmm…" She looked thoughtful. "He seems pretty intense. I wonder if he likes Japanese girls with a penchant for kleptomania?"

"You want me to ask?"

She giggled and kicked out at him from her seat. He barely managed to dodge it. "No!" she cried out in amusement and mock ire. "I'll get around to asking. Eventually."

Shepard grinned at her and glanced at the door Jacob just left through. "Seriously, I'm glad he's feeling better about that whole situation. Thanks for helping him out."

"Yeah, well, Jacob deserves better than a father like that," she said angrily. "I probably would have wanted to shoot him, too." She took a breath and calmed down. "At least it's over. What's done is done."

Shepard nodded in agreement and turned to leave. Before opening the door, he turned around and smirked at her. "I trust that if something were to happen in here, you'd lock the door?" he inquired casually before ducking from the tossed pillow and beating a hasty exit.

**~o~O~o~**

After dodging Kasumi's 'attack', Shepard walked away quickly from her room. In his haste, he almost bumped into headlong into Thane.

Thankfully, the assassin had no such distractions and nimbly stepped aside to avoid collision.

"Sorry, Thane," Shepard said with a grin. He glanced back to see that Kasumi hadn't followed.

Thane nodded and looked toward whatever Shepard was looking at, but couldn't see what was causing the captain to be in such a rush. "It is no trouble."

Something struck a chord in Shepard's mind as he remembered the last private conversation he had with the drell. "By the way, I was wondering if I might continue our conversation. The one we had before the mission."

"Ah. I imagined you would be curious about it," Thane said before leading the way back to the Life Support Plant. Settling in at his chair he waited until Shepard seated himself across from him.

"As I recall-" Shepard started to say before taking note of the sly smile on Thane's face. "-you started speaking about a past event as if you were watching it."

"Drell of perfect memories," he explained. "We can relive any moment of our lives with perfect clarity."

_That_ _explains the smile. 'As I recall'._

"Yesterday, you asked if I spend my time meditating or praying. To expound on that, I should also say that, occasionally, I would indulge in my memories of happier times. It's difficult to control at times. Some of us disappear into what we call 'solipsism'."

"Can you explain that a bit more?" Shepard requested.

"When a memory feels as real as life, it's as valid as life," Thane said. "Thinking about a moment brings back the smell of cut grass, the warmth of another's hand on yours, the taste of another's tongue in your mouth. Wouldn't you rather lose yourself in such a memory than spend the night alone, staring at walls of metal and plastic?"

Shepard nodded in agreement, but was surprised Thane would mention that last point. The assassin seemed like such a private, solitary man. "Isn't that a rather personal memory talk about?"

"Forgive me," Thane apologized. "Lately, after our mission aboard the Collector ship, I have spent a great deal of time reviewing my life. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't. I was worried that you were, though."

"I'm not. It's hard for a dying man to feel as such. Drs. Chakwas and Solus have both recommended that I cease indulging myself however. Or at the very least, limit myself to only a few minutes. I'm sure you know," Thane said.

"Know what?" Shepard asked. His brow furrowed in thought as he tried to remember when either doctor talked to him about Thane.

"You don't know? I had assumed that as captain of this vessel, they would report to you about medical complications."

"Doctor/Patient confidentiality still applies unless the medical complication can affect the entire ship. If it's just you, whatever you talk about will remain between Dr. Chakwas and yourself. I'm not sure if salarians have the same principle though…" Shepard explained. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I see," Thane said in understanding. "It's nothing, however. They educated themselves on the particulars of Kepral's Syndrome and have recommended that I remain active. By allowing myself to slip into my memories, I tend to sit still of long periods of time and well… my condition will continue to deteriorate rapidly because I'm no longer stimulating lung function."

"That's why she asked if you were active despite your leg injury. Anyone else, she'd ask for bed rest," Shepard mused.

"Indeed. It was not an easy recommendation for her. I occupied myself with exercises for my arms and torso."

"I understand," Shepard said. To the naked eye though, he could not see anything physically wrong with him. "About your solipsism, isn't there a risk you could lose yourself in bad memories as well?"

"Of course. Remembering the times I've taken bullets, or most recently, biotic attacks is… unpleasant. But I can look at my knee and see it's not shattered." He frowned and bowed his head slightly. "The memories that are had to escape are those of despair."

"So…" Shepard said, trying to find something to say to shake Thane out of his despondent thoughts. Despair was certainly one of the more forceful memories. "You can remember everything that happened in your life?"

Thane smirked. "Nearly. And I expect if we remembered the birth trauma, we'd never recover from it."

Shepard laughed lightly. "That's one memory I'm sure no one wants to go back to."

"Indeed."

"So you can also relive every assassination you've ever made?"

"In perfect detail," Thane replied immediately. It was obvious that this was a question often asked. "Every mistake I made. Every target's last breath."

"You never feel guilty about the people you've killed?" Shepard asked carefully.

"Why should I?" Thane replied with a small shrug. "My employers killed them. My body was only the tool they used. If you kill a man with your gun, do you hold the gun responsible? The bullet fired from the gun?" he rationalized.

"It's more about knowing the difference in the matter of right and wrong. You clearly understand that."

"My soul does, but my body is merely flesh. Flesh whose reflexes were honed to kill," Thane replied. Seeing the look of confusion on Shepard's face, he elaborated. "Drell minds are different from humans'. We see our body as a vessel and accept that it is not always under our control."

"Do you assume any responsibility for the things you or 'your body' does?" Shepard asked, trying to wrap his mind around these concepts.

"Not every action performed by my body is a result of conscious choices. I take responsibility for those that are."

"Which would lead us back to your memories of despair," Shepard pointed out.

Thane nodded. "Yes. Humans often believe in a soul distinct from the body. A spirit responsible for moral reasoning that lives on after the body's death. Our belief is just a bit more literal."

"The last time we talked, you remembered one of your assassinations. Something about 'sunset-colored' eyes?"

A cross between absolute bliss and overwhelming anguish dominated Thane's face at that statement. "Ah. That time," he said evenly before he suddenly sat up straighter in his chair. _"/Laser dot trembles on his skull. Spice on the spring wind. Sunset eyes defiant in the scope. /"_ Forcefully removing himself from the memory he continued talking as if he never slipped into his solipsism. "A bystander noticed my spotting laser and threw herself between me and the target. She couldn't see me, but she stared me down."

Shepard overlooked Thane's brief lapse and continued the conversation as well. "Did you take the shot?"

Thane bowed his head, possibly in guilt, which was surprising considering his beliefs. "Not that day," he confessed quietly.

"You mentioned that memory before. Another vivid drell memory?"

"Not…" Thane said hesitantly as he tried to find the right words. Or was deciding to confide in him. "No. She was a vivid person."

Sensing that was all Thane wished to speak about, Shepard nodded and stood up. "I should get back to my duties. I appreciate that you're taking the time to talk with me."

Before he could leave, Thane spoke up. "Shepard. I also appreciate these chats we have."

"It just seems like you've spent a lot of your life alone," Shepard pointed out.

Thane gave out a small laugh. "Work fulfilled me. Reading. I barely spoke to anyone outside my family." He took on a thoughtful expression. "It seems there will be no one to mourn me when I die. You, Garrus; Both of you seem to be the only friends I've made in ten years."

"We're relying on each other for this mission. We have just as much to lose if we hold each other apart," Shepard said.

"I've found it difficult to sit in the ship's mess for meals," Thane admitted. "I'm used to keeping my back against a wall. Facing the doors." He smiled wryly. "I would eat in the solitude of my room, but Dr. Chakwas has also recommended that I remain active by engaging with other members of your team. Following your example with Samara, I had given some thought about asking Miss Goto if she would be willing to spar with me."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate something to do," Shepard said, making a mental note to come and watch to see if he can't pick up on their fighting styles.

"Perhaps. It would be another way of finding my center. Another way to relax." Thane thought about it some more before standing up and walking out of his room with Shepard at his side. "Thank you."

**~o~O~o~**

After parting ways with Thane, Shepard's omni-tool started beeping. Absently, he turned it off, already knowing why it was beeping in the first place. He'd set a reminder for himself to go to Miranda's office later tonight after dinner to talk. A reminder he didn't really need since their chat in the elevator. Instead of having dinner in the Common Area, he requested that Kelly bring his food to his cabin where he decided to retreat. Uncharacteristically, he didn't want to see Miranda yet. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to talk.

He tried to suppress his nerves by distracting his mind. Unfortunately, it was harder than he anticipated. All his work was done last night. The only person he could talk to about… whatever was on his mind, **was** the person he was supposed to talk to about whatever was on his mind.

For once, dinner tasted bland and unappetizing. He took to pacing around his cabin, staring at his fish or hamster, reading a paper book or a vid-book or just sitting back and listening to music. The distractions were temporary at best and useless at the worst.

When the hour closed in, Shepard shook his head and steeled himself. He knew he was being silly and stupid. They'd talk like rational adults and after, whatever will happen, will happen.

He just wished he knew what **would** happen.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda found herself uncharacteristically nervous. As much as she wanted to talk about what happened a nearly a week ago on Illium, the idea of merely ducking the subject began having its appeal as well. She tried to rationalize that it was nothing. A mistake. A bout of sexual tension they'd succumbed to in the heat of the moment. As the same time, she knew the only reason it would affect her so much long after the act would mean it truly meant something. And the idea actually frightened her, especially since she didn't know what would happen after.

She asked Rolston to bring dinner to her office with excuse that she was too busy to eat at the Common Area. It was a lie, of course. She just didn't want to see Shepard until their meeting.

_If I even want to see him at all._

All her reports were finished as per her normal efficiency. There was literally nothing to do in the confines of her office.

Rolston inadvertently provided some measure of distraction when he brought her dinner. He was happy, ecstatic even, about a message he received early this morning.

"I wanted to thank you again for saving my family, ma'am! I got a message from my wife! I've been listening to my daughter giggle over and over!" he excitedly said as he placed the tray on her table.

"I'm happy for you," Miranda said courteously. She meant every word though.

Rolston grinned and played the message. Listening to the little girl giggle and babble, Miranda couldn't help but smile.

"When this mission is over, I'm going to give her the longest hug she's ever had," Rolston fondly said as he listened to his daughter laugh for what must be the umpteenth time.

"I'm sure you'll have the chance," Miranda said, though she wasn't sure if she was honest about **this** statement.

"With you and Captain Shepard heading up this mission, I'm sure we'll be alright," Rolston replied. He saluted to her and left.

Miranda poked at her meal, taking a few bites, but couldn't stomach more. She would to see the mission to the end, her desire to succeed rivaling Shepard's convictions. But what would happen after?

When her thoughts turned to him again, she let out a sound of frustration and pushed her tray to the side. She had no idea what to make of their… whatever it was. The more she thought about him, the harder it was to stop. She knew she was attracted to that irresistible sense of purpose and force of will he possessed. She was intrigued by it.

She tried to occupy her mind with whatever she could find. Unfortunately for her, nothing was suitable and everything seemed to have his presence attached. Listening to Nielson's Fifth only brought back memories of Oriana and indirectly, Shepard. The vid-book her sister recommended to her, 'Men are from Omega, Women are from Illium' was even worse.

She almost jumped when her door chimed and had to force herself to calm down. After a few seconds, when she was sure her heart would stop trying to pound its way out of her chest, she called out, "Come in."

As expected, the door opened to reveal the man she wanted to see the most and the least.

Shepard slowly walked in and made a show of looking around her office. What he was looking for, she had no idea. When the door closed behind him, he whirled around before visibly calming down and turning to face her. "Hey."

"Hi."

"So…"

"So."

Shepard sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "What was it?"

She knew exactly what he was referring to. "I don't know. It was… nothing? Something?" She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Stress or blowing off steam? Or…"

"Something real?" Shepard said.

Miranda shook her head. "I have no idea how I feel about that. It's frightening and exhilarating and…" Turning around she walked over to her bed and slumped down on the edge of it. "This is no time for… for… emotional entanglement!" She looked up as he approached her slowly. "You and I know more about the Collectors than anyone! We know the odds, how unlikely it is that we're coming back alive!"

Shepard stopped just within arm's reach and let her vent.

Miranda swallowed the lump in her throat and scoffed to herself. "What idiotic bunch of hormones thought that now was a great time for love?"

"Love?" he repeated softly.

Her eyes shot open at the word and looked up at him. He was being completely serious. "That's not what I… I mean…"

"Is that how you feel?"

She looked away. "I don't know."

"Do you want to find out?"

She was silent for few moments as she gazed into his eyes. Eventually, she came to a decision. "Yeah. I do," she answered quietly before steeling herself. "So don't die! You promise me, damn it!"

"You and I both know it doesn't work that way. I've already died once. I don't have any illusions about my mortality. We could be dead on this next mission, or the one after that."

Shepard got down on his knees in front of her so that his eyes were level with hers.

Miranda was a bit surprised by the action. It almost seemed as if he was offering himself to her.

"If you don't think it's worth it…"

Miranda shook her head emphatically and slid off the bed to kneel with him. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "No…" she whispered into his ear. "For you, it is."

She felt him wrap his arms around her as well. Swallowing her reservations, she pulled back a bit and placed her hands on the sides of his head. She pulled him closer and softly kissed him.

He reciprocated the kiss and pulled her closer. His right hand cupped her face and caressed her gently.

Their first kiss held a kind of smoldering passion. They pushed their boundaries, physically and emotionally, without caring about the consequences. This kiss was much more tender. They were exploring each other, feeling each other out.

Judging from the reluctance Shepard seemed to have in breaking the kiss, he liked what he found. Stopping only to breathe, he pulled her close and met her lips again with own. She didn't offer any resistance. Quite the opposite, she encouraged the action with a passionate moan and deepened the kiss. As the intensity increased, she found herself wanting more. She pressed her body against his, wanting to find relief for the sudden rise in ardor.

He responded move for move. His right hand fell from her face and wrapped around her waist. His left arm dropped to her right leg and gripped her gently before physically lifting her from their position on the floor and back on her bed.

Miranda broke off the kiss with a gasp as she was laid on the bed. She held his head with her right hand and started planting kisses along his jaw line and neck. Her left hand moved down to his waist and started pulling at the bottom of his shirt. She brought her left leg up and wrapped it around his waist, drawing him even closer.

Shepard let out a breath and started roaming her body with his hands, exploring as much as he could. Massaging her sides, cupping her breasts, rubbing her bottom; he stopped at the zipper of her blouse and pulled it down slowly. He was watching her carefully, gauging her reaction, if she was going to stop him.

She placed her hand on his and pulled the zipper with him, giving him tacit permission; her heavy breathing showed her approval, while her eyes spoke volumes of what she wanted.

Parting her uniform, he kissed her lips one more, briefly, before leaving a trail of kisses down the exposed skin of her body, moving past her bra-clad breasts. He paused around her belly button instead and left a few kisses there.

She paused and thought about his actions as much as her scattered thoughts would allow. He was almost being tender. Bastardly, but tender. He was choosing a place that was within reach, almost on a whim. The sweet idea that he wouldn't kiss a more erogenous spot first made everything about him more special.

But then wasn't being sweet anymore as he finally gave into both of their desires.

_Oh yes… Oh god, yes…_

She eventually stopped analyzing or overanalyzing their… relationship and enjoyed the moment as she stared up at the ceiling with half-lidded, darkening eyes while he pleasured her. Desperately, she helped him doff the rest of her clothes and allowed him to continue with his lazy ministrations, driving her higher and higher with the anticipation of bliss.

He was right. There was a real chance they would die. She also meant what she said.

It was worth it.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

500+ reviews! Yay! Thanks to reviewer and fellow ME author **pepoluan** for taking notice of my work and steadfastly reviewing most of my chapters to bump me up there.

I also want to thank the people that admitted that they don't really review, but did so anyway because they chose to. I'm glad to hear your thoughts.

Credit goes to **fongiel24** at the BioWare Mass Effect 2 Forums for the inspiration of Miranda's thoughts on Shepard.

Credit goes to **CrazygurlMadness** or just **CM** for the inspiration of the final scene. She's actually a Legend of Zelda writer, specializing in Zelda/Link fics and someone who's definitely more qualified to write. She's worlds better than me. With her permission, I borrowed a great deal of work to use as my own. Thanks. I really appreciate it.

I wrote that last scene as I did because knowing that they could die, why wouldn't anyone seize the moment before the end? Personally, I'm of the belief that BioWare created it as a kind of 'reward' for getting the paramour achievement or something. Put it at the end so you it'll make you feel like you accomplished something.

Please review!


	32. The Rite of Passage

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**Present Time**_

Shepard grunted with the effort of his latest near death experience as he tried desperately to maintain control of his focus. His biotics was nearly strained to his limit to hold up hundreds of pounds of rubble from crushing him like a pyjack. His aura of dark energy flared brightly in response to his exertions. Looking up, he saw a single tunnel of light leading out to safety.

_I can't believe I agreed to do this. What the hell was I thinking?_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka**_

_**10 Hours Earlier**_

_What was I thinking to go along with this?_

Waking slowly, but surely, Shepard sighed. Eventually giving in to his body's needs, he opened his eyes and turned his head. And found his question answered.

Miranda was sleeping soundly next to him. Her soft breathing sounds whispered into his ear. Her arm was draped across his chest and one of her bare legs was entangled around one of his own. The blanket had dropped low enough to see the top of her chest. Her hair was mussed attractively and it seemed like she had a small smile on her face, punctuated with the occasional satiated sigh.

She looked beautiful.

Turning slightly, his hand found the way to her naked thigh and caressed her smooth flesh. He briefly indulged himself with the soft feeling of her skin and was rewarded with a contented moan from his bed partner.

Looking over her shoulder, he read the time off the clock on her bedside table and knew that he needed to get up and get ready to meet with Samara for his morning lessons. As much as he wanted to stay in bed and lounge, maybe even continue last night's activities, he knew that if Samara was willing to donate her time, the least he could do was be punctual. Feeling only slightly guilty, he met Miranda's lips and gave her a soft kiss to wake her up.

She sighed contentedly and sleepily returned the gesture before pulling away and opening her eyes. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself."

"Is it morning?"

"Very, very morning," Shepard answered as he reluctantly pulled away from her and yawned.

She nodded and stretched languidly.

He took the time to admire her form as the sheets fell away, reveal more of her naked glory.

Noticing his stare, she smirked and propped her arm on the pillow and rested her head on her hand as she presented herself to him. "See something you like?"

Feeling himself getting aroused again, he suppressed his groan of desire and shook his lustful thoughts away. "I do, but I need to get up."

Her smirk stayed fixed on her lips. "Your 'sparring' session with Samara? Awfully dedicated, aren't you?"

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked as he rolled out of bed and started searching for his clothes.

"Not at all. You were quite **dedicated** last night," she replied cheekily. "No complaints at all."

Shepard smirked back at her as he started putting on his clothes from yesterday. "You won't hear anything contrary from me, either."

"I should hope not."

Finding his clothes scattered about the room, he dressed in short order and leaned over the bed to kiss her.

"Mmmm…" she sighed before pulling away and lying back down. "It's just as well you're leaving. You're a bed hog anyway." She punctuated her remark by deliberately spreading herself out and taking up the rest of the space on her bed. She rested her head on the pillow he was sleeping on moments ago and inhaled his scent.

"I don't have to take that from a cover thief," he quipped. He leaned in one last time and kissed her in the temple. Taking one last admiring look at the woman laying before him, he turned away and opened the door and glanced around surreptitiously. Thankfully, no other crewmen were in the Common Area. They were either asleep or at their posts. He could hear Mess Sergeant Gardner working in the galley though, cooking breakfast judging from the smells wafting in the air. Utilizing all his skills as an Infiltrator, he slipped out, locked the door behind, and blended into the shadows.

"Morning, Miss Lawson," Rupert called out without turning around from his cooking. "Your usual?"

Shepard picked up the pace and darted toward the elevator.

Rupert finally turned around, fully expecting to see the executive officer, but looked confused when no one was around. "Huh… thought I heard her door open…"

The elevator opened immediately at the touch of the button and Shepard quickly walked in and rode it to his cabin to get a change of clothes.

_Too close._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**Present Time**_

_Too goddamn close… Come on…_

Struggling to keep his concentration on the biotic bubble he erected and mentally thanking Samara for all her lessons, he started scurrying out to the light, his hands pointed at the rubble to hold the massive tonnage up as if he were Atlas holding the world up on his shoulders. Using his legs and pushing hard, he slid on his back, moving inches at a time as the rocks and debris continued to threaten his progress. The multitude of weaponry he normally carried became a hindrance to his movement, as they lifted his back from the ground and created an uncomfortable angle that slowed his ability to escape. Dust and smaller pebbles rained around his Barrier as gravity tried to reassert its control and bring the whole thing down on top of him. His HMWSR rested on his chest, since he was unable to hold it or holster it.

Acutely knowing that he needed to hurry, he carefully, ever so carefully, twisted his torso sharply. The M-90 Blackstorm Projector, the heavy weapon that saved his life on more than one occasion, was pulled away from his weapon's harness. He slid away from it, knowing it was the main reason he was slowing down. Regretfully leaving it behind, but able to move faster without the encumbrance, he pushed toward the light, hoping against hope that Grunt was still alright against the behemoth they were fighting to survive against.

_Just focus, damn it! Grunt will be okay! __**Just focus**__!_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka**_

_**7 Hours Earlier**_

_I can't tell if my focus is getting better or worse._

Shepard picked himself off the ground after his umpteenth consecutive loss. After last night and this morning, his mood had perked up considerably, but it was hard to tell if it was proving a boon or a bane. He didn't mind losing as much as he did before, which might slow down his improvement. On the other hand…

Samara was gingerly rubbing her left flank while rotating her right arm from the two surprise attacks he made with his fists and his biotics, respectively. Taking a breath to ward off some of the pain she must have been feeling, she nodded in equal parts approval and respect. "Excellent work. You were bested a bit more quickly than usual, but you certainly made it much more difficult for me to attain victory." Touching her ribs again, she winced.

"Sorry about that," he replied. He wasn't sure how sincere his apology was since he was the one that kept picking himself off the ground. At least he managed to get two solid hits in.

"It is nothing unexpected. Your progress is quite remarkable." She turned away from him and started for the stairs. "Come. We must continue our lessons in a different manner."

Jogging up to her side, he glanced at her curiously. "Different?"

"If a trainee is injured during sparring, other lessons must be imparted to continue the training. Such is the same with the huntress that instructs the trainee; if the huntress is injured, the lessons do not stop, they are merely altered. Justicar training has no such restrictions since we are taught that pain is an aspect of battle that might lead to victory or defeat and an obstacle that must be overcome. However, while my injury is trifling, I do not wish to be a liability in any mission ahead. As such, I will teach you biotic techniques."

"I thought I was learning biotic techniques?"

She smiled at him. "You asked to fight like a biotic. I was teaching you as such. Consider it the physical aspect of biotic combat. Now I will expand on your knowledge of biotics and increase your repertoire of skills, the mental disciplines, if you will."

They made their way up one deck and to her designated room. Once inside, she sat down and prompted him to do the same.

Once settled in she began her instruction. "I believe we should start with Barrier. Jacob has informed me that you have excellent retention with new techniques. If so, then this should prove easy for you. Nevertheless, I still ask for your continued dedication."

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I'm ready."

Her eyes changed into that familiar, but still eerie glow as she entered her meditative trance. "Your perseverance is to be admired. Barrier requires intense concentration to ensure the very mass effects fields you erect to protect you won't accidently crush you as well. Now, call on your talents and do as I do…"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**Present Time**_

His perseverance paid off. Almost at the end, he slowly moved one of his arms and grabbed the sniper rifle off his chest and threw it out of the hole, taking great pains not to lose one iota of his focus. Poised at the threshold of safety or death, he took a deep breath and in one hard push, threw himself through the opening. The action forced him to drop his concentration and the Barrier along with it. Tons of rocks and metal hit the ground with a loud crash as he rolled away from the pile of debris that nearly crushed him.

Quickly, he grasped his sniper rifle and scanned the surroundings. He couldn't find the thing responsible for trying to bury him alive, but he did see Grunt.

The krogan was rapidly fiddling around with his shotgun. A high pitched whine was echoing across the killing fields.

The Kestrel Helmet automatically compensated for the high frequency noise and dulled the sound to protect Shepard's ears. Another function of his armor he was grateful to Miranda for.

A heavy rumbling joined the high pitched whine.

Grunt recognized the sound and immediately started running away from his current cover.

The thresher maw that was responsible for nearly burying the Spectre erupted from the ground, meters away from where Grunt was seeking refuge. It instantly tracked the source of the screeching whine. With a roar, it angled its head down toward the fleeing krogan and attacked.

Shepard raised his rifle at the monster. He only had enough time to fire once and one shot would be inadequate. His mind already knew it was too late. He was too exhausted to try to use biotics, the explosive rounds in his sniper rifle would not be enough to deter the giant worm from its course, and even if he still had the Blackstorm, the heavy weapon would not be powerful or fast enough. He watched helplessly, almost as if everything were happening in slow motion.

At the last possible moment, the krogan leapt into the air, turned his torso mid-leap and aimed his screeching M-27 Scimitar at the mouth of the maw bearing down on him.

Just moments before the giant worm consumed him.

"_**GRUNT!"**_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Normandy SR-2, in Orbit Above Tuchanka**_

_**4 Hours Earlier**_

"So what's the plan?"

Shepard leaned back in his chair as he thought hard about the question. Jacob had a point. Flying down to the krogan homeworld without a plan was nothing less than a foolhardy move, even if he had clearance from the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission, or CDEM, to land.

He, Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, Mordin, and Grunt were in attendance. They were all gathered in the Briefing Room to discuss their next move.

"I'm debating whether I should bring everyone down with me or not," Shepard admitted.

"I don't recommend it," Miranda advised. "If we go down in force, the krogan might take it as a sign of hostility. I understand the need to protect ourselves, but bringing everyone is liable to cause more trouble than prevent."

"I think we should bring everyone," Garrus countered. "Tuchanka is definitely **not** the safest place in the galaxy, even before the krogan nuked themselves to the stone age. I agree with Lawson, though. If we show up in force, we're asking for trouble. Just leave a few people back with the shuttle, just to be safe. If something happens and we end up getting into a firefight, despite Wrex's presence, they'll hold the shuttle long enough for the rest of us to get the hell out of there."

"I'm with Garrus on this," Jacob said. "You go and take a few people to talk to your old krogan teammate, the rest hang back in case there's trouble."

"Maybe have the Normandy bomb Tuchanka from orbit a little for trying to kill us," Garrus added jokingly.

"Garrus," Shepard said in a faux-warning tone.

"What?" he asked, trying to look innocent. "It's Tuchanka. It's not like it'll make much of a difference. No one will notice."

Jacob barked out a laugh.

"Someone down there should tell me if what I'm feeling will get better or worse," Grunt said, steering the conversation back on track. Everyone could hear him grinding his teeth and see him clench and unclench his hands.

"Would also like to know about Maelon," Mordin added. "Hope he's okay. Always lacked backbone."

"The different clans are always at each other's throats. They probably spy on each other constantly," Garrus said. "Wrex is smart. He'll have his own people reporting anything unusual and a salarian on Tuchanka definitely counts."

EDI's avatar popped up in the middle to the table. "To answer your query Professor, I have been accessing the Urdnot databases. Clan reports use weak encryption and I see references to a captured salarian in the logs of the chief scout."

"Good. Talk to scout, then. Or chief. Either one acceptable," Mordin replied.

"Also, I have been unable to access local medical records due to the fact that such records are almost nonexistent. I suggest asking the local clan leader for assistance with Grunt's problem," EDI said.

"Thanks, EDI. And I agree with Garrus," Shepard finally said. "Better to be safe than sorry. We'll go inside the camp with only a few people. The rest will stay with the shuttle. Grunt, I assume you're coming with me?"

The krogan nodded.

"Mordin, I'd like for you to stay at the shuttle." Before the Professor could protests, Shepard raised his hand. "I'll talk to Wrex and see if we can't get some information. Until then, I don't think a salarian's presence will do us any favors."

Mordin calmed down immediately. "Yes, of course. Makes sense, rational, logical. Will wait for news."

"I'd like to come with you," Garrus said.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the request. "Chakwas clear you?"

"No, but I'll beg and plead if I have to. It'd be good to see Wrex again. I'm sure Tali would feel the same."

"Fine, if she clears you, and against my better judgment, you can come, though I'm not sure how welcome turians are going to be," Shepard said uncertainly.

"I'm thinking little to not at all," Jacob said seriously though he was smirking at Garrus.

"I'll take my chances," the turian confidently said.

"That'll go down well with Chakwas."

"Enough," Shepard said before they could continue. "Miranda, you'll have the Normandy. Jacob, you're in charge of the shuttle and the others."

"Who else will be with me besides Mordin?"

"Kasumi, Thane, and Samara, I think," Shepard answered after a moment's pause. "I'll take the rest."

"Understood, Captain."

"Any other questions?" Shepard asked.

Miranda looked like she wanted to say something, but strangely remained silent. The other's shook their heads and made to leave.

"Shepard? A word, if I may?" Miranda requested.

Obliging her, he stayed seated until everyone left. "Something up?"

"About our…" she trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Relationship?"

"Yes. Our relationship," she acknowledged, finally putting a label on their complicated association. "No doubt, after what happened last night, there will be a significant paradigm shift. I was wondering-"

"Why I'm leaving you on the Normandy?" he finished, guessing to what she might be getting at. "Or if I'll be shooting down your ideas? Or treat you differently?"

She nodded in time at the points he listed. "All of the above."

"Look, as far as I'm concerned, you're one of, if not the, most capable, professional, and brilliant officers I've ever worked with," he said honestly. "You're also the XO. You're in charge while I'm away. Our relationship isn't clouding my judgment. I made a decision and I'm standing by it. It was completely professional. Our personal life is a different story and one I'm willing to set ground rules for later."

She looked a bit more assured as his answer.

"Look, I'm just going down to chat with an old friend. Everything we're doing is just as a precaution. I'll talk to Wrex about Grunt, see if there's anything we can do to help him out a bit. Then, I'll ask about Mordin's assistant. Since the Blood Pack has him and this is their homeworld, chances are likely I'll be bringing in everyone, including you. Until then, no sense in risking everyone."

"Of course. I just wanted to be sure, that's all," she said.

He grinned. "Yeah. I thought you wouldn't be the type to be treated like porcelain or something."

Uncharacteristically, she snorted at the thought. "Hardly. And I would take whatever measures to prove to you that I'm not should you even think as such."

"I'm having a hard time being intimidated when I find you threatening me rather sexy."

She smirked at him and shook her head in exasperation. "And I still think we're crazy," she said before turning serious again. "One last thing…"

"Yes?"

"This is… I'm not sure I want to… 'advertise' our relationship to the whole crew," she said.

He nodded in agreement. "I don't either. I actually had to sneak past Rupert this morning to get to my cabin."

"He asked me if I had come out of my room because he had sworn that he heard my door open."

"Oh, good. I'd hate to see all my training wasted because I got caught by the cook."

She couldn't help but laugh at him.

Turning serious as well, Shepard said, "I'm not going around blabbing about what I do and who I do it with. I think we're entitled to some privacy." He sighed. "But… this is a small ship, so word is bound to get out eventually."

"I know," Miranda said. She rose from her seat and stood over him. "But until then, it's really not anyone's business, is it?" she said with smile before leaning in and planting a less-than-chaste kiss.

**~o~O~o~**

Grunt fiddled with his shotgun again in a vain attempt to calm his unfocused rage. It was a strange thing to do, considering that rage was something he often embraced during a battle.

He'd seen Shepard check and recheck his equipment from time to time and seemed calmer afterwards. It was another strange thing. For someone so strong, he rarely saw the human fall into a battle rage. Instead, he acted more like the asari: distant, calculating, and focused.

It frustrated him to wonder why Shepard was so strong, maybe even stronger than him, and still not know.

He had thought he could learn about the source of Shepard's strength through the extranet, or through human history and literature. Some of the human wars were certainly epic, though a bit primitive and not nearly on the same scale as krogan wars. A couple of audio books he found from a guy called Hemmingway were interesting, but revealed no insights.

In the end, he was no closer to answers as to why he followed Shepard than what his purpose was outside of Okeer's desire to hate and fight.

Not knowing his place in the galaxy made him feel… lost, maybe even alone.

_Weakness._

He snarled to himself and forcefully shoved his thoughts away.

"You okay, Grunt?"

He looked up to see Shepard walk up to him, the turian and the quarian following close behind. "We leaving yet?" Grunt asked.

"Just waiting for the other's to arrive," Shepard answered.

Grunt nodded and returned to his shotgun. While he liked what Jacob had done to improve on the original specs, some of the safety features annoyed him. Then again, everything seemed to annoy him these days.

Thankfully, Okeer's implants gave him some knowledge of weaponry besides shooting. In short order, he had long since removed several safeguards to increase the power of his weapons without damaging any of the internal components. Or at the very least, not have his gun blow up in his hands.

Finally, the rest of the team arrived. One by one, everyone filed into the Kodiak.

When the shuttle began taking off, EDI's voice was heard throughout the ship. "The Captain is heading groundside. Executive Lawson has the deck."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Urdnot Clan Camp**_

_**3 Hours Earlier**_

Approaching to what might be the **only** ship dock in Wrex's camp, the Kodiak flew through one of the many torrential sandstorms that blew across the war-torn planet and approached a repurposed missile silo that probably once held one of the dozens of nuclear missiles that contributed to current decrepit state of Tuchanka.

Hawthorne piloted the shuttle expertly over the entrance before smoothly descending down the shaft and touching down at the bottom.

The door to the cabin opened, allowing Grunt to step out first and survey the krogan homeworld for the first time.

_What a dump._

He'd read about the state of Tuchanka and seen pictures of the planet from extranet sites, but physically standing groundside hardly changed his outlook or brought about any sense of attachment. If anything, his opinion fell several notches.

Shepard stepped past him and toward the approaching trio of krogan. All three had their weapons drawn and ready, but not in a hostile manner. Yet.

"Stop right there, alien. You're Shepard of the Normandy," the Overcaptain stated.

The human in question nodded silently.

"The clan leader wants to speak with you."

"I thought as much," Shepard said.

The Overcaptain glared at Grunt, prompting the vat-grown krogan to glare back. "Keep your rutting pet on a short leash."

"Pet?" Grunt growled out. He took a menacing step forward.

The two guards responded by pointing their shotguns at him.

The Overcaptain seemed unimpressed. "Get him the Rite soon or put him down."

To Grunt's surprise, Shepard didn't order him to stand down. Instead, he glared at the Overcaptain as well. "We have business with Wrex. Out of our way."

The Overcaptain snarled at the demand, but looked over Shepard's shoulder to see Jacob and his team stand outside of the shuttle and holding their weapons casually, but with a hint of warning.

Seeing no point in starting a firefight over a few petty insults, or Grunt, the Overcaptain turned away and stomped elsewhere with the other two krogan guards following.

Grunt was privately glad Shepard didn't order him to back off. Acknowledging him would've probably been perceived as a show of weakness.

_Probably why he didn't say anything._

Splitting up into their assigned groups, Jacob, Kasumi, Mordin, Samara and Thane remained with the Kodiak. Shepard, Grunt, Garrus, Tali, and Jack boldly ventured deeper in.

A long, poorly lit hallway led deeper into the repurposed military bunker. A few krogan were loitering within.

"Someday we'll get off this rock and show those turians who's boss."

"Damn right. Tear their scales off and let the pyjaks feast on them while they're still alive."

The two krogan laughed amongst themselves as the group passed them by.

"This isn't a good idea, Garrus," Tali whispered worriedly.

"It's just bravado. We're, or rather, **I'll** be fine," Garrus replied confidently.

Grunt saw that the turian was discreetly fingering his pistol all the same as they walked. It reminded him of the time when Shepard had his pistol out and ready when they first met. The human talked calmly, but was prepared to execute him on a moment's notice. Considering how close Garrus and Shepard were, if Grunt had to bet, those two krogan probably wouldn't stand a chance against either human or turian.

After enduring many glares, disparaging comments, and muttered threats, they reached the door at the end. It opened to reveal a massive room that resembled the rest of Tuchanka: broken down, littered with rubble, and filled with armed krogan.

"This is it? This is the great krogan homeworld? This is the land of Kredak, Shiagur, and Veeoll?" Grunt said in disgust. "This chunk of rock is barely worth standing on."

"You might feel that way, but most krogan have a sort of reverence to Tuchanka. Even krogan that aren't necessarily fighters or warriors return on occasion to pay their respects," Garrus said. "Never knew why though. I always assumed it was a krogan thing."

Grunt didn't know if Garrus was just admitting his ignorance or was making a subtle slight against the tank-bred krogan's origins.

On a raised dais slightly off to the right, two aged krogan were arguing behind a ring of guards. Shepard, Garrus, and Tali appeared to recognize one of them because they started walking as soon as they saw the pair.

_Must be this __Wrex they talk about._

Grunt was pretty sure Wrex was the one in Warlord Armor and sitting on the throne since the Spectre mentioned that his old teammate took charge of his clan and was trying to unite the rest of the krogan people. As well as the fact that the one pacing around in front of the throne was bitching and whining about something or other which seemed to be boring the hell out of the clan leader. And Grunt was pretty sure Shepard would never work with such a belly-aching varren and still have so much respect.

"Halt!" one of the guards called out as they approached. He moved to block their path and held out his hand to stop them. "You must wait until the clan leader summons you." The guard turned to glance at the progress of the meeting. "He is… in talks," he informed though he sounded like whatever 'civil' negotiation taking place may not be civil for long.

Grunt noted that he and the other four guards were holding their weapons and watching the proceedings warily.

The krogan in Battlemaster Armor was pacing in front of the clan leader angrily. "You know what tradition demands! Clan Urdnot must respond! Your reforms will not go unopposed! You risk appearing weak at a critical time!"

Wrex looked completely disinterested in what the complaining krogan had to say. Instead he turned his head toward the alien group and instantly, his face lit up. Rising quickly from his throne, a genuine smile lit up his face, a rarity among the krogan species. He stepped down and stomped toward them. "Shepard!"

"Good enough?" Shepard rhetorically asked the guards.

Wrex shoved his 'guest' out of his way while Shepard stepped around the guards, muttering, "Excuse me" as he moved past them. The rest of the group trailed behind with Garrus and Tali in the lead.

"Shepard!" Wrex greeted happily. He reached out and grasped Shepard's arm. Making a cross between grunting and chortling, the joy in his laugh was unmistakable, a definite rarity among the krogan species, more so than smiling. "My friend!"

Shepard grinned back at the enthusiasm in his old squad mate's greeting. "Good to see you too, Wrex."

Standing back, Wrex noted the others that were in attendance as well. "Vakerian, Zorah. You're traveling with Shepard again?"

"Pretty much," Garrus replied. He walked up and shook hands with Wrex. "Good to see you."

"You too. Glad to hear you're still alive. Especially since you've been giving the Blood Pack hell on Omega."

"You know about that?"

Wrex smirked at the turian. "I suspected. Some of the stories I've been hearing sounded familiar. I thought of you immediately."

Tali walked up and shook hands with Wrex as well. "I see you're doing well for yourself, Wrex. I'm glad to see you again."

"Zorah." Wrex looked at her from head to toe. "Huh. Looks like you've grown up a little since we last saw each other. Harder. Stronger," he observed before nodding approvingly. "Good for you."

"Thanks, Wrex."

The Urdnot Clan Chief took stock of the Spectre's appearance next. "And you look well for dead, Shepard. Should've known the void couldn't hold you."

"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the geth has worked out for you. Glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire." Shepard replied.

"Ha!" Wrex barked out. "You made the rise of the Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the krogan." He waved his arm at the room around them. "And Clan Urdnot is just the start. When I'm done, we will be one people again."

Grunt saw the other krogan stomp around in the background.

Wrex apparently noticed this as well because he turned his head to glare at the offending krogan. "Though not everyone is happy about it."

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way. Dangerous," the krogan growled.

Wrex turned around to fully face him. Rearing his head back, he gave the krogan a solid head-butt that nearly put the dissident on his ass. "Speak when spoken to, Uvenk," Wrex warned. He turned away and marched back to his throne. "I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not."

Grunt grinned at the action. He could see why Shepard respected Wrex now.

_I like him already._

Shepard smirked at Uvenk as he followed behind Wrex. Uvenk balefully glared back while rubbing his head.

Sitting back down in his throne, Wrex looked back at new arrivals. "Now, Shepard. What brings you here? How's the Normandy? Is it as bad as I heard?"

"Afraid so," Shepard said. "I ended up spaced along with her."

"Well, you look good," Wrex observed. "Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system."

"Yeah." Shepard sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. "Humans don't have that."

"Oh," Wrex replied simply before shrugging. "Must've been painful, then."

"More than I care to remember."

"Looks like you've gotten stronger from it," Wrex pointed out. "You're standing here and you've got a strong new ship."

"Just like old times, eh?" Garrus said with a smirk.

"Going up against the unknown, killing it with big guns," Wrex said in agreement before grinning back. "Good times."

"Keelah, what is it with you men?" Tali asked exasperatedly.

"As much as I'd like to reminisce, I'm here on business," Shepard said, turning serious and getting to the heart of the matter.

"We don't often allow aliens to do business on Tuchanka," Wrex warned. "But you're an exception."

Shepard jerked his thumb at Grunt. "I have a krogan in my crew. He's having a bit of trouble dealing with his… 'nature'. We wanted to learn some details about it."

Wrex leaned forward in his throne to get a better look.

Grunt obliged the clan leader by stepping closer and fearlessly stood before him.

"Where are you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what is expected of you?" Wrex asked.

Outwardly, Grunt maintained an unreadable look. Inwardly, as he faced Wrex, something twisted in his gut. He felt a trickle of… heat? "I have no clan," he admitted before realizing that he was embarrassed… ashamed. He mentally shook the thoughts away. "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer, my line distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur-"

"You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" Uvenk interrupted harshly. He stomped up and glared before turning away in disgust.

Grunt kept his eyes on Wrex. "I am pure krogan. You should be in awe." His voice lacked confidence or conviction. It was a statement of fact more than a belief. At this point, Grunt didn't know if he was trying convince them or himself.

Even Wrex didn't look impressed. He did look contemplative, however. "Okeer is a very old name. A very **hated** name," he said, overlooking Grunt's origins.

"He is dead."

Wrex stepped down from his throne to stand in front of him. "Of course. You're with Shepard. How could he be alive?"

"The thought did cross our minds about what to do with Okeer when we met him," Garrus said. "I was of the opinion that we should've shot him ourselves."

"Good instincts," Wrex said approvingly.

"Does that name mean anything to you?" Shepard asked.

"A vicious warlord responsible for many deaths." He glanced at Grunt. "And who apparently toyed with genetics," he muttered. Sighing, he rubbed his crest in thought. "A clone undertaking the Rite…?"

"You are considering it?" Uvenk asked in disbelief. "Tank-bred allowed status as an adult? This is too far!"

Wrex ignored him. "There's nothing wrong with him," he finally said to Shepard. "He is becoming a full adult. It will take him time to adjust. Or he'll do something stupid and die."

"Puberty? Awww… is Grunt growing up?" Jack cooed teasingly.

"Jack…" Shepard warned.

Garrus sighed. "Can't we just take him to Omega and buy him a few dances and be done with it? I hear asari are pretty flexible."

Jack and Tali snickered.

"All of you, shut up," Shepard ordered sternly as he glanced around to see if any krogan around them were taking any personal offense.

"I don't care what aliens call it," Wrex said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Krogan undergo the Rite of Passage."

Uvenk had apparently heard enough. "Too far, Wrex! Your clan may rule, but this **thing** is not krogan!" he declared, jabbing a finger at Grunt before stomping away.

Wrex watching him go with a look of loathing etched on his stony face. "Idiot."

Grunt liked Wrex even more. His respect for the aged chief rose several notches.

Turning back to face Grunt, Wrex regarded the younger krogan critically. "So, Grunt? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?"

Despite the impression Wrex made on him, Grunt was still a bit surprised that he would even offer. He considered the proposal carefully.

"You'll really let a tank-bred krogan join you?" Tali asked, before raising her hands at Grunt. "Um… nothing personal."

"Only because he's with Shepard," Wrex answered. "After all, the four of us killed thousands like him." He smirked at Grunt. "Not quite as big, but many."

_Thousands?_ Grunt stared at his companions. He'd considered them a bit capable, maybe a little weak, with the exception of Shepard. To hear that they fought enough krogan that would make a battalion tremble…

"Wouldn't this cause problems for you, though?" Garrus asked.

"Clan Urdnot is strong and the others will do as I say," Wrex stated confidently. "They see the benefit of my vision."

"So what happens if he doesn't do this 'Rite of Passage'?" Shepard asked curiously.

"If he was left here, he would be killed," Wrex bluntly said. "The clanless are not respected. A tank-bred, probably less so."

Another pang of loneliness hit Grunt, though he made no outward sign of it. He stood there and watched the proceedings as they unfolded.

"His disposition is what it is, Rite or no. That's just him, being a krogan." Wrex smirked at him again. "Okeer didn't tell you that in the tank, did he, boy?"

Mentally, Grunt cursed Okeer's name for the umpteenth time.

"What does the Rite of Passage require?" Shepard asked.

"Not for me to say, Shepard. The shaman will discuss that."

"Alright." Turning to Grunt, Shepard nodded. "Your choice."

Grunt turned away and studied the massive room they were in. For all intents and purposes, Tuchanka was a dead world. There was nothing here.

Nothing except the krogan warriors that desired to be stronger. Warriors that earned their place, instead of being created for it.

"_You might feel that way, but most krogan have a sort of reverence to Tuchanka. Even krogan that aren't necessarily warriors return on occasion to pay their respects."_

Tuchanka wasn't a world for the weak. It was a place where only the strong can endure. A place where he would **earn** his strength. What it looked like or what amenities were lacking was irrelevant. What mattered was that this was a place where he could finally prove himself.

That realization prompted him to look at the krogan homeworld in a different light.

After a moment's thought, he reached his decision. "It is in my blood. It is what I am for."

"Good boy," Wrex praised.

Grunt felt a sliver of pride. Even when Wrex called him 'boy', it didn't feel like an insult. It almost sounded like… acceptance, or the first step to one.

"Speak with the shaman," Wrex instructed. He pointed at the room above them. "He's up on the second level. Give him a good show and he'll set you on the path."

"Thanks for helping him out, Wrex," Shepard said.

"How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, hmm?" Wrex asked rhetorically before turning back to his throne.

"Including you?"

Wrex laughed appreciatively.

"I'm also looking for a salarian," Shepard said. "He was captured by the Blood Pack and brought here."

Wrex glanced at the pit not too far from the dais when Shepard said 'salarian', but relaxed when he heard that the Blood Pack was involved. "I heard about that. My scout commander can direct you, but he's out doing some recon right now. Should be back later today or tomorrow." He leaned down from the throne and brought his face closer. "I'll get him to help you, but don't take too much of his time. I need a constant watch on the other clans," he whispered.

"Got it."

"And you watch yourselves," Wrex warned. "Tuchanka isn't safe and homey, like Feros and Illos."

Grunt didn't know those planets, but judging from Tali's sigh and Garrus' head shaking, they had vivid memories of their time there.

"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard said. "We'll talk later?"

"Looking forward to it."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**Present Time**_

Grunt had no idea if Shepard was still alive. The wreckage that came down on top of the human was enough that he doubted even he could've survived it. Crouching behind some broken columns, he started readying his shotgun. The safety programs and components would've made what he was planning impossible, but thanks to his modifications, he knew he had a chance to do more than just survive the requisite five minutes given to him.

The ground vibrated, but not as heavily as before. The thresher maw was still deep underground.

If Shepard was dead, then the maw would pay with its life, Rite or no.

If Shepard was alive, then he'd probably want a piece of the maw that tried to kill him, which would mean the worm was going to die anyway. Grunt was just looking to expedite that.

With less than two minutes left, Grunt looked up to see the telltale signs of dark energy filtering through the cracks of the rubble that had come down on his krantt.

He smiled. Shepard could only be using his biotics if he was alive. If he was alive, then everything depended on the next minute or so to complete the Rite.

_Have to time this right…_

His preparations complete, the M-26 Scimitar Shotgun started vibrating and emitting a high-pitched whine. The safety measures that usually prevented the shogun from overcharging its shot into a dangerous concussive blast no longer present, his weapon now shook dangerously in his hands.

Instead of a concussive blast, he was looking for a decisive and final blow. Something definitively more explosive.

The ground shook perilously now, signaling that the thresher maw was coming. It was almost enough to cause him to lose balance.

One of the maw's tentacles broke the ground first not too far from his position. Knowing that the rest of the beast would follow soon, Grunt abandoned his cover and ran.

The ground exploded in a shower of rocks as the thresher maw erupted into the surface and roared aggressively at the fleeing krogan.

Grunt dodged the larger debris and ignoring the smaller bits that hit him. His sole focus was the shadow under him as he ran. He observed the size of the shadow, using the setting sun to judge the distance of the maw at his back. He listened carefully, the worm's challenging roars dulled, signaling that it was rearing back to strike.

His survival, his victory, his existence, depended on this moment.

The maw roared again, sounding more victorious in its intent, before charging. The shadow beneath him grew quickly.

Seizing his moment, Grunt leapt into the air and twisted his torso to aim his charged weapon right at the mouth of his enemy.

Rows of razor sharp teeth filled his vision. Caustic acid and spittle was everywhere. In the next heartbeat, the thresher maw blocked out the sun and darkness surrounded him as he was engulfed.

He smirked and pulled the trigger.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Urdnot Clan Camp**_

_**2 Hours Earlier**_

The group heard Uvenk long before they saw him.

Grunt suspected that Uvenk was speaking, or rather, protesting to the shaman to disbar him from the Rite.

They entered the room to see Uvenk and three other krogan guards arguing their case to what may be the oldest krogan in the galaxy. Unlike most krogan, the Shaman wasn't in armor or armed with any weapon. Instead, he was dressed in deep reds and browns. In other cultures, the closest similarity would be ceremonial robes or some manner of religious garb.

"You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk! The Rites of Urdnot are dominant!" the Shaman warned, his face inches away from contesting krogan's.

"How do we know it will challenge him? ! He's **unnatural**! The beasts of the Rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic!" Uvenk argued.

"They know blood, no matter the womb. Your barking does not help your case."

Grunt stomped forward and glared at Uvenk. "I'll speak for myself!"

The Shaman turned away from Uvenk and stepped closer to Grunt. "This is the tank-bred?" He studied him carefully. "It is very lifelike." He paused to sniff Grunt's scent next. "Smells correct as well." Stepping back, he glared at Uvenk. "Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."

Shepard moved to stand next to Grunt. "I don't care what this idiot says. Grunt has the right to be here."

The Shaman smirked at Uvenk. "There's some fire – and from an alien! Oh, the shame this heaps on those who whine like pups."

Uvenk snarled. "If this must stand on trial, then I invoke a denial! My krantt stands against him! He has no one!"

The Shaman growled, but nodded his head in agreement. "My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly." He turned to the candidate. "Grunt, who is your krantt? The allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?"

"Hold on," Garrus interrupted. "How do you test candidates if they're allowed to bring backup to these things?"

"Not every krogan can be the strongest warrior, but each must inspire his peers to battle at his side," the Shaman explained to Garrus before turning his Grunt with his ultimatum. "If the ones who know you best can find nothing worthy in you, then you should wander the wastes and die alone before you weaken my clan."

Grunt felt another uncomfortable feeling of shame. He always kept to himself on the Normandy; away from all the fleshy, weak, crewmen. He barely interacted with the other squad members except Jack and Shepard, preferring the solitude of the cargo hold.

He knew Okeer had plans to create more like him. Brothers, maybe even sisters, his very own krantt. But the chance was gone and there were no other krogan he could call on. Krogan he could count on. With all his 'superior' genes, there was no one; No one to tell him that he had something in him worth fighting for, worth killing for.

No one to say that he was worth dying for.

"I'll fight with him."

Grunt turned to Shepard in surprise.

"Grunt will strengthen Clan Urdnot. Tell us what we're going to kill and watch it die," Shepard stated confidently.

"Spoken well!" The Shaman praised. He appeared uncaring that an outsider was prepared to engage in a krogan tradition. "Most aliens-" He paused a beat to glance significantly at Uvenk. "And some krogan-"

Uvenk growled.

"Do not understand our ways," the Shaman continued over Uvenk's glowering expression. "I believe this human does."

"Aliens don't know strength! My followers are true krogan! Everything about Grunt is a lie!" Uvenk argued.

"Are you afraid of him?" Shepard taunted. "Does your krantt comfort you while you tremble?"

"You dare slander me in such way?" Uvenk growled out.

"Put it to you this way," Shepard said before suddenly launching a biotic punch into Uvenk's face.

Uvenk shouted in surprise and pain as he stumbled back into the arms of his krantt.

The Shaman laughed uproariously. "I like this human! He understands!"

"Damn," Jack whistled appreciatively. "That takes some balls."

Uvenk got back to his feet and snarled, but made no threatening moves. "I withdraw my denial." He stomped toward Shepard, but kept his distance when the human allowed his biotic aura to manifest around him menacingly. "This will be decided elsewhere."

"I'm sure it will."

Uvenk growled, but he and his krantt left without another word.

"You have provoked them. Reason enough for me to like you," the Shaman said. "They're your problem now."

"Is that krogan going to try anything?" Shepard asked.

"He is forbidden to interfere," the Shaman answered. "Will he? During the Rite of Passage, you both must be ready for anything." He smirked. "From what I've seen, you will not disappoint."

"What do we need to bring?" Grunt asked.

"To begin the Rite, only you and your krantt are required." The Shaman stepped closer to and stared with piercing eyes. "You love battle, don't you? The last gasp of a dying opponent?"

Grunt nodded without hesitation.

"Embrace it. Use it during your trial and you will succeed. Hesitate, and your weakness will cost you your life."

"I've waited long enough," Grunt said. His blood itching for battle. "How does this work?"

The Shaman laughed. "How eager the young are for the Rite! Still your impatience, whelp. Know that you will be tested and you must adapt."

"I'm ready." Grunt looked at Shepard, who nodded back his acceptance.

"Excellent." The Shaman nodded decisively. "We will leave soon. I must prepare the Rite."

After the Shaman left, Garrus sighed. "Now we're going to participate in krogan traditions? What, the Collectors not enough challenge for you, Shepard?"

"By 'we', if you mean Grunt and me, then apparently not. If you mean: all of us? Forget it," Shepard said.

"What?" Tali asked. "Just the two of you?"

"Shepard-" Garrus tried to protest.

"No," Shepard interrupted. "Chakwas made it clear for you. You're not combat ready."

"What about us?" Tali asked indignantly.

"Us?" Jack asked skeptically, though she looked a bit worried for him.

"You're **all** staying behind. It'll be just Grunt and me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jack said. "While I'm glad to get a pass on this, are you sure this is how you want to play it? This is a **krogan** thing. They're not going to be throwing bunnies at you. You need some kind of backup for this."

"I bring you, Jacob and others will want to come too. Between all of us, whatever this Rite is, it might not be that much of a challenge. Grunt is already suspect because of his origins. He'll need to be tested harder than any other krogan before him to earn his way. It's about respect."

Grunt watched quietly and marveled over the command Shepard had with his crew, his krantt. He knew that Garrus and Tali would die for the Spectre. Voluntarily joining on his mission had already proved their loyalty. What surprised him was that fact that even Jack looked like she was prepared to fight on his behalf.

"I don't like this, Shepard," Garrus said worriedly.

"It's for Grunt."

Grunt began to truly understand what the Shaman wanted of him, of what he meant about his krantt. The faith Shepard was putting in him was something he wasn't going to forget or forsake. He only hoped that one day, he could inspire loyalty like him or Wrex. "We can do this."

"You sure about this?" Jack asked one last time. She tried to act aloof and uncaring, but the worry was still unmistakable in her body language.

"We got this," Grunt said confidently.

_**We**__ got this._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**1 Hour Earlier**_

Despite the additional protests from Jacob and the rest of the squad, Shepard remained adamant with his decision. Grunt shared the same viewpoint and added his own arguments.

Eventually, they quelled their objections and followed the Shaman into a Tomkah. The krogan infantry fighting vehicle left the Urdnot camp and drove deeper into one of the many ruined cities of Tuchanka.

After 30 minutes of driving, the finally stopped and disembarked inside a tunnel.

The Shaman led the way. "This is Tuchanka's most recent scar, the last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The Keystone was at the heart."

Grunt kept pace alongside the Shaman while Shepard brought up the rear. Four other fully armored krogan warriors flanked them to provide protection for the Shaman, who was still unarmored and unarmed.

"It has survived wars and the passage of centuries," the Shaman continued explaining with a hint of veneration. "It endures – like the krogan."

Leading them up a ramp, the hatch at the top opened to reveal a massive structure. Amid the ruins and remnants of the devastated city, a spire still stood tall. Three support structures led to a series of rings that held the towering edifice upright. The setting sun, fragmented by the swirling sands prevalent in the air, only added to its majesty.

Grunt took in everything with hushed silence.

"If you wish to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the Keystone and its trials," the Shaman said as he led to them to the base of the structure.

A single green button was there, tantalizing Grunt to begin his test. "What will happen?" he whispered as he absorbed everything he was told.

"Who knows?" the Shaman enigmatically answered. "You must adapt. You must thrive. No matter the situation." He walked back to the entrance. "Any true krogan will," he called out over his shoulder. Within minutes, only Shepard and Grunt remained in the Proving Grounds.

"You ready?" Grunt asked impatiently. He marched toward the keystone, anticipation running rampant in his veins. "Let's get started." Receiving no answers to his questions, he glanced back at Shepard.

He was still standing on the platform. His head was swiveling side-to-side.

Grunt was about to shout again when he noticed Shepard's eyes. They were moving rapidly, taking in everything around him. It took him a moment before he finally understood what his krantt was doing.

_He's studying the battlefield._

Shepard appeared to take significant interest in the size of the field, the metal and stone columns, and the few dead krogan that either failed the test or died so that others could succeed. He moved toward one of them and checked the body.

Grunt found himself mesmerized by the action and started looking around too. He started judging distances, tracks on the ground, possible angles to attack and defend. After a few minutes, he realized what he was doing and shook his head.

_This is what he kept talking about._

Grunt had always been annoyed at the briefings Shepard had always insisted on having. Always talking about the enemy instead of fighting them or making plans instead committing to a course of action. Now, standing with only a human at his back, it suddenly made sense. Preparation, knowledge, everything that he should've known and tried to do. He always considered himself a warrior, but now…

_This is what a warrior should do. Think and act. The difference between victory or dying in battle._

To the krogan, a death in battle was a good death. But a warrior can't fight if he's dead, so survival had its own importance. A lesson he was beginning to understand.

One krogan corpse caught his eye. Half of him was still identifiable, the other half looked like it melted, leaving only the bones behind.

"You ready?" Shepard asked, interrupting his musings.

Grunt looked up and shook his head. Just minutes ago, he would've have been brash and started the Rite without thinking of the consequences, but now, he knew that whatever the Rite was, he needed to be prepared. For anything.

They were on a raised platform, wide, but still constricting. There were some more grounds beneath them, with only two ramps lead upward.

_Chokepoints._

On the far end, on either side, were two broken down stairways. What lay beyond was outside their field of vision. If anything was coming down those stairs, they'd be on the lower portion of the Proving Grounds and would have to take the ramps up to fight them.

Beyond that, they were completely surrounded by crumbling rocks and walls. In order for anything else to approach, besides the two obvious openings, whatever that needed to attack them would have to fly.

His examinations complete, Grunt nodded his readiness to his krantt. Shepard unclipped his helmet from his belt and put it on before nodding back.

Grunt hurriedly followed his example.

Approaching the Keystone again, more prepared than he was minutes ago, he pushed the button and watched as the pillar in the center of the spire rose past its supporting rings.

The Shaman could be heard over the intercom. _"First the krogan conquered Tuchanka… and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold."_

The pillar slammed into the ground. A strange sound was created, a cross between a vibration and a rumbling.

Shepard and Grunt held their weapons up and watched the battlefield closely.

Barks and growls could be heard over the howling winds.

"Here they come! I'm ready!" Grunt shouted out.

Scores of varren rushed from the tunnels and charged at them. Both Grunt and Shepard had their shotguns out and divided themselves to each side of the platform to wait at the ramps.

The varren mindlessly rushed the chokepoints, only to be cut down in a hail of gunfire.

"Ha! These beasts will know I'm worthy!" Grunt crowed. Shepard remained silent, not that the krogan expected anything else. He chanced a look and saw that his krantt was focused on making each shot count and not make any wasteful movements.

Grunt knew that was important. Their ammunition was limited to only what they brought with them. Everything needed to die, and that could only happen with whatever ammo they had on hand. He paced himself carefully as the charging varren fell one after another, emulating Shepard's actions.

After five minutes of continuous killing, the flood of varren stopped.

Both turned around at the sound of the Keystone scratching against its supports as it rose to the air again.

"_Then the krogan were lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only __**we**__ could chase to their lair."_

The same vibrations rumbled across the fields.

"Harvesters!" Shepard shouted.

Grunt looked up to see the harvesters fly toward them. Clutched in their arms were klixens.

Turning off his Incendiary Ammo Convertor, he knew that the fire-breathing, fire-resistant klixens were nothing to scoff at. Exploding upon death with the force of a grenade and possessing a multitude of sharp, pointed limbs capable of rending armor and flesh alike, keeping his distance from them was the smart move.

The added hazard was the flying harvesters the might decide to munch on a krogan snack if he allowed himself to be too distracted.

The first harvester landed and dropped its young just outside the platform they were fighting on.

Grunt changed to his M-8 Assault Rifle and opened fired on the harvester, only to jump back as it snapped at him. It flew away, allowing the klixens to rush at their position.

The crack of a sniper rifle blew through the insects and bought them a moment's reprieve. More screeching could be heard all around them, the harvesters hidden within the cloudy skies.

"Come to your death!" Grunt yelled out in defiance.

Two harvesters obliged his challenge and flew in. One was turned away from a precise shot from Shepard while the other landed near Grunt and snapped at him. Grunt dodged the attack and opened fired on the insectoids. The klixens blew up easily, right under the mother.

The harvester screeched and angrily attacked Grunt. This time, he couldn't avoid it and the mouth closed on his shoulder. He roared in pain and tried to fight it off. He could feel the needle-like teeth puncture his armor and dig into the muscle underneath as it tried to drag him to the air.

All of a sudden, its eye and the back of its head blew open from an explosive round.

Grunt pried open the limp mouth and nodded gratefully to Shepard.

Shepard nodded back before he was attacked from behind when the other harvester dropped its load and allowed the klixen to attack.

Shepard fell to the ground with a shout and fought off the limbs that tried to impale him. Using his biotics, he managed to push the klixen away and scrambled out of the line of fire.

Grunt picked up his dropped assault rifle and chanced the shot. The klixen exploded and unfortunately caught Shepard in its final attack.

The human was blown off the platform, but managed to roll with the impact when he hit the ground. Shaking his head, he staggered to his feet and pulled out his own assault rifle and fought back against the horde of klixen descending upon him.

Grunt roared and vaulted over the railing and into the fray. The klixen turned and engaged him by belching out flames. Allowing his armor to mitigate the worst of the fire and enduring the burning sensation, he physically rammed into the nearest klixen and pushed it against the others. With tremendous effort, he created a pile of thrashing bugs that were trying to untangle themselves from one another.

"Clear the area!" Shepard ordered. He readied a grenade and tossed it into the pile.

The both of them ran from the resulting explosions. Bits of dead bug remains rained around them.

They ignored the gore in favor of the harvester that flew in and nearly landed right on them.

Shepard's next series of shots easily dispatched the klixens while Grunt decided the direct approach was necessary. He ran right at the harvester and ducked under its flailing head. Planting a grenade right against its chest, he ran as far as he could before he was suddenly struck by its tail and propelled into the air.

Hitting the ground and rolling, he took shallow breaths as the pain his chest flared up. The harvester took to the air only to explode seconds later.

Grunt stood up quickly and retrieved his gun.

Shepard scanned the area with his HMWA before running and picking up his dropped sniper rifle.

Both of them could hear one last harvester flying about.

Regrouping at the platform and keeping a wary eye out, they waited for the beast to show up.

It didn't disappoint.

Flying in with startling speed, the harvester tried to consume either one of them. Both dove to the ground and felt the rush of wind as it past right by them.

Grunt got to his feet first and used a Concussive Shot before the harvester could pull up and fly into the sandstorm. The shot struck its wing and brought it down.

The familiar startup whine prompted Grunt to run back as Shepard aimed his Blackstorm at the fallen insectoid-reptile and fired.

The harvester groggily got up from its impromptu landing only to screech in pain when one of its limbs was consumed by the moving singularity. It thrashed and tried to escape, but Grunt started shooting at its wings, damaging the thin membrane and preventing its escape.

The black hole moved on, tearing and ripping everything in its path as the harvester tried desperately to flee. The boom of the sniper rifle and the gaping hole in its chest ended any chance it had before the black hole exploded.

Grunt poked and prodded his shoulder wound. It was deep, but nothing he couldn't heal from in a day or so.

Shepard was rotating his right arm and hissing in pain.

Grunt could hear the human breathe heavily as he prepared to press on with the Rite.

The Keystone grinded again as it prepared to unleash next challenge.

"_Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!"_

For some reason, the resulting boom of the Keystone sounded ominous to Grunt's ears.

"_The Rite will end if you are able to survive the next five minutes! We shall see if you are worthy!"_

A strange vibration rippled along the ground, long after the Keystone fell and called whatever challenge would present itself.

"Feel that?" Grunt asked.

"Yeah," Shepard bit out through whatever injuries he had.

"Everything is… shaking."

"I know. It seems awfully familiar…" Holding his sniper rifle up, Shepard carefully looked around. "Wait… I know what this is!"

Three tentacles shot out of the ground all around them.

"Thresher maw!" Shepard yelled.

The tentacles retracted into the ground, but the shaking intensified.

"It's coming from the right!" Grunt shouted.

The giant worm burst from the ground. Without fanfare or warning, it spat out a giant ball of acid.

"Move!" Shepard ordered.

Grunt didn't need to be told twice. They split up and took refuge behind anything that might be able to hold up against the caustic substance the maw was spitting out.

They stayed down as the thresher maw tried to use its acid. Great globs covered the platform, causing steam and smoke to rise up as the acid ate away at anything it came into contact with. When the thresher maw realized that it wasn't working, it dove back underground.

"Wait for it to come out," Shepard advised. "Its weak spot is its open mouth. You can hurt it from there. If we can hit its acid sacs, it'll burn from the inside out."

Grunt really wanted to know how Shepard knew that and resolved to ask after they got out of this alive.

Suddenly, the maw erupted near the Spectre and used its massive body to ram the tower he was hiding behind. Metal and rock buried him immediately.

"_**SHEPARD!"**_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Proving Grounds**_

_**Present Time**_

The resulting explosion tore apart the head of the thresher maw. The rest of its massive body that was actually above ground was blown several meters up before falling off to the side with a resounding boom.

Amid the blood, entrails, and gore, Grunt picked himself off the ground and stood proudly amid the carnage. He was covered from head to toe in the remains of the thresher maw, but was unbothered by it. Looking down at his shotgun, the barrel had melted and several warning lights were flashing. He tossed the useless gun away and calmly walked back to rejoin with Shepard.

Even though his face was completely masked by his helmet, Grunt could feel that his krantt was extremely impressed with what he done. He looked at his chrono. "22 seconds left. He said survive, but what about winning?" Shepard asked casually.

"Ha!" Grunt barked out. He turned to face the entrance. "Is that it? ! Is that all you want me to do? ! Survive? ! Krogans do more than survive! Krogans do more than endure! Krogans are warriors!"

Grunt stood proudly in front of the Keystone. _**"**_**I AM KROGAN!**_**"**_

A shuttle flew overhead. Stamped on its side was the emblem the Uvenk proudly wore. Gatatog.

"Company," Shepard said.

"Good. I want more," Grunt replied in anticipation.

**~o~O~o~**

The shuttle landed nearby. Uvenk and his krantt, all five of them, walked out.

Uvenk jumped up on top of a fallen pillar and looked down on Grunt and Shepard. "You live and you brought down the thresher maw. No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last."

"I knew he had to have faced one those things before," Shepard muttered under his breath.

Now Grunt was really curious, but focused on Uvenk first. He'd get the details later. "My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes. Which are damned good."

Uvenk leapt off the column and approached the both of them warily. "This will cause discussion. I wonder… you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"

Grunt remembered an asari that was present when he was forced to absorb the imprints, but didn't bother to mention it.

Shepard stepped up. "Come on, Uvenk? You want take shot at him? Let's see what happens."

Uvenk didn't rise to his baiting. "Not yet. This deserves… consideration."

Now Grunt was suspicious as well as wary. "Why? I'm not getting any more 'natural'."

"You are powerful. You are a mistake. But your potential could tip the current balance of the clans," Uvenk explained.

"You spit on my origins! On Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I'm strong?" Grunt growled out.

"With restrictions. You could not breed, of course. Or serve on an alien ship. But you'd be clan in name," Uvenk said.

_Like I'm a rutting pet._

Grunt felt his blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to rip Uvenk's spine out and ram it down his throat.

"You talk like he's a thing. You're after his power. You don't really want him in your clan," Shepard summed up.

"Of course not," Uvenk admitted freely. "I didn't really want to cooperate with Clan Urdnot either, but I had to. Clan Gatatog is on the verge – either of greatness or of joining the dust. I get traditionalist support if I fight you and reformer support if I back you. Your Rite of Passage tipped that balance, too."

Shepard scoffed. "If I know Grunt, your answer's is coming at muzzle velocity."

"Good answer, Shepard," Grunt said with nod. He turned to Uvenk. "For someone who thinks he's smart, you're really stupid," Grunt said to Uvenk. "Like I would agree to be your slave. You're dead meat, varren." Before Uvenk could defend himself, Grunt rushed and tackled him to the ground.

The other krogan drew their weapons, but Shepard took the opportunity of Grunt's distraction to toss a few grenades before running. Grunt got up and followed, hot on his heels.

They leapt behind a fallen column as the first of a series of explosions tore through their enemy's ranks.

The surviving three krogan fired immediately while Uvenk got back on his feet. "Kill them!" Reaching behind, he tried to draw his weapon only to grasp air.

Underneath his helmet, Grunt grinned as he held up his new shotgun.

_M-300 Claymore. Nice…_

He popped out of cover and put his new gun to use.

Uvenk staggered from the first shot before a Biotic Barrier appeared around him.

_Hump. He's biotic._

Grunt turned to see Shepard had vanished, probably using his Tactical Cloak to flank them. The other three krogan appeared to be distracted and fighting elsewhere, leaving him to fight Uvenk.

_Good._

Grunt stood up from his defilade and tried to use brute force to break down the Barrier, but Uvenk merely smirked at his futile efforts. He suddenly thrust out an arm and used Throw to knock Grunt back.

Grunt shouted in surprise as he sailed through the air and landed roughly on his back. He rolled onto his chest and quickly stood up to face Uvenk again. He thought furiously on what to do. Or in this case, what would Shepard do.

_He'd outsmart him. __**I **__have to be smarter than him… How…?_

Inspiration struck at the last moment as he reached into his grenade pouch. His preparation was complete when he was suddenly lifted into the air, courtesy of Uvenk's biotics. He dropped the shotgun as he was held helpless in midair.

"You are a mistake," Uvenk snarled as he picked up the fallen shotgun with one hand, while the other was pointed at Grunt to hold him aloft. "A mistake that will be corrected."

Grunt said nothing as Uvenk raised the shotgun to aim at him. Just as he hoped, Uvenk kept all of his attention on him and on his biotics to hold him in the air.

The look of surprise on Uvenk's face was priceless when he finally noticed the present left for him on his own weapon. The grenade attached to the underside of the shotgun beeped once before exploding.

Grunt fell and landed on his feet. Uvenk was some distance away, missing an arm and a great deal of his face. There was little doubt that his secondary organs were active and that the armor protected him from the worst of the explosion.

Before Uvenk could even think about getting up, Grunt mounted him and drew his knife. Poised above his head, he brought it down and rammed the blade into Uvenk's primary heart before ripping his dagger free and stabbing it into the secondary heart.

Grunt viciously twisted the dagger, ensuring his death. He watched as the life faded from his enemy's eyes and grinned. Tearing his dagger free, he raised it above his head, intending into tear into the lifeless body further when he simply stopped.

Panting lightly from the exertion of battle, he was confused as to why he didn't ram the dagger back into the body. He was still straddled on top of Uvenk with his blade poised above him. After a few seconds more, he lowered the knife and merely cleaned it off on his victim before standing up and surveying the bloody battlefield.

Shepard had won against Uvenk's krantt, not that Grunt ever had any doubt. If the human could survive getting buried alive or kill off a few thousand krogan, any backup Uvenk brought would've been inadequate. He was gingerly making his way towards him, stepping lightly over the rocks and bodies.

Grunt just stood there, staring at Shepard before he realized what he felt. Nothing. The blood haze he was afflicted with was gone. He could summon the rage to fight, but once over, everything was his choice again. He just choose to not to waste his time with that gutless varren.

He continued to stare at Shepard, even when he started staring back. Privately, he always respected and admired the way the human carried himself into battle. He was dull and boring outside of a good fight, but when the shooting started, the man threw himself wholeheartedly into the fray like any krogan.

"Grunt, you okay?" Shepard asked, his tone in complete contrast to how he addressed Uvenk moments ago.

Grunt grinned. He was in control of his battle rage again. He could turn it on and off, just like Shepard and he could hold himself proudly. Most importantly, he learned the true value of being a part of a clan and what it means to fight alongside a krantt. "I'm fine," he rumbled. "Uvenk is meat. Let's go and leave him to rot."

If possible, the feeling of elation he felt at his revelations matched the sense of victory he had against the thresher maw.

As they left the battlefield, Grunt glanced at the human's profile. Despite today's victory, he held himself to a higher standard. No strut or swagger of arrogance.

It might have been the thought that their mission might eclipse even what they did on the Proving Grounds, but Grunt thought that Shepard simply accepted victory as it was and moved on.

_Another lesson to learn._

Despite the positive outcome of his test, Grunt vowed to hold himself even higher. If Shepard or Wrex could do it, then he needed to match. He found himself wondering how much he could learn from Shepard… and how much more there was to learn.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Urdnot Clan Camp**_

The Shaman was enthusiastic about their triumph. He told them that word had already spread through the clan about Grunt's victory over the thresher maw.

The drive back seemed faster than before, though it could be attributed to the lack of anticipation from the Rite. Or the exhaustion both warriors felt.

In what seemed like no time at all, the Shaman brought Shepard and Grunt before Wrex at his throne. Garrus, Tali, and Jack were waiting for them. The krogan they passed by were murmuring and pointing at them.

"You hear that the tank-bred and human killed a thresher maw on foot?"

"Everybody's heard. Hasn't been done since Wrex himself."

"That takes a quad."

"I barely survived my own Rite."

"You ever hear of a human serving as part of someone's krantt?"

"No. Can't argue with the results, though. We'll be eating thresher steaks for months!"

Upon reaching the dais, Grunt got down on his knees before his new clan leader as the Shaman moved to stand next to Wrex. "You have passed the Rite of Passage, earning the honor of clan and name," the Shaman stated formally. "Many survive, but it has been years since a thresher maw fell!"

"Guess none of them know about Edolus," Garrus muttered. Tali and Shepard nodded in agreement while Wrex smirked at them.

"Hmph. You just can't help making trouble," Wrex said to Shepard. "No one has killed a maw here since my turn in the Rite." He pointed at Grunt. "Next, you'll tell me he's quint and craps dark matter."

Shepard shrugged and grinned up at him.

"Guess that's what it takes to replace me," Wrex finally said after staring down at Grunt. He scratched his chin while the younger krogan awaited judgment. "You are Urdnot Grunt," Wrex formally stated. "Welcome."

Grunt kept his face impassive, but the swell of pride still filled his chest. Looking up, he nodded respectively toward his new clan chief. Nearby, Shepard nodded to him encouragingly.

"Your names shall live in glory!" the Shaman praised. "Grunt, as a part of Urdnot, you may now own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a battlemaster."

_Serve under a battlemaster…?_

Grunt looked up and considered his options. Shepard was standing nearby looking calm and collected as usual. What was the most interesting comparison was that Wrex sat in his throne with the same attitude. Grunt had seen Shepard in action and he had little doubt that despite the face he presented currently, Wrex was a fearsome sight to behold on the battlefield as well.

It was then Grunt understood. The differences between the two experienced warriors were plain to see, but it was the similarities that he finally saw. It was the driving force of their lives. It was what made all the other human warriors he read about stand out. It was difference between what makes a krogan a fighter to be feared and an animal.

It wasn't rage or blood lust or the ability to kill.

What set Wrex and Shepard apart from the common soldier was discipline. Shepard kept his focus no matter how difficult or chaotic events may seem. Wrex was the master of his own rage, choosing to unleash it by choice alone.

Grunt knew this was a lesson that he needed to learn. The rage he felt was only him being a krogan. The rite gave him an outlet, but to truly control his urges, he needed to study under the best.

"Shepard is my battlemaster. He has no match save our clan leader."

Shepard looked startled and turned to Wrex.

"Hmm… an alien takes part in the Rite and now assumes the role as a battlemaster?" the Shaman murmured to himself before turning to Wrex as well.

Wrex laughed. "I like this one!" He nodded his permission to the Shaman. "Let him. There's no one on this rock that could help him better than Shepard. Any traditions or other Rites he needs to learn, he can get elsewhere. A battlemaster imparts strength, honor, and loyalty. Shepard has that up to his hump."

"Understood," the Shaman agreed. "Congratulations, Urdnot Grunt." The Shaman held out an M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun. "Accept this token as a gift for your success in the Rite."

Rising to feet, Grunt accepted the weapon respectfully. He needed to control his brash arrogance. He needed to accept outcomes as they came. But there was one lesson he needed the most if he would ever be able to call himself a warrior.

Discipline.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

I decided to try a new writing style, _In medias res_ (_into the middle of things_). Wow, I'm learning new things all the time!

I know I changed the renegade interrupted from a head butt to a punch, but I'm looking at the bony crest on a krogan and thinking, "That's no joke." Either Shepard's skull is as tough as a krogan's and can feel no pain, or I better write it in such a way that's believable. I couldn't. As funny and cool as it was, I couldn't really do it.

It seemed a bit strange to me that if krogan puberty could be cured with a series of crazed fights, why does Grunt need it? He gets in more fights than most of the other krogan will ever get. You'd think he'd be cured already. So I decided to add a life lesson that will give him a reason to control his rage. Something he'll learn during the rite. Blood rage won't always get him everywhere, so other skills are needed.

When I first started this chapter, I thought, "This should be easy." And I was wrong. I thought Grunt would've been the easiest character to write up, because his character seemed simpler than the others. As I got into his motivations and desires though, the chapter evolved into something that radically changed my outlook of Grunt. That's the interesting thing about these loyalty chapters and doing it from the POV of the relevant character, I really have to understand their mindset and find out what makes them unique and what really drives them. The main thing I wanted to convey in this chapter was Grunt's youth and experiences evolved as he moved on. Being tank-born, all he really knew about the galaxy was through the imprints. After that, it was a series of missions with Shepard or looking through the extranet. Tuchanka was the place where he could 'grow up' and finally see his people properly with the final lesson of learning where he belongs.

To answer to what might be the next set of questions: There will be a few repercussions with Shepard and Miranda's relationship. Some are minor, others… not so much. I'm certainly not ignoring the other characters and will have some deeper dialogue with them when the time comes.

As Ian McKellen once said, "There is drama in conflict."


	33. Old Blood

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Normandy SR-2, in Orbit Above Tuchanka**_

Shepard bit back a grunt when Chakwas prodded one of his many injuries during her examination.

He was sitting shirtless in the Medical Bay of the Normandy. Miranda, Garrus, Tali, Jack, and Jacob were in attendance to provide 'moral' support. Normally, Chakwas would've ejected any observers, but he suspected that she hadn't asked them to leave so they could have a bit of fun at his expense. Or teach him a lesson in why he shouldn't engage in any dangerous endeavors or traditions. While he could ask them to leave, the only one he'd ask to stay would be Miranda, which would no doubt raise a few eyebrows and suspicions. Not to mention his pride wouldn't allow him to be so defensive.

Simply put, it was a lose-lose situation all around for him.

Grunt had stayed on Tuchanka to celebrate the success of his Rite with his new clan. Shepard had declined the invitation to join the festivities and opted to return to the Normandy since most of the food that was served was from the meat of the thresher maw they'd just killed and the rest from pyjacks or other assorted road kill. Needless to say, he lost his appetite quickly. In terms of beverages, the only available drink that wasn't radioactive was ryncol. According to Grunt, it "hits aliens like ground glass", something Shepard wasn't keen on trying.

He suppressed the next yelp of pain when Chakwas found another problem area.

She noted his facial expressions carefully and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Do you have any idea how much you worry me, Shepard?"

"Is this why you're torturing me before you patch me up?" he grumbled.

Miranda was casually leaning against a table as she watched the proceedings in equal parts concern and amusement. "Honestly. I turn my back for one day and you get into a fight with a thresher maw. What next? Do I blink and suddenly hear that you're engaging a few Geth Armatures by yourself?"

"Funny- Ow!"

"I believe you've fractured your right shoulder blade. It should heal in an hour or so. This monstrous bruise covering a great deal of your upper torso and right arm should be gone in half an hour," Chakwas finally said. "Let me give you something to speed your recovery, though."

"I can't believe the krogan expected you or anybody to fight a thresher on foot. That's freakin' insane," Jack commented.

"It's not really new to us," Tali said.

Miranda, Jack, and Jacob turned to Tali in surprise.

"Wait, you've fought a thresher maw on foot before?" Jacob asked.

"Well, not me or my team of marines, per se," Tali hastily replied. "I meant two years ago. Our old squad, except Liara, fought one off. Liara joined up with us later."

"Are you serious?" Jack asked skeptically.

"It was around the time when we were waiting for the Alliance or the Council to get us some intelligence on Saren's movements," Garrus explained. "Since we had a bit of time, we went to investigate some missing Alliance marines that disappeared because of a Cerberus – Oh… wait…"

Jacob and Miranda looked like they had no idea what he was talking about. "What happened?" Miranda asked, sitting a bit straighter.

Jack leaned forward too. "Yeah, what did **Cerberus** do?" she asked with a pointed glare at the two Cerberus operatives.

Garrus turned to Shepard for support.

Shepard sighed. With the cat out of the bag, he knew that none of them would drop the issue, especially Jack. "It was a Cerberus trap. They used an Alliance distress beacon to lure some marines to a thresher nest on Edolus to… study threshers, I guess. I don't know. I never really learned the details."

Jacob turned to Miranda. "I haven't heard of this."

"Nor I. I've heard about the events on Akuze, but this sounds different. It must've been part of another cell." She turned to Shepard. "I'm surprised it wasn't in your reports."

"It's related to Admiral Kohoku's death," Shepard supplied evenly. "What we were doing was more of a favor than anything official, so I never submitted any reports. I'm sure Admiral Kohoku did, but it sounded like he left my name out."

Miranda sighed while Jacob glowered. Jack smiled triumphantly at them, as if everything she knew about Cerberus had been vindicated.

Wisely, Shepard kept the details about other Cerberus experiments about Thresher Maws he'd learned about to himself, namely the events from Akuze like Corporal Toombs and the acid injections or the like. The last thing he needed was to give Jack an excuse to tear her way through the ship and crew. Instead, he cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, we found the distress beacon and the marines. The men were dead and we deactivated the beacon. Unfortunately, the thresher maw was still there and attacked us. All of us, save Tali, were outside the Mako investigating. Ashley and Garrus made a run for the Mako while Kaidan, Wrex, and I bought them time by fighting that thing on foot."

"I always thought Wrex knew way too much about fighting something like that without any heavy fire support," Garrus said thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought, too," Shepard ruefully agreed.

"So you beat it with the tank?" Jack asked.

"Nope. On foot. Wrex told us the acid sacs in the mouth were the best place to shoot."

"To date, Wrex stubbornly asserts that he was the one to bring down the thresher maw, not Shepard," Tali said. "Back on the Normandy, he was mentioning how it brought back memories of his Rite, but none of us wanted to pry for more details."

"I always thought Shepard was the one that killed it myself," Garrus said. "He was using a sniper rifle with explosive rounds. Wrex was using an assault rifle with incendiary ammo. The chances were in Shepard's favor, especially since the maw fell dead after nearly eating him. Not to mention the fact that Wrex was facing its backside."

"No… I'm pretty sure **I** killed it since I was the one manning the cannon on the Mako," Tali argued.

"You got, like, three shots on it. Hardly enough," Garrus countered stubbornly. "I saw the muzzle flash from Shepard's rifle just before it died."

"Even he can't be **that** lucky!" Tali hotly returned before remembering that Shepard was alive and well and sitting close by after supposedly being dead for two years. "Well… maybe he is, but I still think I was the one that got it."

"The giant worm is dead. I don't really care who killed it so long as it didn't **eat** any of us," Shepard said. "Ow!"

Chakwas withdrew the syringe and raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Shepard," she lightly chastised while rubbing a disinfectant on the injection site.

"I have delicate constitution."

Jack, Garrus, and Jacob laughed at him. Tali was a bit more polite and tried to suppress her giggles. Thankfully, Miranda was much more discrete about her amusement, though her eyes shined with repressed laugher.

"Oh? I don't have that in my notes. When did this occur?" Chakwas asked indulgently.

"The moment I stepped in here, apparently," Shepard muttered as he put on his shirt with a wince.

EDI chimed in before the others could continue 'supporting' him. "Captain, I have a message from Wrex. His chief scout has returned from the field."

"Great," he said, quickly jumping on the distraction to deflect any more teasing.

Before he could issue his orders, EDI pressed on with more news. "Also, killing the thresher maw has produced several breeding requests for Grunt."

"Good for him," Shepard praised.

"And one for you."

There was a moment of stunned silence while everyone processed what she just said before Shepard muttered, "Et tu, EDI?"

He tried to hold onto his cross look when everyone started laughing, but gave in and laughed at the newest bit of absurd news that seemed to always happen to him.

"Just one, Shepard?" Garrus asked with a shake of his head. He stared at him with a painfully fake look of disappointment. "Maybe you should've kept the scars. Krogan love scars."

"Or how 'bout we go the other way? Someone should tell her that Shepard only has a pair. That might be enough of a turn-off," Jacob added jokingly.

Even the man in question couldn't keep his grin off his face. "Alright, alright, alright. Get everyone together and in full battle readiness. Just about everything in Tuchanka wants to kill us-"

"Including whatever plants and bugs that are still alive," Garrus supplied.

"-So if we're going outside of Urdnot territory, I want to be ready for everything," Shepard finished.

"You're not going back down there?" Chakwas asked incredulously.

"Sorry, Doc," he replied as he gathered his armor from the nearby table. "Duty calls."

"Are you sure about this?" Miranda asked. "We can handle it by ourselves if you need rest."

"I promised Mordin I'd give him my help," Shepard said. "Besides, Dr. Chakwas said that I'd be fine in an hour, tops."

The doctor bristled at the liberal interpretation of her diagnosis. "I know I said that, but you should also-"

"Rest. I know, Doc. After." He turned to the others. "Let's go."

Garrus cleared his throat and glanced meaningfully at Chakwas.

"What?" she asked before narrowing her eyes at him and throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Oh, all right. Very well, I wash my hands of you. So help me, if you get injured, I'll have Dr. Solus look after you while I lecture on why you should listen to me more," she warned before turning to Shepard. "After enduring his agonizing complaints and repetitive requests, I'm clearing him for duty."

Garrus looked offended. "I thought it was more of a lively debate."

"I think I'll side with Dr. Chakwas on this," Tali quipped.

Shepard smirked, but refrained from saying anything. "Let's get going," he smoothly cut in before they could argue.

"Shepard? In all seriousness, I'd really like a moment," Chakwas called out before he could leave.

His brow furrowed in confusion, but after noticing the solemn look on her face, he knew it was best to listen to what she had to say. "Gather up the squad and I'll meet you at the Kodiak," he said to Miranda.

"Understood. We'll be ready in 10 minutes," she said before looking at Chakwas with questioning eyes.

"That's more than enough time," Chakwas said.

Miranda looked like she wanted to press for more details, but schooled her features to look like she was concerned as a matter of professional courtesy and nodded. She left with one last lingering look at Shepard.

After everyone was gone, he put his armor back on the table and turned back to face the doctor.

Chakwas tapped a button and turned the windows opaque. "After hearing about your recent business on Tuchanka, I'd like to conduct a full physical," she requested without preamble.

"Something wrong?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not entirely sure," she murmured. "Perhaps you really are worrying me or maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I'd like for you to humor me on this."

"What are you thinking?"

"Your biotics. You're learning at an incredible rate, far more than any other biotic at the Ascension Project at Grissom Academy… at least as far as my research goes. But it's the level of power that you're displaying that I wish to study. After your tale of the events that just transpired groundside, I… I'd like to confirm something."

"You mean holding up a ton of debris from crushing me?" he asked.

"Perhaps it's the difference between L4 and L5 implants or perhaps it's something else. Or perhaps it's just you, but I'd like to be certain all the same," she answered vaguely.

"Maybe I have knack for biotics?" he suggested seriously.

"Maybe," she echoed unconvincingly. "But **learning** techniques is one thing. That requires a focused and determined mind more than anything else. The **strength** of your biotics on the other hand…" She trailed off with a sigh and rubbed her forehead in agitation. "I'm thinking we might be seeing a side-effect of the Lazarus Project, which is why I want to check to see if you're all right."

"Okay. You're the doc, Doc. After my business with Tuchanka is finished, we're heading to the Citadel for… um…" he faltered a bit as he quickly searched for a plausible reason. "Supplies. On the way, you can examine me as you much as you like."

"The Citadel? Good, that works. There's someone I'd like to get in contact with, then. I don't want to worry you, but I felt that this was serious enough to remark upon," she said with only a bit of relief.

"If you think so, then I should take it seriously as well," he replied. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Very well. Just try to come back for the physical and not because you're bedridden."

He chuckled and picked up his armor again. "Your confidence in my abilities means a lot me, Doc."

**~o~O~o~**

Mordin paced furiously in front of the shuttle doors. His mind was going in overdrive with various scenarios. The speed at which his thoughts travelled was usually a gift, but now felt like a curse. The delay in which he received the news about Maelon to the actual rescue felt too long. First the Collector ship, to the shipwrecked crew on Aeia, to waiting for the scout commander… At this point, it seemed everything that could go wrong, did or will.

_Mustn't think that. Theories must fit facts; facts should not fit theories._

Even knowing this, he couldn't process the anxiety from his thoughts. He felt personally responsible for everything. On one hand, he was able to accomplish something that would have been lauded as one of the most important medical challenges in recent history. If it was allowed to be reported.

_Second to the Lazarus Project probably._

On the other hand, he knew what he did was the right thing to do. If only it didn't come with such a heavy price. With a mind such as his, a guilty conscience was always lurking in his thoughts in his every waking moment. Unlike most emotions, this one stayed with him. It wasn't something he could ignore, accept, or reconcile, despite his efforts to find an 'absolute truth' that could vindicate him. Or damn him.

The moral slope he was on was a slippery one with no clear definition of right and wrong. To a scientist, ambiguous answers are the worst kind of answers.

He stopped pacing and sighed, idly rubbing his crossed scars on his cheek. A constant reminder of what he'd done.

For the greater good.

At least, that's what he told him himself. It usually helped him through most of his guilt. He always considered himself borderline consequentialist, that the 'ends justified the means', but only within his rules of ethics, something he rigidly adhered to. He saw the data, believed in the simulations, and made sure everything would not cause further harm. But, during his follow-up missions to Tuchanka, he always left with the same pain only guilt could inflict on his… soul, for lack of a better term.

Again, he reminded himself that he agreed to accompany Shepard on this mission on as a kind of quest for redemption for what he had done. But if that's the case, did he do the right thing? If he did, why should he be looking for redemption?

No matter how brilliant he was, some answers continued to elude him, adding to his mounting frustration.

"You ever been to Tuchanka, Professor?"

Mordin blinked and turned to address the shuttle pilot, Hawthorne. "Beg your pardon?"

"Course he hasn't. Why would any salarian go down there?" the co-pilot, Goldstein said. "I'm surprised the krogan stay there."

"After hearing that Grunt and the Captain take on a thresher maw on foot, I'm not surprised the krogan like it there," Hawthorne retorted.

"Are you alright, Mordin?" Kasumi asked in concern while pilot and co-pilot bickered.

"Yes, yes. Fine. Just a bit impatient," Mordin replied in his usual quick manner.

"I can get that. You said he was a student of yours? Maelon, was it?" Jacob asked.

Mordin bowed his head. "Yes. Taught him almost everything I knew."

"It's surprising to hear that he was still alive. Salarians and turians don't last long on Tuchanka without some major fire support," Garrus commented thoughtfully. "Any idea why the krogan wanted him?"

Mordin nodded slowly, but didn't elaborate.

Garrus was about to press for more details, but Miranda stopped him, much to the salarian's relief. "His dossier showed that he was involved with classified work with the STG. I'm assuming that it's still classified. Let it go."

Garrus seemed to accept that answer and leaned back in his seat.

Miranda continued staring at the stairways. "What do you suppose Dr. Chakwas wanted?"

"No idea," Jacob said. "But it's Shepard. I'm sure it's fine." He paused when he thought about what he said. "Actually, considering his luck, maybe not."

Miranda leveled a glare at him. "Thanks, Jacob. That makes me feel much better."

"I was kidding," Jacob said with a grin. "The man died. It can't get worse than that, right?"

Tali fidgeted in her seat in agitation as she also watched for Shepard's arrival. "Maybe, but Dr. Chakwas looked a bit serious. Do you think-"

"You're worrying yourself over nothing, Tali," Garrus said.

She sat up straighter and whipped her head at him. "Noth-"

"If it's serious, I'm sure Shepard will tell us. If it's nothing, then let it drop," he continued before the quarian could get any more wound up.

"He's right, Tali. Just relax. You trust him, right?" Kasumi said soothingly. She wrapped an arm around the younger woman and shook her in a friendly manner.

Tali took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Of course. You're right."

Mordin's observant eyes still picked up on her nervous hand wringing. He also saw that Miranda looked a bit more worried than what might be warranted for an XO. Even Jack seemed a bit distressed, though she tried to hide it behind her usual belligerent façade.

"Has Dr. Chakwas said anything to you, Mordin?" Tali asked.

In truth, she mentioned a few theories that held merit and perhaps a bit cause for worry, but only in confidence. As a professional, he obviously couldn't betray that confidence and fuel mere speculation. Instead he shrugged. "Don't know anything. No data." Since no tests were run, it was an honest answer.

"Finally!" Jack exclaimed.

Turning his head, he saw Shepard walk down the stairs in full armor and weapons, sans his Blackstorm. Instead, he was packing a ML-77 Missile Launcher like Jacob.

"Sorry about that," Shepard apologized. "Let's go."

"What are our assignments?" Thane asked and finally breaking his silence.

Shepard entered the cabin after Mordin hurried inside. "No idea. Miranda and I will go and talk to Wrex and the scout. From there, I'll let you know."

"What did the doc want?" Jack asked in an off-handed manner.

Shepard glanced at her, causing her to squirm a bit before he answered. "She wanted a physical. That's all."

"That's it?" Tali asked curiously.

"She was worried about me. Kinda like how you are now," he replied teasingly.

Tali huffed and crossed her arms. Kasumi giggled at her.

Miranda studied his face, but said nothing.

"We're to wait with the shuttle, then?" Samara quietly asked as the Kodiak started humming and vibrating in preparation for takeoff.

"For now," Shepard said. "I imagine that I'll be bringing everyone, though."

"_Hang on, folks. We're heading back down,"_ Goldstein informed.

"_Man, it felt like only we were just down there a few hours ago, didn't it?"_ Hawthorne joked. _"Sunny Tuchanka, eh? Gonna work on your tan this time?"_

"_Shut up and get us down there in one piece."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, En Route to Clan Weyrloc Camp**_

Mordin held on tightly to his seat as the Tomkah bucked yet again. While he used religion as a tool to find truth or absolution, right now, he was praying for a miracle, or just to survive the trip. It wasn't **too** much to ask for divine intervention at this point.

The meeting between Shepard, Wrex, and the scout didn't take long. Both the captain and the executive officer returned in short order, informing everyone that they were heading toward the Weyrloc Clan base of operations. According to the chief scout, a salarian was seen there and Clan Weyrloc has powerful ties to the Blood Pack mercenary group. This information coincided with what Kirrahe told Mordin when the STG captain said that Maelon had been captured by the Blood Pack. Latest accounts by the Urdnot Scout Commander said that Maelon was alive, but his condition was unknown since the scout he'd assigned to investigate was also captured during his attempt to find out why the Blood Pack was so interested in Maelon. Wrex had asked Shepard to see if he could rescue the missing scout as well if he was still alive.

Wrex also offered Shepard the use of one of the krogan infantry fighting vehicles, the Tomkah, to get there. It was large, spacious, and definitely had enough room for the entire party and then some. Not surprising since it was made for krogan use. It appeared things were finally looking up.

Mordin knew he should have suspected something was wrong when Shepard adamantly said that he'd drive over Tali's and Garrus' protests.

"Kee'lah!" Tali cried out when the Tomkah when airborne for a moment before slamming into the ground.

"This is something I definitely **didn't** miss," Garrus said as he held on for dear life.

"Does he always drive like this?" Kasumi asked in alarm. She was double-checking to see if her seat harness was securely fastened around her lithe frame.

"Every time we took out the Mako," Garrus answered in resignation. "Ow! Damn it!" Rubbing his head angrily for moment, he hurriedly tried to put his helmet on through the bucking and jostling of the bumpy ride.

Seeing what he was doing, the others quickly followed his example.

"Those were the missions I hated. Especially that mission when we were on Earth's moon. His driving was atrocious," Tali said while everyone was scrambling to protect their heads from further injury. "Can't Jacob drive?"

Miranda shook her head. "Believe me, it wouldn't help. Right now, I'm having trouble determining who's the **worse** driver, him or Shepard."

"Oh, Kee'lah."

"Ow! Fuck! You mind actually watching what the hell you're hitting? !" Jack screamed at the cockpit. "Bad enough we're going to attack a krogan stronghold, but I'd like to get there in one goddamned piece!"

"Sorry! Not many intact roads left on Tuchanka! We gotta get through all of this rubble!" Shepard called back as he suddenly swerved hard to one side to avoid the remains of a building.

More complaints and shouts ensued from the cabin. Even Thane and Samara had a few choice words to offer.

"Damn! This thing gots some muscle behind her, huh?" Jacob said in glee. He was up in the gunner's seat and manning the cannon while helping navigate the route to the Weyrloc camp. He was the only one that seemed to enjoy the ride.

"Steering is a bit more loose than the Mako, but damn! Running over everything is fun!" Shepard excitedly said.

Mordin prayed harder. He certainly hoped that if there was an all-powerful deity, then **someone** would answer him.

Thankfully, and it couldn't be over soon enough, the Tomkah stopped under the remains of an overpass. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the engine was finally turned off.

"Who's up for walking back?" Garrus suggested. "Because I'm ready to set fire to this thing and call it an electrical accident."

"I can think of a few systems where that might be believable," Tali added.

"Okay, everyone. We're near their base. We're on foot from here," Shepard informed as he stepped into the cabin. He secured his own helmet after seeing everyone had already had theirs on before he opened the doors and hopped out first.

"Thank goodness," Miranda muttered.

"For once, you and me agree on something," Jack grumbled.

Mordin jumped out next and looked around. As expected, nothing changed since he was last here. It was still the same barren, hostile, and unforgiving world it always was. The overpass Shepard stopped the Tomkah under was sufficient to hide the vehicle and evidence of Wrex's assistance in their mission.

"Ah, Tuchanka. Crude, dangerous, and probably radioactive," Miranda commented as she gazed at their surroundings. "Let's get in, do what we need to do, and get out – fast."

Tali looked up from her omni-tool scans and nodded. "I'm with her. The sooner the better. This isn't as bad as Haestrom, but Tuchanka definitely has its own brand of danger."

"So why isn't Grunt with us?" Garrus asked as the party trekked to their destination.

"Politics," Shepard simply answered. "He's with Urdnot now. If I bring him along and attack another clan, it's almost a declaration of war. The other clans might be unhappy as well and Wrex might have a revolt on his hands. We're aliens. Officially, we're not affiliated with anybody, which means we can attack whoever we like-"

"And hell will rain down on us instead of your buddy," Jacob finished.

"I was going to say that we'd be responsible, not Wrex and his clan, but yeah."

"Plausible deniability at its finest," Miranda said. "Lovely."

"Since we're attacking this Clan Weyrloc, I suspect your friend doesn't have any real alliances with them?" Thane asked.

"They're one of the few clans that are against his reforms," Shepard confirmed. "This works in his favor as much as it helps Mordin. We save Maelon and cripple or destroy a major opponent at the same time."

"Win-win," Jack simply said.

"Yep. Anyway, Grunt's learning all the Urdnot traditions. Battle songs, other different rites… I decided that he couldn't be bothered," Shepard finished.

"Did you inquire about their fortifications?" Samara asked.

"It's a hospital," Miranda supplied.

"A hospital?" Tali repeated skeptically. "That's hardly secure."

"A krogan hospital," Miranda corrected. "Evidently, they're built to be hardened, not sterilized."

Mordin nodded in understanding. Hospitals were one of the many places he and his STG team dropped the modified genophage in. "Repurposed krogan hospital. Sturdy. Built to withstand punishment."

"Are you always thinking about stuff like this?" Kasumi teased.

"Not always. Sometimes I sleep," he answered seriously.

"That's unfortunate. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through," Garrus said, shaking his head with emphasize his statement.

Shepard turned his head to look at his turian friend. "And what is to fight through?"

"Gardens, electronic shops... Antique stores too, but only if they're classy," he answered in all seriousness.

Mordin couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Kasumi giggled. "There are a few places I can think of where you can have a great time then."

"I wanna know where you've been fighting," Jack said to the turian.

"I hear something," Thane suddenly reported from his position at the front.

Mordin switched to his radio immediately. The moment Thane issued his warning, everyone dropped their cheerful moods and readied themselves accordingly. It was a stark contrast to the jovial atmosphere seconds ago.

Shepard moved up to the front with Thane and held up his assault rifle. _"I think I hear varren."_

Garrus shuffled up next to Shepard. _"If they're tamed, there might be armed sentries ahead too."_

"_Thane, Garrus; go see if they're wild or if we're coming up to a checkpoint. I don't want the Blood Pack to know we're coming yet."_

Garrus vanished from sight using his Tactical Cloak. Thane used more traditional methods. He snuck through the shadows and climbed over the debris to get a higher vantage point.

After a few minutes, Garrus reported in. _"Four varren, three vorcha. It's a checkpoint alright."_

Thane chimed in. _"Confirmed. Three sentries and four varren ahead. They're guarding what looks to be a highway. I can see the hospital at the end of the road. There might be several more checkpoints ahead and I don't see a way around."_

"_More like a chokepoints then,"_ Jacob said.

"_Only road in or out. No wonder the scout got captured,"_ Miranda said to Shepard.

"_Do you think's he still alive?" _Tali asked.

"_No idea,"_ Shepard responded. _"We'll see what happens. For now…" _He poked his head out and tried to get an idea of the battlefield ahead. _"Can you two take out the sentries quietly?" _he called out to the snipers.

"_I'm already in position,"_ Garrus said. _"The vorcha are no problem, but I might need help with the varren."_

"_I have the varren covered,"_ Thane assured.

"_Drop'em," _Shepard ordered.

Tiny puffs from a suppressed weapon and the thuds of several bodies were the only sounds that broke the silence.

"_Done." – "Targets neutralized."_

Moving up, everyone saw that Thane had used his knives with unerring accuracy and struck the varren. Two of the vorcha were shot from behind in the back of the head. The last was shot in the forehead, probably trying to turn around.

"_Nice work," _Shepard praised.

Garrus was standing behind the makeshift barricade and nodded. Thane leapt from perch and landed with nary a sound.

Kasumi was inspected the knives that struck varren with obvious approval. _"Very nice. I'm not sure I could do better."_

Shepard led the way again. This time his sniper rifle was expanded and ready. _"Let's try to take'em out at long range before closing in."_

Mordin followed the Spectre, as did everyone else. Despite the levity they displayed minutes ago, they were all business now and acting like a team. Like a real squad, despite the relatively short time they spent together.

Even Kirrahe's STG team that Mordin served with seemed to lack the same dynamic. Then again, he always thought that Kirrahe's head was always stuck up his cloaca whereas Shepard seemed to have a certain energy that seemed irresistible.

Maybe everything will be alright.

**~o~O~o~**

The trek through the raised highway was, more or less, uneventful. If you didn't count the string of firefights they breezed through.

Thane's observations were correct. A line of checkpoints were erected on the highway with sentries posted all around. Fortunately, it seemed only about a dozen vorcha had the dubious honor of being glorified guard dogs. Only two krogan were left to supervise them.

Mordin suspected they were either young, inexperienced, or the kind of idiots that pissed off their CO and were ordered to stand guard outside. Needless to say, Shepard and Thane dispatched both at long range, leaving the vorcha without any instructions on how to handle the surprise attack.

Miranda led the rest of the squad and attacked their positions with relative ease. As expected, the vorcha were vicious and fearless, but lacked any real tactics. Even with the advantage of funneling the attack into their defense did little without any help from their krogan commanders. As another bonus, even when they were being picked off one by one, none of the vorcha had the mindset to call for help, allowing their intrusion to continue to go unnoticed for the time being.

"_That was easy,"_ Jack said with a bit of disappointment.

"_According to the Chief Scout, vorcha are just there to soak up gunfire. In the krogan's eyes, they're barely better than varren,"_ Shepard informed. _"Only they can 'use guns and not crap on the floor as often.' His words, not mine. It'll be the krogan inside that'll be the challenge."_

"_You just had to say it, didn't you?"_ Jacob said, echoing Jack's pessimistic remark from Horizon.

"_Fuck you."_

Mordin ignored their exchange and approached the door to the hospital. _"Hmm… locked."_

"_I'll get it open,"_ Tali offered. She moved up and started fiddling with the holographic display. Everyone moved to flank the door while they waited for her to finish.

"_Got it."_

She stood up and moved away quickly. The door opened, revealing a ramp going downward. The ramp and hallway after it was completely empty.

Shepard moved forward slowly; his head was turning in every direction.

Mordin suspected that the Spectre was looking for any sort of automated security defenses, but it was a fruitless exercise. He knew from experience that the power grids on Tuchanka were too unstable to maintain any modern security system.

Considering how hostile the environment was, the only security Tuchanka ever seem to need was everything that ever lived on it.

They wandered the hallways for only minute before Shepard suddenly darted toward a figure on the ground.

It was a human. Male. He looked like he'd been trying to escape, but fell dead just short of the exit. Evidence of his time in the Blood Pack's 'care' was painfully evident.

"_Mordin, get over here,"_ Shepard called out. _"Kasumi, Tali; Secure the area ahead."_

The thief and the engineer moved on past the body, weapons up and ready.

Mordin knelt down next to the body and ran his omni-tool over the victim while he made critical observations. _"Sores, ligatures showing restraints at wrists and ankles."_ He paused only to glance at his omni-tool readings. _"Tumors."_ He picked up the right arm and examined it closely. _"Track marks for repeated injection sites."_

"_They experimented on him,"_ Miranda deduced.

"_Evidence suggests so,"_ Mordin concurred.

"_I don't get it. Is this about the genophage?"_ Jacob asked. _"Why use humans for experimentation?"_

Mordin didn't turn away from the omni-tool scans, but he knew the answer. It was one of the more interesting aspects of the human species that always fascinated him. _"Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities."_

"_I don't get it. What makes humans more genetically diverse than any other species?"_ Shepard questioned.

"_More variables. Peaks and valleys, mutations, adaptations. Far beyond other sapient life,"_ Mordin explained as he continued to run his scans. _"Makes humans useful test subjects. Larger reactions to smaller stimuli."_

"_We can look much different from each other, but what about asari? They have a wide range of skin tones,"_ Shepard said, apparently trying to wrap his head around the idea of humans being used as bench line for test experiments.

Mordin finally looked up and glanced at Shepard's helmeted face. _"No. Ignore superficial appearance. Down to genetic code. Biotic abilities, intelligence levels. Can look at random asari, krogan, make reasonable guess. Humans too variable to judge. Outliers in all species, of course. Geniuses, idiots. But human probability curve offers greater overall variety."_

"_I never knew this,"_ Miranda confessed. _"That's rather fascinating to know."_

Shepard shook his head angrily. _"Experimenting on humans? And I thought Cerberus was bad enough."_

"_Gee, thanks,"_ Jacob sarcastically said.

Miranda shook her head and crossed her arms. _"My report will mention that."_

"_It should,"_ Jack retorted. _"I'm personally all shocked and shaken that shit like this happened. And for once, you bastards aren't involved."_

"_Never used humans myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy. Used by brute force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science."_ Mordin took a breath as he thought about his statement. _"Krogan use of humans unsurprising."_

"_You never used live-subject testing when you were dealing with that plague Omega?"_ Garrus asked.

"_Or your work with STG?"_ Shepard added.

Mordin glanced at Shepard again. He knew that he was keeping the details of the genophage modification project a secret from the rest of the team. All they knew was that Maelon was captured and that they were rescuing him. That's it. Anything else could be blamed on the krogan. He was infinitely appreciative about it. _"No. Unnecessary. Limited tests to simulations, corpses, cloned tissues samples. Much like counter-measure developed against seeker swarm. No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it."_

Miranda knelt down next to Mordin and observed the scans. _"It looks like they're trying to modify hormone levels."_

Mordin nodded. He always respected her knowledge and scientific expertise. He knew the details of the Lazarus Project were confidential, but he was insanely curious as to how she did it. _"Indeed. Counterattack on glands hit by genophage. Clever."_

"_Will it work?" _she queried.

"_Conceptually sound. Genophage alters hormone levels. Could repair damage with hormonal counterattack."_

Their discussion ended with a boom of a shotgun and several subsequent follow-up shots. Samara, Thane, and Garrus tore down the hallway and around the corner immediately before the others could react.

"_Report!"_ Shepard barked.

The radio cracked with the sounds of gunfire in the background. _"Three krogan were patrolling!" _Tali answered before pausing to fire her shotgun again. _"Kasumi and I got two of them and the last is trying to fight back. I can hear reinforcements coming though. They definitely know we're here now!"_

"_Let's move," _Shepard ordered.

Mordin muttered a quick prayer from one of the human religions he learned about before reaching out and closing unfortunate man's eyes. "Requiescat in Pace." His final respects paid, he got up and followed quickly.

He passed by three dead krogan during his dash through the hallways and saw the squad was taking cover in a doorway. He pressed up against a wall a scooted forward until he joined with Garrus, Thane, Samara, and Tali on one side of the doorway.

Shepard and Garrus were on either side of the opening, occasionally blind firing at the attackers that were shooting at them.

"Hold fire!" an imperious voiced roared.

The krogans stopped shooting soon after, prompting Shepard and Garrus to do the same.

"Come out, offworlders!" the krogan demanded. "I will not ask again!"

"_Ha! 'Ask' he says,"_ Jack growled as she held her shotgun ready.

"_Orders?"_ Garrus asked.

"_The two of us and Mordin will go and see what he wants. The rest of you prepare to rain hell on them if they try anything suspicious."_

To his satisfaction, everyone passed along their acknowledgments to his orders. Assault rifle still ready, Shepard stood up and bravely walked into the room. Garrus and Mordin were slightly back and at his flank.

At least five krogan were standing on a raised walkway with four vorcha to supplement them. All of them had their weapons out and pointed at the trio. "I am the speaker for Clan Weyrloc, offworlders! You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already!" the Clanspeaker shouted down at them. "But Weyrloc Guld, the Chief of Chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming!"

"_They're letting us go… Now I've heard everything," _Garrus said.

"If I flee, I might trip over the krogan I killed to get here. I think I'll take my chances," Shepard taunted.

"You killed our youngest and weakest, human. They were not worthy of remaining near our glorious work!" the Clanspeaker spat. "Inside, you will find only hardened Blood Pack veterans, tempered by savagery and war and dedicated to one goal!"

Some of the krogan brandished their weapons arrogantly at them following the speaker's words.

"_Veterans or fanatics?"_ Garrus rhetorically asked.

"_Certainly most eloquent krogan I've seen,"_ Mordin commented.

"The salarian will cure the genophage and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood!"

Mordin sucked in a breath. _Appears they discovered our work. Very unfortunate._ His mind rapidly considered all the possible angles and ramifications of this outcome.

"If you really care about the future of Clan Weyrloc, you'll hand over the salarian," Shepard demanded. "Now."

"Bah!" the Clanspeaker waved his words off and started pacing zealously. "When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all krogan! The Krogan Rebellions will become the Krogan Empire!"

"_Parley is over," _Shepard called into his radio while the krogan continued his passionate tirade. _"Get ready."_

"The surviving races will frighten their children with tales of what the Blood Pack did to the turians!"

"_We're ready," _Miranda called back.

"The asari will scream as their Citadel plunges into the sun!"

"_Five krogan and four vorcha on an elevated position," _Garrus relayed. _"Only way up is the stairs directly on the right."_

"We will keep the salarians as slaves and eat their eggs as a delicacy!"

"_You might wanna take cover, first,"_ Shepard warned before he drew his pistol and fired once at the rusted gas pipe that was underneath the ranting krogan. "You talk too much."

The speaker took a step back before drawing his shotgun and laughed. "See? The human cannot hit a simple target!" The sound of hissing caught his attention and prompted him to look over the railing.

"_Yeah, that's gonna hurt," _Garrus said as he backed up to the doorway.

Mordin took cover behind a thick column and prayed it was enough to handle the blast. _Been praying a lot lately._

Shepard fired again before diving behind another column. The bullet struck the pipe again, creating a spark that ignited a wall of fire on the krogan. The deflagration consumed the walkway, causing the Blood Pack to scream and run as they were lit ablaze.

With the loss of their advantage of the high ground, the rest of the squad ran in and proceed to eliminate the krogan forces. One or two put up a token resistance, mainly by firing wildly at anything that moved, but Shepard's initial attack instantly took away any hope they had to begin with. It all ended when a singularity manifested right between the surviving krogan, drawing them in and mercilessly crushing them.

"_It is done,"_ Samara intoned.

"_Kasumi, Thane; get up there and see if there are any more coming,"_ Shepard ordered.

"_Sure thing, Shep." – "Of course."_

Both ran up the stairs and moved on ahead silently.

"_Everyone okay?"_ Shepard asked. Various answers in the affirmative floated back to him.

"_Think this Weyrloc Guld knows we're here now?"_ Miranda asked.

"_Maybe not. Krogan aren't known for being subtle. He might assume that we're dead from an explosion his men caused,"_ Jacob pointed out.

"_Well, whatever the case, let's move on,"_ Shepard said decisively. _"Kasumi? Thane? What's the word?"_

"_We're coming up to what might be the ICU of the hospital, though it appears to be converted to a laboratory now,"_ answered Thane.

"_No one else here and no one seems to be coming,"_ Kasumi added. _"Well, no one alive. There's another body here, Shep."_

Shepard sighed._ "Great. We're on the way."_

Mordin walked ahead of the squad, noting the blood stains on the floor as he approached the labs. There was little doubt that he was going to find more evidence of experimentation ahead. Red blood stains, he expected, but there were other colors too. Red most likely meant more humans, but the gray meant krogan.

_Experimenting on own kind…_

Again, he wasn't surprised, but his disgust was no less deep. He approached the doors and entered.

Thane was at the other end of the hallway, keeping watch for any patrols. He turned his head slightly to acknowledge the salarian's entry before continuing his vigil for further threats.

Moving deeper into the room, Mordin paused when he saw an active console in one of the rooms. He walked to it and started looking over the data. Over the radio, he barely heard Shepard telling the rest of the team to move on ahead and secure the area. He did see the captain's shadow casted on the wall nearby.

"Anything useful?" Shepard asked out loud and away from the ears of the others.

Mordin didn't answer immediately. The level of detail and organization he was reading was very familiar and completely unexpected. "Genetic sequences. Hormone mutagens still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue." He was actually impressed with the gathered data. "Very thorough."

"Maelon's work then?"

Mordin blinked and considered the possibility before nodding in agreement. "Yes. Most likely. Improbable to think krogan researchers are so diligent in keeping records. Good sign: means Maelon's still alive. Bad sign: Weyrloc forcing him to cure genophage." He continued scrolling. "Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched-earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."

"There **is** something I think you have to see," Shepard said ominously.

Not liking the feeling to dread running down his spine, Mordin followed closely. In the next room over, the subject of the gathered data lay on the bed. The figure was covered, offering some measure of respect. Judging from the size, it was definitely krogan. Mordin picked up the blanket to see who was underneath before placing the blanket back and picking up the nearby datapad. "Dead krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer."

"I thought so as well."

"Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure." Mordin sighed as the guilt mounted once again. "Pointless. Pointless waste of life."

"What was pointless? Her volunteering or the krogan experiments?"

"Both," Mordin answered immediately. "Her mistake forgivable. Theirs not." He remembered how Okeer tried his hand at science, genetics, and cloning, and uncharacteristically sneered. "Krogan 'researchers' ruthless. Risking own clan's women for new data. Disgusting. Shortsighted. Wrong."

"I don't think any of us expected the krogan to sit back and let the genophage continue," Shepard noted. "I know this is cold to say, but for all we know, they've could've been doing this kind of thing for centuries. Certainly long before you and I were born."

"True. Still unpleasant to see," Mordin agreed despondently.

"I'm a little surprised though. You seemed so… distant when confronted with death," Shepard observed before gesturing to body on the bed. "Here, you seem a bit disturbed."

Mordin's head shot up. "What? Why? Because of genophage work? Irrelevant." He shook his head. "No, causative. Never experimented on live krogan. Never killed with medicine. **Her** death not **my** work," he fiercely defended before seeing the standoffish stance Shepard was presenting. He suddenly realized what the Spectre wanted him to see. "Only reaction to it…" he whispered.

Shepard said nothing.

Mordin paced furiously. "Understand: goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically…" He stopped pacing and sighed as he gazed on the figure lying before him. "But still… unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it." He looked back up at his companion. "But I have to."

"Did you come to Tuchanka after your 'work'?" Shepard asked.

"Yearly recon mission," Mordin admitted. "Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person. Need to look. Accept it as necessary. See small picture." He bowed his head. "Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega." He looked back at the covered krogan woman and thought which religion would suit her best. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin," Shepard admitted.

Truth be told, if someone had told him that he would seek spiritual help a few years ago, Mordin would have thought it a joke. A man of science and facts like him looking for answers in religion and faith was preposterous. But now… "Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe."

"So you went looking for answers."

"Explored religions after work completed. Different races. No answers. Many questions."

"Looking to absolve your guilt?"

"Modified genophage great in scope. Scientifically brilliant," Mordin said proudly before frowning as the other side of problem asserted itself. "But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses."

"How do you live with this?"

"Not easy. Sometimes wish I wasn't as intelligent," Mordin confessed. Another emotion he often felt next to guilt was regret. "Choice would have fallen on someone else. Not my problem." It was always a tantalizing thought, but not one he often indulged. 'What ifs' were always pointless to consider.

"Somebody had to do it. Nobody was smart enough," said Shepard.

Mordin nodded. "Fool's wish. Had to be me. Others might have gotten it wrong."

"Or would be unable to live with these kinds of decisions," Shepard pointed out. "But what about you, though? How do you live with it?"

"Wheel of life," Mordin replied. "Popular salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation. Appealing to see life as endless. Fix mistakes in next life. Learn, adapt, improve." He looked up. "Refuse to believe life ends here. Too… wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Cannot end here. Could do so much more." An interesting thought popped into his head. "And what of you? What do you believe?"

Shepard tilted his head at the question. "Me?"

Mordin nodded.

The human fell silent for a moment before answering. "I like to believe that this," he said before gesturing to everything around him. "I mean **all** of this, everything we do, isn't simply some sort of test."

Mordin could see why Shepard could find that appealing. Every choice had a consequence; every choice had meaning, carried weight. That everything he did meant something for better or worse. "Believe life ends here then?"

Shepard shrugged.

"What would you have done?"

"About the genophage?"

Again, Mordin nodded.

Shepard sighed. "This… this is something that needs more than one man to decide, Mordin. I don't see the right or wrong answer here." He swallowed and walked closer. "I see this," he said and pointed at the body, "and I wonder if what you did is right. But I think about what that krogan speaker said earlier, and can't help but be glad you did what you did." He sighed again and crossed his arms. "What's done is done. What I do know is that in the face of tragedy, you'll often see the best **and **worst in people. I see what Clan Weyrloc is doing, and I know they need to be stopped, victims or no. I see Wrex, and I'm glad – I'm proud to see that he not only moved past the genophage, he's helping the krogan race do the same. He's the kind of example that shows the krogan are more than mercs and warlords."

Mordin had yet to personally meet this Urdnot Wrex, but Shepard, Garrus, and Tali all spoke of him fondly. The fact the Urdnot's accepted Grunt and helped them with this mission seemed to suggest that this was a clan that was worth considering. "Yes. What's done is done…"

"Look, this is something, a choice, that isn't easy to see what's right or wrong. Unfortunately, I also know that it's a choice that needed to be made, no matter what," Shepard continued. "Maybe things will be different for the krogan soon, or maybe in a few hundred years, but right now… right now the status quo works. They've lived with the genophage for centuries. They can endure. They're good at that."

Before Mordin could reply, Miranda called them on the radio. _"Shepard? Is everything alright back there?"_

"We're fine, Miranda. We're done here and on the way."

"_Understood. We've located the Urdnot scout, but there seems to be a problem."_

"We're coming." Shepard turned back to Mordin. "When I worked with Kirrahe, I was forced to choose to leave one of my men behind. I made a choice to complete the mission and sacrifice someone to do it. It was the right decision, but I still feel guilty about it. **You** should feel guilty about what you've done. But… for what it's worth, I still think you did the right thing."

**~o~O~o~**

"_What's the problem?"_ Shepard asked once he and Mordin walked within sight.

"_He's refusing to leave," _Miranda answered.

"_Injured?"_

"_Not as far as I can tell."_

While they were talking, Mordin glanced at the room where he guessed the Urdnot scout was at. Two dead krogan bearing the Weyrloc markings were slumped against the walls nearby.

He and Shepard moved into the solitary cell at the end of the hallway. Jacob and Garrus had their weapons pointed at one lone krogan sitting inside as a precaution.

It was sight Mordin had never seen. This particular krogan looked meek, submissive, and compliant. Certainly a first for him.

Shepard glanced into the cell before turning back to Miranda. _"Right. Hostiles?"_

"_There were two sentries, but Thane and Kasumi handled it. Our intrusion is still unnoticed I believe, but Kasumi reported hearing voices and went to check it out. We're maintaining a defensive posture in the meantime."_

Shepard nodded and walked into the cell. Mordin followed closely behind, curious as to what it would take to break a krogan warrior like this.

The scout barely raised his head at them when they entered.

"You alright?" Shepard asked. "You don't look so good."

This time, the krogan looked up, though his eyes were unfocused. "You killed the Weyrloc guards?"

"What did they do to you?" Shepard asked, dodging the question.

"They gave me… things. Injections, mostly. Sometimes gas. Made me sick. Fever, aches. Can't keep food down," the scout coughed out.

Mordin ran his omni-tool over the sick krogan. "Drugs similar to other test subjects. Not likely to yield any results."

"Unless you count death as a result," Shepard pointed out.

"Indeed."

"They're fixing the genophage. I'm making a sacrifice… for all krogan," the scout revealed. "Everything's blurry. Hard to think."

"Can you get him on his feet, Mordin? Stims, maybe?" Shepard asked.

Mordin glanced at the krogan. Something definitely seemed off and it wasn't merely the physical problems.

His suspicions was confirmed when the scout shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay."

"Why the hell do you wanna stay if they're experimenting on you?" Jacob impatiently said.

"They're curing the genophage! They're going to make it all better! They have to keep doing the tests!" the scout feverishly said.

"_Caution, Shepard. Patient unstable, susceptible. Brainwashed,"_ Mordin warned via radio to prevent enraging the krogan.

"In all likelihood, you realize that everything they're doing to you will kill you, right?" Shepard asked to squatting scout.

If possible, the scout looked even more downtrodden than he did before. "This is my fault. I got caught. Wasn't strong enough. This is the best I can do." He averted his eyes in shame. "This is all I can do…"

For a moment, Mordin actually felt pity for him.

"I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I help undo the genophage, then I mattered!"

Shockingly, Shepard scoffed in disgust. "You've got a bruised ego! You got caught and beaten, so you tell yourself that it was for something important!"

"That's not true! I need to stay! They're gonna cure us all!" the krogan shouted back.

Shepard crossed his arms. His stance definitely held an unimpressed or even a condescending feel behind it. "You're not a real krogan. When a real krogan gets knocked down, he gets back up!"

"I did!" the scout protested. "I got back up every time they hit me! So many times…"

Shepard scathingly laughed in response, causing the scout to snarl. "You're lying there right now like a vorcha grubbing in the mud. You going to just lie there, vorcha?"

"Screw you, human!" the scout cursed. A fire was lit in his eyes, something that was absent just moments ago.

It was then, Mordin realized why Shepard was being so caustic. _Using anger and pride to appeal to sense. Clever._

It appeared to be working. The krogan looked like he was ready to froth at the mouth. He struggled to his feet to stand tall in front of them. "Nobody says that to me! Nobody keeps me down!"

"Then what hell are you still doing here? Your commander ordered you to get back to camp and report in! Now!" Shepard barked. "Double time!"

The krogan roared and ran past the squad toward the exit. Mordin had to remind himself about how resilient krogan can be.

Jacob chuckled appreciatively. "Nice work. Reminds me of boot camp."

"There's no pep talk like a military pep talk," Garrus said in agreement.

"_Shep? Kasumi here. We might have a problem."_

"Am I supposed to be surprised?"

"_It looks like the Blood Pack is fortifying themselves. I think they know we're still alive and coming."_

"Maelon?"

"_Basement. Three floors down from your position. I overheard some of them talking… uh oh. Gotta go."_

"_Kasumi?"_

Silence.

"_Damn. Let's move."_

The squad had spread out through the hallways, on guard for any patrolling krogan while waiting for Shepard to arrive. One by one, they regrouped as he moved to a large door. Mordin listened closely, but didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.

"_If the Blood Pack are waiting for us, they're being quiet about it,"_ Garrus said.

"_That may be cause for worry,"_ Samara commented. _"I've never known them to be subtle in their preparations."_

"_Kasumi, do you read?"_ Shepard asked. He was still greeted with silence.

"_Do you think she's okay?"_ Tali asked worriedly.

"_I'm sure she's fine,"_ Jacob answered confidently.

"_She went quiet for a reason," _Miranda said. _"We should exercise caution."_

Shepard and Jacob entered the door first and checked the immediate area before everyone else followed carefully. As Kasumi had said, they were three floors above the basement. The room they were in was expansive. Most likely, it was where the general rooms were for recovering patients. Walkways and stairs lined the walls while bridges covered the empty expanse in the middle. Most of the rooms were converted to sleeping quarters for the Weyrloc Clan. Remnants of the krogan wars were evident here just as much as everywhere else. Rubble blocked some areas, rooms were completely unusable since they were caved in, and several thick wires from the old electrical system dangled from the ceiling.

The nearest set of stairs leading down to the next floor was on the other side of a bridge across the empty void of the room. Shepard led the way again, rifle up and ready.

What disturbed Mordin the most was that Kasumi's warning wasn't readily apparent. He couldn't see any krogan anywhere in the room. However, there was a stillness in the air that felt foreboding, even threatening. Keeping his eyes and ears open, he scanned the room carefully. Seeing nothing above or straight ahead, he walked over to the railing and peered downward. His apprehension was finally justified when he spotted something metallic just underneath the bridge. _"Wait."_

Shepard stopped immediately and held his position.

"_Something attached to bridge. Can't see it clearly from here,"_ Mordin said.

Tali whipped out her omni-tool and started fiddling with it. After a minute, her scan was complete. _"It's a bomb. But… there's something else…"_ She trailed off as she moved her omni-tool away from the bridge and along the ground the squad was standing on. She gasped a moment later.

Her warning coincided with Kasumi's when the thief's frantic voice crackled on the radio.

"_There are explosives under us too!" – "It's a trap! Run!"_

"_Scatter!" _Shepard commanded.

The squad immediately obeyed. Some ran for the other end of the walkway, others back through the doorway.

Mordin turned away from the rail and was about to sprint for the door when the world erupted into pandemonium. A deafening boom threatened to split his head from the sheer volume alone. The sudden disorientation from the flash of light and fire tossed his sense of direction into every direction. The feeling of pressure and force pressing on his chest contrasted with the feeling of weightlessness followed by the sudden vertigo as he tumbled through the air. His mind seemed to slow to a crawl as he tried to understand what happened to him, but his thought processes seized and twisted in differing directions. Panicking, he flailed his arms in everywhere to find purchase; to get a physical handle on his situation. His left hand felt something firm and he grasped it with all his might. His teeth jarred with the sudden change in momentum. His stomach lurched when the feeling of falling was arrested in favor of swinging. Gasping, he looked around and finally forced his brain to comprehend what had happened.

The walkway he was standing on a moment ago was gone. Fire, smoke, and falling rock was all the remained on the third floor. Gunfire and more explosions echoed around the room. His ears were ringing, a symptom that he was caught in a high volume, rapidly expanding pressure of air. The explosion had hurled him off the walkway and he fell. Looking up, he estimated that he fell two stories before he was lucky enough to grab onto something to prevent hitting the ground at what he calculated to be approximately 16.38 meters per second. He was clinging to one of the dangling wires of the old hospital's electrical system and was swinging side to side.

All of a sudden the ancient wire's tenuous grip on the ceiling snapped and the salarian found himself falling again. He hit the ground and felt the air rush out of his lungs only fraction of a second before hitting his head. The world dimmed as darkness danced with the light. His head ached, compounded with the ringing in his ears and the frantic shouting from the radio.

"_They're coming from the left!"_

"_Krogan charging!"_

"_We've been separated! Hurry!"_

"_We're under heavy attack! Need some help!"_

Mordin tried to get to his feet, but he could barely feel his body respond. Suddenly, he felt someone grasp his arm and pull him away from the sounds of gunfire. He felt panic rise up again as he struggled against whoever grabbed him. The figure let go of his arm only to hold him down by the shoulders. Dimly, he could hear a familiar human voice.

"Mordin! It's me! You're alright! Stop struggling!"

The darkness receded a bit, allowing him to see a black mask, with only two dimly glowing blue eyeholes. The rest of the figure was in an equally black skintight suit. He instantly recognized it as Kasumi's lightweight, lightly armored, hardsuit.

"I got you. You're alright," she assured.

Nodding slowly, to prevent his head from hurting more, Mordin forced himself to calm down and take stock of injuries. He took a deep breath to force down his fight/flight instincts. His back burned, but the pain didn't feel sharp. Moving a little, nothing felt numb as well. Quite the contrary, everything felt like it hurt. He reasoned that the chances were likely that he didn't break any bones on from his fall. With Kasumi's assistance, he got up slowly and looked around for his Tempest SMG.

Kasumi held it out to him. "It was nearby."

Thanking her, he took it and looked around. Above them, he saw that the squad had been scattered by the surprise attack. They were above, fighting on two different floors. "Must help."

"Uh… I think we might have problems of our own…" Kasumi said. She drew her own Tempest and pointed it downrange.

Mordin looked to see three krogan were running at them. They ran in different direction when the krogan started shooting.

Hiding behind some rubble, Mordin popped out and fired at the first krogan he could see. Unfortunately, the krogan he was shooting at had the most impressive and powerful looking armor of the three. To make matters worse, a Biotic Barrier manifested to enhance the protection the krogan already had. Mordin ducked down when the krogan open fired with his M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun.

"Tremble and die, offworld scum! I am Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs!"

Atypically, Mordin cursed under his breath and looked to see if anyone could help. Kasumi was tangling with Guld's guards and Shepard and the rest of the squad were fighting the Blood Pack and the Weyrloc Clan one or two floors above, leaving him to fight the clan chief alone; who was armed with a heavy shotgun, possessed biotic talent, and equipped with the most advanced armor than any other krogan he'd ever fought.

_Not favorable odds._

Large chunks of rock from his cover broke off as the Weyrloc Chief used the superior power of his weapon to keep Mordin down as he approached.

Mordin popped out of cover to fire another burst, but got shot for his trouble. His shields protected him, but in a straight-up firefight, he knew he wasn't going to win.

Which is why he was enormously relieved when a storm of debris unexpectedly buried Guld. The Chief obviously didn't expect it and roared in surprise as he disappeared beneath the flood of rock and metal.

Looking up, Mordin saw Shepard was still on the third floor. His biotic aura was just fading, evidence that he was the one that came to his rescue. He turned away and ran out of sight, though the sounds of gunfire increased in intensity soon after.

Leaving his cover, Mordin prepared to help Kasumi when the rubble shifted.

Guld tore his way free, still very much alive and definitely livid. His Barrier flickered, on the verge of failing, but enough to protect him from Shepard's timely rescue. The enraged krogan, now bereft of his shotgun, choose to charge at the salarian instead.

Mordin brought his SMG to bear and opened fire. The Barrier vanished from the hail of bullets, though Guld's armor held up easily.

The speed at which Guld charged at was astonishing. He crossed the distance and rammed Mordin. Picking the professor up, he continued running past a doorway and down a hallway until he slammed his captive up against a wall.

For the second time, Mordin felt the air rush out of his lungs as his STG armor barely managed to protect his ribs and vital organs from shattering on impact. Gasping, he tried to remember how to breathe as Guld pinned him against the wall. The collision forced him to drop his gun as he instinctively grabbed Guld's arms and tried to wrestle his way free.

"I will not be denied!" Guld roared as he used his forearm to slowly crush Mordin's throat. "Clan Weyrloc will conquer the other krogan clans! We will rise above them! Then we will bring down our wrath on the salarians! The turians! Even the asari! No force will be able to stop us this time!"

Choking, Mordin instinctively thrashed against Guld's vice-like grip to breathe in air. Before the world faded completely, he desperately engaged his omni-tool, activated the combat suite and readied his Incinerate Tech in a span of a heartbeat. He raised his arm and slapped his omni-tool into the eyehole of Guld's helmet. The burst of fire at point blank range was enough to break through and the flames flew into the tiny opening.

Guld screamed as the inferno burned at his face from within. He instantly released Mordin in favor of trying to remove his helmet while simultaneously thrashing and flailing to escape the agony he must have been in.

Mordin fell to the ground limply and tried to take in oxygen. He coughed, sputtered, and gulped in air greedily all at the same time. His vision swam, but he forced his mind to focus. Rolling to his feet unsteadily, he saw that Guld was still alive and engaged his omni-tool again.

Guld had successfully removed his helmet. Most of his face was burned away, revealing the charred muscle, tendons, and bone beneath the skin. He was growling menacingly as his remaining eye turned to glare at the salarian.

Taking a chance, Mordin launched an offensive first this time. He ran right at Guld, his omni-tool ready. Guld took a swing, but Mordin ducked under it and rammed his omni-tool into the krogan's torso. Ice spread out from the point of contact. It grew rapidly, encompassing Guld's upper and lower body. His arms and legs froze and became completely immobile. Within seconds, the chief of Clan Weyrloc was imprisoned in ice with only his head still free.

Mordin stepped back and panted as he watched his handiwork.

Guld screamed again, this time in denial as he tried to free himself. "Damn you!" He tried to break free of the ice that held him. "This is all your fault! The genophage is a curse on the krogan! You! You're responsible for the continued death of millions!"

Mordin solemnly nodded. He didn't dare deny it now. "Yes. I am."

"You're a coward! Hiding behind a plague!"

Mordin shrugged. "Bested you, didn't I?"

"We will not stopped! The krogan will rise up and the galaxy will know our depth of our vengeance!"

"If that's what you believe," Mordin replied slowly. He did not want to speak quickly this time. He needed Guld to understand what he was saying.

Guld writhed against his icy shackles. "And you… you're crimes will be known! This attack will not go unpunished!"

Mordin took his helmet off and glared at the chief. "Much like your 'war', no one will know of this. Regret that my actions caused such a reaction, but if my work stops ruthless, heartless, bloodthirsty warlords like you from killing billions more… then it is something I am willing to live with."

"This is not over!"

"You're right. It's not." Mordin understood what Shepard meant now. What he did. Why he did it. And most importantly, what he needed to understand and the consequences he had to live with; all of them, good and bad. Seeing Guld glow biotically, he pulled out a grenade and attached it to Guld's chest before the ice could melt. "Someday, it might end and your people may be better for it, stronger for it. Perhaps even wiser. But **you** won't live to see it." Activating the grenade, Mordin ran down the hall and back to the main room.

The moment he passed through the doorway, he took cover and slipped his helmet on. The blast was substantially louder than Guld's scream, but to Mordin's ears, he felt that Guld's cries were infinitely louder. The hallway collapsed as tons of rubble buried the passageway and the unfortunate victim within. It was unlikely Guld survived this time.

Getting up, he observed his surroundings. The sounds of gunfire had finally tapered off. Kasumi was nowhere to be seen, not that he expected anything less considering her talent in stealth. The two Weyrloc guards were dead nearby, though from his current position, he couldn't tell how they died.

He was about to call out to the others via radio when Shepard's voice chimed in first. _"Is everyone okay? Sound off!"_

"_Garrus here. I'm good. Kasumi's here too."_

"_Jacob here. I'm still breathing."_

"_I'm okay. Thane is with me. He's fine too,"_ Tali reported.

The sounds of gunfire echoed one last time followed by a flare of dark energy. Before anyone could voice their concern, Miranda reported in. _"Miranda here. Jack and I are alright now. Just a few holdouts."_

"_I took care of them,"_ Jack boasted.

"_You mean __**we**__…" _Miranda started to say before she changed her mind. _"Forget it. It's not worth arguing about. Second floor secure."_

Mordin breathed a sigh of relief. _"Mordin here. I'm unharmed. Bottom floor clear of enemy presence."_

"_Where's Samara?"_ Miranda asked when the justicar failed to report in.

"_She's with me,"_ Shepard said. _"She caught the worst of the initial explosion. Broken leg and a concussion. Mordin, need you on the third floor."_

"_On the way."_

**~o~O~o~**

Samara was lucky. The explosives the Weyrloc employed were cheap and hastily placed. Coupled with Kasumi and Tali's warning, most of the squad avoided significant injury.

Mordin mused on his own brand of luck as well considering his fall and subsequent fight with Weyrloc Guld.

Setting the justicar's leg was simple. He applied medi-gel and fashioned a makeshift splint out of anything available. Thankfully, Samara was still conscious and her vitals were strong.

Garrus and Jacob put together a litter to carry her out. Thane volunteered to escort them back to the Tomkah.

Once recovered, the rest of the squad pressed on. There was one locked door at the bottom floor. It was large and reinforced. According to Kasumi, this is where Maelon was being held.

"_Mordin and I will go in and get him. The rest of you stay here and make sure no more Blood Pack show up,"_ ordered Shepard.

"_Understood,"_ Miranda replied.

"_Almost in…"_ Tali informed as she worked on unlocking the door.

Leaving the team to find defensible positions, Mordin waited until Tali unlocked the door before swiftly entering. It opened to reveal a hallway that led even deeper below.

Without waiting for Shepard, Mordin made his way down the hallways and staircases. After a few silent minutes of navigating the twisting turns and unstable stairs, they arrived at yet another door. This one was unlocked.

Inside, Mordin saw the corpses of both krogan and human lying on several beds. As horrifying as the sight was, it was something he expected. What he didn't expect was to see his former pupil working diligently at the other end of the room. He had hoped that Maelon was alive. Evidence continued to suggest so, but to see it brought a sense of relief… However, it was the smaller details that threw Mordin off. "Maelon. Alive. Unharmed. No signs of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand," he mumbled out loud to himself.

Maelon had yet to turn away from the massive holo-monitor he was working on. At Mordin's voice however, he stiffened and stopped working. "For such a 'smart' man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions."

Mordin was floored. Maelon had never spoken like that to him before. Past the disrespectful tone, there was something else in his voice; Disgust, anger, even loathing.

Maelon turned around and sneered. He appeared to be able to see Mordin's flummoxed expression behind the helmet and took great pleasure in outwitting his former teacher. "How long will it take you to admit that I'm here because I wish to be here?"

"He wasn't kidnapped," Shepard suddenly said. "He came here voluntarily to cure the genophage."

Mordin blinked as the theories finally started fitting the facts. The problem was that the theory was one he'd never even considered. He tore off his helmet to look his pupil in the eye to confirm it.

Maelon's expression said it all.

"Impossible! Whole team agreed! Project necessary!" Mordin shouted in denial.

"And how was I supposed to disagree with the 'great' Doctor Solus?" Maelon retorted. "I was **your** student! I looked up to you!"

Mordin looked around again. The bodies that surrounded them. The bodies upstairs… "Experiments performed here! Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions! Your doing? !" he asked heatedly and stabbing an accusing finger at him.

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor!" Maelon shouted. "If it takes a bit more to put things right, I can deal with that!"

"Do you honestly thing the experiments you've done here are justified?" Shepard growled.

"We committed cultural genocide! Nothing I do will ever be justified!" Maelon said before pointing at Mordin. "The experiments are monstrous… because I was taught to be a monster!"

"Never taught you this, Maelon," Mordin said in disgusted tone of his own. "Never condoned anything like this."

"So **your** hands are clean!" Maelon replied mockingly. "What does it matter if the ground is stained with the blood of millions! You taught me that the end justified the means!"

"Taught you to govern actions and consequences with ethics! Certain lines should **never** be crossed no matter the outcome!" argued Mordin.

"I will undo what we did, Professor. The only way I know how," said Maelon.

"You talk about killing, but the genophage isn't lethal. It only affects fertility rates," Shepard argued.

"Krogan fight over fertile females. They become mercenaries or pirates because they see no other alternative!" Maelon countered. "They would be thriving in a cultural renaissance now had we not decided that this is what they deserved!"

"You can't be serious," Shepard said in total disbelief. "They almost killed themselves in nuclear winter if it wasn't for the salarians. Then, they sacked other planets when the Rachni Wars ended. Billions of lives were lost."

"Agreed," Mordin said. "Your analysis is inaccurate. Krogan population resulted in war. Simulations were clear!"

"You're curing the genophage without regard to the consequences," Shepard accused. "You cure them and what? Let them expand? All those deaths will be on your head. Millions, even billions of lives because of you."

"We justified this atrocity by saying the krogan would cause havoc if their population recovered," Maelon shot back. "But look at the galaxy! Batarian attacks in the Traverse, geth attacks on the Citadel. Is this a more peaceful universe?"

"Your solution equally violent. Weyrloc Guld admitted the first thing his clan would do was wage war. Further conflict unavoidable!" Mordin yelled.

"You wish to play god, Professor," Maelon spat. "We failed. We only made things worse… and I'm going to fix it!"

"With Clan Weyrloc?" Mordin asked scathingly.

"They're the only clan with both the resources and the commitment," Maelon replied. "I approached the Urdnot, but Wrex is too soft. He wasn't willing to do the experiments I needed. It's Urdnot's loss and Weyrloc's gain. Their clan will be the first to recover from the crime we committed."

_Unaware of Guld's plans. Most likely would kill Maelon once cure is administered. _Mordin looked at his student with a mixture of fury, pity, and most of all, disappointment. It almost looked as if Maelon had stepped across the fine line between genius and madness, and had fully given himself over to the latter.

"We're shutting you down, Maelon," Shepard said with finality.

"Shutting down more than that," Mordin added ominously.

Maelon reached behind pulled out an M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon and pointed the weapon at them wildly. "You can't face the truth, can you?" he asked with a hint of demented vanity, as if he was better than Mordin now. "Can't admit that your brilliant mind led you to commit an atrocity."

Shepard took a menacing step forward, uncaring of the pistol Maelon held.

The distraught salarian shifted his aim and attention on the human, giving Mordin all the time he need to close the distance and throw his weight into a wicked right hook.

Maelon cried out and dropped the gun. He staggered back from the blow and passed right through the holo-monitor and bumped into the servers behind.

In a flash, Mordin brought his own Hand Cannon to bear and pressed the barrel directly underneath Maelon's jaw. "Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals." He stared right into Maelon's eyes and recognized the feverish gleam of obsession. "Won't change. No choice. Have to kill you."

"Mordin!"

Just moments before he pulled the trigger, Shepard's shout gave him pause. He turned his head slightly to keep Maelon in his field of vision while acknowledging Shepard's command.

"You're not a murderer, Mordin. Is this what you really want to do?" Shepard asked. "He needs to be brought to justice. We have him now. Killing him in cold blood won't help you."

Mordin considered Shepard's words carefully. He looked to see Maelon's face change from arrogance to cowardice. Shepard was right. This wasn't him. To kill in combat was one thing, but to execute his own student… he wasn't going fall as low as him. "No. Not a murderer." He backed away and holstered his weapon. "Thank you, Shepard."

Maelon let out the breath he was holding and wiped away the sweat that accumulated on his brow.

"Finished, Maelon. No Weyrloc left. Project over," said Mordin.

"What…?" Maelon asked in a whisper. His earlier haughty attitude was gone, replaced by a pitiful expression. He looked like a man whose world was shattered around him. "Wait! Where am I supposed to go, Professor? !"

"Don't care," Mordin quickly replied. He discretely reached into one of his pouches.

"The krogan didn't deserve what we did them, Professor! The genophage needs to end!"

"Not like this."

Maelon snarled and actually spat at Mordin's feet. He turned away, intending to run, but before he could get two steps, Mordin quickly reached out and pressed the syringe into the back of Maelon's neck.

The sedative took effect immediately. Maelon had only enough time to turn around and look at Mordin with an expression of surprise before collapsing on the ground.

"What are you going to do with him?" Shepard asked.

"Kirrahe nearby. He and his team are on standby in Krogan space. Will turn Maelon over to them," Mordin answered as he regarded the unconscious figure on the ground. "Will need to debrief as well. Inform of Maelon's work. Have STG lock his unit and cut access to old data."

"Any chance that he'll leak the story about the modified genophage project?"

"Special Tasks Group good at covering tracks. No proof will remain." Mordin sighed and turned to face the holo-monitor. Despite his personal reservations about **how** Maelon was researching for a cure, he still found himself impressed with the level of work done single-handedly. All the data, charts, numbers, and information were neatly catalogued. Everything seemed like it was on the right track for a genuine cure. "Apologies, Captain. Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake." He paused to take a breath. "Thank you."

"How are you doing?"

"Conflicted. Should kill him. Wanted to. Easier than listening," Mordin confessed. He started looking through Maelon's research. "Perhaps easier for him too. Experiments indicate how far he's fallen. Expected it from krogan. Not one of mine. Don't know if it's his failing… or mine."

"Something to think about when you're discussing the ethics of the genophage, then?"

Mordin nodded solemnly. "Yes. So many variables. Stress responses. Impossible to truly predict. Something to think about indeed."

"So what now?"

"Maelon's research. Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security," Mordin answered before looking at the other side of the argument. "Still valuable, though."

"If you think it could be useful, why not hang on to it?"

"Useful, yes. Dangerous as well. Could cure genophage. But effects on krogan. Effects on galaxy." There no way to predict the outcome. Krogan like Guld proved that the genophage was necessary. But Mordin trusted Shepard, and Shepard trusted Urdnot Wrex. If that was the case, it was krogan like Wrex that didn't deserve the genophage. "Too many variables. Too many variables!"

"Why don't we just keep the data, then? Better to have it and not need it. We can destroy it later if it ever comes down to it," Shepard suggested.

It was a neutral choice, but a simplistically elegant one. Mordin almost slapped his head to try to rid himself of his idiocy. There was no reason to consider curing the krogan now. They're enduring, as they always have. In the future, it was something to think about, but for now, the status quo worked. He had to remind himself of the human expression, Occam's Razor: _pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate_. "Point taken, Shepard. Capturing data, wiping local copy." He looked over the data one last time before destroying everything on Maelon's workstation. "Still years away from cure. But closer than starting from scratch."

"Are we going to leave Maelon here for Kirrahe to collect?"

"No. I'm staying. Will contact Kirrahe for pickup. STG vessel Veshok-16 will collect us. Debrief. Ensure that Maelon is not executed. Imprisoned, but not executed. Will rendezvous with Normandy later." After finishing with the research, Mordin stood up straighter and sighed. "Ready to be off Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

Shepard nodded and left quietly. Using Maelon's computer, he established a secure channel to Kirrahe's ship.

"_Professor Solus. We've been waiting for your call,"_ Kirrahe said.

"Mission successful. Maelon retrieved."

"_Alive?"_

"Yes."

"_And the secrecy of the project? Has it been compromised?"_

"Krogan clan involved has been silenced. Secrecy maintained."

"_Very good. We'll arrange pickup for Maelon and medical attention…"_

"Maelon here by choice. Not kidnapped. Unharmed."

"_What?"_

"Situation complicated. Further work to be done."

Kirrahe looked annoyed at the need for secrecy. _"You miserable cloaca. Fine, we're coming in shortly. One hour."_

"Threats have been neutralized. Can wait."

"_You and Shepard actually wiped out an entire krogan clan?"_

"Yes."

Kirrahe almost smiled. _"You're still a cloaca, but you're definitely one tough cloaca."_

Mordin did smile however. "Sentiments returned."

"_Stand by. We're making our approach to Tuchanka now."_

Before Kirrahe cut the transmission, Mordin casually asked, "Did you remove cranium from cloaca yet?"

**~o~O~o~**

Borrowed a line from **House, M.D.** I really couldn't resist.

The line "Somebody had to do it. Nobody was smart enough" was from a motivational poster about Mordin by **AntiChri5** of the Bioware forums.

Trying to write out the ethical dilemma would certainly the hardest thing I've had to write to date. Even romance was easier. I had to make a fine balance of guilt, but not emo, regret, but not depression. Also, I really disliked the dialogue here in regards to Shepard. It seemed to me that the Paragon/Renegade choices were a little too over the top. Paragon came off as preachy and heavy handed, while Renegade was a step removed from total genocide. I had to see that Shepard wasn't in either camp, but as lost and as indecisive as Mordin because of the lack of information he had.

Because of the difficulty I had writing this, I would really like to hear what you have to say. If it's plausible, I'll modify the chapter and give credit where it's due.

_**Edit:**_ Added a few things. Credit goes to **BiowareFan**.


	34. Interlude XII

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Normandy SR-2, in Orbit Above Tuchanka**_

Because of Samara's injuries, the drive back was a little slower, but they managed to arrive in late in the evening. Regretfully, Shepard had to return the Tomkah to the Urdnot Clan, much to the relief of the others. He decided to seek out Wrex while Jacob and Garrus carried Samara to the shuttle.

Despite his desire to talk to Wrex, his efforts were rebuffed. The krogan were much more talkative now, or at the very least, less wary and more hospitable. Killing the thresher maw obviously got him some respect. According to the various krogan he spoke to, Wrex was involved in a 'diplomatic' situation. The moment the name 'Weyrloc' was mentioned, Shepard chose to go back to the Normandy quietly with the rest of the squad and try again tomorrow morning.

Upon his return, he saw to it that Samara was given immediate treatment. As much as Chakwas wanted to conduct his physical, without Mordin to offer another set of hands, he wanted to wait until Samara was fine and let the good doctor work.

Retreating to his cabin, he took off his armor and had just put on his uniform when the door beeped. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Miranda called.

"Come in."

She entered hesitantly, but overcame whatever reservations she had when Shepard waved her in encouragingly. "I wanted to talk."

"Yeah, sure," he readily said. He sat down on the couch and gestured for her to sit down as well.

After making herself comfortable, she turned and faced him with a worried look. "Before we went groundside, Dr. Chakwas wanted to talk to you."

He nodded. "She wanted to know about my biotics."

Miranda's brow furrowed. "What about?"

"She thinks there might be problem with the level of power I have."

She blinked as she processed what that statement meant before cursing under her breath. "Of course. I've only been looking at how quickly you've been learning new techniques that I overlooked the power you've been displaying…"

"Chakwas also thinks that this might be a side-effect of the Lazarus Project."

Her head shot up at that. "Really?"

He shrugged. "That's what she told me. I don't know anything more. She didn't want to worry me until she ran her tests."

Shepard could see the gears turning in Miranda's head. She abruptly stood up and started pacing. Occasionally, she'd voice a few of her thoughts aloud, but it was too low for him to make out or too complicated for him to understand. Eventually, she stopped pacing, but her worried look returned as she gazed at him again.

"What?" he asked.

"I… I need to talk to Dr. Chakwas. If it's about the Lazarus Project, I might be able offer more input," Miranda quickly said.

Before she could take more than two steps toward the door, Shepard shot up and grasped her hand. "Wait. What are you thinking? What's Dr. Chakwas thinking?"

Miranda paused and turned to face him. Her grip tightened in his hand. "I… I have a few ideas, but until I know for sure, it's all speculation."

He didn't let go. "So speculate."

"I'd really rather not."

"So that means all the scenarios you're thinking of aren't anything good, then."

He raised an eyebrow when she didn't say anything more. Instead, she shifted her hand so that her fingers interlaced with his own and squeezed reassuringly. With her other hand, she reached up cupped his cheek gently before pulling him into a warm kiss. Shepard reciprocated the action without resistance.

Later, he'd admit that it was certainly an effective and insidious way to silence and distract him.

Before anything more could be done, she broke off only take a breath, kissed him tenderly one last time and swiftly walked back to the elevator. "I'll let you know about everything we learn," she promised. As the elevators doors closed, she sent him a genuine smile that eased some of his reservations.

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "EDI, give Miranda full access to my cabin from now on."

"Granting Executive Lawson full access to your quarters, Captain," EDI replied.

Shaking his head in exasperation, he called Kelly to have his dinner brought to his cabin while he went over the day's logs and reports. _Women…_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, STG vessel Veshok-16**_

"I'm surprised at your recommendation, Professor. He's a security risk."

"Feels guilt over what we done."

"He **is** guilty. What he did could be considered treason."

"Project difficult. Ethically ambiguous."

"Are you defending him, or yourself?"

"You still have cranium up cloaca, then."

Kirrahe narrowed his eyes. "This project was necessary."

Mordin nodded. "Agreed."

"Then what's the problem?" Kirrahe asked irritably. "We were told to do a job. We did the job. Now we have someone, a traitor, that wants to undo all work and sacrifices we made. I lost two operatives for this and I will not let their losses be in vain."

Mordin shrugged. "My student, my problem. Will take responsibility."

Kirrahe shook his head. "And you're still a stubborn cloaca. Fine. Since you're the one responsible for the success of the project, I suppose that will give your word some weight. Since you and Shepard saw fit to spare him, I'll recommend that Maelon will be imprisoned, rather than executed."

"Thank you. Appreciate it," said Mordin. "Arrange shuttle transport to Normandy, then?"

Kirrahe held up his hand. "Before you leave, there's something STG R&D developed. I thought you might give it a proper field test, since you're helping Shepard. Knowing the missions he's assigned, you'll probably need it."

Mordin's curiosity was piqued. He obligingly followed the STG commander through the decks toward the lab.

"By the way, we've been monitoring the krogan response to your attack. Seems like Weyrloc wasn't liked by the other clans. As it stands, Urdnot Wrex has strengthened his own clan because of this. With the bulk of their warriors killed, the Weyrloc's have lost their military might on Tuchanka and are surrendering. The Urdnot's are taking in all of Weyrloc's resources and the surviving population, mostly women and children," briefed Kirrahe.

"Ah, intelligent. Surprising from krogan. Glad to hear," Mordin said.

"I thought so too, but it seems that Wrex has increasingly progressive ideas. Apparently, his time with Shepard was well spent."

Mordin couldn't help but agree, having felt his burden lighter than it ever was thanks to the human.

They finally reached the lab. Inside were a few science officers, but no one he recognized.

Kirrahe stopped at a terminal and started typing in his passwords, entering his biometrics into various scanners, and voice authorizations. The holo-monitor finally relinquished its data and transferred it directly to him. He turned around and accessed his omni-tool.

Mordin activated his own omni-tool and received whatever Kirrahe was offering. He looked over the data and felt suitably impressed. "Interesting. Non-lethal attack. Disrupt neural pathways. Can cause confusion, paralysis, or even render target unconscious."

"R&D is calling it 'Neural Shock'. It's done well in lab testing and limited field tests, but it's not battle tested yet. Figure you might be able to do something if there's anything lacking."

"Not an engineer. Biologist. Chemist. Dabble a little in physics. Weapons development not my forte," said Mordin.

Kirrahe gestured to him to follow as they made their way to the docking bay and secure a shuttle to get Mordin back to the Normandy. "Whatever you can do then. Besides, this tech is supposed to attack living targets anyway and living things **are** your specialty, right?" Kirrahe said.

"Inaccurate generalization," argued Mordin.

Kirrahe shrugged in response. "You know, some would argue that as a doctor, combat isn't really a specialty of yours either, but a dead krogan with a pitchfork stuck in his face would say differently."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Krogan DMZ Cluster, Aralakh System, Tuchanka, Urdnot Clan Camp**_

"Shepard."

"Wrex."

Wrex gestured for him to come in. The Shaman and Grunt were present. "What can I do for you, my friend?"

"You look like you're having a good morning. So how's everything? I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."

Wrex laughed heartily. "I'm about to think that you're good luck for me or something, Shepard. After your attack on Clan Weyrloc, they got desperate. Since they're facing a sudden shortage on combat ready troops, they're looking for protection."

"Your clan?" Shepard guessed.

"On the condition that any that want to join my clan must abandon the Weyrloc name and adopt Urdnot. Most of the women and children readily accepted." Wrex triumphantly grinned. "They bring gifts, mostly food and weapons, but I'm not one to refuse. My power and respect practically grew overnight from this."

"Glad to see that everything is going your way," Shepard said before turning to Grunt. "You doing alright?"

Grunt sketched a respectful bow. "Battlemaster, I have kin and clan. So long as I earn my strength against your enemies, I'm ready to follow you anywhere."

"Spoken like a true Urdnot warrior," the Shaman commented approvingly. There was something about his demeanor that seemed different to Shepard's eyes. It looked like he was both respectful and disapproving towards the Spectre.

"Your visit is paying off more than I can imagine," Wrex commented. "So what brings you back here? After taking out a thresher and a krogan clan, can't imagine there's anything left for you to do."

"As much as I'd like to stay, I'm here to see if Grunt was ready to leave. We have a few places I need to go to."

Grunt nodded and eagerly stepped to Shepard's flank.

"Can you spare a few minutes?" Wrex asked. "There's a few things I'd like to talk about."

"I can do that. We've really hadn't had a chance to talk since I got here," said Shepard.

"Why don't you wait at the shuttle, boy? We'll be back soon."

Grunt bowed his head to Wrex and marched to the docking bay. The Shaman nodded respectfully to Shepard and Wrex before taking his leave.

Shepard walked with Wrex toward a part of the Urdnot camp he hadn't been to. Where they were going, Wrex didn't say. "So… it sounds like you're making big changes for the krogan."

"We are making a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Fertile females can be shared among clans. We will strengthen the race as a whole." Wrex turned his head to better look him in the eye. "It's what you showed me on Virmire, Shepard. We're not just saving krogan. We're saving who we are."

"And what do the women of Clan Urdnot think about this plan?"

Wrex gave out a rumbling laugh. "It was our female clan leader's idea. The neutral ground is safe and it encourages more female clans to ally with us."

"Like Weyrloc."

"Exactly. Since they're vulnerable, they sought our protection. Attacks on Urdnot now endanger the females of all clans. Even clans that want to see me dead will defend Clan Urdnot."

Shepard smirked. "So you're holding all the cards then."

"You know me, Shepard; Always looking for the advantage."

"You said, 'female clan leader'. Does that mean your women have their own clan structure?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing is more valuable than a fertile female," Wrex explained. "We know it. They know it. They isolate themselves for their own protection. We work together to set up breeding alliances." He chuckled to himself. "I can hardly do anything without Clan Leader Uta's approval."

"Behind every great krogan, there's a fertile female telling him what to do," Shepard said in a sagely voice.

Wrex chuckled again.

They passed by a group of krogan wearing another clan's markings.

"How do you maintain order and security with so many different clans in one place?" Shepard asked.

"Any clan willing to send in hostages can come in. No fighting inside the camp. Each clan punishes its own criminals."

"Hostages?"

"You might call them ambassadors, someone to represent a clan and be responsible for any of their clan's actions. More often than not, they're the best warrior a clan can send. If something happens, that hostage might live long enough for help to arrive. That's the idea anyway."

"And if something happens?"

Wrex shrugged. "We stop conflicts before anyone dies. Then we present a simple choice: Pay a fine and deal with your problems or your clan is no longer welcome."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. "That sounds like something most other species would do. No offense, but by krogan standards, it's sounds pretty tame."

"Allies from other clans like what I'm doing. They help deal with the skeptics. Many are eager for an outlet." Wrex smiled viciously. "Every time I've declared a clan unwelcome, my allies have destroyed them. Word gets around."

_There we go. That's what I was expecting._

"Take Weyrloc for instance. I knew their time was coming. Hell, I knew you'd tear your way through them without any real problems. Every clan is different. Different customs, Rites of Passages, battle songs, all unique. That diversity makes us great, but no clan, not even mine, was meant to survive on its own. That was Weyrloc's mistake. No allies to help them when you cut a swath through their ranks."

"A day in the life on Tuchanka."

Wrex smirked. "Tuchanka isn't safe and homey, like Feros and Ilos."

"They were just a walk in park for you then?"

His smirk grew bigger.

"I gotta to say, this is definitely one of the most massive undertakings I've heard about," Shepard commented approvingly.

"It needs to be done. We keep going how we are, the clans will end up as craters under nuclear haze. Even Urdnot. We need to rethink. Restart."

"Ambitious," said Shepard. He looked around the empty hallway they were walking down to make sure there were no prying ears. "How's it gone so far?"

"Better than I'd feared, worse than I'd hoped," Wrex admitted. "I've got a few clans, but too many are turning their backs on us entirely."

"I've met a few."

"And they paid the price," Wrex said. "Traditionalists like Uvenk are chained varren. Always fighting, guarding their pathetic stick in the ground."

"Like Jarrod?" Shepard pointedly asked, recalling Wrex's father and tale of betrayal.

Wrex glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "I quit before. I was young, naïve, and stupid. Not this time, not after what I've learned from you. When the smoke clears, I can plant the flag on their corpses and rally the rest around a new krogan hub."

"It sounds like you're counting on a lot more bloodshed, even after you unite."

"Even after you stomped through Uvenk and Guld, they're always someone else willing to fight. It will be slow, but I won't change what we are."

"Warriors," Shepard knowingly said.

"Krogan are judged by the strength of our enemies. Our worst insult is to say someone's 'not worth killing'."

The words clicked something in Shepard's memory. "Okeer said that about the genophage. Instead of a krogan horde, he wanted one perfect soldier."

"Further proof of Okeer's madness. There is no such thing as a perfect warrior. Grunt is strong. Under your guidance, I'm sure he'll be one of our best, but he can die like anyone else."

"True enough."

Wrex finally stopped at a metal door. Pushing hard, the door screeched open and he stepped inside.

Shepard followed closely. "So where are we?"

"My quarters."

Shepard looked around. In truth, the room hardly looked any different from any other part of the repurposed military base he had seen thus far. If Wrex hadn't told him that this was his quarters, Shepard would've thought it was just another broken, dusty room. Something that resembled a chair, table, bed was situated in the corner, though it was hard to tell since everything was made up of rock and stone. He knew better than to voice his thoughts out loud though. "Nice place."

"It works," Wrex simply said.

"So why am I here?"

He ambled over to a nondescript wall. "Got a present for you." He touched a section of the wall. Seams suddenly appeared and a large section moved forward slightly. He gripped the edge and pulled, creating a grinding sound that told Shepard how heavy the slab was.

The hidden door fully opened to reveal a modern looking armory.

"Wow," Shepard said. And he meant it. Powerful looking weapons were carefully placed on racks within the recess. In the middle, seated in a place of honor, was Wrex's family armor that he helped his old friend retrieve two years ago.

"My personal collection," Wrex proudly said. He reached out and grabbed a large, blocky, yellow-colored, heavy weapon. What was worrying Shepard the most wasn't the size or the reverence of how Wrex was handling the weapon…

It was the radioactive trefoil sign stamped on the side.

"What. Is. That?" Shepard asked warily.

"Something the salarians created long ago for the krogan to help combat the rachni. They only made a hundred of these before they destroyed the plans and all knowledge of how to make more. Most of them were destroyed following the Krogan Rebellions, though a few were smuggled and kept safe," Wrex explained quietly. "Last I heard, there were five left that were still working. I have two."

Shepard eyed the weapon cautiously. "Okay…"

"Gotta be careful who I show this to," Wrex said. "Can't afford to lose it to the wrong hands, even if I wanted to send it somewhere to get it reverse-engineered and make more. Too dangerous. Either it'll be used against me, or it gets taken away and destroyed."

"Good point."

"The official name is complicated. Since the salarians named it, I'm not surprised. M-920 something or other. The krogan shortened the name to 'Cain'."

Shepard wondered if the salarians or the krogan had any idea how much that name meant to human religions. He felt his eyes get drawn toward the trefoil again.

Wrex noticed where Shepard was staring. "Heh. Don't worry. It's just a design the krogan asked for when they saw what this beauty did."

"Does it mean what I think it means?"

"Yes and no. The other name the Cain had been given is the 'Nuke Launcher'," Wrex explained. "Not that it shoots nukes or anything, but the visuals are something to appreciate."

"Visuals?"

"It's a high-explosive round," he said before grinning. "**Really** high-explosive. Boom so big, it makes a mushroom cloud at impact." He patted the weapon affectionally. "The explosion and mass destruction of a miniature nuke without the fuss of radiation."

Shepard whistled, clearly impressed. "Whoa."

Wrex heaved a sigh before holding it out toward him.

Shepard took it carefully and studied the weapon in detail. "You're giving this to me?"

"Lending, Shepard," Wrex corrected quickly. "I want it back."

_I knew it._ "Are you sure about this? It obviously means a lot to you and you said that there aren't many left."

"Grunt regaled us with stories about your mission. Horizon, that ship that almost killed you…" Wrex revealed before grinning. "Sounds like fun."

"That's… one way to describe it."

Wrex crossed his arms. "So. Why haven't you asked me?"

Shepard tilted his head in confusion before understanding dawned on him. "Because I know what your answer will be, but I'll ask anyway. Can you come with me? Blow some stuff up? It'll be like old times."

Wrex chortled appreciatively. "I want to, Shepard. I really do. But you showed me what I needed to do." He snorted derisively. "And I have to keep these short-sighted fools in line."

"I kinda figured that. Without you, I think the clans fall back to what they were."

"Pretty much."

Shepard held the weapon respectfully. "I promise to take good care of it and bring it back once my mission is done." He attached the Cain to his weapon's harness on his back. Thankfully, he had decided that since this was a social call, only his assault rifle and shotgun were needed. Jacob was the only one at the shuttle as backup, plus Hawthorne and Goldstein.

"Good." Wrex reached up and pulled down the other Cain and handed it to Shepard as well. "This is for Grunt."

Again, Shepard took the weapon carefully and cradled it in his arms. "Thank you," he said earnestly.

Wrex nodded and clapped a hand on Shepard shoulder. "They have about five shots at minimum power. Two shots at full power. **Don't** ever use them in close quarters. You'd definitely die. There's a 10 second charge before it shoots, so watch out for incoming enemy fire when you're trying to use it."

Shepard nodded. In combat, 10 seconds was everything. It made all the difference in the world in a fast paced firefight. "I'll keep that in mind."

"The blast radius is about 10 meters on low power, 30 on high. Watch yourself."

Looking down at the Cain, Shepard nodded.

"Well, come on, then. We all got work to do." Wrex closed his armory and led the way out, presumable back to the main room. "I gotta tell you, Shepard, I'm really tempted to go with you. This mission of yours sounds… interesting." He sighed regretfully.

"I wish you could come too, but what you're doing is important."

"I know." He turned his head to look Shepard in the eye. "About that salarian you rescued…"

"Yeah?"

"That wouldn't be the salarian that was trying to cure the genophage?"

Shepard nodded without hesitation.

Wrex nodded. "Huh. Thought you might lie to me about it."

"To you? Never."

"Was there really something about a cure? An actual one?" Wrex asked intently.

"Yes, but according to my science officer, any real results are years away and that's only if he chooses to put all his focus on it. That salarian we were looking for, Maelon, he doesn't have what it takes to really do it," Shepard confessed honestly. "Few do really."

"That salarian approached me. Mentioned something about a cure. He wanted to do experiments though. It was tempting, but after seeing what happened on Virmire, I turned him down. Thought it might be one way to honor your memory."

Once again, Shepard found himself extremely flattered that another member of his old squad would hold him in such high regard. "Thank you. The experiments that Guld performed…"

"I knew there was a reason you took out him, his clan and his warriors."

Both men talked about trivial matters after that on the walk back. The differences between the krogan clans, the Collectors, the old days, whatever came to mind, really. In no time at all, they were in the main room.

Wrex moved past his dais and continued to personally escort Shepard toward the shuttle bay. Shepard silently acknowledged the gesture as testament to their friendship.

At the Kodiak, Jacob was leaning against the hull. Grunt was standing nearby, straight and tall.

The way Grunt was standing surprised Shepard a little. He would've thought that his krogan squad mate would be impatiently waiting to get going, pacing or something. Instead, he held himself much like how Wrex did back on the first Normandy two years ago: disciplined, proud, and imposing.

Approaching the young krogan, Shepard handed him the Cain and quickly told him everything Wrex explained earlier. Under Wrex's eyes, Grunt took the heavy weapon with the same care and respect Shepard did.

"Hmph. I think you'll do alright without me," Wrex said as he watched Grunt carefully holster his newest armament and boarded the shuttle. "Still, you might've noticed the Shaman acting a bit different toward you. Grunt might be the key to help unite the clans and now we hear he's part of a suicide mission."

"Does this mean…?"

Wrex waved him off. "You're his battlemaster. You'll teach him everything he needs to know. We're not doing him any favors by coddling him. If he survives your mission, he'll be stronger for it."

Shepard held out his hand. "Good luck with everything, Wrex. I'm behind you every step of the way."

Wrex smiled and shook his hand. "Hunt well, Shepard. You better live through this mission of yours too. I wanna hear all about it."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel**_

"Professor Solus is aboard the Normandy, Captain," informed EDI once Shepard stepped off the shuttle.

"That's everyone then. Tell Miranda to set course for the Citadel."

"Of course, Captain. Logging you out."

Grunt walked with both humans to the armory, insisting that he would take his Cain there personally. The Cerberus Operative gave his sincerest assurances that he would exercise the utmost care, and caution, when handling their newest weapons.

Satisfied that everything was underway, Shepard trekked to his cabin and put his armor away. Just as he was about to get lunch and meet with Dr. Chakwas, EDI chimed in again.

"Captain, I am informing you that Chief Zorah has completed all her tasks regarding the main cannon. All weapon systems are now online. Gunnery Chief Vakarian has also been informed of this development and is currently in the process of calibrating our new armament. Chief Zorah wishes to speak with you down in Engineering."

"Thanks, EDI. Tell her I'm on my way now."

"Of course, Captain. Logging you out."

Going down to Deck 4, Shepard spotted Tali at her station. She appeared completely absorbed with the holo-monitor in front of her that she didn't even turn at his presence.

Gabby spotted him however and greeted him. "Hey, Captain. We finally finished with the upgrades. Our new main gun is up and running!"

Tali jerked at her station and turned around. "Oh! Shepard! I wanted to tell you that the Thanix Cannon is now online. I asked Garrus to begin calibrations already."

"That's great news, Tali. I knew we could count on you and your team," Shepard praised.

Tali beamed. "Thanks, but the reason I asked you down here was to schedule live fire tests for the main gun to make sure everything is working properly."

"Might not be for a while. We're heading for the Citadel. Should be there in a few hours, so there's not a lot of places where we can fire this beast."

She cocked her head at the news. "Why are we going to the Citadel?"

Shepard forced his face to become impassive. He detested the need to lie to her, but he held his friendship with Garrus in equal esteem. "We're going to handle a bit of business."

"What kind?"

"It's personal."

"For you?" she asked worriedly.

"No, not me; not exactly…"

She crossed her arms and waited impatiently for more answers when he trailed off.

Sighing, he habitually rubbed the back of his neck. "It's for Garrus."

"What's wrong with him?"

He shook his head. "I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

She made a sound of frustration. "He's my friend too! I should know if something is bothering him!"

"Then you need to talk to him if you want the details. It's personal and I don't want to talk about his affairs like it was gossip or something."

She glared a little bit longer before resigning to his logic and relaxed a bit. "There's nothing you can tell me?"

"I'm not saying anything more."

She sighed and nodded. "I'll talk to him. Better this way probably. I need to coordinate our efforts to make sure the Thanix Cannon is ready. I'll ask after that. Just tell me: How personal is it?"

"Extremely."

Now her body language suggested worry again. "How come he didn't tell me?"

He shook his head. "He barely told me. I had to force it out of him."

"Maybe I shouldn't try to bring it up in casual conversation then…"

"Good idea."

She laughed lightly, though it sounded a trifle bit forced. "I thought we might've been going to the Citadel because of the results of your examination."

"I haven't met with Dr. Chakwas yet. I'm heading to the Med Bay soon," Shepard said. "Look, I'm flattered you're worried about me, Tali, but I'm fine. It's just a check-up, that's all."

She nodded quickly. "Right. Well… let's get to Deck 3, then. We have some business to attend to."

As they rode the elevator up, she turned to him and beneath her faceplate, her eyes crinkled, signifying that she was smiling. "I'm sorry about prying like that. Loyalty matters. To me, to Garrus… I didn't mean to put you in that position."

The doors opened and Shepard held out an arm, gesturing to let her leave first. "I didn't want to lie to you. Maybe you might be able to help him more than me."

"I'll try my best."

They parted ways at the Common Area; Tali to the Main Battery where Garrus was calibrating the new gun and Shepard to the Med Bay on the Starboard side.

When he reached the doors though, they were firmly locked. He pressed the holographic interface to announce his presence, but after a minute, Dr. Chakwas still didn't answer. He moved to the side to see what was going on, but the windows were opaque, preventing any indication as to what was going on.

"EDI, what's Chakwas doing in there?"

"She is discussing several important matters with Executive Lawson."

He had the sneaking suspicion that the subject was about him. "What 'important matters'?"

"Executive Lawson has requested that their meeting be kept private and that you return later. Do you wish to countermand that order?"

It was tempting, it really was, but he trusted her. Trusted both women inside, actually. He could wait a bit before looking for answers. However, he could feel his trepidation growing. "Okay… just let them know that I'll be with Mordin if they ask, okay?"

"Understood, Captain. Logging you out."

**~o~O~o~**

Garrus continued to punch commands and numbers into the console. The Thanix Cannon was proving difficult to manage, making his efforts all the more harder.

_No wonder it doesn't work. What the hell is wrong with this system?_

He was so preoccupied that he didn't know he was being watched. He was muttering to himself and occasionally cursing at the station in front of him. "Where the hell are the instructions? Why the hell didn't I ask her for the damn instructions…?"

Tali cleared her throat. "Um… Garrus?"

The turian stopped venting at his terminal and turned around. "Oh. Sorry about that Tali. These calibrations… It's like I have to spend every waking moment making sure they're accurate or we'll never hit our target. I'll have to consider living in this room just to make this work."

She giggled. "I'll see what I can do to make it better for you," she assured.

"Appreciate it."

Taking a deep breath, she appeared to steel herself for something before speaking again. "Do you know why we're going to the Citadel?"

He decided to feign ignorance. "No. Do you?"

She looked unconvinced at his answer. "I spoke to Shepard."

Garrus felt a rise of anger at his human friend at that moment. "What did he tell you?"

She crossed her arms and positioned herself in the middle of the doorway, as if to use her own body to prevent him from leaving. "To talk to you. Something's bothering you. Especially if you want to lie to my face after everything we've been though. I took a bullet for you. Several times if you recall."

He turned away from her. "Personal business."

"What kind?"

"My own."

"Not good enough."

Garrus growled and started typing on his console again, punching the interface with more force than what was necessary. "It's all you're going to get."

"What happened to you? What's going on?" Tali asked. She marched up and grabbed his arm and forced him to face her. "Talk to me."

He inwardly cursed her tenaciousness. He knew she'd never drop the issue with that stubborn streak in her. Resigning to the fact that with her intelligence, she'd figure it out eventually. He leaned against the console and crossed his arms.

He started at the beginning with his desire to do more than be a C-Sec detective again, especially with the Council disavowing all information about the Reapers, the sudden rise in crime following the attack, the extra red tape preventing him to stop the perpetrators, and his disgust with the lack of freedom he experienced working with Shepard.

He moved on to how he quit C-Sec and his fight with his father about his decision; how it almost came to blows. His choice to go to Omega to try to root out criminals there, no longer chained by rules, regulations, and restrictions. He talked about his squad that followed him, 10 brave men and women that wanted to help make a difference. About Sidonis, his betrayal and the death of his team. Finally, he ended his tale with his fight for survival against three of the biggest mercenary groups operating in the Terminus and how they trapped him only to be saved at the last possible moment by Shepard.

Through it all, Tali asked only a few questions. His decision to leave C-Sec, why go to Omega, general inquiries about his squad, what he did to 'clean up' Omega, etc.

When he finally finished, she shook her head in amazement. "You've been busy."

"So have you," he pointed out. He shifted on the crate he was sitting on. Tali appeared confortable on her own crate. They'd sat down about halfway when his story had extended far more than what he expected. He did feel better after talking about everything and he knew they were only a few hours away from the mass relay and the jump to the Citadel. And from there…

"Point taken. So this Sidonis… he's hiding on the Citadel?" she asked.

"Liara gave me the information. I'll ask around and try to find this Fade. From there, I make sure he doesn't tip Sidonis off."

She nodded, but then started wringing her hands nervously. "And what happens when you do find him?"

Garrus stood up and marched back to his terminal and slammed his hands down on it. "He's a traitor. There's only one kind of punishment that's reserved for his kind," he growled out.

"You're going to kill him?" she asked, horrified by the thought.

"It's no less than what he deserves."

She stood up as well and moved until she was in arm's reach. He stubbornly kept his back to her, unwilling to meet her eyes.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do? Maybe you should—"

"I know what you're going to say. I've heard it all from Shepard." Whirling around to face her, he closed the distance between them until he was close enough to see his reflection in her faceplate and glared into her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure this is what I want to do. Yes, I'm willing to live with it. No, I'm not changing my mind."

To her credit, she didn't flinch or back away during his tirade. "Maybe you should honor the memory of your team with something that doesn't involve killing someone else."

His patience had finally reached its limit. "I lost my entire squad! What the hell do you know about it? !"

Just as fast as the words had left his mouth, he regretted it instantly. Tali's concerned demeanor changed into something sub-zero. Ice had nothing on the aura of frostiness she was radiating.

Some small part of him knew what was coming, but even then, nothing could prepare him for what happened next.

Tali raised her right hand and slapped him soundly across his face. Had he been a lesser man, the blow would have knocked him off his feet. As it stood, his head snapped to the side and he staggered a step back.

"Don't you **dare** tell me that I don't know **anything** about loss," she snarled. It was a tone of voice he had never heard from the normally cheerful young woman. "Did you forget about Haestrom? When I had a squad of marines **sacrifice** themselves just for me? Do you think I don't know their names? Their actions? Their courage? Don't you **dare** dishonor their memories by telling me that I don't know about loss. I remember them **every day**."

Despite the fact that he stood a good foot over the smaller woman, at this moment, it felt like she was towering over him. "Tali…" Garrus tried to apologize, tried to say something, anything, to make amends.

She wouldn't hear any of it, even if he could find the words. Spinning on her heel, she stomped out of the main battery. She stopped just at the threshold of the doorway and turned her head at him. Despite the dark tint of her helmet, he could see the arctic glare she leveled at him. "You know, I think you never did survive your stint on Omega. I think Sidonis **did** kill you. Because the Garrus I knew would never be a **murderer**. Right now, all I see is a criminal, no different from any other 'criminal' you've hunted. Go ahead and tell yourself whatever the hell you want to justify your actions. Maybe you might actually learn to believe your lies someday."

With those biting words, she left without a second glance.

**~o~O~o~**

"Of course, Doctor. Hopefully, it's not as bad as we think, but I **do** share your concerns. As much as it pains me to admit, your fears do have an element of truth behind them."

"Thank you for explaining the details of the Lazarus Project to me. I know all about 'classified' and 'top secret'. Believe me, I won't tell a soul," Chakwas replied with a tired smile.

"Should we call for him?" Miranda asked.

Chakwas shook her head. "Not just yet. I know someone on the Citadel I wish to get in touch with first. From there, I think we might be able to get ahold of some equipment that will give us an accurate reading. We'll know if our concerns are unfounded or not. I'd also like to invite Dr. Solus for a consult."

"Very well. I'll speak to the both of you later, then?"

"Yes. Thank you again."

"Thank you, too, Doctor." Miranda nodded once more to her and left the Med Bay. On the way to her office, she was nearly bowled over by an irate quarian.

"Damn it! Get out the way, you bosh'tet!" Tali screamed before continuing to the elevator.

Confused at the hostile behavior, Miranda watched as the Chief Engineer stomped out of sight, before walking back to her own room. On the way through the Common Area, she looked down the hallway, past the sleeper pods, and at the Main Battery room. Garrus was standing there. He noticed her stare, as well as stares from the various crewmen that were loitering nearby. He abruptly closed and locked the doors.

Now completely perplexed at the strange actions from the two people who are, for all intents and purposes, friends, Miranda entered her office and sat down behind her table. She rubbed her head and tried to wrap her head around yet another mystery. She was no stranger to the field of psychology, though it wasn't really a subject that held her interest for too long. It came in handy when trying to understand the mindset of the people around her and right now, it was obvious that something serious had occurred between them.

Considering Garrus' darker personality that he hid using jokes and quips and comparing it to Tali's cheerful demeanor that helped her cope with the pressures of finding ways to help the Migrant Fleet, it was plausible that Garrus was probably the instigator of their spat. Tali had apparently tried, and failed, to help him, resulting in her own outburst of anger.

Know that this rift could only get worse before it got better, she knew there was only one man that could help. "EDI, where's Shepard?"

"He is in the Lab. Currently, he is conversing with Dr. Solus."

"Thank you, EDI."

"Of course, Executive Lawson. Logging you out."

Opening a channel to the lab, Miranda said, "Shepard? If you have a moment, I'd like to see you in my office. There's something rather pressing that I need to talk to you about."

**~o~O~o~**

"Hey, Mordin," Shepard greeted.

Mordin looked up from whatever he was doing and smiled. "Shepard. Good to see you."

Looking at the salarian, Shepard couldn't tell how he was doing. It looked like he wasn't bothered at all with what happened yesterday with his former student. "How are you?"

"Doing well. Thank you for asking. Still hard to believe Maelon betrayed me. Betrayed our work. Disgusted by his actions." He sniffed and looked thoughtful. "Proud of his nerve, though. Always thought he lacked backbone. Believed I mentioned that."

"You did," Shepard mumbled. He was slightly put off by the cheerfulness Mordin was exhibiting and had to regain his bearings.

"Sorry to have to imprison him. Brilliant mind, such a waste. Should've had better goal, better purpose. Too late, I suppose." He took a breath and smiled again. "Kirrahe sends his gratitude and regards, by the way."

"Thanks," Shepard replied. "Um… you're really at peace with happened?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes. Of course. Can't change what happened. Still feel guilt, but life continues. Back to mission, back to work. Become like Maelon otherwise," he answered before rooting around his table for something or other. Before Shepard could get another word in, he continued talking in his usual quick manner. "Salarian emotional processing faster than other species. Has to be. Short-lived culture. Can't spend time reminiscing."

"Is this why you're, uh, you're acting like… you?" Shepard asked, halting a bit as he tried to keep up with Mordin's thought processes.

"Yes, correct. Now, at least. Greatly distressed at the time, of course. Stages of grief. Loss, denial, anger, rationalization." He finally looked up from his work. "Dealt with it. Most issues settled on Tuchanka. Some on shuttle to Veshok-16. Finished after speaking with Kirrahe."

"But… what about Maelon? He didn't seem like he processed his emotional response. He was obsessed with the genophange," Shepard pointed out.

"True," Mordin agreed. "Didn't mean to imply that salarians were healthier emotionally. Can still make wrong choices, bad decisions from grief, anger, guilt. Maelon couldn't accept feelings, made decision, executed. Probably before I left for Omega." He paused looked lost in his memories. "Wish I'd seen it. Had objections during mission. Stricken from record." He shook his head and returned to the present. "Salarians still feel, just resolve it quickly. Explains lack of marriage. Can't sustain courtship emotions. Or perhaps based on reproduction. Unsure."

"Okay…" Shepard mumbled. Abandoning his attempts to keep up with Mordin, he looked around the lab. "What about Maelon's data? His attempt at a cure?"

"What about it?" Mordin distractedly replied as he returned to his work. He jerked his thumb to the cluttered table behind him. "Have it over there somewhere. Not dealing with it now. Need to focus on Collectors. Not important now, regardless." He stopped typing at his terminal and looked up before bowing his head to convey his gratitude. "Appreciate you helping me back on Tuchanka. In more way than one." He returned to his terminal again. "Should get back to work. Wasted enough time already. Lots to do. Talk later?"

Shepard laughed lightly and was about to say his goodbyes when Miranda's voice chimed in.

"_Shepard? If you have a moment, I'd like to see you in my office. There's something rather pressing that I need to talk to you about."_

_Probably about that physical._

"When you're right, Mordin…" Shepard said before turning toward the doors. "Talk to you later."

Quickly making his way down a deck, he entered Miranda's office and stopped in front of her table. She got up and picked a seat right next to him, gesturing that he sit down as well.

"So what's up? Time for that check-up?" he asked as he sat down.

She shook her head. "Not yet. Soon. Dr. Chakwas wanted to contact someone on the Citadel. We'll do a preliminary physical first. If our fea—concerns have merit, we'll need more specialized equipment. Dr. Chakwas assures me that she has someone we can talk to."

"So why am I here instead of the Med Bay?" he asked curiously. His eyes wandered toward the bed when he remembered the last time they were alone in her office.

She noticed where his eyes were looking at and smiled. "Not exactly why I called you down here, though we really should find the time soon," she suggested before becoming serious again. "Actually, it's about Tali and Garrus."

Shepard groaned. "Ah, hell."

"You know something?"

"I might. What happened?"

"Tali was in the Main Battery with Garrus and she left rather irate. Nearly ran me over on the way to the lift. Garrus sealed himself in the Main Battery." She leaned back in her seat. "What happened?"

"It's personal problem I'm helping Garrus with. Tali wanted to know and probably help him out, but he's being stubborn. I guess her attempt went south," Shepard explained before standing up. "I'll talk to them."

Miranda nodded. "It'll be better from you anyway."

"Thanks for telling me," he said before leaving.

"Good luck," she called out.

Down in Engineering again, it wasn't hard to find Tali. She was muttering angrily at the Tantalus Core terminal. The words "bosh'tet", "stubborn", "idiot", and "Garrus", were used often. Gabby and Ken wisely kept quiet and stayed out of her way.

"Tali?"

She stiffened at his call, but didn't turn around.

"Didn't go so well, I take it?"

It was a poor attempt at a joke, and he knew it. Poor and tasteless, but it did garner a reaction. Tali whirled around and jabbed an accusing finger into his chest.

"You knew! You knew what happened! You knew what he was planned to do! **You** **knew!**"

"I told you, I practically had to force it out of him. Pulling teeth would've been easier," Shepard replied.

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me! No, what I can't believe is that you're going to **help** him!" Tali screeched. "So what? You're just going to stroll right in, flash your Spectre privileges and let him commit cold-blooded murder? !"

"I **am** trying to help him. He's never going to let this go, Tali. He won't. He **can't.**"

"And this is your idea of helping him? !"

Shepard heaved a frustrated sigh. "I didn't know a single soul on his squad, Tali. What I do know is that he almost threw all of that away, their deaths, their memories, their work together, just to help me. If I order him to stand down and walk away, to just ignore Sidonis and move on, I know he'll do it. He won't like it, but he'll do it. What I can't stand is the fact that it'll eat away at him. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't try to help him get past this?"

"You really think helping him kill Sidonis is going to help him?" Tali asked disbelievingly.

"Not a lick. That's what I'm trying to show him. What I'm really trying to do for him. Every step we're taking means we're getting closer to Sidonis, but I'm hoping that we won't get that far. This isn't something we can force. This is something that only he can do now. As his friends, we can only help him the best we can, not make his decisions for him," said Shepard.

Tali audibly sighed and leaned against the console. "I don't like what this is doing to him, Shepard."

"None of us do." He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "But if it happened to you, wouldn't you want to do something?"

She turned her head away and said nothing.

"We'll take this one step at a time, okay? I'll talk to him again and see if you helped him any," Shepard offered.

"I don't think I did anything to help, but I really hope I'm wrong," she whispered.

Giving her one more reassuring squeeze, Shepard nodded. "Me too."

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard's search for his wayward friend was turning out to be an exercise. The Main Battery was empty. None of the crewmen he had questioned had seen Garrus walking out of the room. He asked EDI where he was, but for once, the AI had no answer and promised that the moment Garrus popped up on her sensors, she'd inform him immediately.

Unable to sit idly by and wait for the report, he trekked to the Armory, thinking that his turian friend might be working on his weapons. Instead, all he saw was Jacob at his station, fixing up Miranda's Pulse Rifle and listening to some upbeat music he didn't recognize.

"Shepard," Jacob greeted when he entered.

"Hey, Jacob. You seen Garrus?"

Jacob lowered the volume. "Naw. It's been quiet. Maybe a little too quiet. That's why I got some music on."

"Bored?"

"No, just…" he started to say before shaking his head. "Forget it."

"What?"

"I saw the door open, but no one came in. Put it off as my imagination or maybe Kasumi pulling a prank on me or something, since she was here a while ago," Jacob admitted.

Before Shepard could comment, EDI's avatar popped up on the pedestal. "Captain, I've located Mr. Vakarian. He is currently in the hangar."

"Thanks, EDI."

"I should also warn you that he is conducting live fire practice as well with his M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle. I've taken the liberty of evacuating all crewmen currently inside the hangar for their safety."

"What?" Jacob asked in shock. He looked at the table where Garrus' armaments were laid out and cursed. "His rifle is gone. Must've used his damn cloak to sneak around."

"Shit," Shepard eloquently said. Without even giving Jacob another glance, much less a goodbye, he turned on his heels and sprinted to the elevator and to the hangar.

He could hear Garrus before the elevator doors opened. The crack of his sniper rifle was easy to hear. Pushing past the doors before they even fully opened, Shepard saw the crewmen that were loitered about near the doorway to the stairs. They were pressed up against the windows and talking amongst themselves and watching Garrus with great interest.

Looking through a window himself, Shepard saw that Garrus did have his rifle and was shooting at something downrange. From his angle though, he couldn't see anything more. "Make a lane!" he ordered to the gawking crew.

At his command, they parted like the Red Sea, allowing him to freely get to the hangar.

Down below, Shepard saw that Garrus was kneeling behind a crate. His rifle was propped up on top and used to steady his aim.

Looking down the length of the hangar, Shepard saw a few cans of food were placed randomly at varying locations, distances, and heights. The contents of the cans were splattered all over the far end of the hangar.

Garrus squeezed the trigger again and a can of soup exploded.

"Garrus!" Shepard barked.

The turian pulled his finger away from the trigger and rested it on the trigger guard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shepard asked, keeping his voice even and reigning in his temper.

"Target practice," Garrus answered belligerently.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it."

Garrus turned his head and met Shepard's eyes. He looked like he almost wanted to give another glib answer, but Shepard's glare made him reconsider. "I… I… Shit, I don't know."

"Give me the rifle."

Sighing, Garrus stood up, collapsed his weapon and handed it over.

Once the sniper rifle was in his possession, Shepard waved at the windows to allow the crew back in. "I heard you talked with Tali."

Garrus glowered. "You didn't 'hear' anything. That implies that you didn't know from the start. You told her to talk to me."

"Excellent deduction, 'Detective'," Shepard said sarcastically.

His expression darkening even more, Garrus stomped past Shepard and toward the elevator. Not one to quit, the human fell in step next to him.

"So is there a reason you needed to turn my hangar into a shooting range?"

Garrus punched the button for the elevator and entered when the doors opened.

Shepard quickly followed. When he didn't answer his question, the Spectre pushed the emergency stop button and halted their ascension. "Well?"

"You're a stubborn asshole, you know that?" Garrus growled out. He pushed the button to release the elevator and they continued upward.

"EDI, lockdown the elevator," Shepard ordered without turning his eyes away from his friend.

"Initiating lockdown, Captain."

Again, the elevator stopped moving.

Garrus growled again and started punching the button, but this time, the elevator remained unmoving.

"Not nearly as stubborn or as childish as you," Shepard retorted.

An enraged expression crossed Garrus' face just for a split second before he cycled through a multitude of emotions: shame, anger, impatience, all before finally settling on despondence. Still, he didn't say anything. Yet.

Shepard patiently waited. He simply stared him down.

Eventually, Garrus turned his head away, unable to make eye contact. "You're good at his," he muttered.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, but didn't look away.

"I… I said something to Tali. Something stupid," he confessed quietly.

"What?"

"I… I said that she didn't know anything about losing anyone," he said before slamming his fist on the side of the elevator. "So stupid. After everything we'd seen on Haestrom…"

"So why not apologize instead of shooting up my hangar?" Shepard asked.

Garrus snorted. "Because she doesn't want me to kill Sidonis. Anything I say won't mean anything."

Shepard sighed. "I agree with her, but you're the one that has a personal stake in this, so I suppose it's not my place to tell you what you can and can't do. You're a big boy; you can make your own decisions."

"Gee, thanks, 'dad'."

"EDI, relinquish control of the lift," Shepard ordered.

"Unlocking the elevator."

Shepard pushed the button for Deck 4. Once the doors opened, he pointed out to the windows and the mess in the hangar. "You did it, you clean it. The other crewmen will help."

"Sorry about that, Shepard," Garrus said before stepping off. "I just kept seeing Sidonis' face over and over again…"

Shepard nodded and set his destination to Deck 1 so he could drop off the rifle.

Before the door closed, Garrus put his hand between the doors and forced them open. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me too. I know you don't like it and I know you didn't have to do this, so I mean it when I say: I'm sorry. For everything."

"Me too, Garrus. Me too."

**~o~O~o~**

There were very few times in his life when he felt as if the floor opened up and swallowed him whole. Truly, such events were still in the single digits, but when Thane looked through his bookmarks on the extranet, he felt the blood drain out of his face and another wound open on his soul.

Often, he received messages hidden within innocuous sites, detailing contracts, names, and general information. With his perfect recall, memorizing the encryption key to decipher the messages was child's play.

And what he read now was something he never expected.

"_T. K left Kahje. Located at Citadel. Reports claim that he got your 'package'. Possibly looking for contracts of his own. May have found out about your 'business'. He's lost, disconnected. Needs guidance. Needs you. Find him. Goddess be with you both."_

_Kolyat…_

It was his greatest regret, even more so than murdering, torturing really, all of Irikah's killers. He regretted abandoning the one thing he and his late wife produced together. The only living reminder of Irikah.

_And now he seeks to be a killer._

His son was often in his prayers, but at the same time, he tried not to remember him. He had very few pleasant memories of their time together and too many memories of despair, a dangerous emotion when he lapsed in his solipsism.

To hear that he became a hit man now… was he following in his father's footsteps? Was he seeking revenge of his own?

Thane felt lost, confused. The only time he felt as such was when news of Irikah's death reached his ears. He had no direction, no purpose… not until her body was given to the deep and anger seized control and forced him into his battle sleep. After that, his rage and pain dictated his actions, and he allowed it.

This would not help Koylat though. For all his strengths, he had no idea what to do.

"_All hands, this is the bridge. We're approaching the Citadel,"_ Hawthorne reported. _"Captain, you're wanted at the CIC."_

_Shepard!_

The human had long since proven that he was a man of many talents and many skills, both on the battlefield and off. Most importantly, he was a man of sound judgment. If there anyone he would trust the life of his son to, it was Shepard.

Shutting off his terminal, he got up and swiftly made his way to the elevator. On the way out of the Life Support Plant where he made his quarters, he almost collided into Kasumi. Fortunately, both were nimble enough to side-step each other.

"Whoops. Sorry, Thane. I was coming into your room to ask if you wanted to spar a bit before we hit the Citadel," said Kasumi.

"My apologies as well, Miss… I mean, Kasumi," Thane replied, correcting himself when he remembered that the bubbly young woman preferred to be informal. "Something rather important has just occurred and demands my attention."

"S'okay. Sounds like Shep is busy and Samara is injured… Maybe I'll ask Jacob or Miranda if they got some free time," Kasumi mused to herself more than to Thane.

"Perhaps," he said quickly. He gave a short bow before moving on.

Up in the CIC, he stepped off the elevator and waited for Shepard to finish with his business. Currently, the Captain was at the galaxy map speaking with Citadel Control to get clearance to land.

"_Understood, Agent Shepard. You wish to dock at Zakera Ward, correct?"_

"That's right."

"_Clearance granted. Transmitting vectors and a berth. Welcome to the Citadel, Normandy."_

"Glad to be back."

When Shepard finally stepped away from the galaxy maps, Thane cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Hey, Thane. Something up?" Shepard asked.

"I'm afraid so," Thane replied. "Is there someplace we can talk?"

"Sure. This way." Shepard led him to the Armory. Inside, Jacob was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Mr. Taylor?" Thane asked when he noticed the Armory Chief was absent.

"Lunch. We can talk here."

Thane nodded and took a breath. He tried to explain the situation, but nothing came to mind as to where to begin. He scoffed lightly to himself.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Shepard.

"Yes. Now that I'm confronted with the issue—it seems more difficult to talk about."

Shepard leaned against one of the tables and crossed his arms as he waited patiently for him to speak again. "I've got a bit of time. Take it at your own pace."

_Time. The one thing I can feel slipping through my fingers. _

"Thank you," Thane said gratefully, but firmly. "But I fear I've already done that for too long."

_The more I waste, the less time I have to save Kolyat…_

Thane turned away and walked to the table the held his weapons. Jacob, as per his norm, stacked them neatly, and in pristine working condition. He traced his fingers over his M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle. He knew where to begin now. "I had a family, once," he confessed. "I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him for a very long time."

Shepard walked up and stood next to him. "Did something happen to them?"

"I abandon them," Thane simply said, the admission cutting a deep wound in his heart. He realized that his answer could be misinterpreted and hastily added, "Oh, not all at once. Nothing dramatic. No sneaking out in the middle of the night. No final argument or slammed door. I just… did my job. I hunted and killed across the galaxy. 'Away on business,' my wife would tell people." He scoffed to himself again, this time in regret. "I was always away on 'business'."

"How long has it been since you talked?"

"Ten years," he whispered. He discounted the time when they were truly together; when Irikah was given to the deep. He had fallen into his battle sleep at the moment and did not speak to his son, even when he was crying and begging for him to stop the hanar. No, the time he was recalling was the one true happy moment just before the events leading to Irikah's death. "He showed me some of his schoolwork and asked if we could dance crazy. We did that when he was younger."

"What sort of dance was that?" Shepard asked, appearing completely intrigued with Thane's past.

"It's— / _I check my extranet contacts. I expect an update on my next target. The console plays music. Old. Unfashionable. Kolyat jumps into the room. 'Hi, father!' Runs around in circles. I scoop him up. Toss him into the air. He shrieks, laughs. 'Spin me!' The console beeps. I put him down. Click the message. 'Father,' he pleads. Tugs my sleeve. 'I need to read this,' I say. I don't look at him. I don't look at him. / "_

Shepard accepted his solipsism as an adequate explanation. "You never mentioned this before. Something happen?"

"When my wife departed from her body, I… attended to that issue," Thane said. He saw the look in Shepard face and knew the human had suspicions as to what he did. Maybe even guessed his story. He pushed on. "I left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles. I have not seem him or talked to him since."

Shepard looked surprised. "That's not the choice I expected. Why didn't you raise him yourself?"

"My body is blessed with the skills to take life. The hanar honed them in me. I have few others." He decided to leave out the part where he knew he was recruited to Shepard's mission because of that steadfast dedication to his craft. He looked down at his assortment of weapons again. "I didn't want that life for Kolyat. I hoped he would find his own way. If he hated me, so be it. He would not have shared the path of sin."

"I thought you said that you were a weapon that your employer uses," Shepard reminded. "What the body and soul does are two different things."

"True, but as you can see, mine is still a lonely and difficult life. To fall into battle sleep means to miss on the world around you. In my case, the loss of my family. This is not the life I want for Kolyat."

"So something happened to your son?"

"Not long after our mission on the Collector vessel, I used my contacts and inquired about Kolyat. I finally got back with an answer. He has become… disconnected. He does what his body wills."

Shepard cocked his head to the side. "You'll have to explain that one to me."

"Disconnected. The body is not our true self. The soul is. Body and soul work as one in a Whole Person. When the soul weakened by despair or fear – when the body is ill or injured, the individual is disconnected. No longer Whole," Thane explained patiently.

"Okay… so what's wrong with your son? Does this mean he's hurt or what?"

"Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been, what I've done," Thane said. A sense of shame welled up in his chest. "I don't know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. He may have taken a job as a hit man." He looked Shepard in the eyes. "I would like your help to stop him. He is – This is not a path he should walk."

"Why the Citadel? It's crawling with C-Sec."

"Years ago, I prepared a package for him. A relic of my ill-spent life. I had volus bankers store it and arranged for delivery when I died. He acquired it early. I don't really know how. I did wet work on the Citadel around the time his mother died."

Again, Shepard appeared to have thoughts on the matter when he mentioned Irikah's death, but stayed silent.

"That may be why he went there," Thane finished.

"You don't hire a raw rookie for a contract killing," Shepard pointed out.

Thane had already considered the possibility. "I'm afraid someone may have seen we share a name and assumed we share skills." He shook his head in frustration. "I don't why he would accept the task."

"To be closer to you, maybe?" Shepard suggested.

"That thought haunts me more than any other," Thane said.

"Okay. I see the problem now, but I don't have your contacts or your tracking skills. Why do you need my help for this?"

"I don't **need** your help, I **want** it," Thane corrected. "The last time I saw my son— _/They wrapped her body in sea-vines. Weighted it with stones. He tries to pull from me. Calls for her. The hanar lift her off the platform. They sing like bells. 'The Fire has gone, to be kindled anew.' He begs them not to take her away. They let her body slide into the water. He hits me. 'Don't let them! Stop them! Why weren't you-?' It rains. It always rains on Kahje. Warm water pours down his face. / " _He could vividly remember that moment, like any other, but it was the emotions that struck him the hardest. He took a moment to compose himself.

"I'm didn't mean to make you relive that," Shepard apologized.

"Perfect memory. It is sometimes a burden."

"We'll be at the Citadel shortly. I'll do everything I can to help you," Shepard promised.

Thane bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you, Shepard. You have no idea what this means to me."

"If you care about your son, Thane, it means everything."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

"_I'm sorry, sir. Doctor Chandana is not responding."_

The Illusive Man's face remained neutral, almost unnaturally so. His glowing eyes seemed to be the only sign of his displeasure.

The aid visibly swallowed. _"We'll keep trying to reestablish contact. I'll inform you immediately once we have something."_

"Do so."

"_Yes, sir!"_

The moment he ended the transmission was when he allowed a frown to cross his features. He took one last puff from his cigarette before snuffing it out a little harder than necessary. Taking a drink from the tumbler in his other hand, he took a breath and reined in his irritation. A man in his position could not afford to lose control. He prided himself on maintaining his discipline and cool, aloof façade regardless of the situation. Even the momentary loss of control with something as small as how he put out his cigarette was beneath him.

_Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. The trick is finding out how to unmask it._

Finishing his drink, he typed in several commands and leaned back in his chair, his control firmly back in place.

Another screen appeared, once secure communications was established. A beautiful, but stern visage was seen. _"Sir,"_ Captain Dawn acknowledged with a sharp salute.

The Illusive Man nodded in return. "Captain Dawn. I want you and the Gravitas to investigate a cell for me."

"_One of ours?"_

"A science team was dispatched to study an ancient technological find. The cell leader was under strict orders to relay daily reports to me, but he has since missed two such meetings. I want you to find out why."

"_Parameters?"_

"Extreme long-range reconnaissance. The site is considered dangerous and valuable. I want you to find out everything you possibly can. Depending on your reports, I'll decide what the next course of action is from there."

"_Understood, sir."_

"I'm transmitting the location to you now."

Dawn looked away from the monitor to review the information she received. _"Sir, according to our latest reports, there is an Alliance patrol is due in our sector soon. I'm afraid that in order to remain undetected, we'll need to circumnavigate them. This will delay our estimated arrival."_

"I understand, Captain. Just get there as soon as possible," the Illusive Man said calmly.

"_Yes, sir."_

"Remember, Captain. Daily reports. And exercise extreme caution, for you, your ship, and your crew. I don't whatever happened to that team to happen to the Gravitas as well."

"_Yes, sir. I'll get back to you in three days with my report. Gravitas, out."_ She snapped off a salute and the transmission ended.

Finishing his drink, the Illusive Man opened Chandana's earlier reports and reviewed each frame, word, and motion with a critical eye.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Well, this is another very original chapter. I'm actually a bit proud how this came out.

Hope everyone liked how I introduced the Cain. If Cerberus scientists made the Cain, then it should have been on the Normandy already. And while Mordin is a genius, the Cain seems more like an Engineering feat than a biological one.

Besides, I wanted to expand on the friendship Wrex had with Shepard.

Reviewer **Swordsman of Shadow** suggested something that I've been bouncing around for a while. In the end, I've decided to put it to vote. I've tried to avoid using Shepard's origin/psychological background so I don't alienate some readers. To that end, I've also avoided using Shepard's default name "John" (My Shepard is called Aramas, so I know what it might mean to make things different). I put up a new poll to hear your thoughts. Should I begin using Shepard's given name (John) or not?

Please review!


	35. Correspondence V

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Leslie**_

_**Subject: Thank You**_

I am Leslie. I was on Aeia. The food made me sick. The doctors are helping me now.

One doctor knows Jacob. He says he can you tell this. He could write this for me, but I want to do it. I need to use my words.

My words are coming back. I can talk well. Reading is hard but I am getting better. I have to get better. Taylor wanted me like this. He wanted my words gone. I have to show him that he lost. I am not weak. He did things to me, and he can't now. He can't take away my words. He can't make me not me anymore. Because you and Jacob stopped him.

Thank you,

Leslie

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Leslie**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: Thank You**_

Hello, Leslie,

I'm glad to hear that you're getting better, and in more ways than one. What the toxins have done to you was tragic, but what Ronald Taylor did to you was atrocious.

It gives me hope to know that you're stronger than all of that. While there is no doubt that the time on Aeia has left its mark, you have the will to move past it.

I have the utmost admiration and respect for that strength.

My sincerest well-wishes for your continuing recovery,

Captain John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Jacob Taylor**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Fwd: Thank You**_

Don't know if you got a message from Leslie, but she wanted to thank us for saving her life on Aeia.

And yes, she mentioned both of us, by name. She's doing better now, so there's hope for the others as well.

I know you said that your father's actions wouldn't affect your duties, but I thought it'd be nice to hear what **you've** done and not him.

Shepard.

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Shaman Urdnot**_

_**Subject: To Grunt's Battlemaster**_

Damn it, I hate these things. But you need to hear this.

You're part of Grunt's krannt, and you're his leader. So keep him alive. Here, I have to stay polite, play the role. But our people are dying. Krogan have always valued survival over tradition. If we're going to survive as a people, we need your vat-grown Grunt. Okeer was a madman, but he was a madman with a plan, and that's more than most have on this ball of rock.

So bring him back from your damn mission. My people need him. And if you all get killed, I'll piss on your graves.

Shaman Urdnot

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Shaman Urdnot**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: To Grunt's Battlemaster**_

I'll do what I can to keep him alive, but he can take care of himself, because he's that damn strong. Also, Wrex told me to turn him into a warrior, not a vorcha. He'll earn his keep because he wants to prove himself now, even more than what his Rite had proven.

I'll bring him back from my mission, and he'll be one of your best. I guarantee it.

Shepard.

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Jacob Taylor**_

_**Subject: Re: Fwd: Thank You**_

Thanks for the heads up, Shepard. I actually got another message from her.

I'd like to thank you again for helping me out with this. What Ronald Taylor did was nothing less than criminal. It was our duty to stop it. I'm just glad we had that chance.

I knew this ride would be wild, but damn. You know how to get things done, even for us, and I gotta respect that. I've never served with a CO as committed as you and for that, I'm glad to be a part of this team.

Jacob

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Shepard**_

_**From: Toombs**_

_**Subject: What the hell?**_

What the hell kind of game are you playing, Shepard? You did the buddy act when I had the gun on that Cerberus scientist, telling me you understood. Now I find out that you're working for Cerberus?

Tests were done on me that you can't even imagine. For years. Cerberus did them. They tortured me. They used me as a damn lab rat. And now you're teaming up with them like they're any other merc band?

I've got my own merc team now, Shepard. And I kill any Cerberus team I can find. If I run into you, don't expect any different.

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Toombs**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Re: What the hell?**_

No games, Corporal.

I'm in the middle of a war and I need resources to fight this war. Cerberus is giving me those resources. That's it.

Even as I type this, I'm traveling with another woman that was once a part of Cerberus' experiments as well. She despises them even more than you, but she's working **with** me, not with Cerberus.

If you want to fight Cerberus, I'm not stopping you. After what they've done to you, I supposed you're justified. I was hoping that you'd move on and try to find something more peaceful with your life, but if this is what you want to do, there's nothing I can say.

If you want to fight me though, remember that I tore through your last merc band to 'rescue' you and Wayne. I gave you a chance to rebuild your life. I don't want you to throw it away, but my mission is too important to let you stop me.

I suppose whatever happens, will happen. I just really hope that you'll reconsider what you're doing.

Shepard.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Hmmm… not entirly confident about this chapter. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve this, I'll take it into consideration and credit them.


	36. Sins of the Father

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Normandy SR-2**_

"Damn it," Miranda cursed.

"I was really hoping to be wrong," Chakwas said as both women reviewed the data from the scans.

Shepard put his shirt back on and sat up on his bed. He tried to ignore the bad feeling that settled in his gut. "What?"

"Your eezo nodules," Miranda explained succinctly. She was staring at the results intently and appeared completely absorbed on the data on the holo-monitor.

"What about them?" Shepard asked evenly.

Chakwas sighed and turned away from the holo-monitor to face him. She was trying to stay upbeat, obviously for his benefit. At the very least, her face didn't appear grave. Yet. "Comparing the information gathered from the Lazarus Project and the results of your tests now; several, if not most, of your nodules have… ah… grown."

"Grown… as in grown **bigger**?"

"There were two possible reasons why you would be getting more powerful. Either you were tapping into your element zero nodules much more efficiently, something that takes years to accomplish or there was something wrong with your nodules," Miranda answered distractedly. She appeared to be double-checking the results with an intense fervor.

"And in this case, it's the latter. It would explain why you've gotten more powerful despite the relatively short time you've awoken and began training in biotics," Chakwas continued. "Larger eezo nodules compensate for the lack of training and increased power output."

Shepard rubbed his face in agitation. "Fine. Bottom line it for me. What am I looking at?"

Miranda turned her chair around to address the question. "So far, we only have two points of data, the size of nodules during the Lazarus Project and now. Perhaps it isn't as bad as we think. Since you're using your biotics now, they've grown in response to the sudden stress. It's not uncommon when young biotics begin using their talents for the first time."

"Not this big," Chakwas disagreed. "His are well above any recorded growths from my research of the Ascension program's medical records."

"Perhaps age has something to do with it," Miranda theorized. "He started training and using his biotics at a much later age than any other human."

Chakwas shrugged. "Perhaps, but that's just speculation. We don't have enough information either way."

"So how bad is it?" Shepard asked again, this time with a hint of impatience.

"As Executive Lawson said, we only have two points of data. We'll need to conduct further tests to see if your growth is linear, exponential, or simply nothing at all," Chakwas answered. "Nothing is the best scenario. It means Executive Lawson is right, that your nodules just grew in response to the stress you've put them through since you've been exercising your biotics. They'll settle in, adjust, and adapt to your body naturally. The amount they grew is just an aberration, something to add to medical journals, really."

"And the other two scenarios?"

Chakwas sighed and rubbed her eyes. Her voice took on a more professional and clinical tone. "This is unexpected and possibly uncontrollable. It's important to find out immediately if the growth is constant and continuous. In short, the nodules will act like tumors. Unfortunately, since the eezo nodules are intertwined with your nervous system, we can expect several complications as the size increases."

"Like what?"

Her answer is simple and blunt, a gesture he actually appreciated. "Crippling phantom pains, paralysis… eventually death."

"And linear is the slowest, while exponential means I'm running out of time?" Shepard guessed.

"I'm afraid so. However, the rate of growth might also be near infinitesimal. It may be years, perhaps decades before they become problematic if that's the case," Chakwas optimistically said.

"Or they're fast growing and I'm on a timer," Shepard countered, looking at the other end of the spectrum.

Miranda looked worried, but tried to hide it behind a professional façade. "We'll keep a close eye. Don't worry, if there's any problem, we'll figure out some sort of treatment."

"Professor Solus is already researching the galactic medical databases for anything similar. Again, this is all a precaution," Chakwas reminded. "There's a doctor on the Citadel that's willing to provide some more specialized equipment to help us accurately map the rate of growth of your nodules, should they actually be growing. You, Garrus, and Tali have all met her, I believe. Doctor Chloe Michel?"

Shepard remembered the name. She was a pretty, red-headed human that wanted to help make a difference through her own little medical clinic. He and Garrus had formally joined forces at Dr. Michel's clinic when the former C-Sec Detective saved the doctor's life against Fist's thugs. Tali was even treated by her prior to their first meeting, possibly saving the young quarian's life.

"It'll be nice to see her again," said Shepard.

"She expressed the same sentiments for you, Garrus, and Tali as well," Chakwas replied.

"_Docking procedures complete,"_ Hawthorne reported throughout the ship.

"Right. Until we know for sure, I'm not going to worry about it," Shepard decided. He stood up and turned to Miranda. "Give everyone a few hours of leave to wander around or buy whatever they want. Restock on everything we need: food, ammo, etc." He turned to Chakwas next. "Let me know when Dr. Michel wants to meet. I have a few things to take care for the next few hours, maybe even a day."

"Of course, Captain."

"I'll contact you soon, Shepard."

As Shepard left the Med Bay, he felt Miranda subtly rub his hand reassuringly as he passed by and felt a little more optimistic about the sudden bombshell he received. Deciding that there was little point in wasting his time to dwell on something out of his control, he put his focus on events that he had some measure of influence over; namely, his mission and his friends and squad mates that asked for his help. He went to the 'loft' and put on a set of civilian clothes. Next was a trip to the armory to pick up his pistol and a rucksack to hide his assault rifle and armor case. The HMWP was easily concealed in a back holster at the three o'clock position.

After Jacob checked him off, he trekked to the airlock and met up with Thane and Garrus. They were unarmed. Garrus was shooting Thane figurative glances, as if trying to guess why he was there, but Thane stood patiently, waiting for Shepard to arrive. The both of them were subdued in their own ways and for their own reasons.

"Let's go," Shepard said.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Level 27, Citadel Security Precinct**_

"_Further sightings of Shepard place him on Illium, Purgatory, Omega, Freedom's Progress, and most notably, Horizon, during the recent attack there. Council officials deny that Shepard is alive or that he is still working covertly as a Spectre."_

The taxi ride was quiet, almost painfully so. Thane and Garrus were wrapped up in their own thoughts, though it was obvious that they were also confused at the other's presence, but maintained their peace. Shepard found that there was nothing he could say to break the silence and allowed it to linger. The situations he found himself in between the both of them were complicated enough anyway that there was little to say without making the issue or issues worse.

Finally arriving at the security checkpoint/precinct, where they would be able to enter the ward proper, Shepard disembarked first and made his way to the doors. He stopped and turned towards Garrus when he noticed the turian wasn't following.

Garrus was looking around with the same look of disappointment and disgust he had two years ago before he quit and joined Shepard's crew.

Even Thane looked contemplative as he observed his surroundings with a critical eye. "You would think that Citadel Security would be the tightest in the galaxy," he commented thoughtfully.

Garrus snorted derisively. "I know C-Sec too well to believe that's true."

"I see no fewer than 14 fatal flaws a skilled assassin could exploit. Eight of them existed when I was here ten years ago."

"I'll bet," Garrus replied as he finally fell in step. "I honestly thought it might be nice to come back here and see how it's changed. But it's just like it was. Same dirty streets, same unrepentant scavengers, same revolving-door prisons. Working in C-Sec was a terrible job."

The door opened to a hallway lined with scanners and a turian C-Sec officer at the end, very similar to the hall Shepard had stepped through when he was entering the Presidium to visit Anderson and the Council.

Knowing what was coming, he walked down the hallway and waited for the scanners to sound the alarm. However, when the lights ran over Shepard and his companions, nothing happened.

The C-Sec officer looked over the readouts and his eyes widened. "Oh, ah… Spectre?"

"Yeah?" Shepard acknowledged and asked.

"Right. One moment…" The officer put his hand to his ear and started talking to someone on his radio, but his voice was too low to make out.

"Is there a problem?" Shepard asked impatiently.

The turian looked up and shook his head. "No, sir. We were just hoping to flag you on your way in. My superior, Captain Bailey, wants to meet you. He heard that you might be coming through and wanted to catch you before you got lost in the crowds."

"Okay. So where can I find him?"

"Just through the door on the right. You can't miss him, Agent Shepard."

"Thanks," Shepard said before heading through the indicated doors.

Inside was the Zakera Ward Citadel Security Precinct. A loud, commanding voice was reprimanding another human officer to the left, near the interrogation rooms. The speaker was a stern looking human man. His subordinate was a human female that was staring at him wide-eyed and nodding rapidly at his orders and rhetorical questions.

"You'll have to make him scream a little. He's not going to tell you everything just 'cause you ask," he said gruffly.

"I-I know, sir."

"If you don't have the stomach or you're worried about being reported, I can take care of it."

This time, she shook her head in the negative. "No, sir! I can handle it!"

"Then get to it and get me some results!"

"Yes, sir!" She snapped off a salute and marched right back into the interrogation room.

The captain sighed before turning around and spotting Shepard and his entourage. "Ah, Spectre Shepard. I'm glad you have time to talk."

"Captain Bailey, I presume? I'm told you wanted to see me," Shepard said.

"I am and I do. I'm in charge of this precinct. Welcome to Zakera Ward," Bailey greeted, his current cordial tone at odds with his earlier harsh voice. He walked over to his desk and sat down. "I read about your career. Trouble follows you," he said before he held up his hands placatingly, "not that I'm getting on your ass about it. You get things done. I respect that." He looked around surreptitiously before lowering his voice. "If you're going after someone, tell me who. I'll get civilians out of the way and provide any information you need."

"Appreciate it," Shepard replied gratefully. "As a matter of fact, I'm here on business."

"What do you need?"

Garrus was the one that spoke up. "Fade," he growled out.

Bailey scowled. "Ah, yes. Him. Or her. Or whatever."

"Know anything?" Shepard asked.

"Not nearly as much as I'd like," Bailey replied. "He's been a thorn in the Network division's side for the last year. As far as we know, he works with the Blue Suns."

"Why haven't you been able to catch him?"

"Whoever he is, he's damned good at avoiding C-Sec. I think someone on the inside's feeding him information. Either that or he's got access to our databases and comm channels – I don't know which is worse." Bailey answered before shaking his head. He perked up a bit though. "But you're outside C-Sec, so maybe you can nail his ass."

"Don't worry, we will," Garrus said darkly.

"So what now?" Shepard asked him.

"I know someplace Fade's people work out of. I'll set up a meeting as a potential 'client' and call you when it's all ready," Garrus said. He glanced at Thane before turning back to Shepard. "I got to get in touch with a few contacts of my own anyway and secure a few things."

"Watch yourself. You already pissed off a merc group by yourself and looked what happened. Just wait for me," Shepard said.

"That was three merc groups and I had it under control."

"Sure you did."

Garrus shook his head and walked away. Within moments, he disappeared within crowds.

"So… something else you need, or can I get back to work?" Bailey asked.

**~o~O~o~**

Thane stood back and watched as Shepard handled the legalities of his request. Hopefully, Kolyat had yet to find any sort of work that would compromise his future. There was so much to consider now: What to do? What to say? What to reveal?

Those were questions Thane had never considered until now. In truth, with his limited time and less-than-respectable past, he had resigned himself to never seeing his son again as much as it pained him to admit.

Now the Goddesses saw fit to force them to confront one another. He found himself praying once again that he was quick enough to be there for Kolyat, to help or save him, whatever the circumstances may be.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Bailey said and shaking Thane from his reverie. He looked Thane from head to toe from his desk. "We don't get many drell here."

While Bailey searched through his reports, Thane felt his gaze return to where Garrus had left and found himself concerned about his fellow sniper. The look on the turian's face suggested that he was aiming to do something regretful. Thane knew that look well. It was a dark look that he himself had worn prior to committing the atrocities he was now seeking penance for. One of many reasons he had avoided Kolyat.

He never wanted his son to know that he sought the pain and suffering of others for Irikah's death. He knew his son would despise him for abandoning both he and his mother, but if Kolyat ever knew the truth of what he had done, such things would spur him to commit similar sins. In essence, it was the greater of two evils.

_Not the best example to set one's child,_ he thought wryly to himself.

"Ah, here we are," Bailey announced. He looked unusually interested on the report in front of him. "One of my men reported a drell recently. And he was talking to Mouse. Interesting."

_Mouse… Could it be…?_

It was too much of a coincidence to think that the same Mouse that he used during his 'business' on the Citadel would be the same Mouse helping Kolyat. But how would Kolyat know to talk to Mouse?

"Mouse?" Shepard asked.

"A pretty criminal. Probably not the guy that hired your friend's boy. Most likely a messenger or facilitator at best," Bailey replied. "He's a former duct rat, runs errands for anyone who'll pay."

Again, Thane was reminded of a child that was one of his more effective sources of information when he worked on the Citadel. While Shepard questioned about the term 'duct rats' to Bailey, the door from the scanners opened, prompting Thane to glance at who was entering.

Tali had walked in and spotted both he and Shepard. She walked up behind her friend and waited for him to finish his conversation.

"And what sort of trouble has Mouse been getting himself into?" Shepard asked.

"Odd jobs for shifty people. Duct rats take whatever's available to get by. Data running, fencing stolen goods, selling illegal VI personalities." Bailey grinned all of a sudden. "Actually, he was selling one of you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. When you erased a file, it would say, 'I delete data like you on the way to real errors.'

"I would say that's pretty extreme if it wasn't true," Tali said with a hint of humor.

Shepard jerked and turned around. "Laugh it up, Tali," he muttered when he saw who it was.

"Didn't you actually say something like that to that warlord two years ago? What was his name – Dar-something?" Tali asked. "Whoever made this VI had you pegged."

"It's buggy though," Bailey added. "It crashed every half hour. The error message was about how the galaxy was at stake and you should fix the problem yourself."

"Definitely has you pegged," Tali observed before tilting her head thoughtfully. "Maybe I should get one. I bet I could fix it."

"Don't you dare," Shepard said.

Despite her mask, Thane could easily tell she was smiling. He decided to pull the conversation back on track. "Where can we find Mouse?"

"Upstairs, outside the Dark Star. He works out of a public comm terminal," Bailey helpfully informed. He turned to Tali and Shepard. "You two should pick up a copy of the 'Shepard VI' when you talk to him."

"I don't think so," Shepard muttered.

"I'll do that," Tali said at same time.

"Thank you for the information," Thane said courteously.

"Good luck. Sounds like your boy is running with the wrong crowd," Bailey commented.

"Yes. I agree," Thane replied neutrally.

"If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly, he'll know who can. I'll help you if you need it," Bailey promised.

"That's very kind of you," Thane said.

"Well, I've worked for Zakera for two years. Every day, kids turn to crime because they've got no other choice or worse, their parents don't care," Bailey said sympathetically. "You're trying to save yours. That's more than most."

"He faces a dark path," Thane simply said before nodding to Shepard.

"Thanks, Captain," Shepard said before leaving the station.

Tali followed closely. "What's going on?"

"Shepard is kind enough to help me with a personal issue," Thane said.

"Yes, I couldn't help but hear. Something about your son?" Tali asked curiously. "I didn't even know you had a son."

Neither man said anything more.

She seemed to realize that the problem was not one for casual discussion and dropped the issue. "Fine. I won't pry. I'm actually looking for Garrus. Where is he?"

Shepard shook his head. "He said he'll set up a meeting with a contact of an identity forger called Fade. He'll call when everything's ready."

"I want to come too," Tali demanded.

He nodded without hesitation. "I'm hoping that the both of us will be enough to help him out. I'll call you when I get the message."

Tali looked around and sighed when she gazed at the crowd of people. "Actually, I think I'll walk with you a bit. I want to meet this 'Mouse'."

Shepard glanced at Thane before shaking his head. "Tali-"

"I won't pry. I just want one of those VI's. I promise I'll leave afterwards."

"It's all right," Thane said. He didn't want to waste any more time and Shepard trusted Tali as one of his closest friends. It was enough for him.

Shepard glanced at him again before shrugging. "Let's go."

"You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone," Thane whispered as they made their way to the Dark Star.

Shepard grinned. "I also didn't tell you him what you do for a living. Do you normally discuss assassinations with the police?" he whispered back.

"I take your point."

"We should hurry. I just hope Garrus doesn't call until we're finished."

He knew that Shepard was dividing his time and effort to assist the both of them. For this, his respect and admiration grew for the human and his willingness to help despite the suicide mission he was tasked with accomplishing. "Thank you, Shepard."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 28**_

"_Alliance officials have secured a valuable mining facility on Nonuel. The base had once belonged to a criminal warlord known only as 'Darius'. After Darius unexpectedly died two years ago, a number of factions tried and failed to claim the mining center."_

"That was him: Darius," said Tali.

"I barely remember him," Shepard admitted nonchalantly. "In the end, just some guy with an overinflated ego, just like any other criminal. Didn't Wrex get the kill, though?"

"I think it was Chief Williams."

"Whatever."

Thane kept his eyes open for any sign of Mouse at the public extranet terminals. Unfortunately, two things worked against him. One was that as a criminal, Mouse would operate out of many public terminals, and they already struck out at the first one they arrived at. Second, it wouldn't be easy to identify him. Even if this was the same Mouse he knew, it had been years since he last saw him. No doubt, the boy would've grown into a man, probably changing his face or any other identifying marks to help avoid the law. At this point, Mouse would almost be a total stranger now.

"Hold on," Shepard suddenly said when the group was making their way to the next set of terminals.

Thane turned his head to where Shepard was looking but didn't see anyone of note. When he listened, it was then he honed in on what caught Shepard's attention.

"Yeah, yeah. I can get that. No problem."

Thane swiveled his head to locate the source. The owner of the voice was faint and it was hard to determine where he was.

"Well, okay. That might be more difficult."

The din of the thick crowds made it a challenge to narrow down the location, but Thane was used to tracking targets down in all manner of environments, urban most of all. He gently pushed and glided through the crowds.

"No, it's fine. I've got some quarians who can strip the copy protection. Just costs more."

Shepard and Tali followed closely in his wake.

"Yeah, I got the package. It'll be there. Don't worry."

Another set of terminals could be seen now. Slipping through the throng of civilians, Thane finally spotted the owner of the voice he was searching for.

"That won't happen. You can count on me. Yeah… Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, I know. I understand."

Thane easily recognized the man in front of him, even from behind. It appeared that Mouse didn't change as much as he thought. Mouse had yet to detect his presence, though considering Thane's affinity for stealth, it wasn't surprising.

Mouse was holding a holo-pad and talking to the terminal in front him. Judging from the tidbits of the conversation Thane had picked up, he was brokering a deal of some sort.

"Yeah, sure. I can get you two cases by the end of the day," Mouse said to his client, still completely unaware that Thane, and now Shepard and Tali, were standing right behind him.

Thane reached around and turned off the terminal.

Naturally, Mouse took offense to this. "Hey! What the hell do—oh, shit! Krios? ! I thought you retired!" he shouted. His anger changed to surprise in an instant.

Thane stood straight, hands clasped behind his back and waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Oh, shit! Commander Shepard? ! I thought you died!"

"You Mouse?" Shepard asked.

"Um…" Mouse looked around, probably wondering if he would be able to escape. "Why'd you wanna know?"

"He's Mouse," Tali said decisively. "No answer is enough of one."

Deciding that running would be fruitless against the Assassin and Spectre, Mouse sighed and backed up against the wall. "What do you want with me?"

Thane stepped forward and patted Mouse on the shoulder. "Be still, Mouse. You can change your pants in a moment."

"Wait a moment," Shepard said as he looked between the two men. "How do you know Thane?"

"Krios? He didn't—" Mouse looked to Thane for confirmation.

Thane bowed his head as the memories of their time together returned.

"Uh… Look, if he didn't say nothing, I ain't either," Mouse staunchly replied.

"When I heard the name, I didn't think it could be the same Mouse," Thane confessed. "He was a contact on the Citadel when I was active. He and some other children would gather information on my targets."

"You put children in danger just to spy for you?" Tali asked, horrified that Thane would do something like that.

"Children, the poor… My people's word for their kind is 'drala'fa': the ignored. They're everywhere, see everything. Yet they are never seen," Thane explained.

Before Tali could object further, Shepard took her by the arm and led her away and out of earshot. Taking advantage of her absence, Thane stepped closer to Mouse. "You gave another drell instructions for an assassination. Who's the target?"

"I… I don't know. I didn't ask," Mouse answered. Everything about his body language and tone of voice said that he was telling the truth. "The people I work for? They can make me disappear."

"Then who asked for the contract?" Thane asked.

"Oh, come on! I can't tell you that! I'd like to help you, Krios. You always done right by us, but I ain't gonna die for you."

A hand clapped down on Mouse's shoulder, startling him. "Look, you know Thane. He wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Do it for him," Shepard implored.

Mouse swallowed. He couldn't meet their eyes anymore. "I want to. He was always nice to us. But these people ain't nice."

"Nobody's going to know you talked to us," Shepard assured.

"Mouse, I swear that you won't be named," Thane promised.

"All right, all right," Mouse finally said. "He came with that holo you took of me. Said he wanted a job. I ran through your old contacts to see who might give him a shot. The guy who offered was Elias Kelham."

"What can you tell me about him?" Thane asked.

"Human. Moved to the Citadel about ten years ago. He was little people when you were here, Krios," Mouse informed. "He got big after the geth attack. Lots of the big guys from before got cacked. All in them big fancy apartments on the Presidium."

"Power vacuum," Shepard surmised.

"Yeah. Now he runs the rackets on the lower end of the Ward. Shin Akiba. He's seriously bad news."

"The target might be a rival then," Shepard guessed.

"Perhaps. It would not be the first time I was called for such action," Thane said. "Thank you, Mouse."

He rubbed his arm nervously and looked around. "Yeah. Hope I live long enough to pat myself on the back."

"Kelham well never know," Thane assured.

"I hope not," Mouse muttered.

"He sounds like a two-bit criminal, Mouse. You really think he's a match for Thane or me?" Shepard asked confidently. "Just keep your head down and act like business as usual. We'll take care of everything."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Mouse replied before turning to Thane. "I'm out of here, Krios. Next time you're in town: Don't bring the family."

They watched as he walked away, only to be accosted by Tali. Unlike the low tones they were speaking at, she talked at normal volume, allowing both men to hear the conversation.

"I heard you were selling 'Shepard VI's'," she asked innocently.

Mouse's head jerked toward the man himself. "Oh, shit."

Shepard stared stonily at Tali.

"You heard—Look, you were dead! It was totally legal to make a VI of you!" Mouse said in his defense.

"Relax, Mouse. He won't bite. I was wondering if I could have a copy?" Tali requested. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away to help him avoid Shepard's glare.

"I swear…" Shepard grumbled to himself before walking back toward the stairs to Level 27.

Despite his amusement, Thane couldn't muster the ability to smile. If Kolyat had accepted the contract, then time was truly against them. Without the proper training, it was unlikely that Kolyat would exercise patience or possess the finesse necessary to kill his target without alerting C-Sec. To kill a man and walk the path of sin was one concern, one that weighed heavily on Thane's mind, but now… If he survived the encounter, it would mean his arrest and imprisonment. If he didn't…

_I failed you, Siha. I cannot afford to fail our son._

"Thane?"

Shepard's voice shook him out of his worried thoughts. "Yes?"

"I asked if you were all right. With Mouse, I mean."

"Mouse knew about my life than Kolyat ever did," Thane admitted painfully. Unbidden, the memories rushed forth. _/ "He smiles up at me, broken teeth and scabby knees. Bare feet black. A dead-end future looking up at me. Worshipping the petty gifts I offer." /_

Shepard waited patiently for his episode to end as they made their way to the C-Sec precinct.

"I was the only good thing he had, back then," Thane said, continuing as if he hadn't paused. "But I left him, as I left Kolyat."

"Mouse said you had a holo of him."

"Yes. A foolish bit of sentimentality. I can perfectly recall every moment I spent with Mouse." Another rush memories assaulted him. _/ "He pulls at my arm. Smiles. He wants to know that I'll remember him. That anyone will remember him. I take the holo. He smiles at himself in miniature on my palm. Then a frown crinkles his brow. He pats my pockets, checking for other holos. 'Where's your son, Krios?' he asks." /_

"Don't blame yourself," Shepard said consolingly.

Thane smiled thinly. He knew Shepard was only trying to cheer him up, but there was only one person to blame. He had long accepted this fact. For Mouse, for Kolyat…

_For you, Siha._

"If I don't, who will?" he asked rhetorically. If there was one man that would understand, it was Shepard. "We must carry the weight of our decisions, Shepard. You, of all people, know this."

Against this, Shepard said nothing more.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 27, Citadel Security Precinct**_

"_Charles Saracino, leader of the Terra Firma Party, and former Alliance Parliament candidate, has pled guilty to tax evasion. He is in custody pending sentencing."_

"You're back. Did you talk to Mouse? And the name of the guy he's working with?" Bailey asked when they came back to the precinct.

"Elias Kelham," Shepard revealed.

Thane had a bad feeling when he saw Bailey's face lose its helpful look and took on an expression more suited for a man that knew he was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

"Kelham. Shit."

"A problem," Thane said. It wasn't a question.

"Ah, look, this is awkward." Bailey looked around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. "Kelham and I have a—an agreement. He doesn't cause too much trouble and buys tickets to the 'C-Sec Charity Ball' from me," he explained, miming quotation marks to accentuate his point. "In return… I ignore him."

"Well…" Shepard said before shaking his head. "Actually, you're not the worst C-Sec detective I know. Look, I'm not going to give you grief about how you work or how you run your precinct, especially since you've been helping us so far. What I want to know is: are you going to keep helping us?"

"Yeah, I'll help. Absolutely," Bailey readily said. "I'll get some of my people to bring him in and set him up in a private room. You can interrogate him yourself."

"Thanks."

"I'll stay out of sight. If I'm lucky, Kelham will believe I had nothing to do with it."

"Bring him in then," Shepard said. "We might not have much time."

"I'll make it happen," Bailey promised. "Wait here."

There was small flurry of activity around the station after that. Thane found a shadowy corner that was relatively peaceful and stayed out of the way. In a forum like this, he was well out of his element. Unfortunately, by himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to find Kolyat in time. And now, with the knowledge that Kolyat had just accepted a job, the law will no doubt be involved. He found himself thanking Arashu for bringing Shepard into his life. Now Kolyat's life was in the Spectre's hands. All he could do was provide whatever assistance he could. And pray that he is granted the opportunity to make amends with his son.

"Thane?"

The Assassin opened his eyes to see Shepard looking concerned.

"Yes?" Thane asked.

"You alright?"

"Just worried."

Shepard nodded understandingly. "Perfectly normal."

"When Kelham gets here, we should question him together. Keep the pressure on. Thoughts on how we approach it?" Thane asked.

"I'll just introduce myself. Kelham's counting on Bailey to protect him. While that might work on the rank-and-file C-Sec officer, being a Spectre carries a certain weight," Shepard replied. "Other than that, I plan to improvise. No plan survives contact with the enemy, anyway."

Thane nodded. "I suppose that's true. I won't interfere, then." He turned his head to peer over Shepard's shoulder. A man, probably Kelham, was shouting about unlawful arrest and how he'll sue or some such nonsense. "Are you worried about his advocate?"

"No," came the simple reply. "Don't worry so much. I know what I'm doing."

Bailey walked up to them. "He's in interrogation room five, all ready for you. He'll expect me to get him out of this," he warned.

"Not today, I think," Thane said with a small smile.

"Let's go," Shepard said. His face took on a dark look as made his way to the room Kelham was held in.

"Shit," Bailey suddenly said. "Looks like Kelham's lawyer is already here. I'll stall-"

"Doesn't matter. Let him come. I'll be done in five minutes," Shepard called out before going down the hall.

"I place my faith in you, Shepard," Thane whispered before they walked into the room.

_As does Kolyat._

Inside the interrogation room, Elias Kelham was secured to a chair that was bolted to the center of the room. Thick metal rings encircled his wrists and ankles, preventing any chance of movement, let alone escape. In all likelihood, Thane suspected that this was a chair reserved for the interrogation of krogan suspects, rather than any other sapient species.

"Get me out of these restraints, Bailey. Pretty funny, bringing me here like this—" he started to say before noticing who it was. "Who the hell are you two?"

Shepard stalked forward aggressively and stood imposingly over Kelham. "You ordered a hit. I want the name."

"The only person I'm talking to is my advocate," Kelham spat out.

"You don't get one. You only get once chance before I send you out in body bag."

"Who the fuck do you think you are, you little shit?" Kelham growled out, clearly unimpressed with Shepard's presence. He obviously thought C-Sec would protect him.

"Council Spectre."

Now the blood drained from his face. "Prove it," he defiantly said.

"Y'know, I was kind of hoping you would say that," Shepard stated in a conversational tone. He calmly drew his pistol and put a round Kelham's leg.

Ignoring Kelham's scream, Thane glanced at the wound and noted it was placed perfectly in a non-lethal area.

"Relax. The round didn't hit bone or the femoral artery. You'll live." Shepard pressed the barrel against Kelham's chest next. "Unless you lie to me."

The door opened at that moment, revealing Kelham's lawyer. "What the hell is going on here? ! I heard gunfire!"

Shepard didn't even turn around.

"I don't know who you are, but step away from my client. I swear, you'll need a shovel the size of the Citadel—"

The lawyer's tirade was cut off when Shepard turned around, pistol still in hand. He reached out with his free hand and grabbed the man by his lapels and hauled him closer until they were almost nose-to-nose.

Thane didn't blame the lawyer's sudden inability to speak. The human's glare was enough that it felt as if the room had dropped a few degrees.

"Spectre business. Walk away. Now."

"This is—"

"Perfectly legal? Yes, it is."

"I-I'll contest this. I'll take it all the way to the Council."

"Right after they read my report that your 'client' ordered a hit **on** the Citadel, the **seat** of the Council. Let me know how that goes," Shepard said derisively and called his bluff. When the lawyer fell silent, he scoffed and threw the man back toward the wall.

The lawyer staggered, but managed to remain upright. He visibly swallowed and stared at the pistol in Shepard's hand. "Shit…"

"Freddy?" Kelham gasped out through the pain coming from his leg. He tried to turn his head but couldn't get a good angle to see what was going on.

"Spectres can do whatever they want, Elias. I can't help you."

"What? Seriously?"

Satisfied that there would be no more interruptions, Shepard turned back to Kelham. "What he means is that I could kill you and your idiot attorney and walk right out the door."

"You're insane!" the lawyer shouted.

Thane walked around the bound prisoner and adjusted his collar of his coat. "The law only protects if everyone agrees to be bound by it. We don't."

"Name. **Now.** Or I'll cut your balls off and sell them to a krogan," Shepard growled. He pressed the barrel of his weapon on Kelham's leg wound roughly.

Kelham screamed again. "Ah! Joram! Joram Talid!"

Shepard eased up. "Who's he?"

"Turian! Running for Intendant of Zakera Ward!"

"Where can we find him?"

"His apartment is in the 800 blocks!"

Shepard holstered his pistol and nodded. "Good. Piece of advice: Don't cause any more trouble. You're a problem below my pay grade, but if I hear your name again, I'm gonna be annoyed. That means you're gonna need more than a lawyer to stop me, then."

"That might not be the shortest interrogation ever, but I cannot deny its effectiveness," Thane whispered after they left the room.

"I thought it was pretty quick. It would've been quicker if it wasn't for that lawyer," Shepard muttered. "Can we get a medic in interrogation room five?" he asked to a passing C-Sec officer. "Suspect got out of hand."

"Was such actions necessary?" Thane asked as they made their way to the main room of the precinct.

"Probably. Kelham was arrested by C-Sec, brought into a C-Sec precinct, and tossed into a C-Sec interrogation room. I doubt he'll take my word at face value seeing as he's bribing C-Sec officers. He'll think I was bluffing or something. To save time, I had to establish my presence to force cooperation. He opened the door when he asked me to prove myself. If I didn't do anything, well… it was unpleasant, but we got what we needed."

They met up with Bailey in the foyer. He was off to the side and trying to keep out of sight of Kelham and his lawyer. "What's the story? Why'd Kelham hire the boy?"

"Assassination," Shepard said without preamble. "A turian named Joram Talid. You know him?"

Bailey brow furrowed at the name. "Joram? Yeah. You might have seen his posters around. He's promising to end organized crime on the ward."

"That would explain why Kelham ordered a hit," Thane said.

"Oh, it gets better. His message is all mixed up in race politics. He's anti-human," Bailey said.

Shepard looked around the C-Sec office and at the majority of humans working. "Are things so bad that people can openly campaign as anti-human?"

"Before the Battle of the Citadel, the alien population thought we were violent upstarts, remember?" Bailey explained before shaking his head and gesturing to the C-Sec officers around them and through the window. "Look what's happened since then. A human fleet guarding the station for months. C-Sec filled with humans."

"A human on the Council?" Shepard added.

"Anderson does what he can, but some people have lived on the station since before humans had starships. They see it as a coup."

"And now we have to save a human-hating politician. Happy times," Shepard sarcastically said.

"Yeah, I can see the irony, too," Bailey agreed.

"Still, we're the good guys, so we need to stop the assassination anyway. Can you get us to the 800 blocks?" Shepard asked.

Bailey nodded and looked around. He spotted a C-Sec officer and whistled sharply, getting her attention. "Sergeant! Get a patrol car! These two need to get to the 800 blocks!"

She snapped off a salute. "Yes, sir!"

"I hope we're in time," Shepard said.

"As do I," Thane replied. He sighed and adjusted his coat to ward off the sudden chill generated from his worry.

_As do I._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Shin Akiba Ward, 800 Blocks**_

"_The turian government is considering further reparations to humans whose ancestors died in the Relay 314 Incident at Shanxi. The turian government previously made reparations for what humans call the 'First Contact War' but refused to pay interest. The Turian Hierarchy has supported improved relations with humanity since the Alliance's heroic sacrifice defending the Citadel from Saren's attack two years ago."_

"It's been wonderful talking to you all. I hope you'll come out on election day," Joram Talid said. He was glad handing several people, none of which were human, and speaking his anti-human rhetoric.

"There he is," Shepard said.

Thane nodded absently. He took the time to memorize everything he could about Kolyat's target, almost as if it were his own. Clothes, height, unarmed, escort, best place for assassination…

"You can count on it!"

"Show the humans they won't get their way!"

"How do you want to play this?" Shepard asked.

"Ha! Thanks. Just remember, it's not all about the humans. They couldn't have gained this much power without the Council's support."

"Were it me, the best place would be his apartment, when he's alone. Unfortunately, I don't know how much training, if any, Kolyat has undergone," Thane replied.

"Taking back our ward is only the first step. We must remove the cowards and appeasers on the Council. This doesn't stop here. I won't rest until the humans have been removed from power!"

"Then one of us will need to keep an eye on him and the other will need to scout the area ahead, all the way back to his apartment. Hopefully, we'll find Kolyat before he does something drastic," Shepard suggested.

"Other races wait patiently for hundreds or thousands of years to earn an embassy. Do the humans? No!"

Thane looked up and saw a network of catwalks the keepers and Citadel engineers used for their duties. "Follow Talid on the maintenance catwalks. Tell me what he's doing. The krogan bodyguard will make him easy to follow."

"They win one battle and think they're owed a Council seat. My people won a krogan war before we asked for that honor!"

"Where will you be?" Shepard asked. He adjusted the bag on his back.

"The darkest corner with the best view," Thane simply said.

When Shepard left for the catwalks, Thane glanced at Talid one last time to ensure everything about his target was committed to memory before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Clasping his hands together, he focused his mind, body, and soul at the task at hand. For once, the person he was hunting would not be slain, but protected.

"Humans think anything ten years old is obsolete. Worthless. How can they contribute to a 2000-year-old government?"

In his earliest years, he often fell into his battle sleep, using his ingrained reflexes as a weapon for his clients. When Irikah was taken from him, he chose to utilize his talents to make the guilty pay. But now, he could not afford to use that mindset. He needed to be aware, to focus at the real goal.

_Kolyat._

His body was trained to be a weapon, so he could no longer trust that instinct anymore. Instead, he needed to consciously command his skills, rather than give in to them. The only time he had ever done so was under Shepard's command.

_Perhaps that is why I would have him here with me._

"Amonkira. Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift." He opened his eyes and disappeared into the crowd, just as he was taught a lifetime ago.

_And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness._

**~o~O~o~**

"_I'm on him, Thane. He's talking to some voters."_

"Understood," Thane replied. He drifted with the crowd into the next likely area Talid would probably head toward en route to his apartment. Pausing at a junction, he waited patiently for Talid to arrive before moving ahead again.

"_You're in position?"_

"Yes."

Thane scanned the people while blending among them, an invisible blade in the crowd. It was different now. Being aware of his actions, every breath he took, every step he made; the last time he felt like this was when he was first receiving training from the hanar, years ago.

_Returning to the basics. I suppose this is what human's refer as 'going full circle' in one's life._

Satisfied that Kolyat wasn't in the immediate area, he continued making his way toward Talid's apartment slowly, staying ahead of the politician and trusting Shepard to keep his presence discreet. So far, Talid was acting his role as predicted, shaking hands and talking to potential voters. The only thing of note was the hypocrisy of Talid's 'business' practices, hardly any different from Kelham's.

_So the contract isn't just to remove a potential anti-human politician, but a 'business' rival as well._

Despite the obvious shakedown of human establishments, Shepard maintained his peace and followed Talid, giving reports and remaining focused on the task at hand.

For this, Thane was thankful that Shepard exercised his restraint. He had seen the look of disgust on the Spectre's face when Talid was spewing his nonsense for his political agenda. He could image the anger Shepard had at watching the crimes in progress, but not being able to stop it.

So far, all seemed quiet. Thane began worrying that Kolyat would not execute the job today. That would mean that a more constant watch would be necessary. Over Talid, his apartment, any rallies he might attend… Without knowing when Kolyat might strike, there was nothing he could do.

Moving through a club toward the other exit, Thane idly noted a dancing turian, obviously quite drunk if he was willing to step out to the dance floor. In all his travels, he couldn't ever remember, even with his eidetic memory, seeing anything like it. Shaking his head, he forced the image out of his head, refocused, and moved on.

"_Thane, it looks like Talid's meeting a couple of mercenaries. Blood Pack, same group as his bodyguard."_

Thane ghosted through the shadows of the darkened club to take a look. "He looks nervous. Could be he noticed you."

"_No… he's talking about how he getting the feeling someone's watching him. That's either you, me, or Kolyat."_

"Also a possibility," Thane allowed. He looked around and noted that they were nearing Talid's apartment now, but no sign of Kolyat yet. "There are obstructions ahead. I'll try to go around. Don't lose him."

"_Damn it. Next area ahead is a storage room or something. I'm going to lose him too."_

Instantly, Thane realized where Kolyat might strike. The area ahead would also provide ample opportunity for assassination without any prying eyes and the music from the club would mask the sound. Thane quickly picked his way through and searched every dark corner he could before Talid and his escort could show up. "Shepard, this area might be where K—"

"_Hey! Who are you? What are you doing back here? !"_ The voice sounded young.

"_What am I doing here? What are __**you**__ doing here? !"_ Shepard asked in return.

"Shepard?"Thane called out.

"_What?"_ the boy asked in confusion.

"_Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in here? !"_ Shepard said with a hint of panic.

"_Dangerous?"_

"_Get out of here! Now! Before it blows!"_

"_Blow? ! What the—? !"_

"_**Run!"**_

"_Alright! I'm going! I'm going!"_

"Shepard?" Thane called again.

"_Just some stockroom kid,"_ Shepard replied before chuckling to himself._ "I can't believe that actually worked."_

Thane finished his search, but found no trace of his son. He took a breath to calm his sense of frustration and worry. "Any sign of Kolyat?"

"_Hold on, I'm almost out of here—Wait a minute…" _Shepard trailed off, giving Thane a sense of apprehension. _"Kolyat!"_

Thane rushed around the bend and saw Kolyat take down the krogan bodyguard. Talid ran for his apartment, with Kolyat still in pursuit.

"Thane!" Shepard shouted as he leapt from the catwalks to a balcony and then to ground level.

"I saw!" Thane shouted back as both men gave chase.

Shepard paused at the door and drew his pistol before entering.

Thane followed closely, still unarmed. Even if he managed to sneak a weapon through C-Sec's checkpoints, he would never draw it against his own flesh and blood. Irikah's flesh and blood.

Inside, Talid was on his knees, facing them. Kolyat had the pistol Thane had left for him pointed at the back of his target's head. Sirens could be heard as C-Sec responded to the emergency.

"Kolyat," Thane whispered.

"This—this is a joke. Now? Now you show up?" Kolyat snarled.

"Help me, drell! I'll do whatever you want!" Talid begged.

"C-Sec. Put the gun down, son," Bailey ordered. He and another turian had their weapons drawn and ready. The darkened apartment lit up with the lights from the C-Sec patrol cars just outside.

"Get out my way. I'm walking out and he's coming with me," Kolyat demanded. He jabbed the barrel of his pistol into the back of Talid's head.

"They'll have snipers outside," Thane said, trying to reason with his wayward son.

"I don't need your help!" Kolyat shouted.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot broke the impasse. The lamp next to Kolyat shattered, causing him to instinctively raise his arm up to protect his face.

"What the hell!" he yelled out in surprise.

In a flash, Shepard closed the distance, grabbed the pistol with his left and punched Kolyat in the face with his right. As Kolyat staggered back, Shepard grabbed the back of Talid's shirt and dragged him away before roughly pushing him toward Bailey and the other C-Sec officer. "Get the hell out of here," Shepard ordered.

"Y-Yeah…" Talid stammered from the floor. Another C-Sec officer picked up Talid and pulled him to safety.

Bailey and his subordinate lowered their weapons. "Take the boy into custody," Bailey ordered.

"You son of a bitch!" Kolyat shouted. He rubbed his face and backed away, looking like a man that knew he was trapped with nowhere to run.

"Easy, Kolyat. We're here to help you. This isn't something you want to do," Shepard said.

"I read his files!" Kolyat pointed an accusing finger at his father. "What made it all right for him to kill all those years? !"

"I was six when the hanar began to train me. I didn't know any better," Thane explained. He took several steps closer to his son.

"Your father is dying. Kepral's Syndrome. He doesn't have much time left," Shepard revealed.

Thane bowed his head. It was an ugly truth that he no longer had much time to spend with Kolyat, but was a truth he deserved to know.

"What, so you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?" Kolyat spat out.

"I came to grant **you** peace," Thane corrected gently. He stepped closer until he was in arm's reach. "You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died."

"You weren't there when she was **alive!**" Kolyat retorted. "Why should you be there when she died?"

"Your mother—" Thane tried to say before swallowing. He had to force back the memories to prevent his solipsism from interfering. He needed to find his own words to properly explain it all. "They killed her to get to me. It was **my** fault."

Thane's admission caught Kolyat off-guard, as if he was expecting excuses or pardons. "What?"

"After her body was given to the deep, I went to find them. The trigger men. The ringleaders," Thane whispered. He bowed his head. "I hurt them. Eventually killed them. When I went back to see you, you were… older. I should have stayed with you."

"I-I guess it's too bad you waited so long, huh?" Kolyat replied. He tried to sound angry or defiant, but it came out sounding regretful or mournful.

"Koylat…" Thane said before raising his head to meet his son's eyes pleadingly. "I've taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I ever added to it."

Kolyat couldn't meet his eyes anymore and turned away. As much as he tried, the tears came out anyway.

Bailey stepped forward until he was within sight of Thane. "This isn't a conversation you should have in front of strangers," he said before turning to his men. "Boys, take Kolyat and his father back to the precinct. Give them a room and as much time as they need."

Thane felt an immense gratitude toward him. He turned back to Kolyat and placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt a few tears of his own leave his eyes and roll down his cheeks.

"Thank you for this," Shepard said gratefully. "Though I'm surprised you're letting them do that."

"You think he's the only man who ever screwed up raising a son?" Bailey asked.

Thane didn't know if Bailey was being sympathetic or if there was something personal about this moment that touched him as well.

"Let's go. I'll give you a lift," Bailey offered.

As they entered the cars and prepared to make their way back to Zakera Ward, Thane clasped his hands once more.

_Thank you, merciful Arashu, for blessing my son with your grace,_ a_nd to grant me this friendship with one of your guardians._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 27, Citadel Security Precinct**_

"_Later today, we interview Councilor Anderson. The tireless former soldier had put down his guns to build bridges with numerous trade treaties. Tune in and find out what the man behind Commander Shepard's rise to fame thinks is the greatest threat to intergalactic stability."_

Their first real talk in over decade was about as expected: Uncomfortable, awkward, and emotionally trying. Kolyat had wanted to talk about the details about his mother and the circumstances surrounding her death, Thane wanted to find out how Kolyat knew about his life and why he did what he did. Several times, Kolyat threatened to lose his temper, but calmed down at the last moment and tried again. Even Thane's unwavering patience was tested more than once.

It was naïve to believe that their problems would be fixed in one afternoon, but there was hope that the bridge they tentatively built together would not be burned.

Through it all though, Thane worried about what legal actions would be taken. Shepard had kept his distance, allowing Thane his space and privacy, but now he longed to know if the Spectre would be able to do anything.

_We've come this far. I hope that Shepard can take it a little further._

Kolyat had fallen silent. They both did. After two hours, there was nothing more to talk about for the time being. They needed to absorb, assimilate the day's events. Thane clutched Kolyat's shoulder once more, but felt that any more physical gestures were too much, for now.

He stepped out of the conference room and spotted Shepard speaking to Bailey in low tones. He silently walked closer and discreetly eavesdropped on the conversation.

"I've watched those guys shaking down businesses and threatening humans," Shepard said.

"But he can't just get away with it," Bailey argued.

"The kid wants to make a difference. Give him community service," Shepard suggested.

"Community service for attempted murder?" Bailey asked skeptically. "What jury would agree to that?"

"None that I've seen. This would need to stay out of the judiciary. Strictly within C-Sec."

"And Joram Talid? He's not going to take this lying down."

Shepard smirked. "I had a 'chat' with him. He learned that committing crimes in front of a Spectre is a really bad idea. If he pursues any legal action against Kolyat, I'll pursue 'legal' action against him. Believe me; whatever C-Sec does to Kolyat, I can do worse to him."

Bailey shook his head. "Something tells me that I don't want to know."

"Better that way, I think."

"Alright, I'll think about it," Bailey said before noticing Thane's presence. "Oh. How'd it go with your boy?"

Thane stepped forward and nodded gratefully to the C-Sec Captain. "Our problems… they aren't something I can fix with a few words. We'll keep talking, see what happens."

"Well, your boy shot some people. No one I feel sympathy for, but there it is. Agent Shepard and I were discussing alterative punishments. He'll need to do something, make up for what he's done, but it won't be **too** serious," Bailey assured.

"Thank you, Captain," Thane said with barely disguised relief. He reached out and shook Bailey's hand.

"Yeah. No problem. I'll look after him, you have my word on that," Bailey said. He shook Thane's hand to seal the deal.

Thane turned to Shepard and tried to offer his gratitude, but the words felt inadequate.

Shepard reached out and shook Thane's hand as well. "You're welcome, Thane," he said knowingly.

Thane allowed a genuine smile to creep across his normally stoic face.

He remembered when they last shook hands. In the beginning, it was like accepting another contract, but now… now he felt like he was helping a friend. With that revelation, the wound in his soul felt a little more healed.

"I have to go meet up with Garrus. Let me know whenever you're ready to leave, okay?" Shepard said.

"Of course," Thane replied. Remembering the look Garrus had before he left, he called out to Shepard before he left. "Wait. When you see Garrus, please tell him: Revenge does not bring redemption. Believe me, I would know."

"I'll do that."

_And thank you for granting me redemption, my friend._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Interesting factoid, there was some unused audio files in ME2 where you could be reinstated as a Spectre (or not) by the Citadel Council before meeting Bailey or go even to the Zakera Wards at all. It suggests that the Presidium was an open area before BioWare cut it out or at the very least, met with the Council long before going to the Zakera Ward. Sad really. I'd like to visit the Presidium proper.

Anyway, the dialogue I used with the C-Sec officer reflected that.

The main problem with this particular chapter was the lack of gunplay or anything related to action, really. Since most, if not all, the readers have gone through this loyalty mission, I needed to 'trim the fat' as it were. The 'follow Joram Talid' mission is pretty cut and dry so I wanted to avoid most of that, which actually meant that this mission is really short.

BTW, the dancing turian? It's real and in this mission. For those interested, here's a link:

Youtube. com/watch?v=jWYUiVfZo9k

Just be sure to remove the space at 'com'. Or just search for 'Techno Turian'.

Review! I love hearing from all of you! And thanks to all that got me to 600+ reviews! You're the best!


	37. Interlude XIII

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Upper Wards, Medical Clinic**_

_**A Few Hours Ago**_

"_The Kaidan Alenko Memorial Scholarship has begun sending gifted human biotics to the Ascension Project for care and training. Lieutenant Alenko, a graduate of the controversial Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training project, sacrificed his life to help stop Saren on Virmire."_

"I'm glad to have helped, Tali."

Tali blinked back to awareness and turned her head away from the news report and the memories it invoked. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said: I'm glad to have helped, Tali."

"Oh, yes—yes, you did. Thank you, Doctor."

Doctor Chloe Michel smiled before frowning. "You'll tell me if everything is all right?" she requested with a worried look.

"I promise. Hopefully, we'll convince Garrus not to do anything foolish."

Dr. Michel shook her head and sighed. "Well, I know how he is. Always busy on his grand crusades, his great passions… he tends to focus on them to the exclusion of anything or anyone else. I hope you and Command—I mean Captain Shepard can help him."

_There's nothing noble about this 'crusade'._

Tali nodded and shook hands with the human woman. "I'll look into that warehouse."

"Please be careful. I also heard that Fade employs a mercenary group for protection," Michel cautioned. "I'd really rather not treat you for another gunshot wound."

"Which merc group?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know. There are so many different groups now that I don't bother keeping up," she replied with a shrug. "It's not really my thing, anyway."

"Alright, I'll be careful," Tali promised.

"And tell Comm— I mean, Captain Shepard that I look forward to seeing him again soon and that I'm excited to have a chance to tour the new Normandy. I'll have the equipment ready by then," Dr. Michel added.

Tali stopped and turned around, completely caught off guard by that last statement. "Wait—what are you talking about?"

Michel looked surprised as well. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Dr. Michel blinked before sighing. "Never mind. I can't tell you. Doctor/Patient privileges."

"Patient? Is there something wrong with Shepard?" Tali asked anxiously.

"I can't discuss it any further. I'm sorry, Tali."

"But I'm his friend!"

"Then you should be asking him directly, not me. I don't even know all the details yet. Doctor Chakwas was to fill me in when I make my way to the Normandy later today," Chloe asserted gently. "I'm sorry."

Tali huffed in frustration. "First Garrus, now Shepard. Fine. I'll ask when I see him. Thank you again, Dr. Michel."

"Of course, Tali."

Putting Shepard's mysterious need for medical attention out of her mind for the time being, she hailed a taxi and traveled back down to Zakera Ward.

Tali had suspected that Shepard had talked to Captain Bailey about more than Thane's son. After getting her 'Shepard VI' from Mouse, she followed them, but took care to maintain her distance. Considering the skill between both men, it was likely that they would be able to detect her if she wandered too close.

_Actually, considering their professions, I wouldn't be surprised if they already knew I was there._

She had kept an eye on the precinct, waiting for both Thane and Shepard to leave on whatever business they were engaged in. About 30 minutes later, she saw them enter a patrol car and fly off. Seizing her chance, she walked in and casually asked Bailey what they were talking about prior to Thane's problem.

Because she was clearly Shepard's acquaintance during their earlier meeting, Bailey had no problem telling her what he told Shepard and Garrus, though he seemed a bit harried. Apparently, some sort of emergency was happening down in another Ward, and Bailey was trying to organize a response team to that region.

_No doubt Shepard is in the middle of whatever is going on there._

All Bailey managed to offer was that Garrus had an interest in an identity forger called Fade and that C-Sec's Network Division had no leads on him or her before leaving to one of the many blocks on the Ward.

Instead of waiting for Shepard's call, she decided to take the initiative and try to preempt Garrus' movements herself. No matter how distasteful she felt about the course of action Garrus was taking, she also knew Shepard was right. This was something their friend couldn't let go. Even now, she was still writing messages to the families of the slain marines that died on Haestrom. It was their duty to help in any way they can for their turian friend.

After trekking through the various Wards, making subtle inquires about Fade, and getting only vague or unhelpful answers, she decided to visit Dr. Chloe Michel. The doctor tended to have an ear to ground on a few things that went on in the Wards, so it was worth a shot.

Luckily, her gamble paid off. With a set direction, she made her way to Level 26 of the Zakera Ward.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 26**_

_**Present Time**_

"_Two years after a geth attack nearly destroyed it, the colony of Zhu's Hope has announced plans for an expansion."_

Upon arriving, she avoided the thick crowds and ignored the slightly hostile looks of the C-Sec officers that were patrolling. As a quarian, she was used to getting disparaging looks from the other Council races. Nevertheless, she spotted the shipping warehouse where Dr. Michel said Fade's underlings met up with potential clients.

Looking around the immediate vicinity revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but without any more solid leads, she maintained her vigilance for the next hour or so until she spotted a fully armored krogan entering and not leaving. What made it more interesting was the other krogan she managed to see just inside, waiting for his partner. He was carrying an assault rifle, M-8 Avenger from the look of it.

Two years ago, an occurrence like that wouldn't raise **too** much suspicion normally, but with C-Sec's newest security precautions, the only way to carry weapons was to either be a C-Sec officer, registered as private security, or military personnel. Anyone else had to smuggle them into the Citadel now. To put that much effort might mean that there was something illicit going on. Even the major mercenary groups had to be careful not to expose themselves or risk a full-blown C-Sec investigation.

_And I doubt those krogan are paid to __guard the merchandise inside that warehouse with that much firepower. If this isn't a sign, I don't what is._

She had to admit, Fade had moxie. He operated practically underneath C-Sec's nose considering the location of the nearest precinct was only one floor up.

Feeling more confident that she finally found the place she was looking for, she sat down on a stool at the nearby human restaurant, The Stand, and carefully considered her next move. She knew Garrus would be too skilled and covert to be blatantly watching the shipping warehouse and risk getting spotted. It'd probably be next to impossible for her to find him through the crowds and nearby buildings. If anything, he probably had spotted her sometime ago. He'd keep himself hidden though, but would still be able keep an eye out for any signs of a trap. Or probably for Fade himself.

Tali had to doubt that last scenario, though. After talking to Fist to 'meet' with the Shadow Broker, she learned her lesson. It was unlikely that the person in charge would ever show up to any meetings unless absolutely necessary. A random client would hardly necessitate Fade's personal appearance, only his talent.

She decided that her best chance to find Garrus would be at his meeting, whenever that was. At some point, he'd have to go into the warehouse and meet with whomever. It also had to be sometime soon or else Shepard would recall him back for departure off the Citadel and to wherever the next mission takes them. This was his, and her, only shot.

_If I hang around, either I'll find him or he'll find me. There's no way he can avoid it. Especially with at least two armed krogan in there._

"_Irasshaimase_!" the store owner greeted cheerfully and interrupting her thoughts.

Tali turned her head curiously at him and made a mental note to upgrade her omni-tool with the latest update in human languages. "I'm sorry. My translator didn't pick that up."

"It means: Welcome to my store," the chef kindly translated. "Can I get you anything? Ramen, perhaps? It's a delicacy back on Earth. I'm afraid the meat isn't fresh out here, but you won't find any better seaweed on the station. I also have six kinds of beer on tap if you're interested."

"Dextro," Tali informed with a shake of her head.

The vendor looked confused. "Dextro?"

"Dextro-DNA. Turians and quarians can't eat or drink anything with levo-proteins," Kasumi helpfully explained as she and Jacob sauntered up and sat next to Tali.

The chef still looked confused.

"Like us," Jacob added. "Or asari. Or salarians. Quarians and turians need to eat something entirely different."

"Really? I kept wondering why I never got any turian or quarian customers. I thought they just hated humans or something," the chef muttered to himself. "So what can I get you two, then?"

"I'll have a beer," Jacob said and pointing at his selection.

"I'll just have some water," Kasumi replied. _"Domo Arigato."_

"Here you are," the chef said. "_Anato no kangei_." After he passed the drinks, he moved to the other side of the counter to wait on his next set of customers.

He completely missed Kasumi's snort of laughter.

"What?" Jacob asked.

Kasumi shook her head and pointed at the chef. "That guy…"

Matthews and Hadley had taken a seat a few stools down and conversed with the shopkeeper. They were so engrossed with their own business that they didn't even notice Tali, Kasumi, or Jacob sitting nearby.

"You'd think he try to learn about the locals if he's going to open a business here," Jacob said with a shake of his head.

Kasumi sniffed at whatever was boiling in the pots and sighed. "You know what I haven't had in ages? Ramen."

Tali looked at her funnily. "I thought this place serves this, um, 'ramen'. Why don't you buy some?"

"I doubt it's any good, especially since all the normal ingredients are back on Earth. Besides, his Japanese is **terrible**; I wouldn't trust his food at all," Kasumi explained before sighing again, this time in remembrance. "My grandmother used to make the **best** ramen. **Delicious**." She propped her head on her hand and leaned on the counter. "Thinking back, I really should have stolen her recipe."

Tali couldn't help but giggle, while Jacob chuckled appreciatively.

"Glad to make you both smile," Kasumi said with a smile of her own before turning to Tali. "So! Why were you looking so serious? So to speak. I mean, with the environment suit and all."

"I'm looking for Garrus. I think he's about to make a mistake and I want to help him before he does," Tali replied as she glanced at the warehouse again.

"What kind of mistake?" Jacob asked.

She shook her head distractedly. "I don't want to betray his trust. It's really personal to him."

Kasumi gave her a side-long glance and had an impish look on her face. Before she could pry through, Hadley and Matthews started talking after giving their orders.

"What's up, man? You've been quiet," Hadley said.

"We're on the Citadel, but my appointment with Sha'ira is in three months. Damn—talk about bad timing!" Matthews replied in frustration.

Hadley rolled his eyes. "We're flying into the eye of the storm and you're thinking about some asari prostitute?"

Matthews took offense to that and shot a dour look at his friend. "Hey, watch it! It's not like that at all. She's so… she's… ah, you wouldn't understand unless you meet her."

"I've heard a lot about her," Jacob commented to Kasumi and Tali. "Haven't met her myself, though."

Tali smiled underneath her helmet and said nothing.

Apparently, it was the wrong move, because Kasumi whipped her head around at the engineer. "You've **met** her?" she exclaimed.

Matthews and Hadley both turned at the thief's voice and spotted them.

"Oh. Hey, ladies, Chief Taylor. Didn't see you there," Matthews greeted.

"Met who?" Hadley bluntly asked.

"Tali met with Sha'ira," Kasumi said hurriedly. She turned in her stool to better face the quarian. "Spill. What happened?"

Matthews looked shocked. "Seriously? You did? When?"

"And why'd you meet her?" Hadley asked.

Even the chef looked interested. "And is she anything like the rumors?" he asked excitedly.

Tali shook her head and her hands in an effort to stave off any more questions. "No, no, no! I didn't—I mean, I **did** meet her, kind of. Actually, she wanted to talk to Shepard! I just happened to be there. With Shepard, I mean. I was travelling with him when he went to talk to her."

"Shep, hmm…? I bet the Consort got a good look at his 'aura' as well," Kasumi wickedly mused.

"If anything about those rumors is true, I don't doubt it," Jacob said.

"Nothing like that," Tali corrected. "She wanted a bit of help. That's all."

"Really?" Matthews asked.

"Really," Tali affirmed. "Just to talk to a few friends of hers and smooth things over. She was having a bit of trouble and asked Shepard for help, that's it."

"What kind of help?" Matthews asked intently.

"She… I mean, he… they… Wait… um…" Tali hedged before shaking her head and crossing her arms. "That's none of your business, actually."

"Hold on, lemme get this part straight then," Matthews said. "Did **she** ask **him** for help? Like by name? Or she sent out a message to him specifically? Or…"

"It was Shepard's first time on the Citadel. The Council had just made him a Spectre. We were waiting for Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson to make all the preparations for the mission to find Saren. During that time, the Consort contacted Shepard for help and we went," Tali explained simply. "**She** called **him** by **name** for help."

"So the Captain and her didn't **do** anything?" Hadley asked skeptically.

"I got the impression that she offered, but he didn't take it. Either he wasn't interested or he didn't see the signs," Tali answered with a shrug. "She said something to him, he thanked her, we left. What she said, I don't know. I never asked."

"Damn… I can't believe the captain actually got to meet her," Matthews groused.

"Well, if there was anyone the Consort wanted to meet, it's had to be Shepard," Jacob reasoned. "First human Spectre and all, she probably wanted to get the story right from the source. That is, unless Udina is a frequent visitor."

"What does it matter if he did or not?" Hadley said.

"You haven't been on the Citadel much, have you?" the chef said knowingly. "Otherwise, you'd know what we're talking about."

"So what was she like?" Kasumi asked while the men argued about the Consort.

Tali shook her head and wondered how to answer when she heard a familiar voice behind the partition running down the middle of the level.

"What—what are you talking about? ! I didn't do anything!"

_Lia?_

Tali got up and walked around the partition to see a friend of hers, Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. She would often help Tali send packages to her father back at the Migrant Fleet.

Currently, Lia was being accosted by a C-Sec officer and a volus.

"This clanless is a thief and I want her arrested!" the volus demanded.

"I was just walking by!"

"Ha! I felt your hand go into my pocket when you bumped into me at the Sirta Foundation store! When I checked, my credit chit was gone!"

"I didn't even touch you!"

"Hey!" Tali shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Tali!" Lia cried out in relief.

"Great. Another one," the human C-Sec officer muttered to himself. "This is Official C-Sec business. Please leave."

"Another clanless," the volus spat out. He turned to Lia and pointed at Tali accusingly. "Did you steal my chit and passed it off to her?"

"I didn't steal anything!" Lia retorted angrily. "Just because we're quarians…!"

The human, Officer Tammert, judging from his name tag, turned to the volus. "Mr. Kor Tun, I need you to stop and take a deep breath."

Now Kor Tun rounded on the Tammert, his respirator taking deeps breaths already. "You're mocking me, Earth-clan! Just because the Vol-clan need—"

"It was a poor choice of words, sir. I apologize."

_So you apologize to this angry bosh'tet and let him accuse whoever he likes? Bastard._

Before Tali could make a scathing remark at either of them, Kasumi gripped her by the arm and pulled her aside. "Easy. Getting angry at the law won't help your friend. Believe me, I know," she whispered.

"Alright, so you claim you didn't take his credit chit?" Tammert asked in a bored tone.

Lia took a breath to try to calm down. However, when she spoke, it was through clenched teeth. "No. I was walking to the used ship dealer when he barged into me outside the Sirta Foundation. He even didn't stop or say he was sorry," she explained before finally losing her temper and pointing a finger back at Kor Tun. "A minute later, he runs up and **accuses me of stealing his** **damn chit!"**

Tammert nodded, though Tali got the distinct feeling that he was only humoring her. "Are you sure you're being straight with me? There's nothing you want to admit?"

"What? Why are you accusing me? I didn't do anything!"

Tammert crossed his arms and glared. "First: I ask you a question, you answer it. Second: I don't like your tone."

"Hey, man. Ease up. She didn't mean anything by it," Jacob said in her defense.

"I'll be the one to determine that," Tammert retorted with a glare.

"Why are you getting angry?" Jacob asked calmly. "We're all just talking here."

"I'm **not** getting an—"

"No, I think you're getting a little angry," Jacob interrupted, a slight condescending tone lacing his voice.

Tammert was about to argue further when he looked around and saw that they were making a scene. Visibly forcing himself to calm down, he said, "I'm just trying to do my job. If she stole something, it's better to confess now than at the precinct."

Tali couldn't stand watching anymore. "They just bumped into each other. Maybe you should ask **him,**" she said before pointing at the accusing volus, "if he dropped it at the Sirta Foundation!"

"Yeah!" Lia shouted in agreement.

"I didn't drop it!" Kor Tun argued.

"Fine, then you left it there," Tali said dismissively.

"Of course I didn't! You'd think I'd make a mistake like that?" Kor Tun retorted stubbornly.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Tali asked mockingly.

"Bah! I didn't even buy anything there! The chit stayed in my pocket!" Kor Tun shouted in between breaths from his environment suit, a sure sign that the volus was angry. "Don't try to trick me! I know how pickpockets work! They bump into you and use that as a cover for rifling your pockets!"

"He's not actually all that wrong," Kasumi mumbled.

"Not helping," Jacob hissed quietly to her.

"As if anyone can turn their backs on you clanless quarians. Thieves, all of you, ready to take anything not welded to the deck!"

"Quarians are only forced into destitution when people like **you** won't let them have **real** jobs," Tali spat.

"And to think my taxes pay to support you here," Kor Tun said mockingly. "Go back to your fleet, clanless."

"I am clan Zorah, crew of the starship Neema. And **you** are an idiot," Tali growled as she took a menacing step toward him.

"Don't waste your breath on him, Tali. It's not worth getting angry about," Kasumi interjected before the situation could escalate. She kept a grip on the younger girl and held on reassuringly.

Tali took a deep breath of her own and backed up. "My brain agrees with you," she said calmly before glaring at the volus. "My gut says I should jack his suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse."

Lia actually giggled at that, while Kor Tun's breathing got more rapid in increasing ire.

"Damn, girl. You got a nasty streak in you, huh?" Jacob commented with a smile.

"Don't even think about it," Tammert warned.

"Can you do that?" Kasumi asked over Tammert's threat. "I know some people… Nah, forget it."

"Alright, look. You're interfering with—" Tammert started to say before a heavy hand clapped down on his shoulder.

"Easy, hotshot, you don't want to get on her bad side. Trust me, I've been there first hand."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Lower Ward, Lower Markets**_

_**A Few Hours Ago**_

"_An independent inquiry is investigating a group known as Cerberus in light of charges made by one Corporal Toombs and testimony by an apparent Cerberus scientist. A researcher known only as 'Dr. Wayne' has been promised immunity and has suggested Cerberus may also be tied to the death of Admiral Kahoku several years ago."_

"Alright. I got everything you asked for," Morlan said nervously. He looked around to see if there were any C-Sec officers nearby before sliding a bag underneath the table.

Garrus calmly picked up the bag and gave it a little shake, using the weight to judge the contents. "This is everything?"

"Everything!" Morlan hissed. "I didn't leave anything out!"

"If I find out you're cheating me," Garrus said ominously.

"I'm not!"

After leaving the agreed amount of credits on the table, Garrus walked out, mindful to avoid garnering any undue attention. He hopped into the car he rented and sped off back toward the Zakera Ward. Once inside, he set the destination and let the vehicle go on auto-pilot.

He grabbed his bag and opened it to inspect the contents. Inside was an M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol, standard fare really, but it would be enough to get through whatever bodyguards Fade's contact would probably employ. The other weapon was what Garrus focused on. It was the latest in military and police sniper rifles, the M-29 Incisor. Capable of semi-automatic fire for precise, calculated shooting or 3-round-bursts that fired so rapidly, the recoil would be barely noticeable from single-fire option. This would take out any shields or armor that the target was wearing, as well as increasing stopping power without sacrificing accuracy. He inspected his new rifle from barrel to stock to ensure it was in working order. A full stock of thermal clips filled with heat sinks completed the package.

Satisfied that everything was modified as he specified, he stowed his gear back into the bag and leaned back in his seat. The meeting was all set up in the shipping warehouse on the 26th level of Zakera Ward. It's not likely that Fade would show up personally, so whoever Garrus was meeting would need some 'persuasion' to give up Fade's location. From there, Sidonis could be lured out without suspicion.

His prep was complete, but a small part of his mind nagged at him. The meet was in a few hours, but he hadn't called Shepard yet. He was pretty sure that he didn't want to, either.

_I can do this by myself._

He knew Shepard would be pissed, but if the deed was done, any further argument would be pointless. Shepard would be rational enough to realize this. He just had to act quickly enough before his friend was any the wiser about his duplicity.

_Besides, this is my problem. No need for anyone else to get involved._

It was a hollow excuse and he knew it. It was obvious what Shepard's stance was on this, but Garrus was adamant on his position as well. Sidonis would die today and there was nothing left to discuss or argue about. He had a duty to honor his squad. To avenge them.

He took off his Kuwashii Visor and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The constant strain of the mission coupled with his lack of sleep was starting to take its toll. Even now, after more than a month, he couldn't close his eyes without seeing the faces of his squad. The sleeping pills he took damn near every night were probably the only reason he was still sane.

_Almost there…_

He idly traced the names he etched into his visor: Erash, Monteague, Mierin, Grundan Krul, Melanis, Ripper, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, Weaver.

Ten men and women that worked with him to bring justice on the unjust. Ten men and women that wanted to make a difference.

Ten men and women that was dead because of one traitor.

His finger brushed against the spot Sidonis' name was once written, but had long been scratched out.

_I have to do this._

Garrus put his visor back on, and turned off the auto-pilot. He took the car in manually, landing a fair distance from the warehouse. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he walked the rest of the way to his perch.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Level 26**_

_**Present Time**_

With another two hours or so left to go before the meeting, he ducked into one of the shops and snuck into the back. He reached the second floor and looked out the window. The vantage point was perfect. He was overlooking the meeting place and had a clear line of sight over most of the floor below.

He started working on his weapons for the next hour until he spotted a krogan entering the building he was watching. Inside was another krogan armed with a rifle.

_Looks like they're getting ready._

Something caught his attention from below. Looking over the precipice of the window, he spotted Tali's preferred purple clothing among the crowds. She was just within of the shadow of the building he was hiding in, preventing him from seeing her until she had moved. He watched as she made her way to the human restaurant in the corner, sit down, and observe the warehouse he was observing.

He cursed to himself. _She's not leaving. She's waiting. Damn it, she knows._

It was the only conclusion he could come up with. He had no idea how she figured out that Fade worked out of that shipping warehouse, but he had long since learned not to underestimate her intelligence or her tenacity. She'd wait until he showed up or something happened. With at least two armed krogan inside, conflict was probably unavoidable.

As annoyed as he was though, he had to admire her conviction and ability to figure out his location.

The meeting time was closing in. Adding to his irritation was appearance of Kasumi and Jacob, followed soon after by Crewmen Matthews and Hadley.

_At this point, why don't I just call everyone and host a party down here?_

He kept an eye on the warehouse and on Tali occasionally, but after another half hour, he got up. There was nothing further gained by surveillance now. Tali had gotten up as well from her stool and walked around the partition and out of his sight. What she was doing, he had no idea, but the meeting time was approaching. Placing all his weaponry into the bag, he exited the building and tried to blend with the crowds in an attempt to avoid everyone.

Just as he got past the partition, he heard Tali's irate voice.

"I am clan Zorah, crew of the starship Neema. And **you** are an idiot."

"Don't waste your breath on him, Tali. It's not worth getting angry about," Kasumi said.

"My brain agrees with you," she said before sounding angry again. "My gut says I should jack his suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse."

"Damn, girl. You got a nasty streak in you, huh?" Jacob commented.

"Don't even think about it," a C-Sec officer warned.

"Can you do that?" Kasumi asked over his threat. "I know some people… Nah, forget it."

"Alright, look. You're interfering with—" the officer started to say before Garrus clapped down on his shoulder.

"Easy, hotshot, you don't want to get on her bad side. Trust me, I've been there first hand," Garrus said with a warning look. "Take my word for it."

The human, Tammert, shook him off. "This quarian stole a credit chit. She—"

"Did she now?" Garrus interrupted. He looked at the quarian dressed in gray and shrugged. "Doesn't look like a thief to me."

"Bah!" the volus cried out in disbelief. "All quarians are—"

"I'd be real careful about what you're going to say," Garrus warned in a no-nonsense tone.

The volus shut up immediately.

Turning back to Tammert, Garrus said, "Why not just scan her for the chit? If she has it, then you're right and you should arrest her. If she doesn't, you got no case, even **if** she actually did steal something, which I'm not saying she did."

Tammert glared, but turned back to the quarian. "I'm legally obligated to inform you that I'll be doing an omni-tool scan."

She crossed her arms. "Fine, if it will get you both to leave me alone."

After running his scan, he looked at his readouts. "Only one credit chit and its registered to Miss Lia'Vael."

"See?" Lia said angrily.

"She could've hacked it! All these quarians are—"

"You do know that it takes a computer the size of an elcor to hack any of those chits?" Kasumi interrupted. "And it costs a lot of money just to have one. And they're illegal just about everywhere."

"Quarians are good, really good even, but they're not that good," Jacob added.

"She may not have the chit, but she could've have stashed it to recover later," Tammert argued.

Before Tali could blow up again, Garrus scoffed. "Good luck proving that. You got nothing but accusations and no evidence. Run her in, and you'll be looking at a reprimand, if not a suspension, for harassment."

"Hold on!" Kasumi suddenly shouted. She slapped her fist into her hand. "Have you been to Saronis Applications? The clerk mentioned a volus forgetting his chit there."

"Oh, yeah. That salarian, right?" Jacob added. "A couple of hours ago, he asked if we saw a volus. Apparently, he purchased some environmental system drivers and left without the chit. That you Kor Tun?"

Everyone turned to the volus.

Kor Tun took a nervous breath when everyone's eyes turned to him. "Oh…"

"Idiot," Tali said decisively.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Jacob said.

"I have to agree," Kasumi said.

"Well… the quarian could have stolen it," Kor Tun said lamely.

Tammert grumbled. "I'll close this event report. But I'll be watching you," he said to Lia. "What's your current address?"

"What?" Lia asked in surprise before shuffling nervously. "Um… Some nights I get a HabCapsule in 633 block."

"Your permanent address."

"I'm on Pilgrimage! I don't have one!"

"I'll have to mark you as a vagrant," Tammert smarmily said.

"I'm not homeless! I'm nar Ulnay!" Lia screeched.

"She said she's on Pilgrimage!" Tali shouted. "It's tradition in which—"

"Look, you can take your traditions and cram them. Every time a quarian shows up—"

Tammert didn't get a chance to finish. Garrus grabbed him by the shirt and forced him to look into his eyes. "What did I say about watching your words?" he growled menacingly.

Far from being afraid, Tammert actually smirked. "How about these words: You're under arrest for assaulting a C-Sec officer."

Garrus was tempted, **very** tempted, to reach into his bag, grab his pistol, and shoot Tammert's kneecaps. Or just beat the man within an inch of his life with his bare hands. Or even…

"Over here, Captain!"

Before he could decide what bloody mess he was going to turn Tammert into, Shepard walked up to the altercation with Hadley and Matthews pointing out the location for him.

"How 'bout you walk away?" Shepard 'suggested'.

"Do you know who I am?" Tammert growled. He tore free from Garrus grip and glared.

"No. Do you know who I am?" Shepard asked calmly in return.

"What does that—?"

"I'm a Spectre."

Tammert lost his haughty attitude in an instant.

"I'm also acquaintances with Captain Bailey, as are a few of my friends here. You should expect some serious problems in your future, Officer…" Shepard made a show of looking down at the nametag, looking almost as if learning Tammert's name was a chore or he was too insignificant to bother knowing. "Tammert. Unless you want more, I 'suggest' you **walk away.**"

"Son of a…" Tammert muttered.

"What was that?" Tali asked sweetly.

He looked like was about to make a biting remark when Shepard stepped around and stood next to Tali proudly.

Tammert left without another word.

"Um… well… I'll just be going to collect my chit now…" Kor Tun stammered out.

"How about an apology first?" Garrus said in a low tone.

"Oh… yes… um… sorry…" Kor Tun reluctantly said to Lia before waddling off.

"Thanks for calling me," Shepard said to Hadley and Matthews.

"Yes, sir," said both crewmen in tandem. They saluted and then walked back to The Stand.

"Are you alright, Lia?" Tali asked.

"Yeah. Fine. Thank you. I—I wish I could give you something more than words," Lia said.

"It's fine. Your pilgrimage isn't going so well, is it?" Tali asked sympathetically.

"No. I came here thinking there'd be a lot of work. EVA stuff. Salvage. Fixing all the damage the geth attack caused," Lia said miserably. "Everywhere I went to apply, signs said 'Not hiring quarians.' And the other people would give me mean looks."

"The Citadel has never been tolerant of quarians on Pilgrimage," Tali explained. She sounded like she knew that first hand.

_Then again, Shepard and I did team up with her on the Citadel._

"Yeah. And now people are blaming the quarians for the geth attack," Garrus added. "It's making life a bit hard for them here."

"Can you take care of yourself from here?" Jacob asked.

"I guess. I mean, most nights I eat nutrient paste in a turian shelter. But I'm surviving," Lia replied. "I can take of myself now."

"If you're sure. Good luck, Lia'Vael," Tali said.

"Thanks, Tali'Zorah."

After Lia left, Shepard turned to Garrus. "So when were you planning on calling me?"

"Just now, actually," Garrus lied. "Seems Hadley and Matthews saved me some time."

"Um… Garrus?"

Garrus turned his head toward Tali. She was nervously fidgeting with the hood of her suit. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping Lia'Vael out. I really appreciate it," she said softly.

"Sure thing," Garrus replied easily. He turned to Kasumi and Jacob. "So what are you two doing here?"

"I'm looking for somebody called 'Fade'," Kasumi answered with a shrug. "Interesting moniker, don't you think?"

"Why?"

"Why he's called Fade?"

Garrus crossed his arms and glared.

"Wow, you look a bit scary," Kasumi observed nervously and stepped behind Jacob.

"He does, doesn't he?" Jacob agreed and crossed his arms as well, completely unfazed by Garrus' daunting appearance.

"Why are you looking for him?" Garrus asked waspishly.

"My old partner, Keiji, had a personal note mentioning him. I think he was going to employ Fade's services to go into hiding," Kasumi informed. "I wanted to ask Fade a few questions. No big deal. I don't think Keiji actually met him, but pays to be thorough." She gestured to Jacob. "I'm also doing a bit of shopping. Jacob kindly volunteered to escort me."

Jacob scoffed and muttered, "Volunteered, my ass…"

"What did you say?" Kasumi asked.

"Nothing!" Jacob replied quickly.

Garrus rubbed his head agitatedly. He knew that not every plan will work to the letter, but this was just blowing up in his face. First Tali, then Shepard, and now Kasumi and Jacob.

_I'm __**this**__ close and now this._

"When's the meet?" Shepard asked.

Garrus looked at his chrono. "Now, actually."

"Who're you meeting? Are you looking for Fade too?" Kasumi asked rapidly.

"Let's go," Garrus muttered to Shepard and ignored the questions. He led the way into the warehouse, keeping his bag slightly open so he could be prepared for anything. As much as he didn't want anyone else with him, the idea that Sidonis might get away the longer he delayed was far worse.

To his annoyance, Tali stepped up next to him. Her body language almost seemed to suggest that she wanted, dared him really, to say that she couldn't come.

Kasumi and Jacob had taken it upon themselves to follow along uninvited as well.

Inside, the two armed krogan were standing around. They had no real markings or characteristics that identified or showed that they were affiliated with any specific group.

_Local guns for hire, then._

The two krogan brandished their assault rifles, but as a warning or a deterrent. They appeared cocky since they believed they were the ones armed and assumed that none of the potential clients carried any weapons.

Garrus heard the sounds of a respirator to his left. Turning his head, he spotted a single volus walking out from behind the crates he was hiding behind.

"Fade? You're not exactly what I was expecting," Kasumi commented.

"Looks can be deceiving," the contact said. "So… which one of you wants to disappear?"

Garrus wasn't interested in parley nor was he amused at the play on words. "I want to see Fade," he demanded brusquely.

"I told you—"

"If you're Fade," Garrus interrupted, his voice taking on a menacing tone, "then you'd better make someone **reappear**. Right now."

"Ah… that's not the service we provide," the volus hesitantly replied.

"And yet, you're going to make an exception," Garrus growled out. His hand reached into his pack and gripped his Predator. "Or else you'll find out what it's like to 'disappear' yourself."

The volus knew the gig was up. "Damn it… shoot them! Shoo—!"

In a flash, the pistol was up and already sighted. Targeting the krogan on the left, he put a round in each eye. Before he could focus on the bodyguard to the right, Shepard had also drawn his pistol and put two rounds in the throat and a third in the head.

"Too slow," Shepard taunted.

"Why do I even bother…?" the volus said in resignation.

"Fade. Now," Garrus ordered tersely.

"Wait… I'm not the one you want to talk to. I'm not—"

"I know who you're not and I don't care. **Where is Fade?**" Garrus poked the barrel of his pistol against the underling's head roughly, using his size advantage to intimidate the stout volus.

"Garrus!" Tali shouted in alarm.

"He's in the factory district! Works out of the old prefab foundry!" the contact said.

Garrus lowered his weapon and nodded. He knew the place well enough.

"What else can you tell us about him?" Tali asked, her gentle tone a stark contrast to Garrus' rougher methods. "And which group of mercs does he work with?"

Garrus turned to Tali questioningly, but she didn't spare him a glance. She continued to regard the contact.

The volus was still breathing rapidly from Garrus' frightening presence and backed up a bit. "His real name is Harkin. The Blue Suns work with him."

_Harkin… that bastard._

"How the hell did Harkin end up being the Fade?" Shepard asked.

"Well… he got fired from C-Sec a while back—"

"I'm shocked, I really am," Shepard muttered sarcastically.

"—and he used his knowledge of C-Sec and their systems to help a few people disappear," the underling explained. "Then he made himself disappear and Fade was born. So to speak."

"What about the mercs? What do they have to do with this?" Garrus asked.

"They use his services… to help their people infiltrate businesses and various organizations here on the Citadel," the volus replied.

"Interesting. But it changes nothing," Garrus decided. "I just need him to bring out Sidonis."

"Think Harkin is going to be happy to see either of us?" Shepard asked.

"I'm sure he'll be ecstatic," Garrus darkly replied. He glanced down at the volus.

"So I… I can go?" the contact asked hesitantly.

"Sure," Garrus said before glaring. "But if I don't find Harkin, I'm coming back for you."

"Oh. Goody."

"Hold on," Kasumi said. "Does the name Keiji Okuda mean anything to you? A potential client, maybe?"

Garrus left, not really interested in her personal affairs. He already had his own business to finish. Tali and Shepard followed in his wake.

"So, now we're going to find this Harkin?" Tali asked.

"Shepard and I are going. You're not," Garrus said.

"The hell I'm not," Tali retorted.

Garrus blinked and looked at her strangely. He'd never heard her sound that vulgar before.

_Then again, I seem to be bringing out her bad side more and more._

"I'm coming to help, whether you want it or not," Tali said.

Garrus stopped in his tracks and rounded on her. "You're unarmed. You can't—" The argument died on his lips when he saw her holding a collapsed M-8 Avenger, most likely taken from one of the downed krogan bodyguards. "Do you even know how to use that?"

"Assault rifles aren't really my thing, but I'm proficient enough to use one. Besides, you need me. Out of the three major merc groups, the Blue Suns are known to have the most up-to-date technology they can get their hands on." She crossed her arms and looked smug. "That means mechs, shields, and advanced weaponry. Sounds like you could use someone that can combat or even negate that advantage."

"She's right," Shepard calmly added. "We don't know how many mercs are with Harkin or what resources they have on the Citadel. We could use an extra gun. She can 'retrieve' a shotgun from one of them later, anyway."

Garrus scowled at Tali's stubbornness, but lacked the will to argue. As angry as he was, he privately appreciated her staunch loyalty to him, even though they shared a rocky outlook on his mission. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. Her help would be invaluable against the tech-savvy mercenaries. "Fine. Let's just go."

As the group trekked to his car, he got the uncomfortable feeling that everything was spiraling out of his control and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

_I can do this. I __**need**__ to do this._

He tried to ignore the concerned looks from his friends as they sped toward the Factory District.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

I'll be honest, this is one of the loyalty missions I was looking forward to writing (second to Miranda's anyway). It was killing me to push it back, but as you can see, I wanted to give Tali a legitimate reason for coming other than Shepard pointing at a lineup and saying, "You. Let's go." In video games, it works; in novels, I actually need a reason, right?

Out of all the companions, I wanted Garrus to be the one that was a bit different. Everyone actually wanted Shepard's help in the game. I felt a small change was necessary. The only one that didn't want anyone's help, including Shepard's, would be the one who is closest to him, (besides Miranda) despite their friendship. I thought it would make an interesting dichotomy and add a bit of drama. Besides, he's a turian rebel, right?

Kudos to **Rise Against713** for recognizing the Thane/Garrus loyalty mission comparison I was aiming for.

I apologize for the length as well. It's a bit shorter than what I usually write, but adding this and the loyalty mission made the chapter seem way too much. I decided to cut it in half and call it an Interlude. I'm almost finished with Garrus' loyalty mission.

_Domo Arigato:_ Thank you

_Anata (Not anato) no kangei:_ You're welcome

Be sure to vote on the poll.

And review!


	38. Eye for an Eye

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Orbital Lounge**_

_**Present Time**_

Garrus took a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly. His cheek rested on the stock of his rifle, his finger tightened on the trigger. His target was in sight.

The shot was tantalizing. Child's play, really. Lantar Sidonis was only 37 meters away, an easy headshot… It would be quick and clean, a small mercy…

He adjusted the rifle just a fraction, but still couldn't find the right angle.

"Damn it. Shepard, you're in my shot. Move to the side."

The scope trembled slightly as he tried to slide the crosshairs over to Sidonis, but somehow, Shepard had always moved his head just in the right way to prevent the shot.

On purpose.

Shepard was talking to Sidonis now, warning him. **Helping** him.

"Damn you! Move!" Garrus snarled into his radio.

Shepard was talking again, but not to him, to Sidonis. He saw what Shepard was doing now. What he planned. Probably had it all mapped out from the beginning.

"You son of a bitch… Don't think I won't take the shot. I'll pull the trigger, even if you're in my way—I've come too far to be denied like this, Shepard."

Sidonis said something, looking decidedly panicked. He took a step away, almost there…

Shepard stepped forward, almost causally, back into his line of fire, stealing his chance once again.

_Damn you…_

Garrus swallowed, took a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly. His cheek itched on the stock of his rifle, his finger tensed on the trigger, and his target was within reach—

But the crosshairs was pointed at one of his closest friends…

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Factory District**_

_**2 Hours Ago**_

The old factory district of the Citadel was always a source of trouble for C-Sec. Lots of older buildings, filled with abandoned machinery and populated with seedy or desperate people; it was a haven for lawbreakers to inhabit. The resources and leftover equipment from some factory closing down could be repurposed and used for some enterprising criminal organization.

Garrus reflected on some of the undercover work he did as a C-Sec detective at the prefab foundry and idly wondered how the hell he got anything done with all the red tape he waded through. He parked the car near their destination and hopped out. Pulling his weapons out of the bag, he attached them to the harness on his back and scouted the area. "Looks clear."

Shepard had taken the opportunity to take his armor case out of his bag and started equipping himself accordingly. In terms of weaponry, all he had was his Spectre assault rifle and pistol.

Tali was inspecting her new assault rifle carefully. Garrus didn't blame her, considering that it used to be in the hands of a dead krogan. It obviously didn't serve him too well, not that he exactly had a chance to use it.

"Ready," Shepard announced.

"Me too," Tali added.

Garrus looked at her worriedly. "You're not wearing your Colossus Armor," he observed. She was dressed in her preferred environmental suit which wasn't nearly as strong as her combat armor.

She just shrugged in response. "I'll be fine. This environment suit is still equipped with kinetic barriers and light ablative plates in key areas. I also have several suit upgrades given to me by Admiral Han'Gerral for my mission on Haestrom. Should be enough to handle whatever they throw at us."

"What about you?" Shepard asked. "No helmet?"

"Bringing it would've raised suspicions," Garrus replied defensively.

Shepard shook his head before pointedly putting on his own helmet and engaged his voice modulator. "I learned the hard way that you should always wear a helmet."

"I'll keep that in mind." Satisfied that they were prepared as well as they were going to be, Garrus led the way to the most likely place Harkin would've set up shop. During the flight overhead, his visor had picked up thermal, sonar, and EM images of what might be combat mechs in one of the factories. The Blue Suns were known to often use mechs during their operations and it was doubtful that there would be so many security mechs deployed in someplace with so little value.

_Unless there's something actually worth protecting._

Just then, Harkin rounded a corner in front of them, lighting up a cigarette and taking a smoke. He looked up at the sound of their footsteps and spotted them. "Oh shit, Garrus!"

"There he is!" Shepard shouted and drew his pistol. "Hold it, Harkin!"

Harkin dropped his cigarette, spun around, and ran back around the corner. "Hey! Hey! Don't just stand there you idiots! Shoot them!"

Garrus ran after him first, and almost headlong into the hail of fire from the two mercs guarding the door. He dove to the ground and slid face first behind some crates. A few bullets had stuck his shields, but nothing penetrated. "Run all you want, Harkin! I'll find you!" he roared.

The sounds of additional gunfire signaled that more mercs had joined the fray.

Garrus poked his pistol out and fired randomly at the mercs, trying to create an opening to peak around and get a handle on the situation. The mercs hardly flinched and continued their suppressing fire.

Shepard sidled up to the corner of building and exchanged fire with the mercs using his assault rifle. The mercs were trying to spread themselves out and try to use their numbers to win, but the confined space, coupled with the advanced HMWA forced them to bunch up.

Tali fiddled around with her omni-tool for a moment. Just then, her combat drone appeared and floated around the corner, firing its electric shock indiscriminately. "Go for the optics, Chiktikka! Go for the optics!"

There was pause as the mercs suddenly had to contend with the drone, allowing Garrus to look around and take stock of the situation. Five mercs were hiding behind discarded crates. A few more littered the entryway.

One merc finally took out the drone, only to have it explode in his face, killing him and injuring another nearby. The rest were protected though the sounds of electrical cracks signaled that their shields were disabled.

Shepard took the opportunity to unleash Shockwave, blowing away the crates and bowling over the hapless mercs and forcing them all out of cover. Garrus immediately gunned them down using his pistol.

"Fall back! Fall back!" one of the mercs shouted after seeing that their adversaries were also armed and not to be taken lightly.

Leaving their injured and dead behind, the few remaining mercs started running for the door. Most managed to get through, but one was shot down by Shepard and Tali's assault rifles and fell in the doorway.

"Shit! Get that body out of the way! Lock the door! Lock it!" a merc yelled.

Garrus ran up and slammed the butt of his pistol on one the injured mercs, knocking him unconscious. While Shepard and Tali continued to fire through the door, Garrus picked up an assault rifle and a grenade. "Fire in the hole!"

He tossed the grenade through the door and ducked down. The explosion and screams signaled that the entryway was probably clear enough for them to breach and enter. Tali and Shepard stacked up at the doorway right after the blast and entered quickly, weapons ready and firing at any threats that were present the moment they cleared the threshold.

Garrus followed and saw that his grenade had taken out two more mercs. Two LOKIs appearing from a container put up some resistance, but Tali's Overload shut them down instantly.

Shepard was using one of the countless steel crates as cover as more mercs poured into the large loading bay they were fighting in now. _"Reinforcements incoming!"_

Instead of joining Tali and Shepard at ground level, Garrus hoisted himself atop one of the larger crates and took the high ground. Pulling out his new Incisor, he peered down the scope and started getting a bead on the situation. "They're coming from the far doors. Mechs are stored in the large blue containers. Looks to be about a dozen mercs."

Engaging the 3-round burst fire mode, the crack of his sniper rifle brought the count to 11.

"Shepard, there's a path to the left. Cloak and flank'em. I'll cover your approach. Tali, there a path down the middle, the one with a big truck. Go in and hold position."

"_On it." – "Gotcha!"_

The Blue Suns were aware of his presence now and were trying to kill him, but he held his ground, using the high ground and distance to pick them off. Each burst from his sniper rifle disabled the shields and scored a perfect headshot, forcing them to retreat.

"_I'm in position,"_ Tali reported. She was exchanging fire with a group of mercs that were trying to push toward her.

Suddenly, a series of explosions rocked the room. The containers on the left that were holding the LOKI mechs erupted in flames.

"_Got a pack of grenades from one of the mercs and put it to good use," _Shepard reported.

"Nice one, Shepard."

"_Mercs are converging to the middle. I need some help!"_ Tali called.

"I see'em," Garrus assured. "Just hold your position, Tali. I need a better shot."

The mercs continued their relentless attack. Tali was forced to occasionally hold up her rifle and blind-fire at them now, but the shots were wild and were sporadically hitting a random merc, but failing to penetrate any kinetic shields.

"_Garrus!"_

The crack of his rifle dropped one. Then another. Under fire from his sniper's perch, the Suns fell back and abandoned their charge. Soon, they were out his line of fire again.

"Send your drone in," Garrus replied tensely. He aimed his rifle and waited.

The Combat Drone materialized right next to her and floated right at the mercs._ "Go get them, Chiktikka! Good girl!"_

The drone flew right at the mercs, firing over and over again. Their shields broke under attack and forced them out of cover. Garrus seized the opportunity to increase his kill count. The mercs spread themselves out, running from cover to cover. Several were gunned down courteously from Garrus. Additional firepower was provided by Shepard, who flanked them funneled them into Tali's kill zone or Garrus'. The drone followed the any of the others, until it finally exploded and eliminating the rest.

"Tali?" Garrus asked.

"_I'm good. Shepard?"_

Another explosion rang out. Another container containing LOKI mechs was destroyed. A few that were still somewhat functioning were spouting out their verbal warnings though it was stuttered and changing in pitch.

"_I think I got most of the LOKIs. We probably won't have to worry about them now,"_ Shepard reported. He reappeared into view when his cloak finally wore off.

Garrus climbed down from his vantage point and stalked forward toward the far doors. He holstered his Incisor and brought his liberated Avenger to bear, idly shooting a functioning LOKI that was crawling toward him as he moved. During his training in the military, he often felt a rush when he conducted mock combat drills and relished the thrill of the hunt. His former CO's noted that it was those qualities that made him such an effective sniper or soldier. "Let's go. Harkin's in here somewhere. I can **smell** him."

The traversed the factory carefully. Most of the Blue Suns had fallen back, probably amassing with Harkin. The area they were in now was a loading dock for the larger cargo containers.

Garrus smiled to himself. They'd just attacked the smaller loading dock and only a few LOKIs and mercs were in the larger dock. Next would probably be the conveyor system. At this point, Harkin was trapped. All they had to do was attack head on and ensure that there was no hope left for the bastard.

Often, Tali would send her drone ahead, scouting the area for any signs of an ambush and revealing the merc's positions. Shepard and Garrus swept for any signs of snipers hiding on top of the boxes, cranes, or any place suitable, but so far, only a few mechs or leftover holdouts were met and dealt with. Nothing particularly difficult or challenging.

"Why are there so few mercs?" Shepard questioned.

"Maybe this Harkin couldn't afford more?" Tali guessed.

"Probably. I doubt Harkin would have such a large force for such a small operation. These guys were cut off from the rest. Look," Garrus said. He pointed to a bridge that's been raised. "They must've fallen back and tried to cut us off, leaving the others to fend for themselves. No time to set up ambushes or proper defensive positions. We should keep hitting them while we have the momentum."

"There's the terminal," Shepard pointed out.

Garrus walked up to it and studied it for a minute before cursing. "This might take a bit. They're using some pretty advanced encryption."

"Let me try," Tali offered. She walked up to the terminal interfaced with it using her omni-tool. "Yeah, at first blush it does appear complicated, but if I load a trojan… backtracking… searching for the firewall codes… and… done. Not too bad actually."

The bridge lowered noisily, but their initial assault had long since rendered stealth pointless. Garrus looked to see a door at the far end of the cargo room. The sounds of cranes and conveyors could be heard now. "We're getting close."

The area ahead was abandoned. Garrus guessed that Harkin was marshaling whatever forces he had with him. Inside, the room probably belonged to the supervisor of the cargo bay they just came from. A large window allowed them to see the conveyor room beyond. Slinking up to it carefully, Garrus looked around for any sign of his prey.

"So, Harkin's finally graduated to become a full-time criminal," Shepard commented as he pressed up against the wall and peeked out of the window as well. Tali guarded the only door out of the room, armed with a pilfered shotgun now.

"He was always a pain in the ass," Garrus replied shortly. "But I'm in no mood for his games. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll beat him within an inch of his life."

Suddenly, something moved in the far end of some boxes to their left. Both men reacted at the same time and tried to judge the layout, estimated numbers, and possible threats.

"Did you see that?" Garrus asked, trying to get confirmation.

"I saw something," Shepard answered slowly.

They scanned their surroundings more carefully now. Garrus noted that most of the conveyors were on the ceiling, moving the cargo to the loading bays via clamps and cranes. There were a few conveyor belts on the ground, but for the most part, it looked like a mess of platforms ahead. Most the sections of the floors seem to be able to rise to the ceiling and allow crates to be picked up and transported from the upper conveyor system. If they attacked, they'd be at a disadvantage from the start since all of the Blue Suns will have the high ground, forcing them to fight for every inch of cover as they climbed their way up.

"He getting ready for us," Garrus decided. "They're making their last stand; prepping defenses. Harkin's trapped himself in a corner. He must have something in store for us."

"What are you going to do to Harkin if he won't 'cooperate'?" Shepard asked.

Garrus smiled grimly. Back on the Omega, the answer was fairly simple. "He's a criminal now. Working for the Blue Suns. I should just shoot him on sight."

Tali looked away from the door and stared at him disbelievingly.

"Don't worry. I need him alive, so I won't do any permanent damage. Just enough to loosen his tongue," he amended.

"Do you really need to hurt him to get what you want?" Tali worriedly asked.

"Don't worry. Harkin's a coward. Always was. He'll talk long before I can really hurt him." Garrus could feel Tali's disapproving look and turned away to close the window. Standing up, he marched for the door.

"You still planning to kill Sidonis when we find him?" Shepard asked.

"That's the plan," Garrus replied simply, though he didn't meet any of their eyes. "It'll be quick and painless. Unlike everyone he betrayed, he'll be spared the agony of a slow death."

_I'm not a monster, after all._

_Just a __**murderer**__,_ a voice, sounding frighteningly like Tali's, asserted.

He shook his head and turned back to the others. "It's more than he deserves, but as long as he dead, I'll be satisfied."

"Satisfied at killing someone?" Shepard remarked. "Garrus, do you really thing killing Sidonis will make things right, or even better?"

"I know neither of you like it, but I **have** to do this," Garrus stubbornly replied.

"Are you sure about that?"Tali asked desperately. "There might be another way for you to reconcile with your pain."

"Maybe," Garrus evasively answered. He turned away from them again and pressed himself next to the door.

_But, this is personal._

Shepard stacked up against the other side of the door. Tali reluctantly followed and had to visibly steel herself for the coming conflict.

"Looks like the only way forward is up," Shepard stated. He sounded dismayed at the layout of the area ahead.

"I don't like it," Tali said. "There could be a dozen mercs in there and they'll have the high ground every step of the way. The cover out there might be adequate for a little bit, but they can lay down suppressing fire while the others flank us. Not to mention that snipers could pick us off, one by one."

Garrus looked at her in surprise.

She shrugged in response. "My time with the Migrant Fleet Marines was well spent."

"We got lucky so far," Shepard said. "Harkin and the Blue Suns probably thought we brought C-Sec reinforcements or something. They'll know it's just the three of us now."

"I can take care of the suppressors,"Garrus replied. He held his sniper rifle confidently. "The two of you should be able to push your way to the top. Draw their fire and I'll pick'em off."

"That's our plan?" Tali asked in disbelief.

"Worked so far," Garrus reminded.

"Keelah. The things we do for you, you bosh'tet…"

Normally, Garrus would've made a witty retort, but he knew that they were helping him out for the sake of their friendship and against their own moral views. He shook off the feeling of guilt and readied himself.

Tali opened the door remotely and Garrus peeked his head out only to jerk back when the Suns started shooting immediately.

"Fall back!" Garrus shouted.

Shepard and Tali didn't hesitate. They sprinted away from the door and back into the main room of the office. It was a moment none too soon. A missile streaked through the door and detonated against the wall.

"_You think you can beat me? !"_ Harkin shouted via intercom. _"Why don't you just die? !"_

"They definitely know it's just the three of us now,"Shepard groused.

"I'll take point," Garrus said. He slowly made his way to the door and look out. Three mercs were approaching. Two were standing near a large container and covering for their point man as he carefully made his way to the door.

Garrus glanced down at this Avenger and checked the status of the heat sink within before readying himself. He popped out from the door and open fired on the closing merc. His shields drained and failed in seconds. The next series of shots easily tore through him.

Garrus continued shooting at the rear pair of mercs, throwing out an Overload at the same time to take out their shields. They both jumped back and hid around the container as Garrus continued firing at full-auto. Seeing that the mercs had ducked down, he burst from the door, running past the dead body, still firing full-bore. The running and gunning ruined his accuracy, but it was enough to keep the mercs hiding. The moment the gun overheated, instead of ejecting the heat sink, he dropped the assault rifle, pulled out his pistol and continued shooting to suppress them until he stopped just adjacent of the merc's hiding place around the corner of the container and waited.

"He's out. Get'em!" one of the mercs said.

Garrus engaged his Tactical Cloak, clutched the pistol in his right hand, and tensed up.

One merc popped out and started shooting at the doorway Garrus had just run from, completely unaware that his target was right around the corner. Shepard and Tali returned fire before backing off when another missile streaked into the office.

The two mercs stepped out, preparing to assault the office.

The moment Garrus spotted the barrel of the rifle, he jumped out grabbed the rifle and used it as a lever to spin the merc around.

"What the fuck!" the merc shouted in surprise. He involuntarily pulled the trigger and fired a series of wild shots. They struck his partner by accident when Garrus forced the barrel to point at him, severely wounding the man.

Garrus fired twice from his pistol at the hapless merc to finish him off, while pushing back the other merc to keep him off balance. Before the merc could aim his weapon, Garrus raised his pistol and fired twice at the chest and one at the head. The maneuver had taken only a few seconds.

Shepard burst out from the door and started firing at the mercs that were hiding on the raised platforms. A Biotic Barrier was erected, adding to his protection as he ran for the nearest available cover. Tali followed his wake, launching an Overload of her own to try and alleviate the pressure.

The merc rained down fire at the three protagonists from almost all directions. Harkin created further problems by raising or lowering the platforms, trying to shut down any pathways up. It seemed like he didn't know the controls because they were raising or lowering randomly, helping or hurting everyone involved.

Garrus climbed up one of the raised platforms that Harkin didn't mess around with, and pulled out his Incisor. He propped his rifle on a crate and picked out targets of opportunity. One by one, he took them out. "Go! Go!"

Slowly, Shepard and Tali moved forward, trusting that their turian sniper could keep the worst off as they moved up and returned fire.

"_Why don't you just run away? !" _Harking shouted. Several cranes carrying LOKIs descended on the battlefield.

"_I got them!"_ Tali called out. She aimed her omni-tool at the mechs and seized control of them.

The moment they deployed, they turned and started shooting at the Blue Suns, acting more like a distraction than an actual threat. But it was enough. The mercs turned and started shooting at their own mechs, allowing Tali and Shepard to continue their assault.

"_How 'bout this? !"_ Harkin crowed.

Suddenly, a crane descended from above, nearly on top of Garrus. He spotted the shadow in time and fell back with a shout. The crane may have missed him, but it latched on to the crate he was taking cover behind and lifted it up. A few mercs trained their weapons on him. "Oh, shit."

Engaging his Tactical Cloak, he jumped down just as the mercs started shooting. His shields drained with the effort of protecting him, but he managed to hide before his armor was tested. "Damn it! I've been flushed out! I repeat: I'm not in position anymore!"

"_We're almost there!"_ Shepard reported. _"Tali, get those mechs to attack the ones on the right, I'll—Shit!"_

Garrus got up and frantically looked around. He spotted Shepard tangling with a Blue Suns merc in tech armor. It looked like Shepard had been tackled and now they were both rolling back down, crashing on different platforms. Through it all, they were fighting tooth and nail to get the advantage.

"Damn it! Will someone kill this bitch? !" a merc screamed out.

"I got he… Aaahh!"

"_They're all yours, Chiktikka!"_

Seeing that Shepard was too far away to help, Garrus looked around and picked up a discarded Vindicator Battle Rifle. He started climbing and vaulting over any obstacles in his way to reach Tali.

She was holding back four mercs with the assistance of two LOKI's, though one was missing an arm.

Garrus started shooting immediately, taking out one merc, and alerting the others.

Tali took the opportunity to close the distance, and with Garrus, launched tandem Overloads. The mercs soon found their guns overheated and their shields disabled. All three of them threw down their weapons and surrendered.

"Kick'em!" Garrus ordered. He and Tali held their weapons ready for any sign of resistance.

The mercs complied without further problems, though.

Suddenly, everyone heard a scream. The earlier merc that had tackled Shepard was flying in the air, a hazy blue energy surrounding him. He was screaming and flailing around before he abruptly shot toward the ground with bone-breaking force.

"That had to hurt," Tali said in the following silence.

Shepard hauled himself on the platform they were standing on and rotating his left arm, probably to massage away the pain of landing on it during his tumble. He suddenly froze in place after looking up. _"Incoming!"_ he shouted. He jumped off the platform.

Tali and Garrus didn't hesitate. They turned around and leapt off the platform as well. The three mercs weren't nearly as quick and were consumed by the explosion that engulfed the spot they were on moments before.

Garrus looked around, but couldn't find the shooter. He did see the contrails of another missile flying right at Shepard and Tali's position.

Shepard was quick enough to push Tali out of the worst of the blast before the missile impacted against him. The explosion threw him several meters away, but amazingly, he shook it off and managed to stand up again, though he was favoring one of his legs. He limped for the nearest available cover. The hazy and flickering blue aura suggested that he had managed to erect a Biotic Barrier just in time. Tali shook her head, slightly dazed, but mostly unharmed since her shields held up. She scrambled toward the nearest crate and ducked down.

Garrus traced the source of the missile to a platform, high up and to the right. Unfortunately, the merc was on the far end of the platform, just out of his line of sight.

The merc evidently realized that Shepard was too tough a target and switched toward Tali instead.

"_Tali! Run!"_ Shepard ordered.

Tali abandoned her cover just in time. The missile blew away the crate she had used with little trouble. She sprinted for the next suitable piece of defilade when another missile impacted against a large crate just above her.

"Tali, look out!"Garrus shouted.

Tali looked up and spotted the danger. She dove to one side, but was too slow. The crate crashed down on her leg, eliciting a pained scream from her. She flailed on the ground, trying to escape, but the crate had pinned her down.

Shepard started firing on the merc, hoping to suppress her. The merc used her advantage of the high ground to fire another rocket at him, though, forcing him to back off.

Garrus looked around wildly for another perch, someplace where he could get a better shot. A flash of movement above caught his eye. Looking up, he spotted several containers being carried away on conveyors. Using his visor, he zoomed in and saw that they had explosive labels on the side. Dropping the Vindicator, he quickly drew his Incisor and took steady aim at the next one that was right over the Blue Suns Heavy. Carefully timing his shot, he squeezed the trigger and scored a hit on the arm that was holding the crate.

The volatile cargo fell, heading right for unsuspecting merc. Quickly, Garrus fired again, this time striking the crate. She never knew what hit her.

After the explosion, he got up and made his way toward Tali. Shepard was already there and had used his biotics to move the crate.

"How is she?" Garrus asked, concern and worry lacing his voice.

"Her suit isn't ruptured… but I'm sure her leg is broken," Shepard replied as he carefully inspected the wound.

"At least it wasn't a gunshot wound," Tali said jokingly, though it sounded like she was gritting her teeth to endure the pain.

Shepard looked at the readouts on his omni-tool and shook his head. "We need to get her out—Hang on, did anyone hear that?"

Garrus cocked his head to the side and listened. "It sounds like cranes…" He turned his head toward the source and cursed. "Oh, crap! Two heavy mechs incoming!"

"_Let's see how you deal with this!" _Harkin taunted.

"Sorry, Tali! This is going to hurt!" Shepard warned before bodily picking her up and running toward of the lower platforms to use for cover.

Tali gasped, but managed to hold back the bulk of whatever pain she must've been in.

Garrus brought his sniper rifle and thundered away at one of the mechs before the crane could even finish dropping its load.

The mech's shields easily shrugged off the bullets as it started powering up and standing erect to prepare for confrontation. It pointed one of its arms and started firing with its cannon.

Garrus leapt behind the nearest crate and scrambled away when he heard the bullets striking and tearing away his cover.

The next crate he hid behind was a bit better. It was thicker at least, allowing it to absorb more bullets. When there was a break in between shots, Garrus popped out and used Overload. The mechs shrugged it off and continued their barrage, their shields still holding despite the attack.

"_Do you really think you can take me down? !"_ Harkin sneered.

A couple of crates sailed over and struck one of the YMIRs, staggering it, but doing little else.

"I don't suppose you learned how to beat these things with your biotics yet? Like Jack?"Garrus asked when he saw Shepard take cover nearby and attacking with his assault rifle.

"_Hadn't come up in my lessons, yet!"_ Shepard glibly replied. _"Let's call a time out and I'll ask Samara to see if she can give me some pointers!"_

"Something tells me that Harkin won't wait that long to kill us!"

Suddenly, the crate Garrus was hiding behind lurched forward, courteously of a missile impact. It struck him, causing him to pitch forward, out of cover and in the line of fire of one of the mechs.

_Oh, shit._

All of a sudden, the YMIR turned away from him and started attacking its brethren. Within moments, both mechs started battling it out, firing their mass accelerator cannons and missiles.

Garrus released the breath he didn't know he was holding and rolled back behind the crate again. Looking around, he spotted Tali aiming her omni-tool at one of the mechs and appeared to be remotely controlling it to fight for her.

Nodding gratefully to the quarian, he scrambled to his feet and picked up one of the discarded Blue Sun's missile launchers and started firing on the hostile mech with everything he had.

Shepard added his assault rifle to the mix and pounded away.

Between Garrus, Shepard, and the hacked YMIR, the other heavy mech fell within a matter of moments, unable to withstand the onslaught.

"_I won't be able to hold it for long!"_ Tali warned.

Quickly, Garrus ran up to the last YMIR and planted a grenade inside its chest before Tali could lose control. He backed off and let the explosive do its job.

"_Harkin's right up there in the control room,"_ Shepard said.

"Harkin's going to regret this!"Garrus growled. "When I get my hands on that son of a bitch…"

Tali winced a bit as she tried to stand up, but fell back against the crate with a muffled cry.

"_Don't even try it, Tali,"_ Shepard ordered. _"Stay put, call for help and have someone pick you up."_

"_Sorry, Shepard."_

"You did good, Tali," Garrus said. "Thanks."

"_Garrus, please. Think about what you're doing,"_ Tali entreated.

Garrus looked away. "Come on. We can't let Harkin get away."

Garrus led the way to the control room. The stairs were destroyed, probably by the mercs to protect Harkin, but that meant he was trapped up there. Looking around yielded no clues as to get to the control room.

"_You'll never get me!"_ Harkin shouted.

"_I got this,"_ Shepard said. His biotic aura glowed as he reached out. He was pointing at one of the raised platforms. Soon, it started to lower, against its hydraulics judging from the sound of screeching metal. Soon after, some of its supports gave way and snapped, causing it to crash down.

A crude ramp now led up to Harkin now.

"Nice," Garrus said. They both cloaked and ran up the ramp as quickly as possible. "Split up. I'll take the far door."

"_Got it."_

Once in position, Garrus glanced inside and saw that Harkin was still fiddling around with the controls.

_Probably trying to get more mechs here._

Shepard suddenly appeared as his cloak deactivated. His pistol was up and pointed directly at Harkin.

Harkin backed up to the other door. "You were close, but not close en—Ah!"

Garrus dropped his cloak as well as he rammed the butt of his sniper rifle into Harkin's face.

Harkin staggered back, clutching his face.

Holstering his rifle, Garrus grabbed Harkin and bodily threw him against the wall. Harkin looked up with a defiant look on his face, prompting Garrus to punch him to wipe off his smug expression.

"So, 'Fade'… couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?" Garrus mockingly asked.

"Come on, Garrus. We can work this out. Whaddaya need?" Harkin asked.

"I'm looking for someone," Garrus said.

"Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants."

Garrus narrowed his eyes. He rammed his knee into Harkin's balls to show who was in control of this 'negotiation'. The man went down with a grunt and a wheeze.

Shepard walked closer and shook his head. "That's gonna bruise. Maybe you don't understand, but we're not here to ask for favors Harkin. We're here for information. Just tell us what we want to know."

"You don't say," Harkin gasped out. Even in pain, he still sounded like an ass; so much that Garrus had to restrain himself from kicking him a few times while he was still down.

He still needed him to talk after all and broken ribs would make it difficult to hear him.

Harkin slowly crawled back to his feet. "I still haven't heard what you want."

"You helped a friend of mine disappear. I want you to call him and draw him out," Garrus said.

"I might need… a little more information… than that," Harkin said between deep breaths as he clutched his privates.

"Lantar Sidonis. Turian. Came from the—"

"I know who he is and I'm not telling you squat!" Harkin sneered. Bravely, or stupidly, he took a defiant step forward.

Garrus responded by head-butting him, breaking the prick's nose.

"Son of bitch!" Harkin screamed.

"This can't be worth all this trouble," Shepard commented.

"You broke my nose! Fucker!" Harkin screamed. He clutched his nose and tried to staunch the bleeding.

Garrus gripped Harkin by the shoulder and rammed his knee into the abdomen this time, bringing Harkin back down to the ground.

"And if you don't do what I want, I'll break your miserable neck next!" Garrus snarled. He put his foot on Harkin's face and applied pressure.

"All right! All right! Get off me!" came the muffled answer.

"What did you say?" Garrus asked.

"I think he said get off of him," Shepard supplied.

"You sure that's what he said?"

"I have pretty good hearing."

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Harkin cried out.

"Now he's saying he'll do it."

Garrus moved his foot and glared.

Harkin moaned, but managed to sit up under his own power. "Term—Terminus re—really changed you."

Garrus reached down and gripped Harkin by the throat. "No more games, Harkin. You and your goons already hurt a friend of mine. Now arrange the meeting, or I'll make sure you really disappear. **Permanently.**" Picking him up, he tossed him toward a terminal.

Harkin grabbed onto the terminal to prevent himself from falling over. He turned and glared, but faced the terminal again when Garrus drew his pistol. "Okay, I'm doing it."

"Just the meeting, Harkin, and don't even think about tipping him off; unless you think he's worth **dying** for."

Harkin typed in the commands and waited.

"_Fade? What's going on? Why are you calling? Is he here? Did he find me?"_

_Got you, you bastard._

"Yeah, it's me. There's a chance your identity may be compromised," Harkin said.

"_Compromised? Wait, so you're saying he can find me?" _Sidonis asked fearfully.

"That's why I'm calling. I'm sending an agent. Where do you want to meet?"

"_Um… The Orbital Lounge. It's crowded enough around this time. Say… 30 minutes?"_

"All right, he'll be there."

"_I'm safe, right? He hasn't found me yet?"_

"Don't worry, I got it covered."

"_Thanks. I'll see your man there."_

Harkin hung up and turned to face them. "It's all good. Now, if our business is done, I'll be going…"

Garrus grabbed Harkin's shirt and hauled him close so they were almost nose-to-nose. "I don't think so. You're a criminal now, Harkin."

"So what… you're just going to kill me? That's not your style, Garrus."

"You've no idea what my style is now, Harkin," Garrus grimly said. He was tempted, very tempted to kill him, but Shepard's gaze made him reconsider. Bad enough that Tali got injured helping him with this and worse that she did it while hating every moment. He pushed Harkin back. "Kill you? No. But I don't mind slowing you down a little."

Harkin's eyes widened when he saw the pistol aimed below his waist. "Wai—!"

"Maybe give C-Sec a blood trail to follow," Garrus said over Harkin's screams. He holstered his pistol.

"Bastard!" he cursed as he clutched his knee.

"You're getting off easy, Harkin," Shepard coldly said.

"What'd I ever do to you?" Harkin groaned out.

"Besides breathing?" Shepard retorted. "Let's go."

"Sidonis better be there or I'm coming back to finish the job," Garrus threatened without turning back.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Orbital Lounge**_

_**A Few Minutes Ago**_

During the drive to the rendezvous, Garrus lamented over the fact the Harkin got off relatively easy, all things considered. Harkin was wrong. Taking out criminals was like taking out trash to Garrus now. He could've killed him. He should've.

"Garrus?" Shepard called to him.

"Just thinking," Garrus replied shortly.

"About?"

Garrus was tempted not to answer, but his irritation at his decision took over. "Harkin's a bloody menace. I shouldn't have just let him go. He deserved to be punished."

"And he'll be punished," Shepard assured. "For now, C-Sec needs him. All of his clients, his contacts, even his knowledge of C-Sec's weaknesses need to be found and fixed."

"They'll just cut a deal. Reduced sentence or even none at all," Garrus snarled.

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "I'm getting a little more than worried about you, Garrus. Bad enough you want to kill Sidonis, but now it seems like you want to kill Harkin too."

"You don't think he deserved it?" Garrus retorted. "After what he did to Tali—"

"You're playing judge, jury, and executioner now, Garrus. It's just not like you," Shepard calmed countered. "Have you really thought this through? You know what you're doing?"

Garrus fell silent and piloted the car toward their destination. He spotted the Orbital Lounge that Sidonis would be arriving at soon and took the skycar across the street to a parking structure and landed. Turning his head away from his friend, he glanced at the crowds below and scowled. The silence between them felt heavy. "What do you want from me, Shepard? What would you do if someone betrayed you?"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted quietly. "Hasn't happened before. I guess I'd try to do something, make it right maybe, but I wouldn't let it change me."

"I would've said the same thing before it happened to me," Garrus shot back.

"It's not too late," Shepard implored. "You don't have to go through with this."

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if **I** don't? Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else cares," Garrus said. "I don't see any other options."

"You could let me talk to him," Shepard suggested.

Garrus still refused to look him. He remembered what Liara had once said, back on Illium.

_"Right now, we believe ourselves to be right, that we're merely removing monsters from the galaxy. Can you really hold that conviction when Shepard tries to convince you otherwise?" _

"_The worst part is… he's probably the only one in the galaxy that actually __**could**__ talk us out of our choices."_

"Talk all you want, but it won't change my mind," Garrus stubbornly asserted. "I don't care what his reasons were, he screwed us… he **deserves** to die."

"I doubt I can truly understand what you're going through, but do you **really** want to kill him?" Shepard carefully asked.

"I appreciate your concern…" Garrus said before hesitating. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "But I'm not you."

"This isn't you either," Shepard said.

Garrus scoffed. "Really? I've always hated injustice. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this…" He almost laughed sardonically at the thought. "Why should he go on living while ten good men and women lie in unmarked graves?"

Shepard leaned back into his seat and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Shepard. Words aren't going to solve this problem," Garrus said with finality. He checked his chrono and saw that he needed to get ready. "I need to set up."

"Where?"

Garrus looked around and spotted a billboard that overlooked most of the lounge below. "I can get a clear shot from over there."

"What do you need me to do?" Shepard asked with resignation.

"Draw him out and away from the main crowds. Just keep him talking and don't get in my way. I'll let you know when he's in my sights."

Shepard nodded.

"Give me a signal so I know you're ready and I'll take the shot."

"Got it."

"You better go. He'll be here soon." Garrus got out of the car and let Shepard slide over to take control. As soon as the car took off, he made his way to his designated perch. After climbing a set of stairs and a couple of ladders, he looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

He drew his new M-29 Incisor Sniper Rifle and expanded it in one smooth, practiced motion. Checking his weapon carefully one last time, he placed the rifle on the railing and kneeled. Now all he had to do was wait. After a few minutes, he called into his radio. "Shepard, can you hear me?"

"_Loud and clear,"_ Shepard replied. _"I'm parked in front of the lounge. Can you see me?"_

Garrus peered through his scope and saw that Shepard had changed out of his armor and was dressed in civilian clothes again. He left his bag in the skycar, but probably still had his pistol on him. "Do you see him?"

"_I see him. He's deeper in the lounge. Looks nervous."_

"Wave him over and keep him talking."

_I'll handle the rest._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Orbital Lounge**_

_**Present Time**_

Garrus took a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly. His cheek rested on the stock of his rifle, his finger tightened on the trigger. His target was in sight.

Lantar Sidonis look liked he'd seen better days. His face was drawn and gaunt. His eyes looked dead and at the same time, alive, but with fear, desperation, guilt even. His clothes looked rumpled and slept-in. He was hunched over, as if the world was crushing him. He kept glancing around, not meeting anyone's eyes, yet studying the people around him apprehensively. He looked like a man that knew he was being hunted. In all, a withered shell of his former self.

All of the hallmarks of a traitor.

The shot was tantalizing. Child's play, really. Lantar Sidonis was only 37 meters away, an easy headshot… It would be quick and clean, a small mercy…

He adjusted the rifle just a fraction, but still couldn't find the right angle.

"Damn it. Shepard, you're in my shot. Move to the side."

The scope trembled slightly as he tried to slide the crosshairs over to Sidonis, but somehow, Shepard had always moved his head just in the right way to prevent the shot.

On purpose.

"_Listen to me very carefully, Sidonis. I'm here help you."_

"Damn you! Move!" Garrus snarled into his radio.

"_Don't ever say that name aloud,"_ Sidonis pleaded.

"_I'm a friend of Garrus'. He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary."_

"_Garrus? Is this some kind of joke?"_ Sidonis asked fearfully.

"You son of a bitch… Don't think I won't take the shot. I'll pull the trigger, even if you're in my way—I've come too far to be denied like this, Shepard," Garrus snarled.

"_You're not kidding, are you?"_ Sidonis looked around wildly. _"Screw this. I'm not sticking around to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems—"_

Sidonis took a step away, almost there…

Shepard stepped forward, almost causally, back into his line of fire, stealing his chance once again. _"Don't move,"_ Shepard ordered calmly, but sternly. He gripped Sidonis' arm.

_Damn you…_

"_Get off me!"_ Sidonis shouted and shook Shepard's hand off.

Garrus swallowed, took a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly. His cheek itched on the stock of his rifle, his finger tensed on the trigger, and his target was within reach—

But the crosshairs was pointed at one of his closest friends…

_That's why he took his armor off. No kinetic shields. That bastard._

He couldn't risk the shot now. Without kinetic shields, Shepard could be shot and killed just as easily as Sidonis.

_He had this moment planned out. Damn him…_

"_I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head. You've worked with Garrus before, right? You know I'm not kidding and you know he won't miss,"_ Shepard warned. _"Did you really think you could hide forever?"_

Sidonis looked resigned to that fact. _"Fuck."_

"_What happened?"_ Shepard asked harshly.

"_Look… I didn't want to do it… I didn't have a choice."_

_Don't feed me that line of shit. Everyone has a choice._

"_They got to me. Said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"_

Garrus growled. "Let me take the shot, Shepard! He's a damn coward!"

Despite the fact that Sidonis already knew he was in the crosshairs, he moved toward the nearby railing. Garrus tracked him carefully, waiting for the one opportune moment, but Shepard easily fell in step, still blocking the shot.

"_That's it?"_ Shepard pressed. _"You were just trying to save yourself?"_

"_I know what I did,"_ Sidonis replied. He sounded like a man with nothing left in his life now. _"I know they died because of me and I have to live with that. Or even die for it, in this case."_

Garrus felt his hand tremble and took another steadying breath to rid himself it.

"_I wake up every night… sick… sweating. Each of their faces staring at me… accusing me."_

Each word Sidonis said almost felt like a nail was being driven into his heart. Garrus gripped his rifle tightly and had to take several more breaths to stabilize his rifle. Every word Sidonis said… Garrus knew the feeling intimately. Sleepless nights, the faces of his team, the helplessness…

"_I'm already a dead man,"_ Sidonis admitted. _"Food has no taste. Some days… I just want it to be over."_

Garrus couldn't stand listening anymore. "Move, Shepard. Just give me the shot."

Shepard stayed put and turned around. He looked directly at him, staring him down.

Garrus almost wanted to turn away. It almost felt like the scope magnified the thoughts behind those eyes, telling him that he should listen. That he should be better than this.

"Please," Garrus pleaded.

Shepard shook his head. _"You've got to let it go, Garrus. He's already paying for his crime."_

"He hasn't paid enough," Garrus whispered back. "He still has his life… My men deserved better…"

"_Tell Garrus…"_ Sidonis suddenly rasped out, before shaking his head. _"I guess there's nothing I can say to make it right, is there? There's already place in hell for people like me anyway."_

Garrus' head snapped away from the scope. He closed his eyes and tried to banish Sidonis' face, his words, everything about him, just to turn him into a nameless criminal. One he never knew, one he never worked with, a complete stranger… all just so he could…

_Murder him._

"Just… go. Tell him to go."

Shepard smiled gratefully and turned back to Sidonis. What he said, Garrus didn't hear. He picked up his rifle and rubbed his eyes again. He felt lost. Confused. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing was simple anymore.

_Was it ever simple to begin with?_

"_I'll try, Garrus. I'll make it up to you, somehow,"_ Sidonis vowed. _"Thank you. For talking to him."_

_He's thanking him… He's actually thanking him._

Garrus walked back to where the car was parked before. He kicked the nearest wall in frustration. As much as he tried, he couldn't figure out what was the right decision here. What should he have done? What was he supposed to do? Could he even trust that Sidonis would keep to his word, a traitor like him?

The car landed nearby. Shepard got out. He had a small smile on his face, though it didn't reach his eyes. The concern was clear to see.

"I know you want to talk about this… but I don't. Not yet," Garrus whispered.

"I know this didn't go the way you planned, or even wanted… but I think it's for the best," Shepard said.

Garrus shook his head. "I'm not so sure…"

"Give it time," Shepard said.

"Yeah. Maybe that'll be enough." Despite his earlier words, Garrus turned back to his friend. As much as he didn't want to talk, there was something about Shepard that made him speak anyway. "I want to know I did the right thing. Not just for me – for my men."

"And what is the right thing?"

"They deserved to be avenged," Garrus stated, though it felt like it lacked conviction now. "But when Sidonis was in my sights… I just couldn't do it."

"The lines between right and wrong blur when we're looking at people we know."

Garrus recalled Sidonis' face with perfect clarity. The guilt, the regret, the loss… He couldn't feel that if didn't care, and if he cared… "Yeah. There was still good in him… I could see it."

"I thought so too," Shepard said.

"It's just… It's so much easier to see the world in black and white," Garrus said quietly. "Gray… I don't know what to do with gray."

"Well, that's the kind of galaxy we live in," Shepard replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Gray," he simply said. "From there, you've got to go with your instincts."

"My instincts are what got me into this mess," Garrus reminded wryly.

"No, your **pain** is what got **us** into this mess," Shepard corrected. "In the end, what you can do with that kind of pain is decide what you're going to do to make it right."

"Did I do the right thing?"

"Your instincts wanted to you confront this. You weren't going to let this go, and you shouldn't. You cared about the people on your squad. Sidonis is still paying for what he's done, but you? You don't have anything to be guilty of."

"They died because of me," Garrus argued.

"There's right and wrong and you chose right. There's good and evil and you chose good. In a galaxy that's considered 'gray', it's the people that pick absolutes and have the conviction to stand by their decision regardless of how painful the consequences may be are the special ones," Shepard said. "A friend sacrificing themself isn't something anyone gets used to. Betrayal even more so."

"Yeah…" Garrus agreed miserably.

Shepard leaned against the car and studied his friend's profile. "This is the first time you dealt with something like this, isn't it?"

Garrus said nothing.

"Why do you think you were spared?"

Garrus looked up at him and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You said Sidonis took you out of your hideout to show you something. Lured you out. If it were me, you'd be the target, not your squad, yet you're still alive. You're the leader, the hero, the 'Archangel'," Shepard explained patiently. "Sidonis didn't have to say anything. He could've left and let you stay with the rest of your squad when they were ambushed. You probably would've been killed with everyone else. It might not be wrong to say that Sidonis saved your life."

Garrus narrowed his eyes. He never really thought about that. "I don't know…"

"I think Sidonis looked up to you. I think he wanted to save you. He was trapped and he was scared, Garrus. But despite betraying your whole squad, he pulled you away so you wouldn't be killed. That says something about you."

"What does it say? That I failed or that I couldn't be as good a leader as you?" Garrus asked.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I served with a lot of great men and women, but you're among the best I've ever worked with. But this? Either you're a hero or a villain here, Garrus. Your men died as heroes. You want to live as the villain?"

"I just wanted justice…"

"Justice or revenge? They're both powerful motivators, but justice is about restoring order, not perpetuating chaos. Revenge, on the other hand, it's about trying to inflict pain on something or someone because you think you're in the right. That taking revenge might make you feel better. Revenge is shortsighted and temporary and dangerous," Shepard explained with a hint of steel. "You lost men. You feel guilty and you feel that Sidonis is responsible. You can't have it both ways, Garrus. If you feel guilty, then **it is** **your** fault. If you think Sidonis is to blame, then all you should feel is remorse for losing your men."

Garrus sighed and considered Shepard's words carefully. His head whirled in different directions with memories, thoughts, and emotions.

"You asked me what I would do," Shepard suddenly said, "if this happened to me."

"Yeah… you said you didn't know, but you wouldn't let it change you."

"I still don't know what I would do. I also don't know if it would change me," Shepard said readily. "That's why I would turn to my friends. To make sure I wouldn't do anything stupid. For instance, Thane wanted me to tell you: Revenge doesn't bring redemption."

For the first time since arriving on the Citadel, Garrus felt a small, genuine smile tug at his lips. "Thanks, Shepard. For everything."

Shepard grinned and clapped him on the back. "Be sure to tell that to Tali too, okay?"

That wasn't a conversation Garrus was looking forward to.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Normandy SR-2**_

Garrus nursed his drink as he sat alone in the Common Area.

Most of the crew was out enjoying the nightlife of the Citadel, while less than a handful remained on the Normandy. They were up at the CIC or the bridge. Or down in Engineering or the hangar.

Tali was asleep once he and Shepard got back a few hours after their 'meeting' with Sidonis. He hadn't been able to talk to her yet at Dr. Chakwas insistence.

"She needs to rest," Chakwas had said. The look on her face brooked no argument. Thankfully, she also informed them that Tali would be just fine and that the break was clean and simple to repair. She'd be up and about by tomorrow, though with the aid of crutches. A few days after that and she'd be fit for duty.

"Mr. Vakarian," EDI called out to him. Her avatar appeared next to his table.

"What is it?" Garrus asked, before taking a sip of his drink and observing Tali sleeping peacefully through the Med Bay's windows.

"Captain Shepard wished for me to relay this message to you. It concerns Lantar Sidonis."

Garrus turned to regard the AI. "What about him?"

"According to C-Sec reports, Mr. Sidonis has attempted to turn himself in, citing that he was responsible for the murders of your former team."

"And?"

"There are certain problems regarding jurisdiction. Officially, unless the crime happened within Citadel space, the matter is the problem solely within the Terminus Systems, specifically Omega. However, since there is no official government recognized by the Citadel within the Terminus Systems, extradition is not a viable option," EDI explained. "Reporter Emily Wong has published a small news piece about the subject matter if you wish to hear it."

Garrus took a thoughtful sip of his drink. "I remember her. She might be the only reporter I actually had some measure of respect for. Go ahead and run it."

A holo appeared, bearing Wong's face. _"Welcome Citadel NewsNet. I'm Emily Wong. C-Sec is reporting the arrest of one Lantar Sidonis after a dramatic confession. According to eyewitness reports, Sidonis walked into a C-Sec kiosk and confessed to the murder of ten people of Omega. C-Sec has reviewed and dismissed the case, citing Omega is beyond the scope of Council authority. Executor Pallin maintains it is impossible to extradite Sidonis for his crimes since Omega has no government."_

Garrus sighed and shook his head. "At least he tried."

_And failed miserably._

"Captain Shepard has also cleared you to leave the Normandy if you're interested in stretching your legs," EDI informed.

Garrus looked at the AI in confusion and nodded slowly. "Uh… thanks."

"Of course, Mr. Vakarian. Log—"

"Garrus. Mr. Vakarian is my father. Just Garrus is fine, EDI."

"Preferences updated, Garrus. Logging you out." With that, EDI vanished.

Finishing his drink, Garrus put the glass down and rubbed his face. He wondered why Shepard would go out of the way to say that he was given permission to leave the Normandy. Technically, since the commanding officer was already on board, the rest of the officers should have time off, including him.

_Unless… unless he asked EDI to make a point of telling me…_

For what, was the question. He took off his visor and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Shepard obviously wanted to tell him something.

_More like figure something out._

Before he put his visor back on, his finger traced over the names of his team. Idly brushing against the place where Sidonis' name was burnt off, he was suddenly struck with inspiration.

"_That's why I would turn to my friends. To make sure I wouldn't do anything stupid."_

"That bastard," Garrus muttered to himself. He was grinning all the same. "EDI? Where's Sidonis? Do you know?"

"Scanning… accessing C-Sec's databases… Logs retrieved. According to the Citadel's traffic cameras, I have tracked Sidonis' movements. Accessing further resources… Uplink established… Scanning… Scan complete. He's currently back at the Orbital Lounge."

"Thanks. Tell Shepard I'm going out to stretch my legs."

"Relaying message, Garrus. Logging you out."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Orbital Lounge**_

"_Members of the Eclipse mercenary group are facing tough questions after violence erupted at gang-controlled warehouse on Illium. Detective Anaya, assigned to the case, has requested formal sanctions against the group. Local trader, Pitne For, has been arrested for illegal activity that came to light during the fighting."_

"Another," Sidonis requested bitterly.

The turian bartender picked up a bottle and poured him another shot.

Garrus slid into the stool right next to him. "I'll have some Quarian Thruster Fuel."

"Coming right up."

Sidonis nearly spilled his drink at his sudden appearance. "Wha—Garrus!"

"Relax, Sidonis. If I wanted you dead, it'd already be done. I was watching you through my scope out in the parking lot, debating whether it was worth taking the shot."

Sidonis gulped and looked like a man condemned.

"Unlike you, I'm not a murderer," Garrus continued. He nodded in thanks to the bartender when his drink arrived and took a sip. "Heard you tried to turn yourself in."

"I… I wanted to make things right," Sidonis said miserably. "Somehow…"

"So did I. That's why I was this close to killing you," Garrus admitted freely before taking another sip. He'd yet turned in his seat to even look at Sidonis. He simply sat there, acting as if he were talking to some random stranger. "I learned that killing you wasn't the way to make things right. My friends showed me that."

"What do you want?"

"To do things the right way. Obviously, you weren't cut out for Omega."

Sidonis glumly stared into his drink. "I know… I'm a coward. I'm not like you. You were the best of us, the strongest…"

"It took guts to even join my squad in the first place," Garrus replied without sounding too judgmental. "I wanted to believe that you were strong enough. All of you. Part of that is my fault for pushing the boundaries."

"But everyone died because of me…"

"They did. And me killing you in cold blood is a poor way to honor their sacrifice. On the other hand, letting you dick around on the Citadel, getting piss drunk, and trying to numb the pain isn't doing anything for me either."

Sidonis swirled his glass a little, but didn't take another drink. "What do you want me to do?"

"Ever think about **joining** C-Sec, rather than getting arrested by them?" Garrus asked, almost casually. Beneath his calm exterior, there was a small hint. A mix between an offer of redemption and the warning of damnation.

"No…" Sidonis said. He lost some of his despondency and looked thoughtful, even a fraction more hopeful.

"It's a lot slower, a bit safer, but you'd be doing what we were doing on Omega: Fighting injustice," Garrus said. "Not exactly for me, though. Too many rules. But you might be able to handle it."

"You think so?" Sidonis earnestly asked.

"I have no idea," Garrus bluntly admitted. "All I know is that the best way to honor my team is to keep doing the work they died for. You wanna make it up to them? Do the same."

Sidonis nodded determinedly. "You're right. I'll sign up. Get some training. I'll… I'll join C-Sec!"

"Good for you," Garrus said neutrally. "Of course, someday, people's lives are going to be in your hands all over again."

"I won't fail. I… I'll die before I mess this up," Sidonis promised.

"Good. Because it might just come to that," Garrus replied evenly. He took another sip.

"What?"

He finally turned and faced him. Looking him dead in the eye, he gave his ultimatum. "If I hear you do something like this again, you'd best eat a bullet. Because I promise you, I'll find you, I'll put your head in my crosshairs, and I guarantee you, that will be the shot that will make you dead, and me smile. If I hear that you betrayed **anyone ever again**, believe me, I really, **really**, want to smile."

Far from looking frightened, Sidonis nodded slowly, with a hint of determination. "I understand."

Garrus looked for any signs of deception, but earnest eyes, similar to the first time he met Sidonis, stared back. A definite change from the wasteland that had his eyes had been.

Slamming back the rest of his drink, Garrus left some credits on the counter and left.

_Hope I made you guys proud__._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Normandy SR-2**_

Upon arriving back at the Normandy, he went back down to the crew deck and entered his pod. He yawned, feeling completely exhausted. As he lied back, he remembered that he didn't take any of the drugs Chakwas prescribed to him to help him sleep. Still… his eyes felt awfully heavy.

For some reason though, he felt fine. He felt better than he did in a while. Not great, not perfect, but… just a bit more healed.

_I'm not a murderer._

That night, he slept like the dead.

**~o~O~o~**

The next morning, he got up early, fully rested, and walked down the hall toward the Med Bay. When he looked through the window, he noticed that Tali wasn't inside anymore. Walking in, he addressed Dr. Chakwas. "Where's Tali?"

"Good morning to you too, Garrus," Chakwas teased with a smile. "She woke up and said she was fine and wanted to leave. Stubborn girl, that one. I let her go with a pair of crutches."

"Thanks, doctor," Garrus replied. He pulled out a bottle of pills and held it out to her. "And morning to you too."

"Did you sleep alright? Again, I have to warn you to avoid taking those. There's a significant chance of—"

"I don't need them anymore," Garrus replied. "Thanks for everything."

"Oh," Chakwas eloquently said. She took the bottle and inspected the contents. "I hope everything is alright, then."

"I'm getting there."

She smiled again. "I'm glad to hear it. If you ever need an ear…"

"I know. It's nice to know that I have friends to talk to," Garrus said. He gave a respectful nod and left.

EDI kindly pointed out that Tali was down in Engineering. She was directing her team to complete a bunch of chores that he didn't understand.

Down in the Engineering Deck, he entered Tali's domain and looked around. He spotted Ken and Gabby working diligently, but no sign of the Chief Engineer herself.

Ken noticed his presence and waved him in. "Garrus! What brings you down to our neck of the woods?"

"I'm, um, I'm looking for Tali," Garrus answered.

"In the Tantalus Control Terminal," Gabby helpfully supplied.

"Thanks." He walked deeper inside and finally spotted his quarian friend. She was typing at something on the terminal, her crutches leaning on the wall nearby.

Garrus approached her and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hey, Tali."

She didn't stop typing, nor did she even acknowledge his presence.

He tried again. "Hey, Tali. I was wondering if we could, y'know, talk?"

Again, she didn't turn around. Instead, he got the distinct feeling that she wasn't facing the terminal; she was keeping her back to him.

Unnerved by her reticence, he mustered his courage and plowed on. "I came by to say: I'm sorry. And that you were, and still are, right about me. I'm not a murderer."

She still didn't turn around.

"I suppose I should tell you that I didn't kill him. I actually talked to him. Convinced him to join up with C-Sec if you can believe it."

Tali had still said nothing during his speech. He sighed, but before he could turn away, she turned around and grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving.

Garrus looked at her curiously and then saw that she raised her right arm, as if to slap him again.

He braced himself.

To his surprise, the blow never came. At least, not the way he expected. Instead, she lightly rapped her palm against his cheek, as if she was reminding him. Or lightly chastising him about his previous actions.

His surprise increased when the younger woman wrapped her arms around him and gave him a warm, reassuring embrace.

"You're forgiven," she whispered happily.

He sighed in relief and awkwardly returned the hug, even patting her on the back little.

She stepped back and gave him another pat on the cheek, again making him feel as if it was a reminder as to who he was.

He saw that her eyes were crinkled behind her mask, showing that she was smiling. He offered a toothy grin of his own. "Still friends?"

"Always have been."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Now I'm using flash-forwarding, aka prolepsis, a kind of literary technique that's related to foreshadowing. This is actually the opposite of flashbacks or analepsis. The point of flash-forwarding is to give the reader a sense of what's to come, something expected usually, without actually giving away any details or the outcome. Hey, hey, look at me go. I should watch myself or I'll start thinking I'm a real author or something…

Obviously, this 'mission' ran a little longer than it did in-game. Maybe it's just me, but I've always felt that there was a lack of resolution, especially after hearing Emily's news bit.

Shepard is going out of way to help the people on his team; I thought that Garrus should pick up on that and try to help Sidonis, traitor or not. Of course, if I went the whole Renegade route, I'd only have a heated conversation between Tali, Shepard, and Garrus and that's it. I guess that's what I get for being too ambitious, huh?

I want to give mad props to fellow ME author **Ronnie James Dio** and his fic, **Immortality**. He seriously gave me a lot of inspiration for this chapter and was kind enough to give me permission to use a bit of his work. Thanks man!

This is not a Tali/Garrus fic for any of you hopefuls. Just FYI.

BTW, that "Techno Turian" on YouTube is actually the Citadel Groundskeeper you meet at the Dark Star during the "Krogan Sushi" mission. He has several more lines that never made the final cut, including the "Quarian Thruster Fuel" cocktail, or something or other.

Type: Groundskeeper Dialogue

Credits: **Burn Notice **and **White Collar**. Some of the later scenes were inspired by those shows.

Also, a little bit of this combat was inspired by another vid on YouTube. **Chrono Trigger: Short Action Scene**, by **freddiew**. Good stuff.

Review! ! !


	39. Interlude XIV

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Normandy SR-2**_

"You ever miss those talks we had on the elevators?" Garrus suddenly asked.

"No," Tali answered shortly.

"C'mon! Remember how we'd all ask you about life on the flotilla? It was a chance to share!" Garrus persisted with a teasing lilt.

"This conversation is over," Tali said in a tone of voice that clearly said 'drop it or I'll hurt you. Again'.

Garrus either unwittingly missed it or bravely ignored it, though. "Tell me again about your immune system!" he teased.

Tali narrowed her eyes, though much of the effect was lost behind her mask. "You stay put. I'm going to the Armory and getting my shotgun."

Garrus held up his hands in surrender. "Maybe we'll talk about it again some other time," he said, drawling out the 'maybe'.

"Only if you want to be shot."

Shepard laughed and nearly choked on his breakfast he was currently trying to swallow. Miranda obligingly slapped him on the back to assist clearing his airways.

"I assume whatever problems the both of you have had yesterday have been resolved?" she asked politely.

"We're fine," Garrus assured. "Except the part where she wants to shoot me. There might be cause for concern."

Tali turned and slugged him on the shoulder, earning a yelp from him. Turning to Miranda she said, "Thank you for picking me up last night."

"It was no problem," Miranda replied.

"So where is Thane?" Tali inquired.

"Still on the Citadel," Shepard answered.

"Talking with his son?"

Garrus and Miranda both looked startled at that bit of news.

Shepard shot a warning look at Tali, but didn't bother refute her since it was too late. "Yeah. They have a few issues they want to clear up."

"Wait, Krios has a—" Garrus started to say before Shepard cut him off.

"It's his business. I don't want to talk about it unless he does."

"Wait a minute," Garrus protested. He jerked his thumb at Tali. "How come she knows?"

Shepard glanced at Tali, his eyes telling her to explain.

She shrugged embarrassingly. "I… um… sort of… eavesdropped."

"That sounds about right," Shepard said, sounding slightly disapproving of her actions. He turned back to his food and took a bite.

"I also picked up a Shepard VI," she dramatically revealed.

For the second time in as many minutes, the subject in question choked on his breakfast.

"Wait, are you serious? A Shepard VI?" Garrus asked interestedly. Maybe a little evilly.

"Yeah. I tested it a bit this morning. It's really buggy. I'll need a few weeks to iron out all the problems," Tali said before turning excited. "But it's so realistic! It's almost as if Shepard was really yelling at you!"

Miranda tried to hide her laughter behind a series of coughs.

Shepard glared at the quarian engineer. "This isn't funny."

"No, but the potential is there," Garrus jibed. He turned to Tali and staged-whispered, "Can see it?"

"Sure," Tali chirped.

"No!" Shepard shouted at the same time. He lunged over the table and grabbed at Tali's arm when she activated her omni-tool.

Miranda had the presence of mind to snatch her tray and Shepard's before his thrashing could cause a mess. She stood up and moved away, actually laughing at the sudden 'fight'.

"Come on! Let me show them!" Tali cried out as she tried to dodge Shepard's flailing arms.

"Don't you dare!"

"You're right, it **does** sound realistic!" Joker said from his seat nearby as he and the other crewmen laughed at the impromptu fight.

Garrus cackled as well while he dodged their struggling limbs. "Feels realistic too! It's almost as if Shepard was right here!"

It was to this scene that Samara, Kasumi, and Jacob saw when they entered. "I'm glad to see that you've recovered from this morning's lesson," Samara said, referring to their daily morning spar. Shepard had lost again, an event that was becoming the norm. She serenely walked past them and collected her breakfast before settling down nearby and ate, masterfully ignoring the chaos nearby.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked as he sidestepped the apparent fight and made his way toward the mess sergeant's table.

"It's about a Shepard VI," Joker supplied. "Tali has one and want's to show it off, but the Captain doesn't want her to."

Shepard and Tali were still struggling with Garrus unhelpfully adding his own efforts. It was unclear who he was undermining.

Tali finally surrendered. "Okay! Okay! I won't show him! Keelah!" she cried out.

Shepard plopped back on his seat, though he was sure she would show everyone at the first available opportunity. It was impossible to watch her all day, after all. "Maybe I should declare it contraband. Technically, it's illegal since I'm alive."

"Well that makes having it even more exciting, doesn't it?" Tali countered as she held her omni-tool close to her chest.

"It'll be a commemorative program. A rarity," Garrus said in agreement.

"I hate you both."

Kasumi walked up behind Tali. "I want one! Can I have one? Where can I get one?"

A couple of crewmen started calling out for copies of their own despite Shepard's earlier statement, with Joker being the most vocal. "I'd rather have a buggy VI of Shepard over my shoulder than that AI!" he shouted.

"It's like a Freudian nightmare," Shepard muttered. All he could hope for now was that none of them were serious about the issue.

"Come now, Shepard. Imitation, flattery; you know what they say," Miranda teased. She sat back down and placed their trays back on the table.

Jacob sat down and thoughtfully passed Kasumi her tray. "Come on, Shepard. A VI? This is nothing. Who knows? They might name an Alliance carrier after you someday. The SSV Shepard!" he said while theatrically sweeping out his arm as if to show the real scope of Shepard's fame.

"I think I'd rather die. Again," Shepard deadpanned.

Mordin choose that moment to enter, followed by Kelly. "Have you written autobiography yet? Post-mortem autobiography would add element of intrigue. Mystery. Drama!" He paused to take a breath. "Should consider writing autobiography myself given odds of current mission."

"I'm sure it'll be a fascinating read, Professor, though it'll probably be heavily omitted, what with your stint in the STG and all," Kelly commented.

Mordin sniffed and nodded in agreement. "Quite. Much of my work still classified. Shame, but for the best I suppose."

Kelly smiled before turning to Shepard. "Oh, yes, Captain? I bought you a present. There were some fish on sale at the Presidium, as well as some models of Alliance cruisers. They're being delivered to your cabin as we speak."

Shepard looked up at her and smiled back. "Thanks. Appreciate it."

"Oh! Right! Speaking of presents, did you try out that tux I bought for you?" Kasumi asked. "The window for the heist is coming and I need you looking like you belong."

Shepard looked at her in confusion before slapping his forehead. "I completely forgot about that."

"Well, try it on soon! I need to know if I got your inseam right!" She cried out.

Forcing down his gag reflex, Shepard visibly swallowed his breakfast before coughing from the effort. "The hell is up with today…?"

"There's a few minor details I want to iron out. So we'll meet back here later tonight and I'll fill you in, okay?"

"Why am I filled with this feeling of dread?" Shepard muttered, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Stop being so pessimistic! It's bad luck to be pessimistic before a heist!" she said playfully.

"I should've stayed in bed…"

As everyone settled down and returned to their business, Tali's head snapped up. "Oh! I just remembered. What's going on, Shepard?"

Shepard looked up from his breakfast with a questioning look. "Huh?"

"Dr. Michel said that she was coming by to the Normandy to help Dr. Chakwas with your exam."

Garrus stopped eating and looked up as well. "Dr. Michel? What?"

Shepard cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, it seems that bringing someone back from the dead isn't without a few… problems."

"What problems? Are they serious? Are you okay?" Tali asked in rapid-fire.

"Are you dying again? Is there anything we can do? How bad?" Garrus asked sequentially and at the same time.

Shepard looked at them both and tried to sort out their questions before shaking his head. "I don't know. None of us do. Yet. We're looking into it. As soon as I get some **concrete** news, I'll tell you both, okay?"

Tali fidgeted a bit, as if she was considering something before sighing. "You're not hiding anything?"

"This is kinda personal, so I have a right to hide this, don't you think?" Shepard countered, though he smiled to show that he wasn't offended. "Miranda, Dr. Chakwas, and Mordin all have a theory. Until they can prove it, I don't want to worry you. Besides, I'm fine right now."

"For a dead guy," Jacob said.

"Well, yeah," Shepard agreed.

Any further conversation about his health was put on hold when Matthews, followed by a bored looking Hadley, suddenly appeared. "Hey, Captain!"

"Crewmen. What's up?" Shepard asked.

"Tali told us that you met with Sha'ira!"

"Oh, Keelah…" Tali groaned. She turned toward Kasumi. "This is all your fault."

"Shhh! I want to hear this!" Kasumi said and leaned in to hear.

"What was she like?" Matthews asked before blinking and shaking his head. "No, wait, scratch that. I have an appointment in three months with her. I was wondering if you might put in a good word for me?"

"Captain," EDI called. Her blue, spherical avatar appeared at his elbow. "Captain Bailey wishes to send his gratitude for the capture of Mr. Harkin, AKA, Fade. He promises he will do anything he can to assist Kolyat Krios in return."

"Kolyat Krios? That's Thane's son, right?" Tali asked.

"Krios has a kid?" Jacob asked in shock. "Cold-blooded assassin like him?"

"Jacob," Miranda chided.

"Thane has a son? Really?" Kasumi said in shock. She looked confused, intrigued, and delighted at all the gossip occurring around her.

Even Samara paused from her meal to better hear this news.

Joker shook his head. "Hard to imagine, isn't it? I mean, he seems like the strong, sensitive, murdering type. You know, those are always great to have around. A real cuddler."

"You see," Jacob said to Miranda and jerked his thumb at Joker. "It's like he's reading my mind."

"Also, Captain Bailey would like to speak to you regarding the condition Mr. Harkin was found in. He would like a brief statement from you to ensure that C-Sec was not involved in the mistreatment of any suspects in their custody," EDI continued.

Shepard glanced at Garrus.

He shrugged, but didn't look at all sorry.

"Um, Captain? About Sha'ira…"

"Give it up, Matthews. Geez, all you've doing is talking about her since yesterday!" Hadley said in exasperation.

"If you can spare a moment of your time, Captain Bailey would like to meet with you at his precinct," EDI continued.

"What's he like? Is he like Thane?" Kasumi asked, still talking about Kolyat.

"You know, I didn't peg Krios the family man type," Jacob commented thoughtfully.

"Didn't peg Wrex as the type to sit on a throne all day either, not when there are still things to shoot and kill, but there it is," Garrus countered. "Stranger things have happened. It's like the galaxy is ending. Oh wait; we still have to worry about the Reapers, don't we…"

"You know, I'm not real broke up that Wrex isn't coming," Joker confessed. "I'm good with our current amount of head-butting. I'd say we're at head-butting capacity."

"Oh, Captain, I should probably let you know that a Dr. Chloe Michel will be by this afternoon, so be sure to check in at the Med-Bay!" Kelly reminded.

"Mr. Krios has reported that he will be returning to the Normandy tonight, unless you call for his services sooner," EDI added.

"I told you, she's not like that!" Matthews argued in annoyance at Hadley.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack asked as she walked by and saw all the people loitering about.

"I don't know; I lost track," Rupert answered bluntly. He passed off two trays to her. "You wouldn't believe me, anyway. Or care."

"So you actually could've **slept** with the Consort, Shep?" Kasumi brazenly probed, switching topics as quickly as switching a light.

"Oh, yeah! You really had a shot at her, Captain? !" Mathews' excitedly asked.

Miranda raised a perfect, slender eyebrow at that and turned her eyes at him questioningly.

Shepard groaned and put his head in his hands, his breakfast completely abandoned.

_This might be a __**long**__ day._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, C-Sec Precinct**_

"_There are many human refugees, Terminus orphans, and former slaves abandoned by batarian raiders. For most, the adjustment is difficult. But one man, Conrad Verner, wants to help. Verner is organizing 'Shepard's', a charity that helps human refugees, orphans, and former war prisoners. In a prepared statement, he said that this new charity is his way of showing his support for the people who protect the galaxy."_

Shepard and his party all paused and looked surprised at the news report broadcasting overhead.

_Huh. Now I'm __**really**__ feeling guilty about shooting him. I suppose everything worked out for the best, though._

He was of mixed feelings. The way he treated Conrad wasn't exactly civil, or even decent, but the tough love did get him to open a charity. Smiling to himself, Shepard continued toward his appointment.

After leaving, or escaping, the mad house his ship had transformed into, he walked into the Zakera Ward precinct and looked for Bailey.

"Do I really need to be here?" Garrus grumbled.

"If I have to be here, you have to be here," Shepard mildly rebuked. He turned his eyes toward Tali. "What I'm curious about is why you're here. You got a broken leg. You should on the ship; take it easy for a few days."

"I will. I just wanted to ask Captain Bailey something. It'll be quick," Tali replied.

"Just tell me and I'll tell him," Shepard offered.

"Thanks, but this something I'd rather do personally," Tali said.

Shepard shrugged and turned to the last person in their little troupe. Miranda had been on the Normandy all day yesterday. It was only fair to allow her to leave and get some R & R herself. "What are your plans?"

She shrugged. "No plans really. I think I'll just take a walk and see what piques my interest. You and I have to go back to the Normandy for those tests in a few hours though."

"I remember," he said.

"Morning. Is there something I can do for you?" a passing officer asked.

"Bailey called me. Tell him Shepard is here."

"Agent Shepard! Of course! Just one moment, I'll fetch him for you." She saluted and left quickly toward the interrogation rooms.

They stood around a few minutes until Bailey finally stomped out. "Turn up the air conditioner in there and leave it on at full blast until we can see his breath fogging up the windows. See if he'll be more cooperative then!"

"Yes, sir!"

Bailey was still muttering angrily to himself all the way to his table.

Shepard followed closely with a raised eyebrow. "Hoping to make your suspect 'scream a little'?" he asked casually, recalling the words Bailey used when the C-Sec Captain was lecturing one of his officers.

Bailey slammed his hand on his desk and turned around. "This isn't the Presidium! All they have to worry about are protestors outside their 'free speech zones' or—or someone's poodle crapping on the grass!"

Unbidden, Shepard was instantly reminded of this one preaching hanar that was up at the Presidium two years ago.

Bailey shook his head in disgust. "Down here, we have drugs, organized crime, and murder! Policing a Ward is like—it's like policing New York City!" He sat down, rubbed his eyes, and sighed. "Sometimes, you have to work outside the Council's rule book."

"He sounds like a certain turian we know," Tali said. Any mystery of who she was talking about was dispelled when she stared directly at Garrus.

"C-Sec has changed," Garrus commented, though he almost sounded approving of it.

"I didn't mean anything by it, Bailey. Considering I shot a suspect in C-Sec custody, I'm not one to judge. Look, you called me about Harkin?" Shepard inquired.

Bailey took a breath and calmed down. "Yeah, sorry about this, but unless we get a statement from you, Harkin could just say he was roughed up and shot while in our custody. A bullet wound isn't something we can hide, y'know?"

"Garrus?" Shepard called.

Garrus grumbled. "I thought I was done with that miserable bastard…"

"You did it?" Bailey asked.

"I'll sign off on his statement and take responsibility," Shepard assured.

"That'll do. So long as I can get his attorney to back off about this," Bailey said. "You can take a seat over there and punch it up."

"I hate paperwork," Garrus muttered, but sat down at the nearby terminal and got to work.

"Sorry about before. Sometimes, this job…" Bailey tried to explain, but sighed and shook his head again.

"There are a lot more human C-Sec officers here," Shepard commented as he looked around. "I don't think I even heard of a human C-Sec captain."

"C-Sec took a lot of casualties when the geth boarded the Presidium. The Special Response Division was hard-hit. They stopped turning their noses up at human resumes. They needed bodies in uniform and we had the most experienced bodies."

"And how did you end up on the Citadel?"

"I started with the Alliance way back when, but the traveling was killing me," Bailey explained with a wry smile. "It's a shitty life if you're trying to raise a family, seeing your kids every six months."

"I hear you," Shepard said. He sympathized with him since he heard all manner of stories from other marines.

"I joined C-Sec so I could stay in one place. Put down roots," Bailey said.

"How do you like it here?" Miranda asked politely.

"Life isn't bad. Helluva lot different than life back on Earth," Bailey replied. He suddenly looked wistful. "I miss the food mostly. You just can't get Sockeye Salmon here on the station."

"You ever get back there?" Shepard asked.

"Earth? Every couple of years. Less and less all the time," Bailey answered regretfully. "But when I finish my stint with C-Sec there's a nice little place in the foothills I'm going to retire to."

Garrus walked up to Shepard with a holo-pad.

Shepard signed off on it and passed to Bailey.

"Not that I'm retiring any time soon," he said dryly. He took the pad and quickly read the contents before nodding. "Thanks. Appreciate this."

"Are we finished here?" Shepard asked.

"Yep. Won't take any more of your time," Bailey said.

"Good luck to you, then," Shepard said.

"You too," Bailey replied before nodding his head to Miranda politely. "Miss."

"Captain," Miranda returned before leaving together with Shepard.

**~o~O~o~**

Tali watched Shepard and Miranda walk off, eventually disappearing into the crowds. She found herself insanely curious as to why he would choose to spend his free time with the Cerberus operative. Alone… together. A sudden surge of jealousy bloomed in her chest, but she pushed it down and mentally scolded herself.

_They're probably just going in the same direction or something._ _Though they have been spending a lot of time together…_ _Probably talking about his condition. He wouldn't want to get involved with anyone from Cerberus._

She narrowed her eyes and found herself wondering about that last point though.

_Would he?_

Tali adjusted her crutches a bit to get comfortable, and drew Bailey's attention to herself.

"Whoa. You alright?" Bailey asked. He was looking at the cast that engulfed her left leg.

Blinking back to awareness, Tali stopped staring at the direction Shepard and Miranda walked off to and nodded automatically. "Yes, I'm fine. Considering the alternative, this is nothing. Capturing Fade proved to be a little more difficult than we thought," she answered casually. Looking around, she finally noticed that Garrus had left as well.

"Still can't believe it was Harkin," Bailey said with a disdainful snort. "I didn't even think the man was smart enough to type his name, let alone get past our secure networks."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Tali said.

"Hold on a moment," Bailey said. He turned to a nearby officer. "You! Get this young woman a chair, will ya?"

"Yes, sir!"

In no time at all, a chair was produced and placed next to Tali.

"Thank you," Tali courteously replied to the officer. She sat down and sighed in relief.

"Of course, ma'am." The officer said. He saluted to Bailey and left.

"Well, what can I do you for?" Bailey asked.

"Um… I… well… First, I wanted to know what you thought of quarians," Tali asked.

"I don't," Bailey bluntly admitted. "People, same as anyone else. Wait, does this have anything to do with Tammert? I already reprimanded him and put a note in his file. If he's causing more trouble, I'll handle it."

"No, well, not exactly," Tali said though she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"Shepard let me know that one of my officers was making trouble. I handled it," Bailey assured. "Don't worry; I don't got anything against your kind. That geth thing started 400 years ago. It's not like you, your dad, or even granddad did anything wrong. In my opinion, if the Council did something rather than ignore the issue, the geth might not have been a problem now. What did they do? Nothing. Told your people that it was your problem and that you had to deal with it. Same as us. We got attacks on human colonies and they tell us it's our problem and we need to fix it while they sit on their lofty thrones. What a life…"

Tali nodded knowingly. "So you don't hold it against us?"

"It's bad enough that I have to deal with all sorts of anti-human campaigns. I tell ya, it's just not worth going on any sort of anti-species thing after that. Hypocritical, y'know?"

"Thank you for your candor, Captain," Tali said gratefully. "About the quarian your officer harassed, though. I was wondering if you would like to hire her as a freelance IT specialist."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"If someone like Mr. Harkin is capable of penetrating your secure networks, then perhaps an upgrade is in order. My friend, Lia'Vael, is one such woman that can help with this. She's just looking to make enough money to buy a used starship to take back to the Migrant Fleet," Tali said.

Bailey sat back in his chair and considered her offer. "You vouch for her?"

"Yes. Definitely," Tali answered.

"Well…" Bailey drawled as he thought about it. "Why not? I guess I owe you for this Fade thing. And you did get hurt helping out."

Tali sighed in relief. "Thank you, Captain. I'm sure she'll be of help to you."

"It's not permanent, right? I can't afford to have her on permanent retainer," Bailey said.

"No, just long enough to make some money," Tali replied. "We quarians prefer to earn our way."

"I can respect that," Bailey said. "I'll give her a chance and we'll see what happens."

Tali stood up, though it was a bit of a struggle. Bailey kindly got out of his chair to give her a hand.

"Thank you," Tali said politely. She gave him a firm handshake. "And thank you on behalf of Lia'Vael."

Bailey smiled kindly. "Of course. Don't mention it." He looked at something over her shoulder.

Tali turned around to see on his officers waving him over near the interrogation room.

"Ah… Duty calls. Back to work," Bailey said. "Good luck on whatever you and Shepard are up to. And take better care of yourself, y'hear?"

"I will."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Citadel Security Executor's Office**_

"_The recent attack on Horizon has other Council species looking to their own security. The turian fleet is reportedly bolstering its crew complement, while the Salarian Special Tasks Group is reportedly investigating the colony attacks."_

"Garrus Vakarian. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Garrus stood tall, proud, and collected. To many this would be seen as a measure of respect, discipline, or honor. Given their history though, the man sitting behind the table would see it as a gesture of defiance. He stared down at the man in charge of the Citadel Security Force. "Executor Venari Pallin."

"After all this time, I was expecting you to be dead by now," Pallin rumbled without preamble. He was never a man that cared for the niceties.

"I'm not here to hash out the past Pallin."

"Then I doubt I'll be hearing an apology from you," Pallin said dismissively as he read some report or other on his table.

"We're both want the same thing. Order, justice, peace," Garrus calmly said. "Difference between how we do it is irrelevant."

Pallin finally looked up. His eyes flashed in anger and disgust. "There's a right way to things—"

"I don't need you to lecture me on right and wrong, Pallin," Garrus shot back. "If it weren't for us, you wouldn't even be alive to sit at that table, much less have a Council to protect and a government to serve."

"Always the same, aren't you? Thinking that you can cast aside the rules and nothing else matters. Still pretending you're a Spectre. Wake up and look around—"

"I was right about Saren. If I didn't go behind your back and conduct my own investigation, you'd wallow in your ignorance and your rules. Somebody needed to stand up and do what's necessary, more importantly, what's right, regardless of the consequences. I may not be a Spectre, but I can say for certain that I have my own convictions and I stood by them," Garrus countered. "Personally, I thought you'd be the bigger man and admit when you were wrong."

Pallin looked like he was more than ready to continue before taking a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "I thought you weren't here to talk about the past."

"I'm not. I need you to sign off on an admission."

"Into C-Sec?"

Garrus nodded.

"Not you?"

"A friend of mine."

"You're asking me for a favor?" Pallin said derisively.

Garrus didn't rise to his baiting. "The way I see it, you already owe me," he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Pallin's laugh was acerbic and biting. "You've got a lot of nerve…!"

"Do I?"

Pallin glared. "I've got half a mind to see you dragged out of this office in chains."

Garrus shrugged again but didn't say anything, which served to only infuriate Pallin even more.

"What makes you think I'd do anything for you?"

"Because you **do** owe me. And you owe my father. He was one of your best. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be sitting at that desk. All I'm asking for is that you let someone into C-Sec for training and see what happens then."

Pallin narrowed his eyes.

"You're a man of the rules; by-the-book, through and through. You're not the kind to leave debts unpaid. I'm calling mine in."

He was baring his teeth now, which were slightly clenched. His mandibles are opening and closing rapidly in anger, didn't argue against the point. "Fine. Who is it?"

"His name is Lantar Sidonis."

"Sidonis? Isn't he the one that confessed to 10 **murders**?"

"On Omega. I was there. He didn't murder them. He was talking in a bar and accidently let slip the location of this merc base on Omega to the wrong sort of people. Based on that intel, they did a raid and people died. Some kind of merc war or something," Garrus explained. "He felt responsible and guilty, that's all. Wants to make a difference, but doesn't know how. I'm hoping C-Sec could help with that. It was stupid to try and turn himself in, really. Noble, but stupid."

"And why the hell would I want someone like that in C-Sec?"

"Because he's driven now. Wants to do the right thing, make a difference, fix his screw-up. Take your pick," Garrus listed off irritably. "Make him a patrolman or part of the Special Response Division, whatever you think or whatever he earns. He's not the worst you got in C-Sec. I know you've seen worse on the force."

"And if he can't handle the training?" Pallin pressed.

"That's his problem. And yours. Handle it however you want. I'm just here to see that he gets a fair shot," Garrus answered neutrally.

Pallin's face remained stony and unconvinced.

"People are thinking that C-Sec is getting a bit human-centric. They're assholes, but sometimes, we have to play the politics," Garrus negotiated. "Getting another able-bodied turian can't hurt and it'll make your department look good."

Pallin snorted. "Are you actually trying to be subtle, Vakarian? That's a new trick for you."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Fine. He'll have his shot. But don't expect any—"

"—special treatment," Garrus finished. "I'm counting on that."

Pallin turned to his terminal and started typing. After a few minutes, he looked up to see Garrus still standing there. "Something else?"

"I was waiting for you to dismiss me," Garrus said evenly.

"Don't push it," Pallin threatened.

Garrus gave one last hard look at him and left.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium**_

"_The Systems Alliance Parliamentary Subcommittee for Transhuman Studies has awarded reparations for biotics suffering complications from L2 implants. Subcommittee Chairman Burns thanked biotics everywhere for their patience and understanding and promised more help for 'those forgotten by the system until now'."_

"Something up, Miranda?" You've been quiet," Shepard observed.

"Sorry? Oh, I'm just thinking," she replied distractedly.

"About what?"

"You," she replied without thinking. Catching his sly smile, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before rolling her eyes. "Tell me that didn't sound as poignant as I think it does."

"All right, I won't."

"What I meant was: I was thinking about your element zero nodules. Your problem sort of makes it mine as well," she elaborated. "I just… I just hope that you're okay."

"What kind of equipment is Dr. Michel bringing?" he asked.

"Just some scanners. Much more powerful and accurate than the ones the Normandy is currently equipped with. We're going to borrow it for a while and map out your nodules over a period of time to see if there's any cause for concern," Miranda lectured. She suddenly laughed to herself and took his hand in hers. "I don't think I've ever been on a date quite like this. They're usually much more… upscale."

"This is date?" Shepard asked dubiously. "Because I think I can do much better than this."

She slyly looked at him from the corner of her eye before facing forward. "I'm certain you can." After another few minutes of silence, she turned asked, "You're not worried about this?"

"The way I see it, the only way my condition makes things worse is that I end up crippled or dead before going through the Omega-4 relay. It's really hard to trump a suicide mission."

She sighed. "You're probably right."

"What did the Illusive Man say, anyway?"

Miranda paused. Since her arm around Shepard's, he was pulled back when he didn't realize she stopped.

"Miranda?"

"I-I, um, I didn't tell him about it," she confessed quietly.

"You didn't?"

"I wasn't exactly sure what to say," she said.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed again. "What I mean is, I don't want him to know about, well, **us**."

"Oh."

She smiled and pulled his arm, continuing their walk through the Presidium. She knew he understood. It wasn't wise to advertise their relationship, though for her, it was for decidedly different reasons. A former Alliance Marine, now Council Spectre, and a Cerberus Operative, allied with an organization that was declared an enemy to the Council, together in a relationship.

There was a certain thrill in it, she had to admit. A touch of the forbidden…

_Quite a pair we make._

They strolled for a little in companionable silence until she spotted the embassies in the distance. "You're not going to visit Councilor Anderson?"

Shepard shook his head. "Nothing to talk about. Not yet, anyway."

"I would've thought you'd talk about Horizon at least. Offer your side of the story in conjunction with Chief Williams' report."

"Anderson knows the truth, even if the rest of the Council denies it. He'll have gotten the uncensored version from Ash in private. The best I can do is say 'hi' as an old friend and it's not worth bothering him like that. Especially since he knows I'm up to something much bigger," Shepard explained.

"And since we're still waiting on the IFF, there's nothing to report or as you said, 'talk about'," Miranda deduced.

"He knows I'm on the Citadel. There's no way he doesn't. If he wanted to talk, he'd call. He's not shy about it."

"And what of the Consort? Are you planning on 'visiting' her any time soon?"

"I'm smart enough to know that whatever answer I say will have grave repercussions, so I'm maintaining my silence on that."

"I do have ways to make you talk, Shepard."

"I'm trained to resist interrogations."

"Not against me."

"We'll see."

"So what's our next move?" Miranda asked.

Shepard blinked and turned to her questioningly, a half-smile on his face. "Is that a euphemism or are you being serious?"

She jerked his arm and smiled. "Business first. We'll get to pleasure soon enough."

"Kasumi needs some help and her window of opportunity is coming. I don't want to brush her off," he answered. He led her into a secluded area of the Presidium, near the entrance to the Wards, and brought his head down close and brushed against her raven locks lightly. "Now, about **our** next move…" he whispered.

She shot him a coquettish look and blew lightly into his ear. "Tonight?"

"Sounds far too late."

"You have an appointment."

"We can push it back." He drew her close and lightly kissed her neck.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she tilted her head, giving him more access. "Doctor's orders. You shouldn't keep them waiting…" she whispered breathlessly. She gripped his head and pulled him away from her throat, only to pull him into an intense kiss.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Shepard asked when he managed to pull back and look her in the eyes.

"That depends on how strong our resolve is," Miranda said with a darkening look of desire in her eyes and drew him in for another kiss.

"_Mister Shepard, a man as ruggedly handsome as you deserves the finest in biotic technology,"_ an ad terminal called out, startling them both, and ruined the moment.

"Oh, bloody hell," Miranda cursed.

"_The next time you're out on the town with Miss Lawson, the new Sophist biotic amplifier from the Serrice Council is the perfect accessory. Power. Precision. Elegance. It's not just an amplifier—it's an expression of your masculinity. Sophist."_

"Okay, like the handsome part, but the biotic part is just plain ironic," Shepard stated.

Miranda laughed and looped her arm around his. She dragged him again, back into the Presidium and toward the Shopping District. "Just as well. As tempting as it was, we do have to meet with your doctors and evaluate your condition." Leaning in close to whisper, she said, "Take it from me, you don't **need** any amplifiers."

She decided to let him stew on whether she meant his biotics or not and continued browsing.

Shepard followed her without complaint.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, C-Sec Precinct**_

"Mr. Krios," Bailey greeted.

"Captain," Thane cordially returned. Kolyat stood up and walked beside him to meet with the human captain.

"Sorry to have to cut into your talk like this, but I gotta put your boy to work. We just got some intel from this identity forger and now there's some people I need him to watch for me," Bailey explained.

"Of course. Have all the arrangements been made?" Thane asked.

"It's all been taken care of. Legally. He'll be working under me for a while and 'pay of his debt to society' and all that."

"Thanks," Kolyat said quietly.

"Are any of his assignments dangerous?" Thane asked worriedly.

"No, nothing like that. Small timers, really. Probably less harmless than Mouse," Bailey assured. "I'm hoping to use your boy to make life a bit better for the kids around here, that's all."

"A noble task," Thane said. He couldn't meet his son's eyes. There was no story he had in his life of which to brag about or use as an uplifting lesson.

_Yet._

"Yeah. Sorry it's not perfect, but then, what is?"

Thane shook his hand. "Once again, I—We are in your debt."

"Well, you helped out with this Talid business and you got Kelham to back off without implicating me. Least I could do," Bailey said. He started chuckling. "Shepard's got some good friends. I just took on a quarian as my IT girl to upgrade C-Sec's networks on the recommendation of his quarian friend, Tali."

"I see," Thane simply said, though a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Right. I need you to check these people out." Bailey handed Kolyat a holo-pad. "Just talk to them for now. Report back to me and I'll see what needs to be done, okay?"

"Got it," Kolyat said. He turned to Thane. "Um…"

"We'll speak again soon," Thane promised.

"Sure." Kolyat took one last look at him before leaving.

"Good luck in your ventures," Thane said to Bailey.

"You too. Oh yeah, I hope you don't mind, but I also told your boy to keep talking to you. Life's just too short to miss out on these kinds of things, y'know? Don't know if it took, but we'll see."

"Thank you again, Captain. Good fortune to you," Thane bowed deeply from the waist as a gesture of respect before leaving himself.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, 618 Blocks**_

"Oh, you didn't have to do this for me, Tali," Lia'Vael nar Ulnay protested.

"Of course I did. Its times like this that we have to stick together," Tali said.

Lia laughed to herself, but it lacked any feeling behind it. "I remember how excited I was for my Pilgrimage. I was thinking it was going to be like an adventure or something. How naïve is that?"

"It isn't," Tali replied staunchly. "I did the same as well. I was questioned by C-Sec for hours before I was allowed on the Citadel, probably like you."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I was injured at that time. I was lucky," Tali said wistfully. "But I managed to make some very good friends. The best really."

"I noticed. I'm actually quite envious," Lia said.

"Things will look up," Tali said encouragingly.

"I hope so. I can't help but wonder if I made a mistake coming here, though," Lia confessed quietly. "Maybe Illium or Omega would've been better…"

Tali remembered a pair of quarians she'd met since rejoining Shepard's crew and managed to avoid cringing for Lia's benefit. Kenn was robbed on Omega and was forced to try to sell salvage to make enough money to leave. He was lucky to have Shepard intervene before he could get robbed again, or worse, killed. And Saya almost became an indentured servant on Illium, if it weren't for their combined efforts to free her of the contract. Shaking the memories away, Tali said, "Trust me, you're doing fine. If Pilgrimages were easy, you'd already be back with the Flotilla by now."

Lia nodded her head and stood up. "I should talk to Captain Bailey and report in, then." She made a show of flexing her fingers. "Gotta show him what I can do."

"As far as I could tell, he seems to be a decent man. Tough, but fair," Tali encouraged. In some ways, Bailey reminded her of her father. "You should be fine."

"I hope so." Lia stepped forward and gave Tali a brief hug. "If you get back to the fleet before me, give my family my love, would you?"

Tali returned the gesture warmly. "I will. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward Docks, Normandy SR-2**_

"You're looking awfully chipper, Garrus. How'd you sleep?" Jacob asked.

"Like the dead. Only more peaceful." Garrus looked up from his rifle and saw that Jacob was favoring his left arm. "Looks like you can't say the same."

"I accepted a challenge from Kasumi. We sparred for a bit this morning."

"You win?"

Before Jacob could answer, Shepard appeared out of nowhere and sat down. "Hell no. He got his ass kicked, same as me, only without the biotics. Samara and I watched his crushing defeat."

Jacob pretended to be busy working on some random gun, but didn't say anything to the contrary. "After your own regular beat down, you mean."

Garrus found himself confused and looked at Jacob from head to toe. He looked fit, for a human anyway. Considering size difference he had over the petite woman, he found it hard to believe. "So… what? You hold back or something?"

Jacob shook his head. "I threw everything I had at her and then some. Still got my ass kicked."

Garrus swiveled his stool to better talk to him. "Shepard getting beat by Samara, I can understand."

"Hey!"

"Well, she's tall and physically, she's built well. I wouldn't be surprised if she could go toe-to-toe with a krogan," Garrus elaborated. "But Kasumi seems, I don't know, smaller?"

"Yeah, but she has some crazy ninja skills," Jacob replied in way that should have explained everything.

At the very least, Shepard seemed to understand. He even looked interested. "Yeah. Never saw someone move like that before. Even Samara was impressed. Maybe I could talk to her for some tips. Anything to get one over Samara."

"Is it sad that we're getting beat up by the women on this ship?" Jacob mused.

Shepard laughed. "On **this** ship, not a chance. There's a reason why they're on this mission, y'know."

Garrus was lost. "Wait, ninja skills? I don't get it."

"Let's just say she's fast, agile, and crazy flexible. Leave it at that," Jacob explained simply.

The moment Jacob said flexible, Garrus suddenly remembered this scout that was **really **flexible. She certainly knew how to take care of her body…

"How are you feeling, Garrus?" Shepard asked.

Snapping back to the present, Garrus smiled. "Better. Much better."

"Glad to hear it."

"Whatever happens with the Collectors or the Reapers or whoever else comes after us, I know you'll get the job done," Garrus said confidently.

Jacob scoffed. "Hold on, you think we'll find something worse than Collectors or Reapers?"

"It's Shepard. With him, who knows?" Garrus deadpanned. "I like to expect the worst. There's a small chance I'll be pleasantly surprised," he reasoned, quoting something he heard. One of his old squad members used to say that. On Omega, it held a lot more wisdom than most would expect.

"I couldn't do this without you, Garrus," Shepard sarcastically said.

Garrus grinned. "Sure you could. Not as stylishly of course."

Shepard barked out a laugh. It sounded almost challenging.

Garrus decided to let it slide. "You know, it's strange going into a suicide mission on a human ship. Your people don't prepare for high-risk operations the way turians do."

"But you're used to high-risk ops, right?" Jacob asked.

"Couldn't be any worse than tracking Saren to Ilos," Shepard added.

Garrus shrugged. "Sure, but that was quick. We raced out, landed, blew up some geth, and saved the galaxy."

"Is that all there was to it?" Jacob asked.

"It was a bit more complicated than that," Shepard replied.

"This time we've got Cerberus, that AI, just about everyone telling us what we're up against," Garrus continued. "I think I preferred blind optimism."

"I thought you liked to prepare for the worst?" Jacob asked.

"I'm complicated."

Jacob paused from his work and sat up. "I gotta ask, how do turians prep for high-risk missions?"

"Violence, usually," came the blunt answer. "Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but few personal restrictions."

"You mentioned that," Jacob said. "No rules on fraternization, right?"

"Not particularly," Garrus confirmed. "Our commanders run us tight and they know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combats sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress."

"Kinda like us," Shepard mused.

"Yeah," Garrus replied distractedly. His thoughts went back to that scout…

"What's up?" Jacob asked when he saw the Garrus' had drifted off. "Something you wanna share?"

"I was just remembering something," Garrus answered with an amused shake of his head. "There was this one mission, we were about to hit a batarian pirate squad. Very risky."

"Yeah?" Jacob pressed. He and Shepard were both facing him with interested looks.

"This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring," Garrus continued.

"You take her down gently?" Shepard asked.

"Actually, she and I were the top-ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship," Garrus corrected with a grin. "I had reach, but she had flexibility."

"Where did I hear that?" Shepard said with a pointed look at Jacob.

He grinned and shrugged.

"It was brutal. Worse than any of your sessions you had with Samara actually. After nine rounds, the judge called it a draw." Garrus suddenly chuckled. "There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room."

"Ever finish the fight?" Jacob asked.

"Actually, we, ah, ended up holding a tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach, but she had flexibility," Garrus said before coughing lightly into his fist. "More than one way to work off stress, I guess."

"Still no clear victor, I take it?" Shepard wickedly asked.

Garrus coughed again. "Well, she was pretty hard to keep up with. I decided to give it to her in the end… Wait—that came out wrong."

Shepard and Jacob broke out laughing. Garrus got over his embarrassment and joined in moments later.

"Chalk up another victory to the fairer sex," Jacob said.

After they calmed down, Shepard shot Garrus a challenging look. "Seriously though, I didn't know you had that much hand-to-hand training, Garrus."

"You didn't ask," Garrus replied with a shrug.

"I'd like to square off against you, see how you stack up," Shepard said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Well… except I'd feel bad after kicking your ass. Then, I'd have to explain exactly how I kicked your ass to Dr. Chakwas so she can put you back together again."

Garrus grinned. "Awfully confident, aren't we?" He stopped when he remembered an important detail. "Hold on, no biotics. That's just cheating."

Shepard grinned back and said nothing.

"Say, I've been meaning to ask, you ever regret leaving C-Sec or the turian military?" Jacob asked. "I mean, after seeing you and that other C-Sec officer butt heads yesterday, I kinda got that vibe that you really hated it there. More than you told us."

"Not for a minute," Garrus said instantly. "When it comes down to it, I don't think I'm a very good turian."

"Really? You're as stubborn as any turian I've met," Shepard quipped.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Shepard."

"So what makes you a bad turian?" Jacob asked.

"When a good turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain, but he knows his place," Garrus explained.

"I think I see where you're going with this," Jacob said understandingly.

"I figured you'd know, Jacob," Garrus said. "I just don't see the point of staying quiet and polite. Not when the stakes are as high as they are."

"That's pretty much along the same lines of why I quit the Alliance," Jacob said.

Before Shepard could add his thoughts, EDI popped up on the nearby pedestal. "Captain, Dr. Michel has arrived and her equipment is currently being installed in the Medical Bay. Dr. Chakwas requests your presence."

"Alright, thanks, EDI," Shepard said.

"Logging you out."

"Gotta go," Shepard said. He stood up and stretched.

"You going to be okay?" Garrus asked, but trying to sound nonchalant.

"We'll see soon enough," Shepard said. He nodded to both men and left.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard suppressed the urge to yawn and tried to ignore the sudden itch on his nose as he lay completely still on the new chair inside the Med-Bay. It was reclined, almost horizontal, forcing him to stare up at the ceiling. His arms and legs rested comfortably on the provided supports. The scanners at his sides hummed and geometric lights shined up and down the length of his body constantly.

According to Dr. Michel, the machine she brought was called the Simultaneous Mediated Axial Radiation Tech Scan, or SMART Scan for short. Using specialized nanites and directed radiation along XYZ planes, high resolution 3D images can be made of just about any place in his body. The nanites can cluster in specific tissues of interest for increased scrutiny and absorb any radicals produced during the procedure, lowering the health risks.

The downside: the nanites must be passed in the urine. And according to Michel, "That might hurt a bit. Sorry."

Upon hearing that Dr. Chakwas was the one administering the nanite injection, he did mental check for anything he might have done recently that might have upset her.

A few inches above him was a full, perfect, life-sized, three-dimensional holographic projection, showing his image the scanners and nanites were picking up. Miranda, Drs. Chakwas, Michel, and Solus were all in attendance, manipulating the holographic images and studying the information carefully.

The SMART Scan first displayed his body in its totality, sans clothes. Shepard had to swallow his embarrassment and was thankful that the women conducted themselves as consummate professionals.

The specialized skin weave was highlighted and shown to be strategically implanted throughout his flesh. A flick from Dr. Chakwas' omni-tool and the skin was removed, showing his muscular system. Once again, the implants within were painfully obvious to see, though they were much larger than the other implants in him. His muscles disappeared, showing his internal organs and skeleton. Throughout his entire body, the technology Cerberus funded towards the Lazarus Project was emphasized by the scanners. It was everywhere, attached to everything, supplementing and assisting all of his functions.

Shepard had to resist the urge to pick his head up and stare at what Miranda had done to accomplish this medical marvel.

Drs. Michel and Solus displayed even more curiosity and fascination with the implants. Often they would be seen muttering to themselves or to each other as they openly studied the artificial constructs within Shepard's body.

Miranda used her omni-tool and changed the image, this time showing the cardiovascular and nervous system. Another flick of her wrist and only the nervous system was seen.

As disappointed as they were at missing their chance to study the previous images, Michel and Mordin continued to be amazed by the tech found inside Shepard with each passing display.

"Here," Chakwas said. Moving closer, her hands surrounded by golden rings generated from her omni-tool, reached out and manipulated the hologram, rotating it and zooming in to certain parts. "You can see the eezo nodules clearly."

Miranda stepped forward and watched as the scanner highlighted the miniscule nodules that were entwined with the nerve bundles throughout Shepard's body. "Are you recording this?" she asked to the others.

Mordin looked at console and nodded. "Recording, measuring, and calculating."

"So what now?" Shepard asked from his chair.

"We're recording the size of the nodules and will use that as an accurate point of data to compare with my notes from the Lazarus Project. We'll do this periodically to map out the growth, if any, of your nodules and determine if there's a problem," Miranda patiently explained.

"I thought you already had some data," Shepard asked, turning his head slightly to see her.

"Don't move, Shepard. I don't want any mistakes," Chakwas scolded.

"Sorry, Doc."

"That was preliminary data. The results from that aren't as accurate as this one. The Normandy's Med-Bay wasn't equipped with more sophisticated scanners," Miranda said.

"Before you ask, Shepard, I'm used to treating battlefield wounds, injuries sustained during ship-to-ship combat, or any other stresses associated with flying a military warship. The equipment in my Medical Bay reflects this. The machines we're using are reserved for dedicated clinics or hospitals. Safe, static areas where gunplay or violence is far less commonplace," Chakwas added.

"Oh."

"I believe we're almost finished," Michel announced. Her accent, as always, sounded intriguing and sensual. "This is fascinating. The placement of these nodules…"

"We estimated that Shepard had the potential to become a talented biotic," Miranda said.

"I can see that," Michel replied as she stared at the results. "The size of these nodules though… I didn't think that they can grow to this size and not cause neurological complications."

"It's possible," Chakwas said. "There are very few children with nodules of similar sizes. It's shouldn't come as a surprise that they're also the more talented ones that the Ascension Project have ever produced."

"What about Jack? Isn't she powerful?" Shepard asked, still keeping as motionless as possible.

"Hers nodules are just as interesting as yours, Shepard," Chakwas said. "Though for decidedly different reasons."

When Chakwas didn't explain after a minute or so, Shepard arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as nothing, Shepard. I can't say anything. She has no condition that can affect the ship. Therefore, I can't divulge any details, even to you."

"Unless, of course, you wish to count possible chances of aggressive and volatile behavior and potential to do significant damage to ship and crew," Mordin offered, pragmatic as usual. "Then, as captain, his responsibility, his problem."

"She has more than three times the amount of nodules intertwined with her nervous system," Miranda revealed. At Chakwas' scandalous look, she shrugged. "Shepard can access the databases on the Normandy. When I received Jack's records, they were uploaded into the mainframe with restricted access. Since he's the commanding officer, it'll hardly be a secret to him. He'll look it up anyway once we're finished here."

Chakwas sighed irritably. "Oh, very well. What you have, Shepard, is an increase in the size of your nodules, though the amount is more or less the same as most biotics. Perhaps a bit higher, but nothing significant or noteworthy. That's the source of your sudden surge in power. In Jack, it's the opposite. While the size of her nodules is within the upper range of the average, she has many more nodules within her than any other human biotic currently recorded. As you may have guessed, the amount of nodules a biotic has can also yield an increase in talent and power," she lectured, though she sounded a bit tetchy. No doubt revealing her patient's medical details was galling her.

"Is she in any kind of danger?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Yes, but that's definitely not going to be in any database you search, Shepard," Chakwas answered. "She hadn't seen a doctor for a long time until she was recruited for this mission. She asked that everything I've uncovered be held in the strictest of confidences. Not even for a medical consult."

"I didn't know this," Miranda said. "Is this going to be any sort of problem?"

"I don't know for certain," Chakwas confessed. "I'm planning on using the SMART Scan on her to see if I can get some details." Before anyone could ask more questions, she shook her head. "And that's all I'm saying about it."

Shepard sighed and wondered if he could ask Jack for any of the details.

"Done," Michel announced. Pressing a few commands, the hologram vanished. "You can stand up now, Captain."

"Shepard is fine, Doctor."

"Then I must insist that you call me Chloe."

"Thanks for your help, Chloe. And for letting us borrow this equipment."

"Borrow?" Michel asked. She scratched her head in confusion. "I thought…"

"We need to discuss the details of your latest scans, Shepard," Miranda interjected. "If you'll excuse us."

Without further fanfare, he was almost literally pushed out the door before he could get another word in edgewise. "What the hell?" he mumbled before calling out to EDI. "Hey, EDI? What's the deal with the SMART Scan?"

"Executive Lawson recently used Cerberus funds to purchase the SMART Scan from Dr. Chloe Michel. Dr. Michel used those funds to purchase a new one from Sirta Foundation, though it will take several weeks for it to arrive at her clinic. In the meantime, she has agreed to allow us the use of her SMART Scan and will need to go without one of her own for some time."

Shepard sighed and asked EDI to let him know when everyone inside the Med-Bay was finished so he could properly offer his gratitude to Michel for her sacrifice. Next, he started making preparations to leave. He sent the call to all crewmen to report back the Normandy, made sure all supplies were inventoried and stowed away, made time to test the Thanix Cannon once they were well and clear away from the Citadel. After he was finished, he trekked to his cabin to use the facilities there.

Once there, he walked into his private bathroom and used the toilet. Immediately, he could feel the pain and had to prop himself against the wall as he strained to urinate. Groaning with the effort, he closed his eyes and willed himself to finish his business quickly. Michel understated herself when she warned him that it would hurt. It almost felt like pissing glass.

_And I have to have regular scans for the foreseeable future. Goddamn it… _

**~o~O~o~**

Dr. Michel accepted Shepard's earnest appreciation for the 'loan' on her imager with her usual cheer. He also led her on a quick tour of the Normandy, during which she met up with Garrus and Tali.

Garrus awkwardly acknowledged her thanks for saving her life two years ago. Sensing his discomfort, she kept it brief and to the point, and asked that he take care of himself. She also offered that should he ever need medical attention or a friendly face, her clinic would always be open for him.

To Tali, Michel exasperatedly chastised her for getting injured, to which the quarian protested, citing that, "I didn't get shot, at least!" in her defense.

Michel had a laughed good-naturedly and wished her a speedy recovery and pleaded that she be more careful in the future.

"I'll try," Tali said.

Accepting that as the best answer she'll get under the circumstances, Michel turned toward Shepard next. "Thank you for the tour of you ship, Shepard. I certainly hope that your results will be good news."

"So do I, Doctor—I mean, Chloe," Shepard returned amicably. With the tour over, he led her toward the bridge and airlock. "It was good to see you again."

"You as well. Garrus. Tali." Michel offered a demure smile to everyone, well-wishes on whatever mission they were undertaking and left.

"Well?" Tali asked immediately after Michel's departure.

"I need a few more tests to know for certain, Tali," Shepard said, knowing exactly what she was asking.

"They wouldn't do tests if they didn't think there was something wrong to begin with," Tali argued.

"They have a few fears. They just looking to see if it has any merit," Shepard replied calmly. "There's no need to worry about me. I'm fine."

"Why is it when people aren't 'fine', that's the word they use?" Tali asked in annoyance.

Shepard shook his head, but didn't bother to offer more on his condition, if there was anything wrong to begin with. He marched back toward the CIC. "Has everyone returned from leave?" he asked toward his XO.

"Just," Miranda answered, standing near the galaxy map. "We're ready to leave within the next two hours, at your word."

"Joker, ready at the helm?" Shepard called into the intercom.

"_Ready, Captain."_

Looking at the map, he pulled it away from the Citadel and the Widow System until he was on the Serpent Nebula. Moving the icon to the next system over, he selected their next destination: Boltzmann System, Bekenstein.

"_Coordinates locked in. Course plotted. Be there inside of 14 hours,"_ Joker reported.

"As soon as the Normandy is ready, then," Shepard said.

"_Aye, aye."_

**~o~O~o~**

"Shep! Heard we're leaving! I need to square away the last minute details of our heist!" Kasumi cried out as she ran into the Common Area.

"Hold on, Kasumi. I think I've been more than patient with you," Shepard said, looking up from his dinner. "We're going to Bekenstein soon. Just in time for the party, like you wanted. What's the plan?"

"You have been patient, haven't you?" Kasumi said thoughtfully. "I mean, if it were me, I'd be asking every day until I learned what I needed to learn," she teased, drawing out the conversation on purpose.

Shepard gave her a withering glare. "I've been busy. What's the plan?"

Jacob, Garrus, Tali, Mordin, and Miranda listened in with undisguised interest, as did some of the crewmen that were enjoying dinner. Thane and Samara held some mild attentiveness, but not so much that they would integrate themselves in the conversation.

"Bear with me here," Kasumi cautioned. "This will **sound** simple, but it rarely is in practice."

Shepard nodded. Having his share of plans, strategies, and assaults, he knew the difference between discussion and action.

She walked over to Jacob nudged him a bit to the side so she could sit down. He moved willingly. "We're going undercover into a party Hock is throwing for some of his 'closest' friends. Obviously, you can't go as Spectre Agent John Shepard. That'll shut this down faster than you can draw your gun. I've taken the liberty of creating an identity for you already. Solomon Gunn."

"Will that pass?" Shepard asked.

"After Liara got in touch with me and ask that I help you out, I started creating your new identity, complete with background. It'll be like you've existed for the last five years."

"Okay. What's my background?"

"You run a small, but talented band of mercs out in the Terminus Systems—"

"Does that seem a bit too close to the truth to you?" Garrus asked Jacob.

"We're less than a dozen and we're talented, so I agree on those points. It's being labeled a merc I got trouble handling," Jacob replied.

"Guys," Shepard said warningly.

"Well, it's precisely the type of person Hock respects," Kasumi explained, smiling at the assembled team. "You have quite the reputation now, Mr. Gunn. Papers, witnesses, you were even in an article published in 'Badass Weekly' last week."

"Shepard was on that a couple of years ago," Garrus informed cheekily.

"So were you, 'Archangel'," Jacob shot back.

"Just don't start talking business with him and you'll be fine," Kasumi assured.

"Unless he talks business first," Shepard countered. "Then what?"

"Name drop a few of the people here and embellish a few of your previous missions or something. Instead of… say… Samara the asari Justicar, you say Mara, asari commando. You were there on Omega, killing Archangel. All the mercs died, but you lived and got paid. Little white lie sprinkled with a bit of truth. Keep it simple and you should get by."

"Oh yeah… you never did get paid for 'killing' me, did you?" Garrus mused.

"I think the Blue Suns frown on freelancers that kill their boss, even if he was an asshole," Shepard replied.

"Anyway, we're going to steal from the man, not make friends," Kasumi said.

"Speaking of friends: Hock. What should I expect, beside the stuff you told me back on Illium?"

"You know he's a weapons dealer, smuggler, killed my partner and stole his graybox…" she muttered. In the end, she simply shrugged. "Other than that, he's not so bad. He thinks he's a 'businessman'. Ignoring the fact that his business usually involves the death and destruction of people's lives, he'll be dressed to the nines, talk politely, walk with a swagger, all as if he's really innocent and just doing the galaxy a favor or something."

"Rich and charismatic. I've met that type before," Shepard said, recalling the Illusive Man.

"And willing to crack open a man's skull to get at the neural implants inside," Kasumi added. Though her voice sounded as teasing as ever, there was a certain hardness within her eyes that he only saw back on Illium.

"Hey, Shepard. Why don't we just assault the place?" Jacob suddenly asked, all traces of his earlier humor gone. "Just take out Hock and get what we're after?"

"No can do, Jacob," Shepard said. He had a guess as to why that would be appealing to him, if the smile Kasumi sent was any indication.

"Why not?" Jacob asked in annoyance.

"They're going undercover in a party, Jacob," Miranda answered. "Even if most of the people there are criminals in some form or fashion, they'll bring dates or escorts. Civilians, innocent ones."

"Exactly. We go in shooting, innocent people might take the first bullet," Shepard said. "Or worse, we get a hostage situation."

"And the final point: Hock will have a few escape plans just in case he needs to leave in a hurry. Not necessarily from us, but he's made a few enemies I'm sure. It's standard practice, really. But if he takes Keiji's graybox, I might never find him or it again," Kasumi finished. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Environment?" Shepard asked.

"Hock's party will have some of his closest 'friends' on hand. A couple dozen of the worst liars, cheaters, and mass murderers you'll ever want to meet, all bringing gifts as a tribute to the man himself," Kasumi said.

"Not to sound overly cliché, but with friends like that—" Tali said.

"—who needs enemies?" Miranda finished. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Our tribute is a lovely statue of your old friend, Saren—" Kasumi informed.

Shepard couldn't keep the frown from his face at the mention of his name.

"—rendered with loving detail and soon, filled to the brim with our weapons and armor," she finished. "That's what I came to talk to you about. I need to load the statue up and have it shipped before we leave."

"I'll gather my equipment after this," Shepard promised. "So we're going in unarmed?"

"You can have a pistol. They won't hassle you over a sidearm," Kasumi said. "Once inside, we'll make our way to the Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom. We case the security and start peeling away the layers. The statue **should** be there, waiting for us to crack it open and arm up, if we need to. If it isn't there, then in it'll be in the vault. The main point is to waltz into the vault and take back Keiji's graybox."

"Wait," Miranda said. "I have a few questions."

"Yes?"

"You said the vault was 'somewhere in the ballroom' and you have to peel away the layers of security. What does that mean?" Miranda asked. "You don't know the details of the vault? I thought you'd have all the details when plot your heists."

For once, Kasumi looked abashed. "Yeah, I know. I had Liara look into Hock, but that's when you guys showed up on Illium, and, well, she wanted to help her friends. Kinda put my request on the backburner. All I know is: It's an underground, heavy duty vault. The smaller entrance is somewhere in the ballroom, inside the house. The loading entrance near his private hangar."

"So there are two ways into his vault," Shepard mused.

"Yeah, but both will have heavy security. The loading entrance near the hangar is much larger, just so he can get his larger, more personal possessions to fit inside."

"What about the hangar?" Jacob asked.

"It's where he loads or unloads his 'merchandise'."

"Why not go in from there?" Shepard asked.

"Because I don't know what security measures he'll have in place at either door. If any of the locks are biometric, it's better to be near the man that can unlock it, don't you think?" she replied.

"And during a party, he'll be much more talkative and let down his guard a bit," Miranda said.

"That's the hope," Kasumi said quietly. "This isn't my best plan for a theft, which is why I'm smuggling our armor and weapons in. And which is why I'm asking for your help, Shep. I just want Keiji's graybox. A chance to say goodbye."

"You obviously want it bad if you're willing to break into a guy's fortress without a real plan," Jacob said sympathetically. "He must've meant a lot to you."

"Was I that obvious?" Kasumi said, trying to inject a bit of cheer back into her voice. "His graybox holds a lot of… personal memories. It's all that remains of who he was."

"What about what he discovered?" Miranda pressed.

"Dangerous, I know that for a fact. I wouldn't ask someone like Shep to come if it wasn't. This could very well be my messiest heist yet."

"But you don't know?" Miranda asked.

"The graybox holds Keiji's memories. It has everything about him. Wrapped up in those memories is the secret he stole. He never told me what it was, but the information got him killed. All I know is that it meant bad news for the Alliance and humanity. That's it."

"So are you coming with me?" Shepard asked.

"Yep!" Kasumi chirped. "I hope you weren't thinking that I'd sit on the sidelines for this. Between the both of us, I'm hoping we'll be quick enough to get the graybox and get out before Hock is any the wiser."

"I'd like to come along," Miranda suddenly said.

Everyone turned to her in surprise.

"Really?" Kasumi asked with a tilt of her head.

"Cerberus is dedicated to protecting humanity. If that information comprises our species, then we have an obligation to retrieve it. I'm certainly not about to let the future of humanity rest in the hands of some low-life criminal," Miranda said.

"Hmm… I suppose that can work…" Kasumi muttered.

"Why not?" Rolston said, speaking up for the first time since the impromptu briefing began. "If Solomon Gunn is so badass, having two ladies on his arms won't be anything unusual."

"That's true," Patel said. "I bet there'll be all sorts of things going on that it'll probably look natural."

"Good point," Kasumi agreed. "I was planning on coming along as a date, but if I come in as an assistant instead, Hock will probably ignore me outright and put his focus on Miranda instead."

"I'm guessing you have experience in undercover work?" Shepard asked with a knowing look at Miranda.

"A fair few," she modestly said.

"Right, the next problem is, my face is pretty well-known by now," Shepard said. "If I go, Hock might recognize me."

"I really doubt it," Kasumi said dismissively. "The galaxy has you reported as dead for the most part and the fact that you're alive isn't exactly spreading since people don't believe it. Hock might think 'Solomon Gunn' **looks** like you, but he'll never really think you're after him. After all, why would a dead Spectre help out little ol' me?"

"Conrad Verner recognized you," Garrus reminded.

"Yes, but he's always been a little obsessed," Tali argued. "It's not that hard for him to see what he wants to see. Someone like Hock won't believe it."

"Sad day in the galaxy when the fan-obsessed freak sees the truth and the ruthless, paranoid smuggler doesn't," Jacob said.

Kasumi looked at them curiously and looked like she wanted to press for details. Instead, she shook her head and turned back to Shepard. "Any other problems you'd like to know of?"

"Hock's muscle. Do you know how many he has?"

"He has Eclipse mercs working for him at a low price. Figure he's smuggling for them or something," she answered. "A small army, I think."

"So if we get caught…"

"We might have a small problem on our hands. That's why you're coming and why I'm taking care to bring our equipment along. Just in case, you know?" Kasumi said.

"Oh boy… Can I make a few revisions to this plan?" Shepard asked.

Kasumi shrugged. "Sure."

"**If** we get caught, the hangar is our best bet for escape. We'll need explosive charges to blow the other door open and make our way out."

"I'll stash them inside the statue," Kasumi assured.

"Distractions: Garrus, you take Mordin, Samara and Jack and hit the front entrance to Hock's mansion. Enough to make some noise, exchange a little gunfire, but not enough to put innocent people at risk. I want you to draw the mercs out to you."

"Got it."

"Jacob, you take everyone else and secure the hangar. Clear out the mercs stationed there and work your way to us."

"I got your backs."

"Remember, this is only **if** we get caught. If we manage to break into the vault, get the graybox, and leave without causing a fuss, all the better for us," Shepard reminded.

"And Hock?" Jacob asked with a slight edge in his tone.

"If he engages you, take him down. If he runs, let him."

"Well! Looks like we have a plan. Not the best, but sounds like it'll work," Kasumi said gratefully.

Shepard finished his dinner and stood up. "I'll get my stuff together for you, then."

Miranda stood up as well. "I'll come with you, I suppose."

"Great. Meet me in the hangar so I can load everything into the statue and get it sent out," Kasumi said. "And… Thanks."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Widow Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En Route to Boltzmann System, Bekenstein**_

Up in his cabin, Shepard looked at the suit Kasumi had bought for him with a critical eye. It was expensive looking, most likely custom tailored, black with white trim. In some ways, it reminded him of the suits the Illusive Man wore. Certainly nothing like Shepard had ever worn in his life.

The door to his cabin opened. Looking up he saw Miranda standing at the doorway. This time, she walked in without hesitating and stood in front of him. "Checking out your evening wear, I see."

"Not sure if it suits me. Never had anything like it to be honest."

She took out the tux from his closest and held it against him. He bore her scrutiny with an amused smile.

"Not bad. I think you'll look splendid in it," she finally said with an interesting glint in her eyes.

"The only problem is acting like I belong. The only high society dinner I ever went to was—"

"There were four high-profile military dinner programs you attended ever since you graduated from the N7 program," Miranda said knowledgably. "All of which you were outfitted in standard Alliance dress uniform."

Shepard opened and closed his mouth his few times before shaking his head and smiling. "That's impressive."

She smiled back and put his suit back into his closet.

"So? What are the results?" Shepard asked.

Miranda sighed and sat down on the leather chair near the coffee table. "This is preliminary, but I think one or two nodules might have grown. However, we were using an inferior scanner before, which means that your nodules weren't accurately measured the first time. That mistake might actually be ours."

"Time will tell, huh?"

She bit her lip and averted her eyes.

He raised an eyebrow and cupped her face to make eye contact. "What?"

"I'm sorry, John… I didn't think that this might happen…" she said apologetically.

"Bringing people back from the dead was supposed to be impossible. You managed that. I'm sure you can help with this. For now, we don't know anything yet. Now that we got some new medical hardware, we'll do the tests, and we'll see what happens," he said gently.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right. We should make sure everything is all right before jumping to conclusions."

"So…"

She stood up and pressed herself against him, lazily wrapping her arms around his neck. "There aren't any ad terminals here, are there?"

"Absolutely not," he answered. His arousal soon became apparent as it indiscreetly strained against his trousers.

Far from pulling away, she grinded her hips against him sensuously, causing him to breathe a bit heavily from her tantalizing movements.

"I understand that you gave me full access to your cabin," Miranda 'innocently' commented.

"I did," Shepard confirmed evenly, trying to get his himself under control.

"Was that an invitation, 'Captain'?" she asked in a seductive voice.

"It's whatever you want it to be," he answered before pulling her close and capturing her lips with his.

They stumbled towards his bed, divesting their clothes while letting their hands roam all over one another; exploring, massaging, teasing…

As they began their passionate lovemaking, an idle thought passed through Shepard's mind.

_A Council Spectre and a Cerberus Operative. What a pair…_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Kudos to **sandman7734** and **SgtPotato** for guessing my thoughts on this chapter with regards to Kasumi's loyalty mission.

The real credit for the inspiration for the new premise of Kasumi's LM goes to **Havoc-legionnaire.** He actually took the time to PM me about the idea all the way back in August. I hadn't actually considered it until he put up the idea.

The SMART Scan was actually inspired from **Firefly**, **Episode 9**. The 3D Neuro-Imager. The nanites were inspired by the movie, **The Island**.

Poll Results:

Both – 85

Shepard – 26

John – 9

So both it is, though it will be used sparingly.

Sorry. No R-rated scene yet. Soon though. I think. I hope.

Review if you want it though!  
l  
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	40. Stealing Memory

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En Route to Boltzmann System, Bekenstein**_

Shepard reentered his cabin from his private bathroom, a little bit of steam wafting in his wake. Padding over to his closet with only a towel to preserve his modesty, he spotted Miranda sitting up on his bed. She was clad in one of his shirts and little else.

Naturally, she made wearing his clothes look undeniably sexy.

She was sitting cross-legged and studying a datapad, but looked up and smiled when he exited the bathroom. Her smile changed to a smirk when she noticed that he was staring.

His eyes first roamed her shapely legs, tracing the lean muscle to the hem of the shirt she'd taken. Unfortunately, the size of his shirt allowed her to cover her intimate regions sufficiently.

_Pity._

Despite how loose the shirt was, the curvature of her breasts could still be seen. His eyes lingered there only for a moment before continuing the pleasant journey up. The collar had slipped and fallen a little past her left shoulder, exposing more of her pale skin. Past her enticing neck, her face had a amused expression that was framed by her dark locks. Instead of its usual flowing style, her hair was untamed and slightly mussed.

All in all, she had a captivating morning look that immediately brought a wave of ardor.

"Good morning to you too, John," Miranda teased. A lazy smile donned her lips.

Smirking back at her, he changed course and headed straight for the bed instead. Seeing what his intentions were, she dropped the datapad and tried to jump off the other side. Dropping his towel, he reached out and managed to grasp her arm and pulled her back down.

The moment they hit the bed, she wrapped her legs around his torso and flipped them both around until she was straddling him. As he lied on his back, he became acutely aware that she wasn't wearing any undergarments beneath her pilfered shirt.

"And what are you going to do now?" she whispered. She started to slowly grinded herself against his erection, creating an erotic friction that caused him to exhale sharply. "Well?"

He responded by gripping her hands and pulling hard. She fell forward with a gasp and found herself trapped in his arms, flush against his bare chest. Rolling over until he was on top, he held her down using his body, keeping his face close enough to hers that he could feel every breath she took. "How 'bout we skip breakfast?"

"Are you sure? I have doubts you have the energy to keep up with me."

"I'll have to dispel those doubts, won't I?"

"If you're up to the chall—"

Shepard silenced her with kiss, slowly deepening it when she moaned in approval.

"Always," he whispered.

**~o~O~o~**

"I was looking over our schedule earlier, before your slightly rude, but very pleasant interruption," Miranda said as she finished drying herself off. "I noticed that we're testing the new main gun today."

"There's an asteroid field here in Boltzmann. Bekenstein is on the other side of the system, so I'm sure we can fire a few rounds without worries," Shepard replied. He took the towel and handed Miranda her clothes from yesterday.

She quickly got dressed and checked the time. "It's almost lunch, already," she noted with surprise.

"You'd better go before people start talking," Shepard said. He had already finished changing. "I need to oversee those tests right now."

They allowed themselves one quick kiss before she made her way to the door. Just as she was about to open it, the door chimed and Kelly's voice was heard.

"Captain? You've scheduled the testing of the Thanix Cannon now. Your presence is requested at the CIC," she called.

Miranda turned around and darted into the bathroom. Shepard waited until she was hidden before opening the door. "Kelly. Thanks for the reminder. I had to over some last minute details about tonight."

"Of course, Captain. I must say, it sounds very exciting. I mean; a real live heist!"

Shepard led the yeoman back into the elevator and pressed the button for Deck 2. "At least one of us is excited."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. By the way, have you seen Executive Lawson? EDI wouldn't tell me where she is. I have her copy of the event report ready for her."

"Did you check her office?" Shepard said, hoping to deflect the question.

"First place I checked," Kelly replied.

"Hangar? She usually works out in the morning."

Kelly looked thoughtful. "No, not yet. I suppose I'll try there. Strange that EDI wouldn't tell me where she is."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be bothered right now?" he suggested.

Kelly sighed. "Maybe I should wait for her on the Crew Deck."

"Probably the best idea," Shepard agreed.

The elevator finally arrived at the CIC. Shepard walked up to the galaxy map and saw that their position was right at the asteroid field. "Garrus, you up?"

"_Been waiting for you, Shepard,"_ Garrus replied. _"You oversleep?"_

"Been busy prepping for tonight. Tali?"

"_We're online and ready, Shepard,"_ Tali said. _"At your word."_

"Let's get this started, then. Anything worthwhile to blow up out there, Joker?"

"_Got us in position of this sweet looking rock that's just begging us to blow up,"_ Joker said in anticipation.

The hologram changed from the galaxy map to the asteroid chosen. "Alright. Jacob? You at fire control?"

"_Target coordinates locked. Fire when ready, Captain," _Jacob reported.

"Fire."

The moment the command left his lips, a bright blue contrail was seen. In an eye-blink, the asteroid exploded, leaving behind a fine mist.

"Confirm target status," Shepard ordered.

"_Target destroyed," _Jacob reported.

"_Tantalus Core and fusion plant is okay. I'm not seeing any abnormalities yet,"_ Tali reported happily.

"_Main gun is okay. Cycling... 15 seconds. 10 seconds. 5 seconds. 4. 3. 2. 1. Main gun ready," _Garrus reported.

"Not bad for a first shot," Shepard stated, pleased with the initial results of Thanix Cannon. "Let's find another unfortunate rock to blow up."

The next couple of hours progressed smoothly. The Normandy flew in and out of the asteroid belt, destroying any floating rocks that were suitable targets. The tests were for a variety of functions: accuracy, power, fire rate, mass effect core and fusion plant stresses, adjustments in maneuverability while firing, measuring heat buildup, etc.

So far, everything performed as advertised, making the Normandy SR-2 the first frigate to successfully utilize the Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Cannon.

The crew clapped and cheered when Shepard finally ended the exercise.

"Okay, everyone. Well done," Shepard praised. "Looks like we're a match for the Collectors now."

"_Can't wait to face them,"_ Joker crowed. _"We'll teach those bastards why trying to kill us was a bad idea!"_

Another round of cheers and shouts followed after his proclamation.

"Alright, Joker. Set our course to Bekenstein. I got a party to attend."

"_Aye, aye. Setting course for Bekenstein."_

"_Um… We have a problem,"_ Garrus said.

Shepard hung his head and sighed. "I knew it."

"_The cannon isn't retracting. It's stuck."_

"Tali?"

"_Wasn't under my supervision. I took care of all the internal components and connections to the Tantalus Core and fusion plant,"_ Tali protested._ "Garrus, weren't you in charge of the installation of the main body of the cannon?"_

"_Yeah. So what?"_ Garrus childishly retorted.

"_Nothing," _Tali sang smugly.

"You know, I'm actually glad it happened," Shepard said thoughtfully.

"_We can't retract the cannon, making it stick out like a sore thumb. We can't do maintenance and having an open bay door might compromise our stealth capabilities and our ability for atmospheric reentry. How can you be glad?" _Garrus asked skeptically.

"A flawless test always worries me. Having small problems now means avoiding bigger problems later," Shepard explained optimistically. "Get to work and figure it out. If we need to dock, let me know."

"_I'll run diagnostics and see if it's a program failure,"_ Tali offered.

"_I guess I'll crawl into the maintenance shafts and see if it's a physical problem," _Garrus grumbled. _"Tali, can you send one of your people to help me?"_

"_I got a galaxy to save! Fix the damn problem yourself!"_

Shepard gaped when he heard his voice over the radio. "Wait—What?"

"_Shepard?"_ Garrus asked hesitantly.

"What? No! I didn't say—Tali!" Shepard barked. Several of the crewmen turned away and stifled their laughter as best as they could.

"_Get moving! Somebody needs my boot up his ass!"_ the VI shouted followed by Tali, Ken, Gabby, and Garrus' roaring laughter.

"_Aye, aye, Captain! Boot up the ass! Got it!" _Joker called out. The bridge and CIC with filled with barely suppressed mirth after that.

"This isn't funny, Joker!" Shepard shot back. "You too, Tali!"

"_I delete data like you on the way to real errors!"_

"You gotta be kidding me…" Shepard muttered. He cut off the radio before Tali could continue. As annoyed as he was, he still couldn't stop the smile that broke out on his face and laughed lightly to himself, allowing the crewmen to finally give into their amusement as they returned to their duties.

There was a giggle right behind him. "We're not going to be late, I hope?"

Shepard turned around to see Kasumi grinning back up at him. "We'll be there on time."

"Good," Kasumi said. She sounded relieved. "There's usually nothing wrong with being fashionably late, but in this case, timing is everything. Thanks for your help."

He chuckled. "Yeah. Just so long as you know that things tend to… I don't know, explode, around me. And it's not really my fault. Well, usually…"

"Which is why I'm coming," Miranda said as she exited the elevator and walked into the CIC. "If our infiltration is successful, then we won't have any problems. We enjoy the party, steal the graybox, wine and dine a little afterwards to avoid suspicion, and leave. Little trouble and fewer 'explosions', as you put it."

"And if we're caught?" Shepard asked.

"If we're caught, then we'll be needing **your** talents to escape, won't we?"

"You're both the brains and I'm the muscle, huh?" Shepard summed up wryly.

"If you wish to put it crudely, then by all means," Miranda cheekily replied.

"Works for me," Kasumi said with an amused shrug. "If things go pear-shaped, I have Spectre Agent Shepard at my back. Can't ask for better backup than that."

"Well, until then, I'm Solomon Gunn. What about you two? Who're you going as?" Shepard asked. He made his way to the elevator, intent on getting a late lunch. Both women followed.

"Ariel Solheim," said Miranda.

Shepard turned to her with an arched eyebrow. "Really?"

'Ariel Solheim' nodded. "I've used that ID a few times undercover."

"So what did you base that name off of? Uranus' satellites or Shakespeare's _Tempest_?" Shepard asked curiously. "And yes, I've read a **little** Shakespeare. Try not to faint."

Far from being surprised, Miranda smiled appreciatively. "I'll keep the shock at a minimum. If you had read and understood Mordin's published works on _Genetic Consequence: Resequencing Methods to Prevent Tissue Cloning_, **then** I'd consider fainting," she replied with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Shepard grinned at her before turning to Kasumi. "And your cover?"

"Mitsuo Koga," she said. "I'll be your assistant/date. For the purposes of our cover, I'm the one that will manage all your new contacts and friends you'll make during the party. Miranda is your primary date. She'll be distracting or helping me break into places guests aren't meant to be in if we need any extra intel. Other than that, she'll be hanging on your arm and keeping an eye out."

Shepard nodded and stepped off the elevator when it reached the Crew Deck. He took two steps before stopping in tracks, nearly causing both women to collide into his back. Kasumi's chosen name had suddenly clicked together in his mind. Sighing, he regarded the bubbly woman in exasperation. "You really are too clever for your own good. I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing, either."

Miranda looked confused for a moment at his sudden statement. She tilted her head in thought before rolling her eyes when the pieces fell in place. "Mitsuo Koga, Kasumi Goto. Let's hope that Hock isn't familiar with anagrams."

'Mitsuo Koga' shrugged. "I like it."

"And my bad feeling continues to get worse," Shepard muttered.

"Spoilsport."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Widow Nebula, Boltzmann System, Bekenstein, Spaceport**_

Kasumi nimbly avoided the crowds and blazed a path toward the exit once she left the shuttle and entered the busy terminal.

"So where are we going?" Shepard asked, following closely in her wake.

"Check into our hotel first. Shower, clean-up, and change. From there, we'll drive to Hock's mansion," Kasumi informed. She hefted her bag filled with her stuff and hailed a taxi. "Hope you don't mind, but I booked just the one suite for all of us."

Shepard shot her an incredulous look.

"Well, you can't be sure that Hock isn't watching, right?" she asked innocently.

"You really think he'd keep tabs on **all** his guests?" Shepard asked in a deadpan voice.

"Relax, I'm just kidding, Shep. Well, not about the suite. It really is just the one, but only for the night and we're only going to be staying a couple of hours," Kasumi said. "Long enough to prepare for the party. We get in and get out. Fast."

"I can't say I'm comfortable with this," Miranda said as they got into the taxi.

"Oh, I'm sure Shep will be the perfect gentleman. He won't peek while we get ready," Kasumi wickedly remarked.

Miranda shot her a cross look, though there was a slight blush on her cheeks. Shepard coughed and looked out the window to avoid eye contact.

"What I meant was: We're almost going in blind. Even with all our prep there's too many unknown variables," Miranda clarified.

"I know, but it couldn't be helped. Usually, I do weeks of prep before a job. I had less than a few days, and then I had to help with your last few missions and well…" Kasumi sighed. "Still, I'm nothing if not adaptable."

"What do you mean?" Miranda asked.

"That statue has more than our armaments. It's also carrying a full surveillance suite. I left instructions to the shipping company to have it delivered to Hock at a specific time. We **have** to arrive at that time," Kasumi explained.

"Won't they scan the statue, though?" Shepard asked.

"The bugs aren't activated yet. And there's a scrambler inside to prevent Hock's people from detecting our gear. One of Keiji's toys. I can guarantee it works," Kasumi said confidently.

"And the bugs?" Miranda asked.

"Once the statue is delivered, I'll activate the bugs remotely. After that, the statue will transmit audio and visual information in bursts, to avoid any last minute sweeps. If Hock actually puts it inside his vault, we'll have an idea of what kind of security he's using. That's why it's important we arrive on time."

"And if he doesn't put the statue in the vault?" Shepard asked worriedly. "What if he likes it and puts it in the middle of a room or as a lawn ornament or something?"

"It's a party, Shep. He won't do any decorating now," Kasumi assured. "But I won't deny that we have to rely a little on chance here."

"Well, it's not the best plan, but I've done more with less," Miranda said. She leaned back in her seat and stared out of the window in thought.

Kasumi smiled, but this time her heart wasn't in it. She loved taking risks and going after the big prizes, but this had the potential to wrong very quickly if they weren't careful and the stakes were too high to allow any mistakes.

_I just need to get to his graybox. I can worry about whatever happens after._

Still, the idea that Hock might live after all this galled her. To let him get away with murder…

She pushed those thoughts away. First and foremost, she was a thief, not an assassin. It didn't matter how well-versed she was in her family's art or how badly she wanted Hock to pay for what he done, the graybox was infinitely more important.

_Maybe that's why I have Shepard here._

It was a truth she didn't want to admit. If Hock was willing to kill Keiji for his graybox, it was a sure bet that he'd hunt her relentlessly after she stole it back. Either kill the man or go into hiding. While she entertained both ideas at one point, she knew that if Shepard and Hock ever got into an 'altercation'… There was little doubt in her mind who would come out on top. She'd heard one or two stories about Shepard from Liara and a dozens more from the extranet. If a fraction of those stories were true, then Kasumi had little to worry about in the event of any attempted reprisals.

_**If**__ we get caught._

Graybox technology was among the most complicated, dangerous and intrinsically encrypted hardware to be used since it involves wrapping the very essence of the human mind with the neural implants. Hock would never be able to access the data within, but if this was a trap designed to lure her into stealing it…

_It pays to be prepared._

Unbeknownst to the other occupants inside the taxi, the smile Kasumi displayed was anything but playful or nice.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Location: Widow Nebula, Boltzmann System, Bekenstein, Hock's Mansion**_

Kasumi checked her makeup one last time on her compact. Going as a _geisha_ wasn't the easiest disguise considering the time and effort needed to apply everything, but it served to hide her face all the same and would keep her anonymity intact against Hock and any surveillance in the area. However, since a kimono would be too cumbersome for a fast-paced heist, she chose to go against the traditional grain and wear a dark blue, floral patterned, _cheongsam_ instead.

The Tennekont skycar that she requested was waiting outside the hotel. She signed off for it and sat behind the controls. Shepard and Miranda, both equally dressed to kill, so to speak, entered the rear and settled themselves in. They seemed to play their roles well. Miranda, in particular, held herself confident and aloof, the kind of high class woman you admired and hated all at the same time. Kasumi had expected her to have experience with this kind of thing, but it was Shepard that was surprising. He appeared to be relaxed and at ease next to his 'date'. In fact, he seemed to be making himself comfortable at her side.

If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that they were actually seeing each other.

_This could be fun…_

The skycar took off and made a course for Hock's mansion.

"Stop fidgeting," Miranda scolded.

Shepard pulled at his collar one last time before letting his hand drop. "Sorry. Still not used to wearing this."

"You look great," Kasumi said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You should wear this stuff more often."

With his ego stroked, Shepard leaned back in his seat and settled down. Kasumi caught him eyeing his 'date' from time to time though.

Miranda was wearing a white dress which hugged her in all the right places and definitely served to enhance all her assets. The dress was bare shoulder and low-cut that showed off her flawless skin and cleavage. It tied around the neck, exposing her back and arms. The hem of the dress did reach her ankles, though the slit up the side allowed easy view of her toned leg. Whatever she was wearing, it was definitely designer. A few expensive earrings, bracelets, and necklace completed the ensemble. Needless to say, Kasumi really couldn't blame Shep for being slightly distracted. "Admiring your date, Mr. Gunn?" she teased.

"Just slipping into my new persona," Shepard replied glibly. "Have to stay in character after all."

"Right."

"This night might get interesting," Miranda mused.

"That's what I'm going for," Kasumi said. Their destination was in sight. As she brought the skycar in to land, the golden glint of the statue she sent was seen unloading nearby.

_So far, so good._

Landing the car in front of the valet, she opened the door and stepped out. She reached into her purse and put on a pair of sunglasses, keeping her eyes open and watching the statue unload with a slight trepidation.

Shepard stepped out next and held a hand out to Miranda, assisting her as any gentleman would. She exited the car gracefully and made a show of looking around. If she was as trained as Kasumi suspected, she was probably casing out the security. Number of guards, cameras, and of course, any sign for Hock himself.

A merc was scanning the statue of Saren, all very standard security procedure. The scrambler she installed would mask the bugs, armor, weapons, and explosives hidden inside from detection.

_I hope._

Looping her arm around Shepard's left while Miranda held on to his right, they made their way to the party. As they approached the house, the security guard called out to Shepard. "Just one moment, sir. There seems to be an issue with the statue."

_Uh oh._

At that moment, the host himself walked out to greet his guests. "Is there a problem here?" Hock asked in a thick South African accent.

"No, Mr. Hock. Just doing a scan," the merc answered. He looked down at his omni-tool in confusion.

Hock turned to Shepard and regarded him neutrally. "I don't believe we've met. Donovan Hock."

"Solomon Gunn," Shepard replied. He held his hand out to shake, but Hock merely stared stonily at him, prompting to Shepard to drop his arm. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Hock."

"And I have heard a lot about you," Hock parroted. "You've been very busy lately, if the extranet is to be believed."

"It isn't. They haven't even reported half of what I've done," Shepard said confidently.

Hock cracked a smile at the show of bravado.

"This is my escort, Ariel Solheim," Shepard introduced with a nod of his head at Miranda before tilting his head at Kasumi. "And my assistant Mitsuo Koga."

Unlike Hock's icy greeting to Shepard, he treated them with a much more politely. Though in Kasumi's eyes, his expression seemed sinister or just plain creepy. Hock took Miranda's hand and planted a kiss before doing the same to her. She had to resist the urge to 'accidently' break the man's neck.

"Charmed," Hock said.

Through sheer will, Kasumi manufactured a smile and casually adjusted her sunglasses, imperceptibly tapping the hidden switch with her left hand as she stared into Hock's eyes. She made a mental note to swipe some of Dr. Chakwas' disinfectant solutions to clean her right hand later.

"You have a lovely home, Mr. Hock," Miranda said courteously.

Hock turned away from her and smiled at Miranda. "Donovan, please," he requested.

"Donovan," she acquiesced with a nod.

"Sir? The scanners aren't picking anything up," the merc said.

Hock turned away and studied the statue with an appreciative look on his face. "Hmm… I don't think our guests would come all the way here from Illium just to cause trouble. Do you?"

It really wasn't a question so the merc nodded obediently and continued to unload to the statue.

"Please accept my apologies, Mr. Gunn," Hock said. "I hope you and your companions enjoy the party."

"Thank you, Donovan," Miranda said courteously while Shepard just nodded.

Hock smiled at her, somewhat lecherously, before walking back into his home.

"I can see why you would despise the man," Miranda said once they were alone. "Less than minute in his presence and **I** want to shoot him."

"Maybe we'll squeeze that in," Kasumi said. She took off her sunglasses and carefully placed them in her purse. A golden ring surrounded her wrist for just a moment as she sent the codes to activate the surveillance programs within the statue.

_Here we go…_

Some part of her hoped that everything will go off without a hitch, but that was the professional thief in her. The other part hoped that the heist will get botched in some way or that it really was a trap, giving her a legitimate reason to kill Hock when he tried to come after them. She rarely killed, and in those instances, it was in self-defense. Her brief recruitment into Shepard's squad was the most she ever did in her lifetime. Even then, anyone she killed on those missions wasn't really personal or acted against her conscience. This time, for the first time since she began training in her family's practice, their art, she wanted a man dead in the worst way possible. She almost felt like she needed to do it. His greed, his ambitions, his miserable business… it was all based on making people suffer. The things he probably did to Keiji before killing him…

_I'll be damned if I let this bastard make me run and hide._

Regardless of whatever happened, both scenarios depended on getting the graybox first. That was key. Only after could she wonder about anything else. "We need to find the entrance and case the security. We'll figure out the next step then."

Miranda and Shepard tacitly agreed. Shepard took both ladies by the arms and led them through the doors.

Inside, there were dozens of people, but the mansion was large enough that it didn't feel crowded.

"Let's split up," Shepard suggested quietly.

"Good idea. Call when you find the entrance to the vault," Kasumi whispered.

Separating from the others, she kept her eyes open and studied the layout of the mansion. The entrance to the security room on the east wing and Hock's private bedroom were of particular notice. Interestingly enough, Hock himself was nowhere to be seen.

"How did you ever contain that situation on Aleph?"

"Oh, that? A quick application of force, a little pressure, and bam! Done."

"Thank goodness. I thought those rabble would dog you for years."

Kasumi continued to stroll among the people, entertaining herself by categorizing which ones she might want to steal from at a later date. As part of her cover, she chatted up the most likely marks as well, extolling her employer's exploits. That was pretty easy since she just reiterated some of Shepard lesser known missions. The hard part was resisting the urge to steal any loose jewelry since she was already working a delicate heist. After about 20 minutes, she finally had a handle on the layout of Hock's mansion. She started searching for Shepard and Miranda. Her fellow female was still out of sight, but her 'date/boss' was speaking to Hock.

Hock was engrossed in whatever Shepard had to say and appeared to have grown to respect him. Shepard's eyes were glancing at the three Eclipse guards stationed around the main foyer, and for some reason, the two guests that were standing near Hock…

_Oh, wow. He is good._

After studying both men a bit more, she noticed the slight bulge underneath their coats, indicating that they were armed. While hardly noteworthy considering the company of people Hock invited, it was the way they were standing that got her attention. Attentive, not the least bit distracted despite the scantily clad women around them or the free flowing drinks… Hock's personal bodyguards, both of whom were undercover, most likely.

Appreciating Shepard's keen eye, she skirted away from them. Walking the perimeter of the room and taking care to stay in the blind spots of the cameras, she plastered on a fake smile to the various people mulling about and sought out Miranda next.

"Some say Commander Shepard is still alive. Really!"

"Oh, please. It's just wishful thinking, at best."

"_Looks like your intel was wrong, Mitsuo. The entrance to Hock's vault is in his personal bedroom," _Miranda reported.

_Chikusho._

"Are you sure?" Kasumi whispered, keeping her distance away from any eavesdroppers.

"_Hock's personal bodyguards might be well trained, but the rank-and-file guards here can be quite talkative if you bat your eyes and flirt a little__,"_ Miranda replied evenly.

Shepard had finally disengaged from Hock and walked away. _"There's a guard next to Hock's bedroom. Gonna have to get him to move,"_ he said, once he was out of earshot. _"Unless you and Kasumi can charm your way in."_

"_I might have a trick or two," _Miranda said. _"And what about you?"_

"_I think I have a way in. Maybe."_

"Maybe isn't a good word here, Mr. Gunn," Kasumi hissed.

"_Let me worry about that. Anything on the vault?"_

"I don't want to check my omni-tool in the middle of a room filled with cameras," Kasumi whispered. "Ariel, I'll meet you near Hock's bedroom door."

"_Bedroom wing actually. West side. I'll be waiting."_

As quickly as she dared, Kasumi waded through the people until she finally spotted her. Miranda was checking her appearance in a compact mirror of her own.

"So how do we get in?" Kasumi asked once she was close enough.

"Hock is right over there. Let me chat him up a bit. Stay here and wait." Closing the compact and putting into it her purse, she took a breath, flipped her hair, and strode toward her target, seizing a glass of wine from one of the caterers along the way.

Kasumi watched with great interest as Miranda sauntered over to Hock, approaching him from behind. She placed a hand on his back, getting his attention and favoring him with a mysterious smile. It was the kind of smile that either promised many things or none at all, leaving everything to the man's imagination.

Kasumi found herself slightly jealous of Miranda's ability to manipulate Hock the way she did. In what seemed like no time at all, they were talking and laughing as if they knew each other for years. Certainly even more impressive than Shepard's earlier rapport with him.

Looking around, she couldn't find Shepard anywhere. He'd seemed to have vanished among the party-goers. She hoped that whatever he had planned didn't involve any explosions.

Her search was interrupted when Hock began talking about how important he was and what he did for the galaxy, acting like he was doing everyone a favor or something. His grandstanding got the attention of the other guests as he raised his glass in a toast.

"This party is for us. The cleaners. The support structure for the galaxy's gleeful delusions of peace. May there always be a market for the things we do!"

As everyone applauded his impromptu speech, Kasumi had to fight hard to keep the scowl off her face. As it stood, she couldn't even raise her hands to clap along. She was having trouble resisting the urge to pick up any sharp objects to stab him with.

Somehow, Miranda kept up her act though. She clapped along with the rest of the guests, tapped her wine glass against Hock's teasingly, and still kept smiling her enigmatic smile through it all. After taking a sip, she leaned in to whisper something in Hock's ear, causing him to smile as well, though his expression caused Kasumi to force down her gag reflex.

After a few more minutes, Miranda finally left Hock's side sauntered back to her. She looped her arm around hers and led the way to Hock's bedroom wing. "Try to smile at the guard at least, Mitsuo. We need to get in," Miranda murmured from the corner of her mouth.

"I sneak. I don't do parties. Too much danger for my face to be seen," Kasumi quietly replied. Still, she took a deep breath of her own and imitated Miranda's smile as they approached the lone guard.

Miranda glanced back at Hock one last time before turning to the guard. Kasumi turned around as well and noted that Hock wasn't looking in their direction. He had his back to them as he chatted up with some of the other guests.

"Is this Donovan's private room?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, but they're off-limits to guests without security clearance," the guard stated.

"But I have permission," she said. "Didn't you see us talking?"

"Oh… well… he didn't say anything to me…" the guard said in confusion.

"That's because he too busy entertaining his guests," Miranda said with a slight edge in her voice now. "Why would he bother informing you of everything he does? Does he answer to you?"

"Well, no…"

"Perhaps you'd like to interrupt him now? Just walk right over and ask?"

"I—"

"Your job is to guard this door. So guard it," Miranda continued impatiently. "But we're Donovan's **personal** guests, so stand aside unless you wish for me to call Donovan over. And I promise, I won't have anything nice to say about you."

"Yes, ma'am! Sorry, ma'am!" the guard said quickly. "I'll open the door for you!"

"So you can be a gentleman after all," Miranda said imperiously.

"I'm very sorry for the mix-up, ma'am. I, uh, I thought you were somebody else," he said lamely.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?"

"Enjoy the party, ma'am!" he quickly said.

"Oh, I will," Miranda purred.

The guard gulped at the sultry tone Miranda's voice had taken. He stood ramrod straight when she placed her index finger on his cheek and slowly drew it down his jawline until she held the digit on the underside of his chin.

"Shall we?" she said to Kasumi, though her eyes remained fixed on the hapless guard, using her finger alone to keep his head locked in position.

This time Kasumi managed a real smile, generated from sheer amusement. "Let's."

The moment Miranda pulled her finger away, the guard finally drew a shuddering breath.

They walked through the door without a second look.

**~o~O~o~**

"Okay, that was impressive," Kasumi praised.

"Thank you," Miranda replied. "I'm a bit surprised at you though. The party was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Keiji was the one that went to these kind of things. He'd case the security, relay the information back to me and I'd do all the legwork," Kasumi said. "I don't go because I don't want anyone to know what I look like. Give up your face and you lose the element of secrecy."

They continued down the hall and toward Hock's bedroom where the entrance to the vault was supposed to be.

"How did you get Hock to give you permission to come here anyway? Any… **personal** favors?" Kasumi asked, insanely curious as to how the Cerberus operative did it.

"No. I just talked to him," Miranda said before she turned toward her with an arched eyebrow. "And who said I got us permission to come here?"

Kasumi turned to her in surprise. "We don't have permission?"

"The guard saw us talking. What we were talking about wasn't terribly important and certainly had nothing to do with Hock or his bedroom," Miranda said, though she fairly spat out the last few words in disgust. "Contrary to what you may think or assume, I don't ever sleep with or even offer to sleep with men to get what I want. I may… allude to it or even skirt around the idea and let my targets draw the wrong conclusions, but I have never offered. Methods like that are reserved for the unintelligent, the unimaginative or the desperate. **I** am **none** of those things."

Kasumi exaggerated a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. If you actually promised to sleep with Hock just to get in here… I may never forgive myself."

Miranda put her hand on her chest theatrically. "Well, Miss Koga, I happen to have standards."

Both women shared a giggle after that.

Kasumi gave Miranda a side-long glance. "You know, when I first saw you, I didn't think you were the kind of person that smiles. Genuinely smile, I mean."

Miranda turned to her in surprise. "Really?" she asked. She looked like she was completely unaware she was doing so.

"Or joke even," Kasumi added. She opened the door and stepped inside Hock's bedroom.

Miranda looked a bit flustered. "Well… of course I do. Only on occasion though," she said.

"Uh huh," Kasumi said, humoring her.

"We're undercover. The best operatives are the ones that know how to breathe, think, and live their roles," Miranda said defensively.

"Uh huh."

Miranda sighed irritably. "Don't we have a job to do?"

The grounds for teasing were ripe, so much that Kasumi almost couldn't resist, but with Keiji's graybox so near, she relented. "Right. Let me check where the statue is and what it recorded."

Miranda observed the extravagant room they were in and walked around a bit. "How does Shepard intend to get here?"

"No idea," Kasumi muttered as she checked the footage. "Maybe he'll start a fight or set somebody on fire…"

"What do you have?" Miranda asked.

"The statue is in the vault… Hock brought it and a few other things down there from the underground entrance. Gifts from other people probably," Kasumi answered. "Hold on… backtracking… Got it."

"You know what kind of vault it is?"

"ZX-700 series it looks like. Password protected voice lock, DNA, fingerprint, and eye-dent scanner, all topped off with a kinetic barrier. Chances are likely that there's similar security on this side too," Kasumi said. "Everything a vault needs to be impenetrable. Almost, anyway."

"Okay… DNA and fingerprint samples can be found in here," Miranda said as she looked around the bedroom. "What about the others?"

"_Peruggia."_

"Statue recorded his voice and password," Kasumi said smugly as she checked the data.

"Peruggia… that sounds familiar," Miranda said thoughtfully.

"Vincenzo Peruggia, the man that stole the Mona Lisa in 1911," Kasumi said knowledgably.

Miranda nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. I remember. He was just an employee of the Louvre, wasn't he?"

"And yet he managed to do what was considered the greatest art theft of the 20th century. She was missing for over two years. And all he did was hide her under a smock past some lazy guards and lied to the police. They actually bought his story, too. After that, he smuggled her to Italy and stashed her in a trunk. Talk about lucky," Kasumi said; half in annoyance, half in admiration.

Miranda rolled her eyes and got back to the matter at hand. "The eye-dent scanner?"

Kasumi pulled out her sunglasses. "Another one of Keiji's gadgets. Records retinal patterns and reproduces them for occasions like this. Luckily, Hock fancies himself a gentleman, so he got close enough for me to get a complete retinal scan."

"I thought you said you didn't know about the security in the vault?"

"I didn't," Kasumi admitted with a shrug. "But biometric security is all the rage, especially for private vaults that only one person ever really has access to. I like to be prepared on my heists."

"Alright. What about the kinetic barrier?"

"Once we unlock everything, the barrier should fall away on its own. It's only there to prevent brute force tactics to break into the vault," Kasumi assured. "If not, I'll try to overload it or something."

"So how do you plan on—" Miranda's question was interrupted when the door suddenly opened.

Shepard casually walked in, dusting off his coat. Both women looked at him in surprise. "What?" he asked.

"How did you get in here?" Miranda asked.

"Jumped from the balcony," Shepard answered plainly. He pointed at the balcony across the way. "Right over there. Had to take care of a couple of perimeter guards, but they won't be missed."

Kasumi whistled. "I didn't even hear them."

Shepard shrugged, but didn't elaborate.

"And how did you get into the building?" Miranda probed.

"Used my omni-tool to cut the glass and walked right in. Easy and quiet," Shepard said. He looked around and whistled. "Nice place. So… where's the vault?"

Kasumi took a critical look around the room. "Look for clues that show recent foot traffic or anything that looks out of place. I'll get the DNA and fingerprint samples."

While Miranda and Shepard scanned for the entrance, Kasumi busied herself with anything that Hock touched. A wine glass had the necessary fingerprints, but beyond that, whoever Hock hired to clean his room was thorough. "Damn."

"What's up?" Shepard asked.

"DNA samples are in short supply. The housekeepers are pretty good."

"Try the bathroom," Shepard suggested as he poked around Hock's table. "Even the cleaners have to watch what they clean in there or Hock could choke on some cleanser or something."

Kasumi almost felt like slapping herself, but managed to resist the impulse. Shepard was right; she did tend to overthink things. While Hock's bathroom was cleaned, the sink and shower still had a plethora of DNA samples for her to synthesize.

She wasn't going anywhere near the toilet.

"Aha!" Shepard suddenly said, back in the main room.

"Did you find something?" Miranda asked.

"A credit chit," he said proudly.

"Are you really that hard up for money?" she asked in exasperation.

Kasumi giggled and finished creating a working DNA sample.

"Found it," Miranda announced. Kasumi walked back into the main bedroom.

"The fireplace? Seriously?" Shepard asked skeptically.

Miranda typed on her omni-tool for moment. Seconds later, the fireplace and mantle slid away. "How unoriginal and boring can you be to put a hidden passageway here?"

"He's a weapons smuggler and a murderer. I doubt he has much in the way of brains," Kasumi said. She walked into the passageway carefully and looked around before jerking back. "Hold on. Couple of cameras."

A sweep of her omni-tool and the cameras were recording a looped feed. She walked into the room and started working on the locks one at a time.

"How long?" Shepard asked.

"Open sesame," Kasumi answered. On cue, the barrier disappeared, revealing the elevator that descended to the vault below. "Hold on, let me check for cameras."

"Is it me or is this too easy?" Shepard muttered.

"Trap?" Miranda asked knowingly.

"Trap," Shepard repeated definitively.

After disabling the camera in the elevator, Kasumi turned back to her companions with a cheeky smile. "Are you sure? Maybe we're really good or Hock is really stupid. Or both."

Shepard held up a datapad he found during his search. "It says here that Hock has had no luck at all in decrypting your partner's graybox and he probably never will. Was he the only one that could decrypt it?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Nope. I can too. Eventually."

"Too?" Shepard repeated.

"Eventually?" Miranda asked.

"It's wrapped up in his memories. And there's almost a lifetime memories to sort through," Kasumi said, answering Miranda's question first before turning to Shepard. "And if Hock did his homework, he'll know I can probably decrypt the information hidden there. You were right. Since I'm the only one that could access Keiji's graybox…" she playfully admitted.

Shepard and Miranda stared at her, clearly not amused.

"Trap," Kasumi agreed with a sly smile.

**~o~O~o~**

"This is why you asked for Shepard's help, isn't it? Because he could call on resources to protect you. Or even take care of Hock himself," Miranda said as she took off her dress and put on her Cerberus Assault Armor. Behind the statue of Saren, Shepard was equipping his Kestrel Armor as well. Periodically, both women would glance at him to ensure he wasn't peeping.

Kasumi had said it was alright for them to peek because they were female and that he should be flattered, earning a mild glare from him.

She didn't refute Miranda's claim as she slipped into her armor as well. While it was capable of withstanding the vacuum of space and certain harsh environments, calling her armor a hardsuit would be a misnomer. It had a hardened weave with some ceramic plating within to provide protection for all the critical areas, but the real protection lay with the kinetic barriers and the specialized Tactical Cloak built-in. At Keiji's request, the addition of Tech Armor was installed, but only as a backup, since the glowing shields would negate her cloak. Her gauntlets and greaves were probably the most heavily armored out of her entire suit, though the idea was to lend power to her physical attacks, rather than defense.

Compared to Miranda and Shepard's armor, hers was more like a bodysuit. Despite the lack of protection, it suited her well since she favored speed and agility anyway; a byproduct of her upbringing.

"So why didn't you ask for him to help you assault Hock's mansion instead?" Miranda asked. "Why steal the graybox like this? Why not just target Hock and take him out and get the graybox after? And don't feed us that excuse about Hock escaping. He'd stay because he needed **you.**"

"I'm not like Thane," Kasumi said. She finished putting on her gear in no time at all and stood up. "I'm not an assassin."

"You certainly have all the skills and equipment necessary."

"Yeah, but it's a choice not to," Kasumi said. "Stealing has an element of danger, thrill, challenge, and reward. Assassins just kill whoever they're paid to kill and move on to the next victim. Not really the way I want to live my life. No matter how badly I want to kill Hock, I just don't have that kind of… instinct? Or maybe I don't have the taste for it or something."

"You sound like you know quite a bit about assassins," Miranda stated.

"Let's just say my childhood was different from most," Kasumi vaguely replied.

"_Ninpo?"_ Miranda probed. She started slipping into her greaves.

Kasumi just shrugged and answered her with silence.

"The _wakizashi_ and _kunai_ are a bit telling," Miranda commented without looking up. "Not the mention the speed and agility you displayed."

"My family mixes tradition and modern techniques to keep up with the times," Kasumi said, fingering her weapons and taking a small comfort in their presence. She looked over at the statue to see that Shepard was still equipping his gear and still out of earshot of their conversation. "I practiced my family's art, but don't necessarily follow in their footsteps."

"Is that where your Tactical Cloak comes in?" Miranda asked. "It appears much more advanced than any other variation I know of. I've never seen tech like that before, even among Cerberus. You're able to move so fast and strike without the limitations of traditional Tactical Cloaks."

It was a well-known fact that the ability to use Tactical Cloak in current armors was a bit fickle. The user had to move methodically and avoid making sudden moves that would stress the system, meaning running or attacking was not an option. The field generated also consumed a lot of power and heat, preventing it being used constantly or for long durations. Kasumi's cloak had either reduced or overcame those limitations.

"My grandfather's personal invention. He was a genius," Kasumi whispered, idly remembering the time she spent with her grandparents. She shook her head and focused at the task at hand. "Are you finished yet?"

Miranda nodded and stood up. Slipping her helmet on, she surveyed the room they were in. "I was expecting an armory or something," she said, finally dropping their earlier topic.

Kasumi was grateful for her tact. "I know. It looks more like a museum, doesn't it?"

"You had no idea what Hock kept down here?"

"Nope," Kasumi said. "Believe me, if I knew… I mean, look over there." She pointed at the far end of the vault, opposite to the loading entrance. "Lady Liberty's head. To think that Hock had it and I never knew… Damn you, Hock!"

"All done?" Shepard asked.

"We're ready," Miranda called out.

Shepard joined them, fully kitted out and ready as well. "So what now? How're we going to find it?"

Kasumi tapped into her own graybox. Her interface visor appeared just underneath her modified Recon Hood and began homing into Keiji's graybox. "I can find it. Just give me a moment…"

She started walking through the vault, locking on the signals produced from Keiji's graybox. As much as she wanted to retrieve it though, she couldn't help but pause and marvel at some of the pieces Hock had acquired and found herself diverted from time to time. All of the important, valuable, and rarest pieces were placed neatly in its own pedestal, lining the room and giving it a showroom feel.

Unfortunately, all of the pieces were also far too large to steal and the pedestals probably had anti-theft measures built-in.

_So much for adding insult to injury._

She knew it would be petty to kick Hock while he's down, but damn if it wouldn't feel good too.

"Michelangelo's David! Just… wow!" Kasumi breathed in reverence. It was a beautiful renaissance piece, on par with Da Vinci's Mona Lisa that she had. "Think we can steal this too?"

"He's seen better days," Shepard commented, glancing at the missing 'limbs'.

"And look over here!" Kasumi gushed as she ran to the next piece. "This might be the most expensive piece here! Turian art is rare outside of Palavan."

"This is art?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"I usually support creativity, but this…" Miranda said as she looked at the oddly shaped sculpture.

"Well, it's rare for good reason then," Kasumi quipped. She looked around and saw another statue. "Wow. Creepy… what is that?"

"Prothean statue," Shepard said. When Kasumi and Miranda turned to him in surprise, he elaborated, "I saw that kind of stuff on Ilos."

"Oh! Look over here!" Kasumi cried out and ran up to an Egyptian statue. "I could still get money from something like this, even outside the Alliance. Asari go nuts for this sort of thing." She glanced around and ran toward the next display. "And this… this looks like quarian script! This has got be old… I mean, when was the last time the quarians wrote on stone?"

"Um… Kasumi?" Shepard said, getting her to refocus.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry," Kasumi apologized, slightly abashed. "Just so many things here… Lemme take a picture of this for Tali. Maybe I could come back and steal this for her later…"

"Take a look at this," Miranda called out.

Kasumi whipped out her omni-tool and took a quick picture of the tablet before sprinting toward Miranda, Shepard following closely behind.

"What is it?" Kasumi asked excitedly.

"Here," Miranda said. She pointed at a glass covered case.

"That's a Kassa Locust," Shepard said when he looked at the contents inside. "So what? I've never been a big fan of these things. Hitmen and assassins love this gun though."

Kasumi tilted her head in wonder. "Why would Hock keep a Locust inside a glass case… unless…"

Miranda turned to her. "You don't think…?"

"This can't be it…" Shepard said disbelievingly.

"Oh wow… **the** Kassa Locust," Kasumi whispered. "The gun that killed two Presidents. How the hell did Hock get this?"

She was so enamored with the collection around her that she almost missed her display flashing, indicating that the graybox was close by. "Whoops. Hold on, I think I… here it is!"

Within a glass case of its own, Keiji's graybox lay tantalizingly close.

"The case might be booby-trapped," Miranda cautioned. "How are we getting it out?"

"We don't need to," Kasumi said tensely as she stared at the last remaining article of her former lover. "I just want his memories and wipe the graybox clean. Let me establish the uplink…"

"Data-mining?" Shepard asked.

She absently nodded as she typed in the proper commands to open the partition in her graybox to hold Keiji's memories. She had it made specifically for this. "Retrieving," she reported in a whisper.

"Don't bother, Miss Goto."

All three thieves whipped their heads toward the source of the disembodied voice.

"It's codelocked," Hock said. A holographic projection of his head dominated the entire far wall of the vault near the other exit. His image reached from floor to ceiling, allowing him to stare down at them triumphantly.

Kasumi quickly checked the uplink and saw that the data transfer was still going strong. Whatever codes Hock used to try to lock her out was obviously lacking or he didn't know what he was talking about. Regardless, her blood boiled at the sight of him.

"I had a feeling that you'd try to take my property during the party," Hock said.

"I don't like to disappoint," Kasumi replied, her voice sounding oddly cold. "And it seems like your 'property' is now mine."

"Well, then. That means I need what's in **your** graybox, Kasumi. You know I'm willing to kill you for it," Hock threatened.

"Big difference between willing and able, Hock. Much like everything in your life, I think you're found wanting. That would explain why you felt the need to overcompensate with this giant light show," Kasumi sneered. "You kill me and the data will remain encrypted forever, _baka_. Graybox technology doesn't work with brute force."

Far from getting angry, Hock looked entirely amused at her defiance. "I'll admit your skills are impressive. You got into my vault like I'd left it open. But you're going to tell me everything I want to know. Screaming if you have to, just like your—"

Whatever Hock wanted to say was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot followed by the sounds of broken crockery.

"No!"

"Have I got your attention?" Shepard asked, bored of Hock's posturing.

Whatever Shepard just destroyed, Kasumi had no idea. For all she knew, it could've been the most expensive and rarest item in the room. Watching Hock sputter and gape, though, it was totally worth the price. She hoped that Shepard would shoot something else, so that Hock would die from an aneurism next. "Hah! That shut him up."

Hock glared and tried to retort, but all he managed to make was a furious growl.

Her visor flashed, showing that the download was complete. Keiji's memories were stored in her graybox now. "Got it!"

"You-you-you…!" Hock screamed.

"How much do you two think this stuff is worth?" Shepard asked conversationally. "And how much do you think he paid for it?" He aimed his pistol at an ugly statue of some ogre-looking thing and shot it.

"Stop that at once!" Hock demanded, his eyes bulging at the sight of his collection getting destroyed.

_Damn. Still alive._

"This looks a bit valuable," Miranda commented thoughtfully. She aimed her pistol at a spikey-looking artifact and shot a couple of rounds at it as well.

"Wow. Guess you shouldn't have left the graybox in your vault, huh?" Kasumi said vindictively to Hock. "Gonna send anyone to stop us? I'd love to have a firefight here. See how many of these things we can destroy, y'know?"

"Damn you!"

She walked over to where the Locust was kept and shot the display case with her Tempest. Picking through the glass shards, she hefted the weapon and nodded approvingly. "Lighter than I expected. Very nice piece."

Hock was clenching his teeth so tightly, she was surprised that she couldn't hear the molars grinding. "Let's see if you like this, then!"

His image vanished. Soon, the sounds of hissing could be heard followed by the alarm.

Miranda engaged her omni-tool and ran a general scan. "Looks like he's sucking out all the oxygen. Either he's looking to kill us, or less fatalistically, render us unconscious."

Shepard walked back to the statue of Saren and pulled out the demo charges. "Let's get out of here then."

"Right with you," Kasumi said. She took half of the explosives and started rigging them on one side of the giant vault door, while Shepard worked on the other.

"Jacob, Garrus. Time to crash the party," Shepard called into his radio.

The sounds of static was heard and nothing else.

"Garrus, Jacob. We need backup," Shepard said. "Is anyone receiving?"

"No good. I think Hock is jamming our communications," Miranda said.

Kasumi looked at her in alarm. "So no cavalry?"

"Probably. They won't do anything unless they have evidence we're in trouble or we stay incommunicado for too long. I think we might be on our own," Miranda answered gravely.

Kasumi looked at her for a moment longer before hanging her head. "Well, shit."

**~o~O~o~**

"_Kill them!"_ Hock commanded via intercom.

Kasumi jumped over some of the twisted metal that used to be the vault door and scanned the area. _"Come on! We're going to have company soon!"_

Shepard and Miranda clambered through the hole they made and looked around. _"Hock's merchandise,"_ Miranda observed.

Rows and rows of weapons, vehicles, and other ordinance lined the hallways and rooms. The tunnels ahead twisted and turned in differing directions. Depending on how far the hangar was, the area ahead could very well be a labyrinth.

Without any other avenues available though, they started making their way to the rendezvous point at the hangar. After they took a few steps another explosion echoed. This time, it came from the vault.

Both women were startled at the sudden sound, but Shepard kept on walking, appearing completely obvious.

"_What was that?"_ Kasumi asked.

"_The grenade I attached to that statue of Saren,"_ Shepard answered. _"So I might be a bit petty. Sue me."_

"_I think I'll chalk that explosion as your fault,"_ Kasumi said dryly.

"_Quiet!"_ Miranda hissed. Ahead were two archways. She was sidled up against the right and peered down the hallway. _"Heavy mech and mercs coming!"_

_Heavy mech. Bringing out the big guns for little ol' me. Flattering._

They took cover immediately. Seconds later, a mass accelerator cannon and missiles started impacting against the walls.

"_Looks like you're up, Shep!"_

"_Great,"_ Shepard deadpanned. _"Kasumi, Miranda. Take care of the mercs. I can handle the mech,"_ he ordered.

Miranda poked her rifle around the corner and blind-fired as the mercs closed in on their position. _"By yourself? Are you sure?"_

Another missile struck the stone, causing it to fracture and crumble.

"_60% sure,"_ Shepard admitted dryly. _"Go!"_

Trusting that his claim wasn't just all talk, Kasumi took a quick look around and spotted a couple of mercs that weren't wearing helmets. Instead, they relied on Tech Armor for protection.

_Their loss._

She drew two of her _kunai_ and with a flick of her wrist, downed both men easily. Since kinetic barriers responded to a set incoming velocity, mostly bullets, slower objects like knives worked very well. Unless the intended target wore full armor, then it was just a little more difficult, but not impossible.

Miranda followed up with a burst from her Pulse Rifle, pushing forward and suppressing the mercs from the other archway while Shepard tangled with the YMIR.

Drawing out her new Locust, Kasumi aimed downrange and fired a burst of her own. To her surprise, the merc she targeted went down with an anguished scream. The gun in her hands barely recoiled and the sound was almost unnaturally quiet.

_Wow. I can see why assassins __like this thing._

She and Miranda continued their counter assault, unleashing tech or biotics respectively, but the mercs put up a furious resistance.

"_Up you go!"_ Miranda growled out. One trooper flew up into the air only to crash back down on another merc.

Kasumi followed up with a grenade and took both out.

The last few soon fell against their aggressive attack.

"_Shepard?"_ Miranda called out.

Another explosion rocked the hallway followed by a hulking mass of metal as it crashed against the wall and crumpled to the ground.

Shepard ran up to them, the faint glow of biotics fading away. _"Had a chat with Samara and upped my lessons a bit. I think I did pretty well."_

"_They're out of the vault!"_ Hock shouted. _"Seal them in! Don't let them escape."_

The far doors at the end of the closed, preventing escape through the vehicle tunnels.

"_Damn it!"_ Kasumi cursed.

Miranda walked up and struck the door with the butt of her rifle. _"Sounds thick. I don't think we have the ordinance to break through."_

"_We'll have to find another way," _Kasumi said.

"_Up there,"_ Shepard pointed out. _"Let's hope that door leads out of here. Kasumi, can you open it?"_

"_I'll pretend you didn't ask that," _Kasumi joked as she began her bypass. In almost no time at all, the door opened at her command.

The next hallway showed rows and rows of YMIR mechs. Thankfully, they were deactivated, stacked in shelves, and had no cranes to pull them out. If they were used, they would've been in very serious trouble.

"_I don't think I can handle that many…"_ Shepard stated, voicing her thoughts.

"_Probably for Hock's clients,"_ Miranda said.

"_Well, so long as they're—__**Down!**__"_

Without questioning him, Kasumi ducked behind one of the shelves, using the armor of the YMIR mech to absorb the gunfire from the Eclipse. They had popped out from the flatbed of a truck and started firing, hoping to catch them off guard.

Miranda staggered when a few shots struck her, but her shields held as she dove behind a crate. _"Damn it!"_

"_Looks to be about six of them!"_ Shepard said. _"They're spreading out! Watch your flanks!"_

Kasumi popped out and fired a burst, but the merc's superior position allowed them to suppress her. Ducking back down, she fiddled with her omni-tool and prepared to cloak when a black canister landed next to her. _"Kuso!"_

The flashbang went off, robbing her of her sense of awareness. Her eyes burned and her ears were barely protected by her helmet. She staggered out of cover, trying to shake the effects off.

"—_ook out!"_ Miranda shouted.

The next thing she knew, she was tackled and brought to the ground hard. She reared back and tried to punch her assailant, but he caught her arm and redirected the blow.

Or rather 'she' redirected the blow. _"Stop it! It's me!"_

Kasumi blinked the tears out of her eyes as the weight lifted off of her and started shooting at the mercs. _"Thanks,"_ she mumbled.

"_Don't mention it,"_ Miranda tensely replied as she tried to get a better shot.

"_I got an idea,"_ Shepard called out. _"Cover me!"_ This time he fiddled with his omni-tool and cloaked.

Kasumi scrambled back to her feet and shook the last of her disorientation away. Picking up her Locust, she joined Miranda and fired blindly at the mercs, tossing a grenade as she did so. Unfortunately, the awkward angle forced her to toss too high and too far, making the grenade detonate behind the mercs and out of range. _"Whatever you're up to Shep, make it quick!"_

"_A few more seconds,"_ Shepard whispered.

"_Now would be preferable!"_ Miranda retorted as she threw another grenade to buy the necessary time. Her toss was too shallow and bounced off the truck, exploding harmlessly.

"_I got it! Let's see if they like this!"_

The turret mounted on an M29 Grizzly IFV suddenly rotated and pointed directly at the truck. Two booms happened in rapid succession; One from the cannon, the other from the truck.

"_Well, that did it,"_ Kasumi said as she stood up.

"_What the hell are you people doing down there? !"_ Hock yelled.

"_The explosion blew the wall down. I can see another room,"_ Miranda reported. She approached the hole warily and glanced inside. _"Looks clear."_

Shepard and Kasumi hopped through the hole and looked around. It was a service tunnel used to transport the weapons and goods through Hock's underground storage facility. Paved roads and parked trucks confirmed this.

They walked cautiously down the road, keeping close to the middle and checking any blind spots.

"_Hold it,"_ Shepard ordered.

"_What is it?"_ Kasumi asked tensely.

"_I think I hear another heavy mech."_

"_Kuso…"_

Just then, a truck roared around a corner a few dozen meters ahead of their position. It started speeding down to road hoping to run them over.

"_Overload that thing!"_ Shepard shouted.

Miranda and Kasumi whipped out their omni-tools and blasted the truck. The driver lost control and it began swerving side-to-side, colliding with the walls and barreling down the road.

Right at them.

"_Fall back!"_ Shepard ordered.

They turned around and ran for their lives, sticking close to the wall and sought out shelter as the truck, filled with screaming mercenaries, started weaving wildly. It soon bucked hard to the side, flipping over and rolling down the tunnel. The mercs that were riding in the back were all tossed out or crushed underneath the massive vehicle.

"_It's still coming!"_ Miranda shouted.

Shepard stopped and turned around, facing the rolling truck as it bounced toward him. His biotic aura flared brightly as he thrust out both arms.

The truck's rolling soon slowed before stopping. The momentum still allowed it to skid along the floor accompanied by the sound screeching metals.

"_Shepard!"_ Miranda called out.

One last flare of dark energy and the truck crumpled in place, stopping a couple of meters in front of him.

"_Okay. I'm officially impressed,"_ Kasumi said.

"_Not bad, huh?"_ Shepard asked, panting lightly from the exertion. _"Come on, we should—" _Whatever he wanted to say was cut off when he gasped in pain and clutched his right arm tightly.

"_Shep?"_ Kasumi asked in concern. She could hear him breathing heavily in the radio, though it was interspersed with sharp pants.

Suddenly, he disabled his radio and used his voice module instead as he let out a scream and fell to his knees, still clutching his right arm tightly.

"_John!"_ Miranda cried out as she ran up and ran her omni-tool over him. _"Hold on!"_

"Fuck!" Shepard shouted, stillusing his voice module to avoid screaming into the radio. "It feels like my goddamned arm is on fire!"

"_It must be your eezo nodules. Damn it!"_ Miranda said. She injected a dose of medi-gel to help dull the pain. _"Come on. That mech will start stomping toward us soon."_

"_What's going on? What's happening to him?"_ Kasumi asked frantically.

"_Later,"_ Miranda tersely replied as she picked Shepard up by his left arm and hauled him to his feet. _"No more biotics from you. Consider that an order."_

Shepard coughed out a laugh in lieu of screaming again. "Yes, ma'am."

"_We'll have to handle that heavy the old fashioned way,"_ Miranda said. _"Can you still fight?"_

"N7 training includes learning to shoot with—"

"_Either hand," _Miranda finished as she checked to make sure he wouldn't collapse again. _"I know."_

Heavy mechanical footfalls could be heard now.

"_Except I don't think I can use anything bigger than a pistol right now,"_ Shepard groaned out. He held his arm close to his chest and tried to keep it from moving.

"_Kill Gunn, but I want Goto alive!"_ Hock commanded.

"_I got an idea,"_ Kasumi said. She turned around and continued to go back down the tunnel from where they entered. Going through the hole, she spotted the M29 Grizzly IFV Shepard operated earlier and clambered inside. Activating the systems took a bit of doing, but her extensive tech expertise paid off once again. The IFV roared to life. _"You two better get out of the way!"_ she warned cheerfully.

The Grizzly lurched forward and plowed through the wall, making the hole a much bigger. She turned hard, but the length of the IFV made it difficult to make it through the relatively short width of the road. She ignored the high-pitched scraping caused from the nose of the Grizzly ripping along the wall and pushed the vehicle hard until it was in line with the pavement. Slamming the pedal all the way down, the Grizzly drove forward toward the wreckage of the truck and plowed into it.

"_The mech is 10 meters ahead of you," _Miranda reported. _"Floor it!"_

Not long after Miranda's call, the truck Kasumi was ramming was riddled with bullets and rockets.

"_Not good enough!"_ Kasumi taunted. The IFV pushed the wreckage into the YMIR and ran it down. _"Yeah! I can see why Shep likes this!"_

"_There are still mercs ahead. Use the turret!"_ Shepard bit out.

Kasumi hit the brakes and reversed the Grizzly until she got some distance on the remains of the truck and YMIR. Hopping back, she slid into the gunner's seat and aimed the turret at the twisted pile of metal. _"Boom!"_

The cannon blew away the debris, creating a hail of shrapnel that tore through the mercs in a storm of metal shards.

Rotating the turret back and forth, she continued her onslaught and until Miranda called her. _"Okay, Kasumi! You got them for now!"_

"_Great, let me get out—"_

"_Wait. Open the rear hatch. And target the far door. We'll use the Grizzly to get to the hangar and deal with any more heavy mechs,"_ Miranda ordered.

Kasumi grinned. _"Great idea! Hold on… Oh! Here it is. Opening."_

Shepard and Miranda boarded the IFV. Shepard slumped down in the nearest chair, experimentally moving his arm and hissing in pain.

"_Move. I'll drive," _Miranda said.

Kasumi pouted, though the mask covered her expression. _"But I thought I was doing good…"_

"_Shepard can't man the cannon. You can do that,"_ Miranda replied as she slid into the cockpit and started driving down the road.

Kasumi grinned in response and clambered into the gunner's seat. She turned toward the Spectre. "You okay, Shep?"

"I'll live. Sorry about this," he replied angrily.

She knew he was just being angry at himself for slowing them down. "Well you did stop a few tons of metal from crushing us. That's worth something."

"Thanks."

"Blast door ahead!" Miranda called out. "Kasumi!"

"Consider it open! Fire in the hole!"

The door held firm after the first shot, but after a liberal amount of force, finally yielded to her efforts.

"Looks like we might be able to get out of here, now," Miranda optimistically said.

"_Damn you! What am I paying you for? ! Do I have to do everything myself? !"_ Hock shouted.

_I hope you do._

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Incoming rocket!" Shepard shouted as he pointed frantically at the contrails coming at them.

Miranda slammed on the brakes. The missile struck the Grizzly, but the kinetic barriers protected them. "Damn. Warehouse. There's no way we can drive through this. Everyone out!"

"I'll use the cannon and get who I can," Shepard said. He rotated his arm one last time and appeared to have recovered from his earlier disability.

Kasumi and Miranda jumped out the back and split up, moving through different sides of the warehouse.

The mercs soon scattered when the Grizzly's main cannon and machine guns started firing down its field of view. They moved to sides and started flanking the IFV.

"_Looks like they're wising up,"_ Shepard reported. _"I'm going out and try to snipe as many as I can!"_

One Eclipse continued firing missiles at the IFV, far in the back of the room.

"_I got the heavy!"_ said Kasumi. _"Going dark!"_

She activated her cloak and sprinted down the length of the warehouse, keeping out of the way of the crossfire. Under normal conditions, her footfalls were barely perceptible, but in a room filled with gunfire, she was practically a phantom.

Miranda was tangling with an asari biotic-user and an Eclipse Engineer, but her progress was hindered by the Combat Drone that relentlessly attacked her. Shepard perched himself on top of the Grizzly and used his sniper rifle to pick off any mercs that that threatened her, eventually tagging the drone as well. The kinetic barriers of the IFV provided more than enough protection for him. An engineer used Overload to try to break down his defense, but lacked the power since the kinetic shields from the IFV easily trumped personal shields.

The heavy was still pounding away at the shields around the Grizzly, hoping to expose Shepard to her comrades. Silently stalking up behind her, Kasumi drew her _wakizashi_ impaled her, right in the back, through the heart, and out the chest. Death was instantaneous.

Now at the back of the room, she ghosted through the Eclipse ranks, drawing both of her _wakizashi_ and cutting the opposition down. Thanks to the advancements in cloaking tech by her grandfather, her physical movements didn't disable her cloak. Only a distortion and a quick flash of energy arcs were ever seen every time she slashed at the mercs or tossed out the last of her grenades.

"We need reinforcements! They're coming through!" an asari vanguard shouted. She screamed when Miranda used Warp to disable her Barrier before Shepard's explosive round destroyed her armor and vital organs.

One last merc turned around and sprinted for the door in the corner.

Kasumi allowed her cloak to fade away as she drew a _kunai_ and threw it. The blade embedded itself neatly in his back between his shoulder blades. He fell with a strangled gurgle, just short of the door.

"_All clear!"_ Shepard reported from the Grizzly as he swept the room with his sniper scope.

"_Clear,"_ Kasumi added as she searched the far end of the warehouse.

"_Clear,"_ Miranda echoed as she stood up from the boxes she took cover behind and walked the perimeter of the warehouse on her side.

Shepard whistled. _"Damn," _he said as he glanced down at the merc Kasumi downed. _"How'd that get through his armor?"_

"_Mono-molecular edged. Laser and acid etched to cut through armor like butter. It helps when your opponent often wears hardsuits after all,"_ Kasumi explained. _"My wakizashi is even sharper thanks to a specialized forge using mass effect fields."_

"_Your family really knows their stuff,"_ Miranda commented.

Kasumi walked up to the door and put her head against it. _"I can hear wind outside this door."_

"_Hopefully it's the hangar, then,"_ Shepard said.

Kasumi fiddled with the door a moment and bypassed the lock. A gust of wind hit the three of them as they finally exited the underground weapons depot. Evening had finally fallen in earnest, with only a faint orange over at the horizon at the sea.

"_Let's collapse the doorway to discourage any pursuers," _Miranda suggested.

Kasumi pulled out the last demo charge and set it against the door. _"Let's go!"_

All of them took cover behind some leftover crates that were either supposed to go inside, or prepped for export. As planned, the explosive brought down the surrounding walls and buried the door.

"_Normandy, do you copy?"_ Shepard called. _"We need extraction. Normandy?"_

Miranda cursed. _"We're still being jammed."_

"_We'll need to get off Hock's property. Try to reestablish communication __then,"_ Kasumi said.

Before they could proceed with their new course of action, the hum of an A-61 Mantis Gunship pierced the sky. The perching birds took flight at the sudden disturbance.

"_I think caving in the door was a bad idea,"_ Kasumi said.

The Mantis flew up into their line of sight. It was encased in a kinetic shield, flying low and taking an aggressive flight pattern. The mass accelerator cannons rotated and pointed in their direction.

"_Incoming! Move!" _Shepard shouted.

All three of the scattered for any available cover when the cannons revved up and started shooting. Hundreds of bullets razed the ground where they standing on moments before.

"_You could have done this the easy way, Goto! Allow me to show you the hard way!"_

"_Shit! I've never__ seen a Mantis like that before,"_ Shepard groused.

"_Must be specially modified. That kinetic barrier might be our biggest problem," _Miranda said. _"Black hell! Incoming missiles!"_

All three of them ran again, running and gunning at the gunship as they did so. The missiles just missed Miranda as the explosion rocked her off her feet. She managed to roll with the impact and slide behind another crate. _"Any ideas? !"_

"_Don't fight me, Kasumi. You know what happened to your boy toy when __**he**__ fought back,"_ Hock jeered.

"You don't talk about Keiji like that! **Murderer!**" Kasumi screamed back.

"_We need to disable its shields! Overload? !"_ Shepard said.

"_Won't work on something that big!"_ Miranda said. She had to duck down when Hock fired his cannons at her.

"_What did you tell your friends, Kasumi? You're doing this for love?"_

Shepard fired another shot from his HMWSR, but the explosive rounds weren't enough to make a dent. For his trouble, Hock launched another missile at him, forcing another retreat.

"_We can't hold out like this!"_ Shepard shouted over the explosion he narrowly dodged.

Kasumi quickly looked around, trying to see if there was anything they could use to beat the gunship. She had the ability to disable the shields, but that required her to be within inches of the gunship. _"Hold on! I see a crane! If the both of you distract that thing and draw it close, I might be able to take out the shields!"_

"_What are you planning? !"_ Miranda asked frantically.

"_There isn't time to explain! Just do it!"_ Kasumi shouted.

"_Even if you escape, I'll scour the galaxy for you!"_

Shepard and Miranda sprinted from their defilade and into the open, firing wildly at the gunship. Hock twisted the ship around and begun shooting at them.

Kasumi gritted her teeth and ran for the controls, cloaking as she did so to avoid detection. _"A little more! He's still too far!"_

"_This isn't easy!"_ Shepard roared back. He barely managed to get behind cover and crawled on his belly when Hock's guns tracked his movements and ripped right through the crate he was hiding behind.

Miranda jumped out of cover, shot at Hock for a moment to get his attention, then strafed toward the crane.

Hock responded by launching a salvo of missiles.

"_Oh, damn,"_ Miranda said and ran as fast as her legs could take her.

The missiles exploded just behind her, but the force was powerful enough to lift her into the air and collide with a large crate. She slid down the surface and hit the ground limply.

"_Miranda!"_ Shepard shouted.

"_I… I'm… I'm… o… o-ok-kay…" _Miranda gasped out. She coughed and moved an arm to try to push to her feet, but lacked the strength to do so.

"_Stay down!"_ Shepard ordered. _"I got him!"_

Shepard popped out of cover next, his rifle bucking with recoil as he drew Hock toward the crane.

As worried as Kasumi was for Miranda, she held her position, noting that her cloak was draining quickly. She watched with bated breath as Shepard ran, bullets striking all around him. Hock maneuvered the Mantis to get a better shot and put him right in position.

Kasumi manipulated the controls, swinging the arm over and using its magnetic claw to latch onto the gunship. _"Got him! Just like fishing!"_

Shepard cloaked and vanished from sight as the gunship's next series of shots were wild and well off the mark. He reappeared next to Miranda and carried her out of the line of fire.

Seizing her chance, Kasumi sprinted toward the nearby pipes, activating her Tech Armor for additional protection in preparation for the stunt she was about to pull. She started flooding synthetic adrenaline into her system, allowing her to push her body beyond its limits. Even with Hock trying to track her and shooting, he couldn't get a shot.

He either underestimated her true abilities or he never had a clue to begin with.

She leapt into the air and landed on one of the pipes nearby. Skipping from one pipe to the next was as easy as walking up some stairs. She jumped up to the next set of pipes, gaining more height and hovering precariously over the cliff side and the ocean far below. Kicking off one surface to another she jumped one last time and landed in a couch on the highest length of pipe.

Hock jerked and pulled at the cable holding his gunship in place as he tried to raise the nose of the Mantis to shoot her down. However, his ability to fly was severely hindered by the crane.

She held her position, waiting for the one opportune moment.

She fondly remembered the woods she trained at when she was a child. She remembered the determination she had and her attempts to keep up with her grandfather. She had always tried to emulate the incredible speed, agility, and strength he displayed despite his advanced years.

There was a game he had made up just for her. He would place a red flag in his waistband, the bright color contrasting with the black he wore. Then, he would dare her to chase him and seize the flag, forcing her to use every bit of her cunning and agility to best him.

It always came down to timing.

The Mantis flew up slowly, nearly coming level with her. Sprinting down the pipe as if it was flat ground rather than a few inches wide, she leapt off the precipice, and hovering the air for just moment before landing perfectly on the cockpit of the gunship.

Hock tried to shake her off, but she drew her one of her _wakizashi_ and drove it into the hull to make an anchor.

Gripping her short sword tightly, she engaged her omni-tool and uploaded a virus directly into the onboard computer of the Mantis.

The effects were immediate. Hock momentarily lost control. The ship lost altitude, its guns firing randomly all over the place, and most importantly, the shields crackled and vanished.

The sudden drop made her lose her footing, but she managed to hang on and flip back up onto the cockpit window again.

She could hear the alarm blaring inside. She could see Hock's enraged expression. She could feel a vindictive pleasure at besting him.

Pulling out her pistol, she aimed at the cockpit and fired a trio of shots. The window held up against her gun though since it lacked the power to breach it. Knowing that her SMGs would probably fare little better, she gave him a mocking salute, withdrew her _wakizashi_, and jumped.

She embraced the feeling of weightlessness for a few glorious moments before twisting at the apex of her leap and landed on her feet and hands with nary a sound.

And right next to Shepard and Miranda too.

_Grandpa would've been proud of that._

"_Shields down! Let's tear that thing apart!"_ Kasumi crowed.

Shepard nodded and aimed his HMWSR again. Propping it against the crate, he took careful aim. Hock's flying was still erratic, but the gunship wasn't far. Shepard's first shot impacted against one of the engine intakes. Smoke and fire billowed out from the damaged area.

"_Just one more…"_ Shepard muttered.

At that moment, a salvo of missiles streaked across the sky and blew up the cockpit. The Mantis fell straight into ocean.

"_Hey, guys! Need a lift?"_

"_Jacob?"_ Kasumi cried out. She looked up to see the Kodiak flying in. The door was open, showing Jacob waving at them with his ML-77 Missile Launcher.

"_Looks like we got here just in time,"_ Jacob said as the Kodiak began to descend.

Shepard helped Miranda to her feet and walked toward the landing pad where shuttle was touching down. _"We had it under control. Where have you been?"_

"_EDI told us that she lost contact with you guys. We figured that Hock threw up a comm jammer and came in to help out. Problem __is, there were some anti-aircraft guns that made it hard to fly in. We joined up with Garrus' team to take out the power and draw out the mercs at the same time. We just managed to get airborne a few moments ago," _Jacob briefed.

Shepard nodded as he and Thane both assisted Miranda into the shuttle and placed her into a seat. She sighed and tried to ignore the pain as she settled in. _"Thank you."_

"_How was the party?"_ Jacob asked.

"_Hock wasn't a very good host,"_ Kasumi said. _"At the very least, I managed to snag a door prize."_

"_The graybox?"_

She nodded and sat down herself.

"_What about Garrus and his team?"_ Shepard asked.

"_We're going in to get them now,"_ Jacob said. _"I had to leave Grunt with them since mercs were closing in and shutting down power to the defenses needed a little time."_

Shepard nodded and sighed. _"Let's go get them."_

Kasumi leaned back in her seat. _"After all we've been though, that should be the easy part."_

As the Kodiak took off, Kasumi did a quick check of her graybox and the data she just acquired. She was a bit shocked to find a message to her from Keiji, hidden within. As much as she wanted to see what it was, she couldn't ignore the danger she placed the others in just so they could help her out.

_I'll find out soon enough._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Miranda's original surname was actually supposed to be Solheim, which is Norwegian. Lawson was used to match Yvonne Strahovski's Australian accent, but as it turns out, Yvonne is English-Polish bilingual. Both Norway and Poland are located in Northern Europe, with Sweden and the Baltic Sea in between. Anyway, I needed a cover name for Miranda and I thought of this. Ariel was pretty easy to conceive. Miranda and Ariel are both moons orbiting Uranus and both are characters in Shakespeare's _Tempest_.

Once again, credit for the inspiration for the changes in this loyalty mission goes to **Havoc-Legionnaire**. Thanks!

I'll be honest. I hated this mission for several reasons, the most being that the plan sucked. Soft party music masks the gunshots in the security room? Dead bodies and no one finds them? Cut the power to the barrier and the house isn't affected? The entrance to the vault was in plain freaking sight? I really had to change how the mission had to go.

This mission also became an interesting character study. Some could argue that Kasumi was hardly a 'master thief' considering we get caught or she stood in front of a camera to disable it. (Not to mention the crappy way the whole mission was done in)

I'm thinking she was of two minds. Being completely stealthy or just assaulting the mansion and get Hock. Again, to me, what was a simple mission evolved into something much more complicated, even before I put Miranda in.

Anyway, had to re-plan how the heist was going to go down. Watching a few movies helped. But man, balancing Kasumi's irreverent attitude and her personal feelings was complicated. It's like trying to describe the mindset of someone who smiles all the time, but has nothing to smile about at all.

Also, her 'armor' is pretty much based of Miranda's new appearance in Appearance Pack 2, except more ninja I guess.

Credit to **BiowareFan** for coming up with the VI prank. I hadn't even thought about it until he suggested it.

Credit for Miranda's dress goes to **bluewickedbehemoth** Deviantart. I could've gone the whole black dress thing, but I saw his fanart in deviantart. com and went with that instead. Check it out.

Another **Firefly/Serenity** reference here. See if you can find it.

Oh, yeah. 700+ reviews! Yay!

Also, it's been a little more than a year since I first began. I really didn't think I could do this for that long…

Review!  
l  
V


	41. Interlude XV

_**Location: Hawking Eta Nebula, Thorn System, Cerberus Scouting Vessel Gravitas**_

"_Captain Dawn. Right on time. Your report?"_

"We've begun a sweep of the coordinates as ordered, sir. Long range LADAR scans have painted a silhouette within the brown dwarf in this system. Unfortunately, the amount of interference from Mnemosyne makes details sketchy at best," Captain Elena Dawn reported.

She stood at attention before the image of the CEO of Cerberus himself. Maintaining eye contact, she held herself with poise and confidence, even though she had to fight the urge to shuffle in place beneath his eerie gaze and unnatural eyes. Eye contact was one thing, but openly staring was another.

"_And our missing cell?"_ the Illusive Man asked calmly.

"We've sent several communiqués across standard Cerberus encrypted channels, but so far, no word," Dawn answered.

"_Nothing at all?"_

"Nothing, sir. Complete radio silence. We don't know even know if they're even alive in there." She licked her lips and phrased her next statement carefully to avoid angering her superior. "Given the importance of, um, secrecy, I'm reluctant to use general transmissions to establish contact," she cautiously probed.

Thankfully, he nodded understandingly, much to her relief. She kept her face impassive and professional though.

"_I'm glad to hear that you're exercising sound judgment, Captain. What of their ship?"_

"We're studying the scans, but whatever is inside Mnemosyne's gravity well is enormous and most likely obscuring scans of any other vessel there, sir. The object is certainly large from what we can gather. Either it's a small space station or a very big dreadnought. If a Cerberus vessel is there, it's either docked with it, or inside it. We're just about to send in a few drones to see if they can penetrate the radiation and solar winds and give us a little more information. As per your orders, we're maintaining extreme distance from the site itself."

The Illusive Man nodded, though he didn't appear happy about the news.

_Then again, I don't think I've ever seen him happy._

"_Very well, Captain Dawn. Until your next report. If there is anything news worthy, I want to know about it,"_ the Illusive Man ordered._ "Immediately."_

Dawn snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, sir."

"_Carry on,"_ he said before closing the link.

Leaving the Comm. Room, she walked back into the bridge and issued her orders. "Lieutenant. Send the drones toward that gravitic anomaly in the northern hemisphere. Record everything, no matter how insignificant."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Any response from the cell yet?" Dawn asked.

"No, ma'am. Still nothing," an ensign reported.

"Keep trying. If there's so much as a whisper out there, I want to know about it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And someone get me a damn cup of coffee!" Dawn ordered.

Her XO nodded and turned to the intercom. "Coffee for the captain! Double-time!"

Dawn sat down in her chair and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She couldn't remember the last time she worked a shift as long as this ever since she was put in command of her own ship. Then again, personal requests from the Illusive Man were about as rare as fertile krogans. That meant a personal touch was needed in just about everything in this mission.

_What the hell is out there anyway?_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Boltzmann System, Normandy SR-2, in Orbit Above Bekenstein**_

"Well, Executive Lawson. All in all, I'd say you're an extremely lucky woman," Chakwas thoughtfully commented.

Miranda turned her head slightly and grimaced. "I think our definitions may differ on that, Doctor."

"A fractured clavicle isn't something you just 'walk off'," Chakwas replied sternly. "Not to mention the bruised ribs and slight dislocation of your right shoulder. Most injuries involving explosives are usually far worse."

"Well, if you put it that way…" Miranda said with a roll of her eyes. "How long will my recovery be?"

"Well, judging from your medical records and our discussions about your, ah, background," Chakwas said, hesitating when her eyes glanced at Shepard laying in the next bed over.

"Its fine, Doctor. The captain knows about my genetic background. Speak frankly, please," Miranda requested.

"Very well," Chakwas acquiesced. "Given the genetic modifications you've undergone coupled with my treatments, I'd tentatively say three days before you're cleared for duty. You're definitely staying overnight right here though, so I can monitor your progress."

Miranda sighed in annoyance, but seemed resigned to her fate. "Very well."

"As for you, Shepard. A few bumps and bruises, nothing you haven't had before on a mission," Chakwas informed, her voice clipped and clinical. "But Executive Lawson's report of your arm worries me. Standard scans aren't picking up anything that would explain it, meaning—"

"—SMART Scanner again?" Shepard finished with a grimace. The nanites was something he wasn't a fan of.

"I'm afraid so. We'll schedule it for tonight," Chakwas said. "I want to talk to Dr. Solus and see if his research has turned up anything. Until then, you're cleared to go. Come back immediately if the pain returns, however. And no more lessons with Samara or **any** exercises related to biotics. The less you do, the better."

When Chakwas left, Shepard slid out of bed and sat down next to Miranda. "How're you feeling?"

"A little sore here and there. Nothing new and nothing I can't handle," Miranda replied. She smiled up at him. "I promise I won't hold that explosion against you."

Shepard smiled back and reached out to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "I got to go set our next course. Are you…?"

She raised an eyebrow at him and squeezed back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. "I'm fine, Shepard. I don't need you to dote on me."

He grinned at her. "I was going to ask if you were going to dote on me tonight when I sit back down on that scanner thing again."

"Of course you were," she said, clearly not believing a word he said. "You know, a massage would not be remiss."

"That's awfully nice of you. Won't that exacerbate your injuries though?"

She gave out a long-suffering sigh and squeezed his hand again. He exaggerated his wince for her benefit, earning a smile.

"When you get a chance to come by," he promised quietly. He held her hand a little bit longer before standing up. "I'll check on you later, then?"

"I think it's more accurate to say that I'll be the one checking on you," she replied. She settled back into bed and closed her eyes. "Until then."

Quietly, Shepard left the Med Bay. Past the door, he spotted Jack standing nearby, holding a stack of empty trays. She was staring at him with a penetrating gaze, occasionally glancing into the Med Bay to where Miranda was resting in. "Is there something going on between you and the cheerleader?" she asked, though it almost sounded like an accusation.

"Nope," Shepard lied, keeping his answer simple.

Jack stared at him with an unreadable look before turning away and handing the trays to Rupert. "Here."

"Thanks, missy," Rupert said. He took the trays from her and placed them in the sink to clean.

Shepard tensed up when Gardner called Jack, 'missy', but to his surprise she nodded back and thanked him for the food. She actually sounded civil, polite; almost friendly even.

"No problem," Rupert replied in his usual gruff tone, though he gave her a kindly nod.

_Guess no one can get angry at the cook._

Still, he was a bit off kilter at their informal interaction, but shook his head and jogged after her when she made her way to the lift. "Why do you ask, anyway?" Shepard queried, still on their earlier subject.

"Just saw you cozying up to her," Jack answered.

"She took a hit on that last mission. I was seeing if she needed anything before I left, that's all," he said, keeping his voice even.

Jack smirked back at him. "Good. If there was anything going on between you two, I'd have to question your taste in women."

Wisely, he kept his mouth shut, since he wanted to keep his ship, not to mention his person, intact.

Entering the elevator together, Jack pressed the button for Deck 4. Shepard pressed the button for Deck 2. Since he was the senior officer, the elevator ascended to his destination first, causing her to scowl.

"Just letting you know, I'm setting course for Pragia now," he revealed. "Sorry about the delay."

She stopped scowling and looked up at him in surprise. "Seriously?"

The elevator doors opened. Shepard put his hand on the side to keep them from closing. "I know I put this off a bit long, but things kept popping up. You sure you're ready to do this?"

"I want to go there," Jack said. She tried to sound tough, but it came out like a whisper.

"We should be there in a few days. It's a bit out of the way," Shepard said. He walked out of the elevator and made his way to the galaxy map. Jack fell in step next to him.

Jack snorted in anger. "It was a secret Cerberus laboratory. I'm not fucking surprised."

"So what's the plan? Besides the bomb, I mean. You want to do this alone?" Shepard asked carefully. He started tapping the map to find the right coordinates.

"You'd really let me go by myself?" Jack skeptically asked.

"You'll have Hawthorne and Goldstein take you down in the Kodiak. But they'll be staying with the shuttle though. Other than them, if you want to do this by yourself, I'm not going to push the issue," Shepard said, punching in their new destination. "This trip is favor to you."

"_Aye, aye, Captain. Nubian Expanse, Dakka System, Pragia. Coordinates locked. ETA: Three days,"_ Joker reported. _"Breaking orbit now."_

Turning around, Shepard was about to ask Jack what her answer was, but she wasn't there. The sudden glow of dark energy from behind told him where she was though. Glancing back, he spotted her in the elevator. She looked deep in thought, even as her biotic aura smoldered as if it was reacting to her anticipation, or her memories, just before the doors closed.

Deciding that she needed some space to think and hoping that she'll avoid any property damage, he made his way to the armory to check on his weapons to kill some time. Inside, Jacob was at his station, but instead of doing any maintenance himself, he was leaning on his table, observing the other two occupants inside. Garrus and Grunt were sitting in opposite sides of the room. The both of them were absorbed in their own projects and weren't speaking to each other.

_At least they're not fighting._

Garrus was inspecting his new sniper rifle, an M-92 Incisor that he procured back on the Citadel. When Shepard looked over at what Grunt was doing, he was doubly glad that no one was fighting, and extremely glad that Jacob was paying rapt attention.

Grunt was inspecting Wrex's gift to him, the M-920 Cain. Though Shepard would never admit it to anyone, watching the relatively young krogan poke around with a weapon that's nicknamed, 'nuke launcher', on board his ship made him extremely nervous.

Approaching Grunt carefully, Shepard stepped into his line of sight to prevent startling him and cleared his throat. "How're you doing Grunt? We haven't had a lot of time to talk since Tuchanka."

"I was studying the Urdnot Clan history and the traditions I'm expected to know, just as the Shaman instructed I do," Grunt said, turning away from the terminal to regard Shepard respectfully. He had a wide grin on his face. "Urdnot Grunt. I like it. I have a clan. That makes me… it makes **want** to fight – not just able to!"

Jacob and Garrus' postures became a little apprehensive at that statement.

"And Uvenk! I wanted to disembowel him! To tear out his spine and mount it as a trophy!" Grunt continued enthusiastically, unaware of the alarmed looks behind him.

"But you didn't…" Shepard reminded.

"That's because I'm a warrior now," Grunt said proudly. "And warriors are disciplined soldiers. Uvenk was dead and wasn't worth my time. I get it now – it's part of what I am! It was just delayed because of being tank-bred."

"So what are you now?" Shepard asked.

"I am krogan. I am Grunt of the Urdnot clan," he said promptly. "It's not an outside thing, I know that now. And I know I have a place as a krogan warrior. I **like** it."

"Good for you," Shepard replied, unsure of what else to say. "I'm glad to see that our trip to Tuchanka helped."

"Our enemies are in trouble, Battlemaster. And we better not run out of targets," Grunt said.

"Considering we're going after their homeworld, I doubt it," Jacob grumbled.

"They're practically lining up," Shepard added.

Unlike Garrus and Jacob, Grunt looked excited. "Everyone gets a turn! Ha! Wouldn't want it any other way!"

"So what brings you to the Armory?" Shepard asked. "You're usually not here unless you're collecting your weapons."

"I'm following your example," Grunt answered. "You're always checking your weapons to make sure you're prepared. The Clan Leader does the same. Plus, he entrusted us with his greatest weapons. It would be an insult to not to care for them ourselves."

"You're being careful, though, right?" Shepard sternly asked.

"Just as you and Wrex instructed," Grunt acknowledged. "After all we've been though; I'm not stupid enough to get us blown up. I have clan and kin now, a name to uphold."

For some reason, Shepard actually did feel a bit better knowing that Grunt was taking his new responsibilities seriously. Whatever the young krogan was studying must've carried quite an impact. "Carry on, then."

Grunt nodded and turned back to the terminal, examining the information about the Cain with single-minded intent.

Shepard cracked open his locker and started prepping his weapons for maintenance.

Garrus and Jacob both shared a quiet sigh of relief and went about their business.

_Just another day._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2, En Route to Nubian Expanse Nebula, Dakka System, Pragia**_

Kasumi drew her legs close to her chest and bowed her head. Occasionally, she would involuntarily sniffle, though she tried her best to stifle it.

She was sitting alone in her room, curled up on the couch. Normally, she'd either be staring out at the stars or reading one of her books, but now all she could think of was the choice that was given to her.

Keiji's last message continued to repeat in her head, even without the assistance of her graybox.

"_Destroy these files."_

She couldn't though. It was all that was left of him, but it was also his last request. If she kept the memories, would it be because of him or because of her own needs? Was she honoring the man he was? Or was she being selfish in not wanting to let go?

She loved him and she wanted something to remember him by, but he said that she didn't need his graybox to do that. Was it a desire to protect her? Help her move on? Could she even destroy her last remaining link to him?

She wasn't sure if she was that strong.

She spent most of her life acquiring the most valuable artifacts the galaxy could offer. She treated them with the reverence and respect they deserved. But now, to destroy the thing she prized most, it was too much to even think about.

"_Destroy these files."_

_I don't know if I can do it, Keiji… _

But he asked her to.

_I just don't know what to do…_

Less than a day ago, everything seemed so simple. Sneak into a party and steal the graybox, kill Hock if the opportunity presented itself, with the help of Miranda and—

_Shepard!_

She snapped her head up when the idea struck her.

She remembered that Jacob had asked for Shepard's help regarding his bastard of a 'father'. Despite the dire circumstances, Shepard somehow found a way to create the best outcome possible when it seemed like there was none to be had. Jacob seemed to benefit from it. He stood taller, prouder, more focused and intense than before.

Not to mention the other members of their squad. Grunt benefited from Shepard's presence and had found a new home and clan. Mordin's assistant was rescued. Even their recent stop at the Citadel had a profound impact on Garrus. If she had to bet, Shepard probably had something to do with his sudden good cheer as well, not to mention the resolution of tension between him and Tali.

_And then there's Thane…_

Hopping off the couch, she left her room and hurried to the next door over. Inside the Life Support Plant, Thane was sitting at his desk. His back was to her and his attention was directed at a datapad. As she approached however, he put down the datapad and raised his head. "Something you need, Kasumi? Perhaps you would like to spar?"

"Wow. Most people don't ever hear my footsteps," Kasumi said, clearly impressed with the assassin's skill. "But then again, the Normandy runs so quietly that I'm not used to hearing my own footsteps either."

"To be honest, I almost didn't hear you, which limited the number of people it could have been when the door opened. However, there seems to an… urgency? In your footfalls I could detect."

"I wanted to ask you something," she said, her voice sounding serious for once. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all. I was experiencing some… difficulties, composing a message. A distraction would be welcome," he said and gestured to the seat across from him.

She accepted the invitation and sat down. "Is the message to your son?"

"Yes," he said simply and didn't elaborate further.

"Did Shep help you with that? Your son, I mean. I heard some rumors around the Citadel while I was there. About a drell and some politician. And drell are pretty uncommon. Oh, but don't worry, I didn't spread any around, rumors I mean," she babbled before falling silent under Thane's gaze.

He studied her, not cautiously, just attempting to judge her intentions, though there was a ghost of a smile on his lips. "He did," Thane replied, answering her first question succinctly.

She would be the first to admit that she tended to be a bit gossipy, but pressing on what was most definitely a very private issue was making her feel a bit guilty. Particularly since she was obviously treading on a very personal, maybe even painful topic and especially since she was undergoing a similar problem herself.

Still, if Shep managed to help someone as capable and self-reliant as Thane, then he would definitely be the one Kasumi could talk to about Keiji's final request. "I'm sorry if I'm being a bit nosy, but… did he help a lot?"

"Yes, he did. I owe my son's life to him," Thane answered. "Is there a reason you ask?"

"I managed to get my partner's graybox back. There was a last message inside addressed to me. With a final request," Kasumi confessed quietly. "I'm having trouble with, um, reconciling."

"And you wished to know if Shepard would be able help with this?" Thane asked intuitively.

She nodded, lowering her hood to hide her face a bit more.

"I don't know if this helps, but I've found Shepard to be a very decisive individual. Even more so when the choices presented have no clear definition of right and wrong. If that is such a case with you, I cannot say if you will accept his answer, only that he'll try to make the best one," Thane explained.

She nodded again and stood up. "Thanks for taking the time to talk. I'll let you get back to your message. And, um… whatever's going on with your son, I hope everything is fine."

"It is now, but I thank you for your concern," he said courteously. "Whatever happens, I hope you find peace as well."

"Thanks."

Back inside the confines of her room, Kasumi paced with a nervous energy. She knew she was being a coward, asking Shepard to choose for her. But he was a man of action, capable of making the hard decisions. Most importantly, he could look at this situation as a neutral party, free of the emotional turmoil she felt right now. Coupled with his record, there was probably no one better to talk to on this ship.

"Um… EDI? Where's Shepard?" Kasumi asked.

"Captain Shepard has just entered his cabin, Ms. Goto," EDI informed.

Thanking the AI, she left the Portside Observation Room and made her way to Shep's cabin. Once outside his door, instead of bypassing it like she did before, she pressed the holographic panel in the middle to announce her presence.

"_Enter,"_ Shepard called out.

The door opened and she hesitantly walked in. Shepard was sitting at his table, working on his terminal. He swiveled his chair and greeted her with a friendly look.

"Kasumi. What can I do for you? Is everything alright?" he asked.

"I… I need some advice. You're the best person I know for this kind of thing," she said.

He stood up and walked into the main room of his cabin. He sat down on the leather chair and gestured that she sit down on the sofa across from him. "Make yourself comfortable."

She accepted his invitation and settled in, though she was far from comfortable. "I, um, is Miranda doing okay?"

"Fine. Just a few days and she'll up and about in no time," Shepard replied. He leaned back in his seat and patiently waited for her to speak her mind.

Kasumi was grateful for his understanding, but Keiji's words were eating her up from the inside. Taking a deep breath, she decided to stop stalling and get to the crux of the matter. "It's about Keiji's graybox."

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Shepard said. "But I thought you might want some privacy first. Take a little time and all that."

Kasumi smiled in appreciation. "Thank you. Um… look, Shepard—"

He raised an eyebrow when she used his full name, rather than her usual irreverent nickname, but made no comment.

"—when I accessed Keiji's graybox, an automated message from him played. It's… it's complicated to explain. I think it's better to show you," Kasumi said.

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked. "I mean, if the message was for you, then it's personal, right?"

"It is, but I don't mind," Kasumi said quickly. "I need some advice, but you won't know how you can help unless you get a bit of information."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Okay," Shepard said. "How do we do this?"

"I can transmit the message to your omni-tool. Just let me access it," Kasumi said. Her interface visor appeared as she tapped into her graybox and activated Keiji's last words.

As before, she was found herself in her artificial construct. A dark, digital world, lit only by the main rings of light beneath her feet. Occasionally, webs of light would appear as she held her connection with this particular area of her graybox.

As before, Keiji's image stood in front of her. At her presence, he started speaking. "Kasumi. If you're seeing this, it's because I'm dead. The information I found is all here."

His right hand pointed toward a row of cyan squares, stretching as far as she could perceive. It was the total accumulation of his memories and hidden within was the information he died for. Having played his message before, several times, she just bowed her head and let everything continue.

"It's big, Kasumi. If the Council ever got wind of this… the Alliance could be implicated," Keiji gravely said. "Kasumi, I… I encrypted the information to keep it safe. And I uploaded the encryption key to **your** graybox, so no one could get the whole package."

Hearing his voice again, she clenched her fists and hoped that her physical self wasn't crying. She knew what was coming next and tried to shut it out, but this was a place where she absorbed everything with her mind, not her senses. Every word was crisp and clear and added to her anguish.

"But if I'm dead and if anyone knows about this… then I've made you a target, my love. I'm so, so sorry."

_Keiji…_

"I know you, Kasumi. You'll want to keep these memories forever. But you don't need some neural implant to know I'll always be with you. Please, Kasumi. Destroy these files. There's nothing more I can do to protect you," Keiji pleaded.

She closed her eyes and felt a single tear go down her cheek.

"Goodbye, Kasumi. I love you."

She took a shuddering breath and kept her eyes tightly shut to prevent any more tears from falling again. Deactivating her graybox, she took a moment to regain her composure before turning toward Shepard.

He looked deep in thought, absorbing everything he watched and heard. Eventually, he sighed and looked up at her. "Have you talked to Jacob about this?"

She shook her head. "This is something… I really don't want to approach him with this. I mean, I like him, and I trust him and all, but this is… I wanted to talk to someone neutral. He'll base his decision on what will make **me** happy, but that's not what I want. I want to know what the **right** choice is. I heard that this was one of your more admirable qualities. Do I honor Keiji's last request or do I ignore it and keep everything? I don't want to put you on the spot, but…"

She released that she was beginning to ramble and fell silent.

"You can't separate the information from the memories, I'm guessing," Shepard stated. It wasn't a question.

She shook her head in the negative. "No. Keiji's a master at encrypting files. Add that on top of graybox technology and it's probably impossible. He laced the information into his memories like it's a part of it now. You can't get one without experiencing the other."

Shepard nodded and considered the choice that she presented to him.

The choice she couldn't make.

After a few silent, and tense, minutes, he finally looked up. "I think… I think you should keep it."

"Really?" Kasumi asked, unable to hide the hope in her voice.

"Keiji only wants you to destroy it because of what it contains and how dangerous that knowledge might be," Shepard explained patiently. "Unfortunately, we don't know **what** it contains. If the information he found out was one of a kind and that his graybox was the **only** copy left, I'd recommend destroying it."

Kasumi nodded, still unsure of where he was going with this.

"But if that information is as important as he says it is, then I really doubt that whatever he took is really that rare," Shepard continued. "There's always more clues, more information, more trails, all leading back to what he found. If you destroy it, there's no guarantee that the information is gone. **And** there's also no way for anyone to know that you destroyed the information to begin with. Or any reason for them to believe you if you actually did."

"Which means destroying the graybox might not accomplish anything," Kasumi said in realization.

"Except losing the last piece of someone you cared about," Shepard finished. "I hate to bring this up, but I think it's already too late. The moment he was compromised, he already made you a target. Now you have to be ready to live with the consequences."

She wiped away her tears and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'll stay off the grid. No one will know I exist," she said, thinking quickly about her next move. "I think I want this…"

Shepard held up a hand. "Hold on. You might have to do that, you might not. It really depends on what he found," he said. "I'll be honest, I'm really curious as to what it is. Can you decrypt it and find out?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, but it'll take a while. Like I said, I'd have to shift through a lifetime of memories to do it and we're kind of busy saving the galaxy."

Shepard nodded. "Well, if this really does turn out to be a suicide mission, then I guess this conversation about keeping the graybox or not is academic, isn't it?"

She had to laugh at that. "Good point, Shep."

He leaned forward in his seat and looked at her sympathetically. "Are you sure you're alright? About everything, I mean."

"Yeah. Now that I have Keiji's graybox," she answered softly. "Are you sure you want to know what he found?"

"Whatever it is, I really doubt humanity is the only one with skeletons in their closet," Shepard said. "Dig deep enough and I'm sure we'll find something on the other Council races too. I just want to know to avoid any nasty surprises."

Kasumi smiled and stood up. Shepard stood up as well and was prepared to walk her to the door, but she surprised him by closing the distance and giving him the tightest hug she could manage. "Thanks, Shepard," she whispered.

Shepard returned her hug with a light embrace of his own before pulling her away. "Just remember, they're memories now. Try not to forget that he wanted you to live in present and for the future, okay? Both Jacob and I would really worry if you weren't sneaking around my ship and picking up the latest gossip."

She gave him a watery smile and nodded. "No worries there, Shep. I need to do something to distract myself after all. Not much call for thievery aboard a warship."

**~o~O~o~**

"Justicar Samara?"

Samara took a deep breath as she held on to her meditative trance. Without turning her head, she addressed the AI situated in the corner of the room. "Yes?"

"You have an incoming call. Doctor Liara T'Soni requests that you speak with her. It is a matter of utmost urgency," EDI informed.

The sphere of dark energy that coalesced between her hands faded away. Her eyes returned to their normal pattern as she stood up. "Thank you."

"I have informed Captain Shepard and he has cleared you to use the Comm. Room, Justicar Samara. Logging you out."

She walked toward the elevator and nearly collided into her student as he got off.

"Whoops. Sorry, Samara," Shepard apologized.

"Of course, Shepard," Samara said.

"Did EDI pass on her message?"

"She did." Sidestepping around him, she entered the elevator and rode it up one deck. Going through the Lab, she entered the Comm. Room to see Liara's image waiting for her. "Greetings, Liara. Have you any news?"

Liara nodded confidently. "It appears that Mirata, or rather, Morinth, has indeed taken refuge within Omega. Unfortunately, my contacts were unable to follow her, so I have no idea where on Omega she may be hiding. I do know that she has not left. Yet."

"I see," Samara said thoughtfully. "Since she was unable to mate with anyone on Illium, she must be in need of a new victim now."

"I could have my people continue to look for her…" Liara offered.

"No. That might scare her and force her to flee. Please, just watch the spaceports and see if she charters a ship off of Omega. I will look for her, personally," Samara requested.

"I don't know if you're aware, but Omega is the antithesis of the Citadel," Liara warned. "It's the home to the worst collection of sapient species in the galaxy."

"I still have an obligation, an oath, to Shepard," Samara said. "So long as I am bound by that oath, his Code is mine. Mirata will not know this and that is my advantage."

"Of course," Liara agreed with a slight nod. There was something telling in her eyes though.

"Ah," Samara said in realization. "This is why you said that I should ask Captain Shepard for help."

"Your Code can be your strength as much as your weakness," Liara said knowingly. "Shepard taught me that during our final confrontation with Saren."

"Truly?"

"It's a complicated story. To put simply, Shepard somehow managed to convince Saren of how… misguided, his actions were, to turn his own convictions against him," Liara explained shortly. "Now, about Morinth: If you wish for more information, I suggest you speak to Aria T'Loak. Very little happens on Omega without her knowledge and an Ardat-Yakshi is of note, especially to her."

"Thank you," Samara said with a grateful nod of her head. She allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "And thank you for your advice."

Unlike Samara, Liara smiled fully. "Best of luck to you. And please make sure Shepard comes back alive."

"I have given my word to you. It will be done," Samara intoned.

**~o~O~o~**

"Damn," Chakwas cursed. It was unusual from the normally straight-laced and formal woman.

Shepard sighed and resisted the urge to turn his head to see what she was seeing. "Bad news?"

"The nodules are growing. Almost all of them, it seems. The ones in your right arm are the worst, although it seems like the ones in your left thigh have also increased in size," Chakwas muttered as she intently stared at the hologram.

"Yes," Mordin agreed as he typed away on the nearby terminal. "Growth does seem linear however. But still growing quickly."

Miranda was standing nearby, her eyes narrowing as she considered the problem before her. Chakwas had long since given up telling her to return to bed and allowed the Lazarus Director to participate actively. "What about your research, Professor? Anything?"

"Oh, yes. Fascinating. Had to utilize STG and medical clearance to gain access," Mordin replied without looking up. "Experiments conducted on early biotic and non-biotic salarians."

"What experiments?" Shepard asked, involuntarily lifting his head to speak to Mordin.

Miranda put her hand on his forehead and forced him back down in his chair. "Stay," she commanded sharply.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Woof."

"Experiments were to determine if possible to artificially introduce element zero into nervous system and grant biotic abilities into non-biotics," Mordin answered.

Miranda turned to him questioningly. "I assume the project was a bust or there would be a greater population of biotic salarian STGs."

"Yes. Project failed spectacularly," Mordin said. "Tumors, insanity, some cases of allergic reaction. Mostly runaway element zero nodule growths."

"Like me," Shepard said.

"Quite."

"And? What did they do about it?" Chakwas asked.

"Some research to correct problems and continue project. Preliminary results appeared favorable, but whole project was abandoned and scrapped before further work could be done. Casualty list growing too high."

"Is there anything we can use to help Shepard?" Miranda asked, sounding slightly impatient and worried.

Mordin shrugged. "Don't know. Cure was intended for salarians. Still not finished. Looking into it now. Finish, repurpose, adapt for human use."

"At least there's some good news. Now how about the bad? How long do I have before this becomes a major problem?" Shepard asked.

"We're still calculating the rate of growth, Shepard," Chakwas said. "One more set of points in a few days should do it. But judging from the sizes here, more phantom pains will occur in your arm and most likely your left leg as well."

"And how long until you may have some news about a cure?" Miranda asked Mordin.

Again, Mordin shrugged. "Unsure. Will try my best. Owe Shepard that much. Abandoning all other projects now. Including Collectors."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Shepard said. "What was that last part? The Collectors?"

"Oh, yes. Just side project. Nothing important," Mordin said dismissively.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Any knowledge we can glean from the Collectors might be helpful."

"Just studying Prothean-Collector connection. Examining technology, charting Reaper species modification. Fall of Protheans," Mordin said.

"And what did you find?" Miranda asked.

"Up, Shepard. The scan is complete," Chakwas ordered. She deactivated the SMART Scanner and inputted all the data into his medical records.

Shepard clambered out of the chair hastily so he could offer Mordin his full attention.

"Early stages similar to indoctrination. Can guess captured Protheans lost intelligence over several cloned generations. Cybernetic augmentation widespread afterward," Mordin lectured before looking thoughtful. "As Protheans failed, Reapers added tech to compensate. Mental capacity almost gone, replaced by overworked sensory input, transfers. Transmitting data to masters."

"I'm not seeing the big picture here," Shepard admitted. "Does knowing how the Protheans fell tell us anything useful about how to stop the Collectors? Or the Reapers?"

Mordin shook his head. "Not yet. More useful as motivation. Effects on Protheans more than indoctrination, body modification." Now he looked disgusted rather than thoughtful. "No self-preservation instinct. Old injuries not healed. No reproduction, just cloning. Technology overriding biology, not augmenting. No art, no culture—"

"You make them sound like husks," Miranda noted.

"Yes… Yes! Closer to husks than slaves!" Mordin exclaimed. He sniffed in distain. "Tools for Reapers. Protheans dead. Collectors just final insult. Must be destroyed."

"You're getting rather worked up, Doctor," Chakwas observed as she started cleaning up. "While it's all horrific, I'm not sure I see why the Collector's fate bothers you so much."

"Disrupts socio-technological balance! All scientific advancement due to intelligence overcoming, compensating for limitations!" Mordin said, accepting her question as a lively debate. "Can't carry a load, so invent wheel. Can't catch food, so invent spear. Limitations! No limitations, no advancement. No advancement, culture stagnates!"

All three humans stared as he started pacing back and forth, still lecturing about the downfall of the Protheans he theorized and melding with it with the scientific ethical concerns.

Shepard privately thought that Mordin was subtly referring to his genophage work and Maelon's obsession thereafter.

"Works other way, too. Advancement before culture is ready is disastrous. Saw it with krogan. Uplifted by salarians. Disastrous. Our fault," Mordin said and confirming Shepard's thoughts.

"While all this is fascinating, I didn't think you needed further motivation for this mission," Miranda commented.

"I don't. Simply enjoyed challenge. Saw necessity of attack on Collectors after plague on Omega. Their work, my people," Mordin replied with a smile. "Hard to care about two armies. One wins, one loses. Always work to do after. Now have more context. See what Collectors truly are."

"I see…"

"Wasn't looking for other work. Don't mean to imply that. That's why abandoning further research to help now. Won't let you down," Mordin hastily added as he nodded to Shepard.

Shepard nodded back before he slipped his shirt over his head. "You mentioned that the Collectors had no art," he commented behind his garment. After pulling his head through and straightening himself out, he said, "I had no idea you cared about that kind of thing."

Mordin shrugged modestly. "Personal interest negligible. Sang a little. Multispecies productions for cultural exploration. Gilbert and Sullivan. Always had me do the patter songs."

"Really?" Chakwas asked interestedly.

"Oh, yes. Cultural artistic expression reflects philosophical interest in growth, perspective, observation, interpretation," Mordin explained, unaware of the fact that his audience was more interested in his personal experience rather than his lecture. "Suspect you won't see any art in Collector base. Culturally dead. Tools for Reapers. Worse than the geth."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Chakwas said, holding her hands up to stop the fast speaking salarian. "While that was an important observation, I believe I speak for all of us here when I ask: You actually performed Gilbert and Sullivan?"

Shepard and Miranda turned to him expectantly.

Mordin nodded.

"Perhaps a quick recital? I'd love to hear it," Chakwas requested.

Mordin cocked his head to the side, considering the idea before nodding. He closed his eyes and took a breath:

"_I am the very model of a scientist salarian, I've studied species turian, asari, and batarian. I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology)._

"_I'm also quite familiar, too, with matters dealing medicine. I'll diagnose and treat the galaxy's most sickly quarian. I've cured most deadly plagues that brought populations to their knees – to their knees… bees, sees, fees… got it! And I've learned to eradicate a synthetic fatal disease!_

"_My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian on Tuchanka, Illium, Omega, and those far more alien. In short, in matters of turian, asari, and batarian, I am the very model of a scientist salarian!_

"_I know numerous details of several species' chemistry. From elcor to the volus, from evolution to anatomy. Krogan reproduction and the dextro-amino acid strains, of which turians and quarians are from, their cells, organs, bones, and veins._

"_Humans are unique with their wide array of gene diversity. My research of Collector technology will shake the foundations of society. About being's reaction to stress my knowledge remains precise. Those seeking support in intercourse, I can offer my advice!_

"_This vast supply of knowledge covers every living sapient. My brilliant, hardened mind is virtually omniscient! In short, in matters turian, asari, and batarian, I am the very model of a scientist salarian!_

"_Beyond scientific expertise, I've also skills in combat. Killed krogan once with farm equipment and dropped him just like that. One probably wouldn't tell from exterior appearance, but I'm quite familiar in subjects involving ordnance!_

"_Though I've no trouble eliminating those I see as dangerous, I can't deny the things I do are considered to be heartless. Ethics and morals in the past have proven somewhat conflicted – conflicted, that's tricky… how about… But know it's for learning, growth, not death, for which I am addicted!_

"_With my military past, I'll put a bullet in your head with ease. I've disposed of ruffians almost as frequently as disease. But still, in matters with turian, asari, and batarian, I—am—the—very—model—of—a—scientist—salarian!"_

His head was tilted back and his arms were spread when he finished. He relaxed and faced his audience, clearing his throat a little as he did so.

Chakwas raised her hands and clapped, followed by Shepard, and lastly, Miranda, though her injuries prevented from doing little more than polite applause before dropping her arms.

"Bravo!" Chakwas cheered.

"That was pretty good, Mordin," Shepard said. "Bravo."

"Mmm, yes. It was very entertaining," Miranda agreed.

Mordin accepted the ovation with slight bow and big grin. "Proud to be here. Thank you."

**~o~O~o~**

Samara waited patiently in the Common Area for Shepard to finish his business within the Medical Bay. The windows were opaque, preventing her from seeing what was happening, but from the shadows, she could tell that there was a lot of movement inside.

During the wait, she carefully considered what to say and how best to convince him. She told him that her mission would not conflict with his, but in light of the opportunity that presented itself…

_A chance like this may not come for another hundred years. If ever._

After 10 more minutes, the windows of the Medical Bay changed back to normal. Mordin left first. He greeted her politely before exiting to the elevator and presumably the lab. Miranda was almost being physically pushed to get back in bed by Dr. Chakwas. Shepard had paused at the doorway, chatting with both women inside before leaving.

Samara stood straighter and caught his eye. In the end, she decided to be straightforward and to-the-point, as was her usual way. With the oath she swore, he could always choose to ignore her request and she could do little about it.

"Is something up, Samara? You're looking a little more serious than usual," Shepard said.

"There is a matter of great urgency I would like to speak to you about," she said.

"Do you want to talk in private?"

She nodded. "Yes, please. I would like that very much."

He gestured that she lead the way back to her quarters. However, before they could leave, Garrus sauntered up to him.

"Shepard!"

"What's up, Garrus?" Shepard asked. Samara patiently waited.

"Just letting you know that we managed to retract the cannon manually, but we're still working on repairs," Garrus reported.

"Any idea what's wrong?"

"Not yet," Garrus answered.

Something in the turian's demeanor gave him away because Shepard smirked. "So it **was** your fault, then? Has Tali bragged about it yet?"

"Oh, shut up," Garrus grumbled. "It'll be fixed within the next 24 hours, but since it's retracted, we can go through the mass relay now. I already let Joker know."

"Okay. Get to work and call on whoever you need help," Shepard said.

Garrus nodded to both of them and walked back into the main battery.

"Shall we?" Shepard asked Samara once they were alone again.

"Please."

Once back in the Starboard Observation Lounge, she walked toward the window and watched the kaleidoscope of colors and lights generated from FTL travel.

"So what's wrong?" Shepard asked.

"I must ask for your help. That is not easy for me," Samara confessed.

"I can imagine," Shepard commented. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

She didn't turn around, though she could see his reflection in the window clearly enough. "When we met on Illium, do you remember what I was doing?"

"You were looking for a fugitive. An… 'Ardat-Yakshi', I think it was…"

"Thanks to your friend, Liara T'Soni, I have located her; she has been going by the name 'Morinth'. According to Liara, she has taken refuge in a place called Omega," Samara revealed. "I would like to apprehend her before she disappears again."

Shepard walked close enough that he was at arm's length away behind her right shoulder. "Hold on, how important is this?"

"Killing her has been my focus for 400 years," Samara answered honestly and brutally. "It is the most important thing in my life and the reason I became a justicar."

His reflection became pensive at her words. "I asked you once if your mission would impact mine. You didn't want to tell me the details and I didn't press the issue, but now…"

"I will tell you everything, if it would mean securing your help," Samara said. "I know where she is – right now. In a month, she may be gone. This is the best opportunity I've ever had."

"Best opportunity?" Shepard repeated, keenly picking up on her thoughts.

She almost smiled at his intuition. "There were times where she would use my own Code against me to facilitate her escape. I have heard of Omega's less-than-reputable environs. I would be compelled to stop any injustice before me. Either I would be killed in the attempt or she will escape in the chaos. What she doesn't know is that I swore an oath to you – to do whatever you wish of me."

"I could go to Omega, you would follow, and I can order you not to follow your Code there. Just focus on her," Shepard translated. "If I choose to go after her myself, that is."

"Correct. This is my chance to use her overconfidence against her."

"What can you tell me about Morinth?"

"As you know, she is an Ardat-Yakshi, a term from a long dead asari dialect. It means—"

"—'demon of the night winds'. I remember," Shepard finished.

"That is mythology. She is simply a very dangerous woman who kills without mercy," Samara explained, keeping her back to him. It was almost a moment of weakness, not in asking for him for help, difficult as it is, but the thoughts of her children and what she was forced to become and what she must do. Looking at her reflection, she marveled at how much physical resemblance she had with Mirata now.

"I still don't understand what an Ardat-Yakshi is," Shepard said, stepping closer, but not quite able to see her face. "I remember the Eclipse on Illium were frightened, though."

"Ardat-Yakshis suffer from a rare genetic disorder. When they mate with you, there is no gentle melding of nervous systems," Samara answered. "They overpower yours, burn it out, hemorrhage your brain. You end up a mindless shell, and soon after, you are dead."

"There doesn't seem to be any references to it. I checked," Shepard said. "Why isn't this ever mentioned in asari literature or even in their art if it has some mythos?"

"When we were primitive, there was much fascination with Ardat-Yakshi. Some cultures worshipped them as gods of destruction," Samara explained quietly. "Now the asari have a place in the galaxy and they don't wish this defect to be widely known." She sighed and turned her head away from him slightly. "As far as I know, only three exist today. Two chose a life of seclusion. The third ran."

"Morinth."

"She ran and I am sworn to kill her."

"So what does 'seclusion' mean, exactly?"

"It is a place where they can stay in comfort and not harm others or come to harm themselves. Since the condition manifests with maturity, when one is diagnosed, that is the only choice offered," Samara answered.

"Besides death."

"Yes."

"If they run, you hunt them down?" Shepard asked quietly.

"If they refuse, it shows their addiction to the ecstasy from killing their mates. There is no redemption for such people," Samara stated, her voice tinged with a bit of hardness.

"Addiction? They **want** to kill?"

"Not just kill. That is merely the result, horrifying as it is. They want to mate and gain power from it. You see, each encounter gives the Ardat-Yakshi strength. The effect is narcotic; the more they do it, the more they need to do it. Remember how adaptive we are. If Morinth does not want to be cured, she won't be. She will never stop. She can't."

"Wait, wait. 'Each encounter gives the Ardet-Yakshi strength'? Does that mean—?"

This time, Samara turned her head to look Shepard in the eye; to stress her next words so that he'll understand the danger. "Each time Morinth kills, she becomes stronger, smarter, and faster. And she's been doing this for 400 years. She confuses her victims, twists their feelings. They will do anything for her favor."

"Did she run because she wanted freedom or because she wanted to kill?" Shepard asked, meeting her stare evenly.

"When she fled, she proved her addiction. She is not taking a great moral stand – she simply wants to keep killing," Samara answered. "Make no mistake, Shepard; she is a tragic figure, **not** a sympathetic one."

"Alright, I think I think I understand the situation now," Shepard said. "I have a course set, though. What are the chances that she'll kill again? Should I divert?"

"As I understand it, there is an asari there that rules all of Omega," Samara said.

"Aria T'Loak," Shepard said.

"Yes. If Morinth is caught, I'm am sure Aria will have her killed without mercy, but is that a chance you're willing to take?" Samara asked. Though her voice was calm and collected, her gaze was expectant. "To have Morinth claim another innocent life?"

To her surprise, Shepard sighed and rubbed his face as he thought about the question. He appeared conflicted with something. "Where we're going, it's important to Jack, something she needs to face right now. I just told her that we're going there. I promised her we'd go there."

"And if Morinth claims a life?" Samara questioned, curious as to how strong the human was in regarding the harshness of reality.

Again, Shepard rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I was given a mission to accomplish and I won't fail. Look, I need to trust all of you and the only way I can do that is if you're committed to my mission as much as I am. If I brush Jack off, she might not trust me again. She's had a hard life, almost where betrayal is the rule, not the exception. If any part of the mission depends on her being focused and she can't trust my command…"

"Then we all might suffer," Samara said.

Shepard finally raised his head and looked at her. She was so used to seeing compassion, decency, and confidence in his eyes ever since they've been traveling together. Now, there was a cold, detached, almost emotionless look in his blue orbs as he stared her down. The sight almost made her look away, but centuries of experience was on her side, allowing her to gamely meet his gaze.

"If something happens, then it happens. I have a responsibility to everyone on my ship. This is something I learned a long time ago: **I** **can't** **save** **everyone.** As callous as this is going to sound, if she kills someone, so be it. She's been doing it for 400 years already, well before my time," Shepard said stonily. "And I'll probably never really know how many she's killed. If Aria is watching, Morinth will need to be careful. Either she'll take her time, or she'll limit her… victims, to avoid attention."

Samara didn't turn away or speak against him. She continued to hold his gaze unwaveringly. Privately, she thought that he would've made an excellent justicar, given his ability to adhere to his own code, to judge a situation dispassionately, and still make a choice. No doubt it was those qualities which allowed him entry into the Spectres.

"We'll try to finish our business quickly and make our way to Omega after," Shepard said decisively. "I'm sorry." He turned and walked away.

Samara didn't know why, but something now compelled her to speak again. To confess the truth. All of it. "There is one thing more: this creature, this… monster…" she called out before hesitating.

She turned her head to face the window again. The reflection showed that Shepard stopped a few steps away from the door.

"She is my daughter."

With the truth out in the open, Samara turned around and faced him fully as he approached her again.

"You said this is genetic. How many children do you have?" Shepard asked, though he sounded sure of the answer.

"Three," Samara answered. "And three Ardat-Yakshi are in existence today. It is as it sounds."

Some of the hardness left Shepard eyes as he reconsidered the ramifications of what he was just told.

When she spoke, there was a hint of pride in voice and sorrow in her body language. "Morinth was always the wild one – she was happy and free. But selfish."

"I think understand your motivations bit more now," Shepard said quietly. "I… It can't be easy to talk about."

Samara had the distinct impression that he was going to apologize for her loss, but reversed his words at the last minute. Privately she was grateful for his tact. Pity was something she had little patience for, especially when she did not deserve it. Duty was all she had now. "My daughter's condition is my fault. The lives she took are my punishment. And my redemption lies in killing her."

"How did all of this happen?" Shepard asked.

Samara tilted her head, calmly considering the question. She couldn't remember the last time she talked to anyone about this, let alone a human. "I spent my youth on the move, adventuring. I killed people, mated with them, or just danced the night away. I learned so much, experienced so much. And then my matron days came. I could finally sit back, bask, and enjoy my family. But in one moment, it was all taken away."

Shepard nodded and silently urged her to continue.

She barely noticed him now. She was looking out the window, but staring at the memories that drove her, haunted her, constantly. "I sat in a med lab while a nearsighted doctor droned at me. And I learned that nothing was as I thought it would be. I gave up all that I possessed. I own nothing, claim nothing. All my knowledge will die with me. Now my purpose is to destroy my own child."

It was fate she had resigned herself to. Interestingly, after Samara finished telling her tale, the weight she carried felt a bit lighter, just a bit more tolerable. She was actually a bit surprised that she revealed so much about herself after spending so much time alone. She almost smiled, but didn't.

"Those moments change you," Shepard said understandingly. He wasn't looking at her. It appeared that he was looking at himself, her story spurring his own self-reflection.

"And I've hundreds of years left to live with that," Samara replied. _If I live that long._ "I say too much. Forgive me."

Her sudden statement shook him out of his reverie and he nodded.

"Help me find my long lost daughter. And kill her." As always, it hurt to say it, but her voice was firm and unyielding in her purpose. The pain was just another part of her punishment that she learned to endure. She knew that the day she succeeded in her mission would bring about an anguish that would pale in comparison to the last four centuries.

"We'll find her," Shepard assured.

As he walked away and as she sat down in her lotus position to begin mediating, Samara said, "Thank you, Shepard. There are no words to express what this means to me."

He didn't reply. He silently left her to her thoughts as the doors hissed closed behind him.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Kasumi's poll results:

Keep – 87

Destroy – 42

Cliffhanger – 39

So, keep the graybox won. What the information was, I don't have the first clue and I'm not writing about it. Better to keep speculation to ourselves anyway (Until we get a hint of what it is). All I wanted to do was cover the reasons why Kasumi would want to ask Shepard (and not Jacob) about whether she should keep the graybox or not. And put in additional reasons why she should.

Mordin's song! This new, extended version was just posted on the BioWare forums just as I was typing this chapter. Talk about fortuitous! I want to give **Slidell505** a big thank you for letting me take about 90% of his song and modify it a bit.

I don't exactly know why I wrote Samara's loyalty mission the way I did. I think I wanted to establish a 'timeline' of sorts. Give a reason why Nef (story notwithstanding) is dead and why Shepard would have a 'dangerous' side to him that Morinth would be attracted to. If she just arrived on Omega, she'll establish herself (Apartment and such), hunt, and kill. Gotta give her time to do all that, I guess. I actually have no idea where I'm going with this part.

New poll up. Just interested in hearing your opinions. I'll take it down after Jack's LM.

Make me happy and review! I type faster when I'm happy!

l

V


	42. Correspondence VI

_**From: Chorban**_

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**Subject: Concerns Re: Keepers**_

I hope this address still works. I promised to send you intel on the keepers if I found anything, and this is important. See, those scans you took? It turns out the keepers are bio-engineered… and based on my comparisons to some of that material from Saren's flagship Sovereign, they were engineered millions of years ago… by the same people who made Sovereign!

You may not understand how important this is, but it suggests that the Citadel wasn't really made by the Protheans! It may have been made by something far older, with the keepers as organic guardians. And what's more, based on my genetic readings, they're supposed to react to… something, some signal or something… about every 50 thousand years. You can measure genetic variances; it's a bit like comparing rings on a tree to see the drought years.

Whoever did this...well, around the last time this signal went off would be around the time the Protheans disappeared. And it's scheduled to go off sometime around now. If any of the old tech still works, they could have some nasty surprises waiting for us.

Just thought you'd want to know. Nobody here on the Citadel will listen to me.

-Chorban

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Shepard**_

_**To: Chorban**_

_**Subject: Re: Concerns Re: Keepers**_

Trust me when I say this, Chorban.

I believe you.

That data you uncovered? I need you to forward everything to Councilor Anderson. He'll know what to do with it. I'm looking for evidence now regarding the entities that created the Citadel _and_ the mass relays. And I could use your information to supplement it.

I'd explain everything to you, but truth be told, I'm not sure how much more you could take in.

Don't worry though, I got this.

Shepard.

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Emily Wong**_

_**To: Shepard**_

_**Subject: You're not Dead!**_

You're alive? How come you broke whatever cover you've been under for two years but didn't offer an exclusive interview to your favorite reporter?

Whenever you come up for air and are ready to talk, let me know!

-Emily Wong

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Shepard**_

_**To: Emily Wong**_

_**Subject: Re: You're not Dead!**_

Yes, I'm alive, but believe me, the story behind that is complicated. Really complicated.

As a quick exclusive to you: I'm going after the Collectors.

The human colonies that are disappearing? They did it.

The attack on Horizon? My team and I stopped it.

There's a lot going on and I don't have the time to go into it right now, but I promise, I'll definitely tell you everything soon. Otherwise, I might not have the chance.

Shepard

P.S. You're not that far off when you say that you're my favorite reporter. Worlds better than al-Jilani, at least.

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Consort Sha'ira**_

_**To: John Shepard**_

_**Subject: A Gift of Words**_

Spectre Agent John Shepard—

I thought that my gift of words had been incorrect – an embarrassing notion – but my contacts tell me you yet survive. I am pleased to hear that your journey continues, though I sense that you head toward an even deeper darkness. When you fought Saren, only your resolve was tested, but now I fear you cannot rely only on your own strength. Take whatever steps you must to ensure that those battling at your side will fight with clear minds and glad hearts.

Be well,

Consort Sha'ira

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Shepard **_

_**To: Consort Sha'ira**_

_**Subject: Re: A Gift of Words**_

Okay, I admit it. I'm _very_ impressed with your talents.

When you first talked to me, I had actually assumed that you were just aware of my background.

The fact that you know what I might be up to and what I need to do? I might actually be a believer now.

However, it seems that your talents might be limited after all. Your former acolyte, Nelyna? Her mother, Erinya, lives on Illium. I met her and she's hurting pretty bad about the loss of her daughters two years ago.

So, while I appreciate your 'gift of words', maybe Erinya could use it more. In memory of your acolyte.

Take care,

Shepard

P.S. Please send my regards to General Septimus Oraka if you see him.

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Urdnot Darg**_

_**To: Human**_

_**Subject: Back from Female Camp**_

Dear Human,

The clan leader told me how to get in touch with you. I don't remember much of what happened, but the chief scout said you pulled my quad out of the fire when I got caught and poisoned over at the Weyrloc camp. Thanks. Next time I have a chance to kill a human, I won't. Unless I go into a blood rage or something.

I got to go to the female camp after I recovered and it was pretty good. I was actually thinking of joining the Blood Pack before this happened. I think I'm going to stay here instead.

- Urdnot Darg, Scout –Second Class

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Shepard **_

_**To: Urdnot Darg**_

_**Subject: Re: Back from Female Camp**_

It's a good idea staying with Wrex. If you joined the Blood Pack, I'd hate to have to kill you after taking the time to rescue you.

I suppose it's a good thing you don't remember what happened to you. Torture is a nasty business.

Stay tough,

Shepard

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Emily Wong**_

_**To: Shepard**_

_**Subject: Really? !**_

Oh wow! The Collectors really exist? And you're fighting them to save the colonists? ! If that's your idea of a quick exclusive, I can't wait to hear what you have to tell me next!

Good luck and please come back safe! Your last message has me a little worried…

-Emily Wong

P.S. Glad to see that you have an eye for talent. As if al-Jilani could be better than me. It's people like her that give reporters a bad name. I heard she got punched by a krogan _and_ a volus, if you can believe it!

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Mister Ganak Ej'hal, Esq.**_

_**To: Whomever it may Concern**_

_**Subject: AN IMPORTANT REQUEST**_

Dear Sir or Madam,

Having consulted with my colleagues at the Citadel, I have the privilege to request for your assistance to transfer a large quantity of Prothean technology uncovered at Ilos. Believing these materials to be a hazardous danger, they were locked in quarantine. Even though the tests revealed that the fears were groundless, the quarantine remains in effect until one can pay for a permit to request a reclassification from the cultural ministry.

Knowing of your interest in Prothean technology, I would be happy to deliver most of it into your hands, keeping less than half for myself. As a batarian, I cannot engage in Council official activities, but if you transfer the 20,000 credits required to me, this exchange could be made in your name, enabling us both to profit from this happy accident.

Please reply urgently with your credit transfer account information.

Best regards,

Ganak Ej'hal

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: EDI**_

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**Subject: Credit Transfer**_

Captain-

Per your request, I have successfully back-traced the message through several proxy servers to a volus named Tare Kan. He is currently living on the Citadel.

At your orders, I have continued email contact with Mr. Kan and have arranged for C-Sec to arrest him when he arrives at the designated meeting place for the 'business transaction'.

I have taken the liberty of seizing his accounts. The sum of assets taken totals to 100,000 credits, all transferred to your account, of course.

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Captain Kirrahe**_

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**Subject: Thanks**_

We've retrieved **[redacted]** and charged him with treason. However, given extenuating circumstances, namely insanity, at Professor **[redacted]** request, **[redacted]** will be given a life sentence in prison, rather than execution.

Thanks for your help.

I had no doubt that you would succeed. Considering our efforts on **[redacted]** and your instrumental help against Saren and his krogan, your mission on Tuchanka must have been much easier.

Keep holding the line,

Kirrahe,

Salarian Special Tasks Group, Captain.

Addendum: Intelligence reports state that you and a krogan in your squad actually killed a thresher maw. On foot? How accurate is that?

**~o~O~o~**

_**From: Captain Shepard**_

_**To: Captain Kirrahe **_

_**Subject: Re: Thanks**_

Don't mention it. I'm happy to help out some old _and_ new friends. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

And yes, Grunt and I killed a thresher on foot. It's a complicated story.

Hold the line yourself, Kirrahe.

Captain John Shepard

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

**~o~O~o~**

Credit to **BiowareFan** for the Kirrahe idea.


	43. Subject Zero

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Nubian Expanse Nebula / Dakka System / Pragia**_

"Here you go," Gardner said as he passed Jack her usual pair of trays.

Jack took them and inhaled the scent, closing her eyes as she did so. "Smells great."

"I try," he said gruffly. "Restocked while we were at the Citadel. Top of the line stuff."

"Thanks," she said and walked past the other Cerberus crewmen in the Common Area. After more than a month, they hardly batted an eye at her anymore. A couple even went out of their way to greet her, though it was something stupid like, 'morning' or 'hi'. She didn't bother replying to them.

As far as anyone went, the cook was probably the only Cerberus crewman that Jack liked and interacted with on a daily basis; outside of Shepard and his squad anyway. On top of cooking food that was way better than the crap she had in prison, he was no-nonsense and tough, seemingly unafraid of her since they met. Add to the fact that he was probably the most laidback person on the ship and she couldn't muster any real grievances against him.

After consuming her usual calorie-laden meal to satisfy her biotic diet, she reached under her cot and pulled out the datapads Shepard had given her and started reading again. It was pointless though. She had memorized just about everything she needed to know, but it settled her nerves a bit. The anticipation that she was going to destroy the place that destroyed her life was at the forefront of her mind.

"_Jack?"_

Heaving a frustrated growl, she looked up reflexively, but knew that the source of the disembodied voice of the AI was pretty much everywhere. "What?" she impatiently asked.

"_Chief Zorah wishes to speak to you at the Armory. She says that your requested project is complete,"_ EDI said over the intercom since there was no place for her avatar to appear in the sub-decks.

Her anger forgotten, Jack tossed the datapads under her cot and jogged up the stairs. She made a mental note to get the food trays and hand them back to Gardner later.

"Hey," Jack called out when she finally entered the Armory.

Tali looked up from her work and waved her over. She turned toward Jacob. "Could you give us a few minutes?"

Jacob glanced at the both of them in confusion, but nodded all the same. "Uh… sure. I'll just be at the head or something…"

Jack stepped aside and allowed him to leave. He gave a tight nod in return and didn't pry into her business, something he should be grateful for.

"So what did you call me up here for?" Jack asked once they were alone.

Tali shifted to the side to show that she was working on a shotgun. Jack's shotgun.

That immediately got her attention. She ran up and looked down at her weapon. "Holy shit, you really did it?"

"Just installed it," Tali replied. She tapped her leg cast. "I have a bit of time on my hands now."

"Does it work?" Jack asked as she picked it up and turned it in her hands to see if there were any real visible differences.

Tali shrugged. "Don't know. I'm not a biotic. We'll need to test it to know for sure."

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?"

Just as Jack posed her question, Shepard walked into the Armory. "Hey, Tali. You needed me for something?"

"Hi, Shepard. I wanted to ask permission to test my invention," Tali requested.

Jack glared at the quarian, but her ever-present helmet hid her expression. She either didn't see it or did and ignored it.

"For what?" Shepard asked.

"Remember that ammo converter I told you about?" Tali asked.

He nodded.

"Since I had some free time, I managed to finish it. Here." Tali held out a blocky, complicated looking component and held it out to him. "You can attach it to your own assault rifle or sniper rifle. I'll make more for your other weapons soon."

Shepard grimaced. "That's the ammo converter for Warp Ammo, right? Just like the Collector Guardians use?" he asked as he took the converter from her.

"Yeah… is something wrong?" Tali asked worriedly.

"Results from my medical tests. My eezo nodules are growing like tumors," Shepard said neutrally. "They're causing phantom pains in my arm now. Chakwas told me, well, pretty much ordered me to stop using biotics for a while."

"Whoa, shit," Jack said in amazement. "Are you fucking serious? Can eezo nodules really do that?"

"Only if you're part of a Cerberus experiment designed to bring the dead to life," Shepard answered dryly.

Tali's body language suggested that she was stricken and struggled to stand up. "Are you going to be okay? I mean is there—"

"Mordin, Chakwas, and Miranda are all looking to into a few ideas that might help. For now, there's nothing they can do but map out how fast the nodules are growing and give me a timeline," Shepard said. He placed a hand on her shoulder and calmly pushed her back down to sit.

"Or a deadline," Jack morbidly said. For a guy that seemed like he was given a death sentence, he looked really, really calm.

Shepard just shrugged in reply to her pessimistic interpretation.

Jack shook her head and made another mental note to visit Chakwas to see if there's anything worth checking over as well. The last thing she wanted was having her biotics turn against her, and since she was once part of a Cerberus project…

Tali was still fretting, but after a few more reassurances from Shepard, she managed to calm down a bit. Considering that he was dead a few months ago, he bragged that if Cerberus brought him back once, they could do it again.

"Remember, I'm also technically undead, which is why I'm probably leading this mission," he joked.

"Seriously, Shepard; There's something fucking wrong with you," Jack decisively said.

"Coming from you, that actually means something," he quipped. "Should I be worried? I think I'll worry a little bit now."

Tali huffed in annoyance at Shepard's cavalier attitude towards his own life, but accepted the fact that his health was in good hands. With her worries eased for the time being she asked, "We need to make sure that the ammo converter is working. I'd rather not put it to the test in the field."

"How sure are you that this'll work?" Jack asked warily. Now that the novelty had worn off, she was holding her gun a little further away from her body. Untested stuff always made her cautious.

"I told you, I'm not an expert in biotics. I had to consult with Mordin and Samara to make sure my theories was correct," Tali said defensively. "If this works, it's a brand… almost brand new technology that will change biotic combat," she said, amending her words since all she did was reverse-engineer tech the Collectors already utilized.

"Instead of relying on biotic techniques, biotics can rely on guns a little more if they had this ammo converter," Shepard said thoughtfully.

"Cerberus doesn't know about this, right?" Jack asked harshly.

Tali crossed her arms. "Of course not. Everything I did was on my own personal server, unconnected to the ship, that AI, or any Cerberus monitoring devices."

"Good," Jack praised.

Shepard cleared his throat. "I'll clear the hangar and have some targets set up. I'd like to see this in action myself."

**~o~O~o~**

Jack grinned when she finally put down her M-27 Scimitar. The steel plates she was shooting at were mangled and twisted, much like how the unstable mass effect fields would have done. The fact that she was tearing through three inches with only a few shots gave her a new appreciation for Tali's expertise.

_Nice…_

Shepard was looking down at one of the discarded plates with a critical eye and an appreciative nod. "Looks like it works."

"Hell, yes," Jack readily agreed.

"How're you feeling?" Tali asked.

Jack blinked at the question. "What?"

"Remember that you're feeding your own biotics into the converter. Essentially, you're creating the necessary mass effect fields around each shot. The converter just makes sure that the rounds are properly modified and that the gun won't… well… explode," Tali explained. "The real explanation is bit more technical than that, but don't worry! The strain **shouldn't** be too much."

Jack looked down at her shotgun before looking up. "I don't know. I feel fine. It's not like I'm feeling tired or hungry or something."

Tali sighed in relief. "I suppose that means everything is working," she stated happily. "I'll make a smaller one for your pistol and have it ready by tomorrow. We'll test it then."

"Its good work, Tali," Shepard praised. "Any chance you can make more for the other biotics on our squad?"

She adjusted her crutches uncomfortably. "Actually, Shepard… um… I'd rather not."

"Why not?"

"I only did it because Jack asked me too and it's for the good of the mission. But I can't get past Cerberus' crimes, not after their attack on the flotilla," Tali said. She appeared set in this issue. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm giving this to anyone else."

Shepard looked like he wanted to argue, but relented at the last moment. "Alright, Tali. Don't worry about it. We've done well enough before, anyway."

Privately, Jack was glad. If he forced the issue, she'd steal the shuttle and bail at the first opportunity. There's no way she'd want to work with anyone that wanted to make Cerberus stronger. "I'm with her. Just because I'm helping **you**, doesn't mean I'm helping **them**."

Shepard seemed to recognize that and let the matter drop.

When he and Tali started talking among themselves, Jack turned to leave. Before she could get more than a few steps, Shepard called out to her.

"Jack? The shotgun?"

She turned around and glared. "I'd rather keep it with me."

Shepard met her eyes with a hard stare of his own. She privately thought that he looked hot, though she'd never admit it. "That rule isn't from Cerberus, Jack. It's mine. All weapons in the Armory. I'm already letting you keep your pistol, but I'm not giving you that much leeway."

Before she could argue, Tali limped between them. "Jacob doesn't know about the converter. Despite the fact that he's Cerberus, I believe he's a man of his word. He won't scan or look into it if he ordered not to," she said with a glance at Shepard.

He nodded.

Jack clicked her tongue before nodding acceptance as well. The only reason she agreed was that Taylor was a soldier through and through. Follows orders and shit like that. She dropped her shotgun on the deck and left.

**~o~O~o~**

The next couple of days felt stifling. It almost made her feel like she was in her cramped cell again, back on Purgatory. Cabin fever. She'd taken to leaving her spot in the subdecks and waste time in the open area of the hangar. Either she ran laps or exercised at the gym to occupy her hands. Once she got tired, she flopped onto her cot and used her omni-tool to link into the extranet. It was slower than using the Normandy's connections, but with that Cerberus AI, she wasn't taking chances.

She ran a few searches on Cerberus for the hell of it. Not surprisingly, there wasn't crap to be found. Nothing on the Teltin facility, Illusive Man, or even the cheerleader.

_Bastards always did know how to cover their tracks._

She signed up and got banned from the Citadel Newsnet forums and at Galactic Champion Poker 2100. She didn't care. Most of those assholes were trolls and cheaters anyway. She watched a few vids on recent current events… then got back up and exercised again. Anything to distract her and the feeling of weakness that threatened to break her down.

The closer they got to Pragia, the more she wanted to turn around and go someplace else. Far, far away.

"Are you alright?"

Jack blinked back to the present and turned her head toward Chakwas. "You're the damn doctor. You tell me."

Chakwas showed no indication that Jack's rough demeanor nettled her in any way. She continued to manipulate the SMART Scanner's holographic projection. Currently, it was focused on Jack's brain. "I can tell you what's physically wrong, but you look like you're having some troubling thoughts as well. Would you like to share?"

"So what's 'physically' wrong with me?" Jack asked, ignoring the question.

"Here's how this works: I test, I study the data, I interpret the results, and **then** I tell you what's wrong. Currently, we're on the first step. I know patience isn't one of your virtues, but I still need a bit of time," Chakwas replied as she continued to look through images. "So what were you thinking about?"

"None of your damn business," Jack retorted.

Chakwas shrugged. "If you wish."

Jack snorted, but held her peace. She liked Gardner well enough, but only because he made the food and never pried into her life. He was tough, but a bit boring. For better or worse, Chakwas was a bit more interesting; though Jack had a hard time wondering if she liked or hated her. Unlike the fucking witch doctors at Teltin, Chakwas looked like she genuinely cared about her patients. She was the first doctor in a long time that Jack allowed to be treated by. Unfortunately, Chakwas was also nosy and had this thing, this uncanny ability, to make her feel guilty or something whenever she snapped at her.

After a few silent minutes, with Chakwas making notes in the nearby terminal and Jack sitting still in the chair, the ex-convict finally relented and spoke again.

"I-I… fuck it. I was thinking about the past."

"It does have a way of sneaking up on us," Chakwas commented.

"No shit," Jack grumbled.

"Almost finished," Chakwas assured. She tapped a few more holographic commands.

Jack barely heard her. "It's just… do you know where we're going?"

"The news has traveled around the ship. Details vary of course, making much of what I hear unreliable at best," Chakwas said. "As far as I've been able to ascertain, we're going to a Cerberus facility. Other than that, what I've heard ranges from the underwater secret base or hollowed out volcano the Illusive Man calls his home, to a laboratory that's dedicated to discover the secret of immortality."

For some reason, Jack found herself grinning.

"I'm glad to make you laugh, even if it is at me," Chakwas said. "Up. You're done."

Jack stood up and started dressing. She loved feeling of clothes on her back again, especially ever since Purgatory…

Shaking her head to rid herself of those memories, she quietly continued putting on her clothes. The childhood memories returned with a vengeance in place of her previous thoughts.

"We're going to the place that made me what I am," Jack confessed.

Chakwas turned away from her terminal to face her patient fully. "Why?"

"I want to bring a bomb into my cell. I want to turn that fucking place into a smoking hole in the ground with my cell at ground zero," Jack snarled.

Chakwas nodded. "I see… however, I sense there is more to it than that." She cocked her head to side and observed Jack with an observant eye. "Are you feeling… apprehensive, perhaps?"

Jack snorted, but turned her head away. She couldn't meet Chakwas' eyes. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not afraid of anything."

"I didn't say afraid. I said apprehensive," Chakwas corrected. "That means you want to do this, but you don't want to go there. Am I right?"

Again, Jack snorted in distain, hoping that her show of bravado would derail the doctor. Chakwas' raised eyebrow and expectant stare said that she could see right through her though.

"I've read reports on the aftermath of only a few Cerberus experiments, two years ago. I pray that what happened to you wasn't as inhumane, but I doubt that's the case. It seems that the horrors inflicted on you have left their mark in more ways than one," Chakwas gently said.

"I just…" Jack started to say before growling and kicking one of her boots across the room. She started pacing, feeling her nerves fraying at the edges.  
"I don't know why the hell I want to do this. Teltin's been abandoned; nothing but a fucking garbage dump. A hellhole in the middle of nowhere. Why am I wasting my fucking time with this shit? There's nothing there, probably nothing left."

"It's a place that made you what you are and memories like that won't fade easily," Chakwas said. She turned her chair around to face Jack and crossed her arms and legs to ponder the situation. "It's obvious you feel resentment to what happened to you—"

"Really? No shit?" Jack sarcastically shot back.

"—if your attitude towards Cerberus is any indication," Chakwas continued as if Jack hadn't spoken. "And now you're on a Cerberus vessel, undertaking a Cerberus mission. You're a woman that prides herself on her ability to stand on her own, to survive without help. Now it's almost like you're right back to where you started: Cerberus. You want some measure of control again."

Jack stopped pacing and paid a little more attention now.

"For you, Teltin is where it all began. You still feel trapped by its influence. Your biotics, your bursts of rage, even your borderline obsession with everything that happened to you all stems from this facility," Chakwas said patiently. "If destroying the base was so simple for you, we could do it from orbit. Or if the explosive is powerful enough, just placing it anywhere would suffice. However, you seem adamant that the explosive be placed in your cell. You yearn to be free and you're hoping that in the act of destroying Teltin will achieve this. No more memories, no more pain, and no more ghosts. You might even be hoping to find some measure of closure."

For once, Jack found herself at a loss for words. She wanted to rage out against the doctor, citing that she wasn't into this psychobabble bullshit. She wanted to admit to her that everything she said was true. She wanted to be left alone. She wanted to hurt the people that hurt her. She wanted to cry. She wanted revenge…

She wanted to be free.

"Do you really think blowing that place up will help me?" Jack asked quietly.

"I truly don't know," Chakwas honestly replied with a shake of her head. "You're someone that needs activity. You need some sort of physical act that helps you get a handle of the situation. You're not patient or deliberate; you're spontaneous and unpredictable." She paused and regarded Jack thoughtfully. "In my personal opinion though, I think this might help in some way. You are a strong young woman. You have to be, to endure what's been done to you."

Jack said nothing. She glanced at Chakwas for a moment before turning away. She crossed the room, picked up her boot, and slipped it on. "Hey… you're not going to tell anybody about this, right?" she asked.

"Doctor-patient confidentially. Even EDI doesn't have ears in here until I call for her," Chakwas answered. "I promise, anything you say will always remain between the two of us."

"Even Shepard?"

"Even Shepard. His job is to ensure the safe operation of ship and crew. If you don't pose a danger to either, I don't have to tell him anything."

"He said if I wanted to go down by myself, I can," Jack confided. "To Teltin, I mean."

"Do you want to?"

"Do you think I should?"

Chakwas shrugged. "I can't tell you what to do. I doubt you'll listen to me if I did, now that I think about it," she joked.

Jack cracked a smile and started lacing up her other boot.

"This is an uncomfortable subject for you. If you value your privacy over comfort, then you should go alone. If you want someone to… how shall I put it…? 'Give you a push', then I'd recommend asking Shepard to accompany you," Chakwas advised. "There's no one I trust more. Well, besides Joker, but I doubt you'll appreciate any help our helmsman can hope to offer."

Jack stood up straight and nodded. "I'll think about it."

"I'll call you when I've finished looking through the results of your scan," Chakwas promised.

"Just tell it to me straight, am I looking at good news or bad?"

Chakwas turned to her terminal and looked through the preliminary numbers. "Well, according to…" she trailed off and sighed. She swiveled her chair to face Jack again. "Bad," she bluntly said.

"Fuck," Jack said with a disparaging scoff. "Story of my life."

**~o~O~o~**

A few hours after her talk with Chakwas, Jack finally sought out Shepard. He was down in the hangar, working out in the gym. A few off-duty crewmen were loitering about nearby.

"Hey," Jack greeted.

"Hey," Shepard grunted back as he pushed against the barbell near his chest.

Jack looked at him appreciatively while he worked out. Currently, he was wearing a pair of sweats and a tank top that showed off his build. A thin sheen of sweat covered his exposed skin as he did his reps. The weights he was lifting were nothing to sneeze at either. The man looked like he could go toe-to-toe with Grunt.

She licked her dry lips and tapped his sneaker with her boot. "Can we talk?"

Shepard exhaled slowly as he pushed the barbell up and locked it in position before sitting up. "Sure."

"Privately."

He nodded and picked up a nearby towel to dry himself off. Standing up, he gestured that she lead the way.

She led him to an empty space near the Kodiak and crossed her arms. "We're a few hours out now, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You really meant it? When you said I could go alone?"

"You make a decision?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know how to rig the bomb. I'm gonna need some help with that. Last thing I want to do is get myself blown up trying to wipe this place off the face of the galaxy," Jack said. It was mostly the truth. She really didn't know how to work the bomb and if it was as powerful as the cheerleader said it was, she wasn't sure if she wanted to mess with it.

The real truth of it was that she hated her idea now, but she didn't want to back away and look like a chicken shit. Seeing as how Shepard seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, he might give her a bit of help, maybe even be a bit useful.

"You mean the DX-57?" he asked.

"Yeah. Is it really that powerful?"

"One of the most powerful conventional bombs you can get without going nuclear," Shepard said.

"It's supposed to be heavy too, right?" she asked.

"70 kilos. That's about 150 lbs., something like that," he answered.

"I'm going to need someone to carry it all the way to my room," she said.

"You're asking me to come along and be your pack mule?" Shepard skeptically asked. His smile showed that he wasn't offended.

"If you wanna tag along, I'm not going to say no," Jack flippantly said.

If he saw through her bluster, he didn't make an issue out of it. He nodded and said, "We should be there in a few hours. You know how to pilot a shuttle?"

Jack nodded.

"Then it'll be just the both of us. No need to get Hawthorne and Goldstein involved. You and I can go down in the Kodiak."

"Fine, whatever," Jack said. She turned around and headed back to her cot to pick up her armor. Before she ascended the stairs, she turned back to Shepard. "And don't fucking slow me down."

He gave her a half-assed salute and rubbed the side of his nose with his middle finger before cleaning up his workout area.

_Asshole._

For some reason though, she still smiled all the same.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Nubian Expanse / Dakka System / Pragia / Teltin Facility**_

"You're a better flyer than you are a driver," Jack said.

"What does that mean?" Shepard asked. He looked offended at her comment.

The Kodiak shook a little as it underwent atmospheric entry. All things considered though, it was pretty smooth. Hardly any turbulence.

"Your driving sucks. That's what I mean," Jack retorted. "At least it looks like we're going to get down in one piece."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Shepard smirked. "It always starts off like this. We could just be going through some slight turbulence. And then explode."

Jack glared at him. "You're a sick man."

"Coming from you, that means nothing."

Jack looked down at the display in front of her. "I can't believe I forgot how much I hate this place," she muttered as she tapped a few buttons into the navigational computer.

Shepard said nothing as the shuttle cleared the atmosphere. He leveled it out and followed Jack's course, piloting the shuttle toward a structure that was almost buried in plant life.

"See the landing pad?" she asked.

"I see it," he said.

"Had to be on the roof or the vegetation would overgrow it in a few hours," she explained.

"_Captain, I am picking up thermal signatures everywhere, except at your landing zone,"_ EDI informed.

"Interesting…" Shepard commented. "Something's distorting the sensors."

"It's a secret Cerberus base. They built their equipment to last. Assholes," Jack said.

"That's not what's interesting. What's interesting is that there's no thermal signature at our landing zone. If they wanted to keep this base hidden, they screwed up. Having an empty spot is as bad as having a hot one," Shepard explained. "You're supposed to blend with the surroundings to become invisible."

"So what?" Jack asked.

"Either the equipment is malfunctioning, or someone is using it and they don't know how to read the instructions," Shepard said.

"You think someone's here?"

He shrugged. "When the Alliance abandons an outpost for a different location for some reason or other, we still keep eyes on the old one. Pirates, slavers, or mercs usually move in after a couple of months. We swoop in and take'em out."

"So you think some fucking idiot is calling this place their home?"

"Outposts are small and numerous, but abandoned bases are pretty much considered headquarters for lowlife scum. Places like that, especially if they're abandoned in a hurry, tend to be somewhat hidden, defensible, and stocked with useful stuff sometimes." Shepard checked the scanners and windows. "I don't see any other ships though. Could be something, could be nothing. Maybe the local wildlife messed with the equipment. We'll find out soon enough."

The Kodiak dipped lower as Shepard brought it in for approach.

Jack swallowed and clutched her harness. This time her feelings had nothing to do with Shepard's piloting. "It was a mistake coming back here, Shepard."

"Relax. We're not going to crash. This thing can practically fly itself," he joked.

"Ha-ha."

"Seriously, though. You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"Look, we'll just walk in, set the bomb, fly out, blow it up," he summarized.

"Right. Let's just get on the ground," she said. Suddenly the shuttle fell a dozen feet, causing her to shout in surprise. "What the fuck? !"

"Yeah, that part will happen, one way or another," Shepard said with a straight face.

"You son of a bitch!" Her anger momentarily overrode her reservations. Whether that was his purpose or not, she didn't know.

_Great, so either I'm grateful or pissed at him. Fucking prick._

He tapped on several buttons and the shuttle slowly descended this time. It touched down on the landing pad with only a slight, but noticeable bump.

"Damn it. Hawthorne or Joker would've done better," Shepard muttered. "Guess I'm a little rusty."

Rain pattered on the hull and windows. Jack got up and walked toward the cabin, slipping on her helmet as she did so. The heads up display ran through its checklist and diagnostics before signaling that the status of her Terminus Assault Armor was normal. The info changed to the current status and moved to the corner to be as unobtrusive as possible while still able to provide combat data.

She opened the door and stepped out, ignoring the rain as it splattered against her armor. "Come on! Let's just get in there and plant the bomb in my cell. I want to watch this place burn."

Shepard followed suit in his Kestrel armor, also fully helmeted and sealed. He started making his way toward the stairs.

"Hey! What about the bomb?" Jack called out.

"Not yet. I wanna secure the area first. If there's someone living here, I don't want to give them a new toy to play with. If they're smart, they'll keep it for themselves or sell it. Either way, they might be able to disable the DX-57 before we can detonate. If they're stupid, then they're liable to blow us up fiddling around with it while we try to fly away," Shepard said. He was holding his assault rifle across his chest loosely.

"If it's not one goddamn thing…" Jack complained. Still, she reached behind and pulled out her shotgun. Thinking about it a little more, she kinda hoped there was something or someone here. A live-fire test of her new Warp Ammo on some poor unsuspecting bastard would help settle her feelings at being back at the gates of Hell.

They waded through the thick sheets of rain down a set of stairs and ramps to the only open door. A light was shining above it.

Jack entered first and looked around. Nothing familiar struck her, though she did spot some similar portable cells Purgatory used on the right side of the room. "I never saw this room. I think they brought new kids in these containers. They were messed up and starving, but alive." She paused a beat before turning toward Shepard. "Usually."

Shepard wiped the water off the faceplate of his helmet and said nothing. He walked deeper into the room.

Jack cleaned the water off her visor as well and followed, taking in everything and trying to sort out the latent emotions this facility brought out.

In the second half of the room they were in, Shepard was fiddling with working terminal.

"What is that?" Jack asked.

"I think this terminal connects into the mainframe… I'm just opening a port for EDI begin mining the data. I want to know what the hell Cerberus was doing here," he explained.

"_Connection established. Data mine in progress,"_ EDI reported.

"Done. Let's go."

Jack nodded and walked toward the only other door in the room. The moment it opened though, she heard a voice. _"Someone's down there!"_ she hissed, activating her radio to avoid detection.

Shepard pressed up on the other side of the doorway and peeked through. _"It's just an active security console. It looks like a looping message."_

They both relaxed and walked in.

The image was of a Cerberus security officer. It flicked in and out view, but the sound remained somewhat clear. It looked like he was talking to someone at the time of recording. "The Illusive Man requested operation logs again. He's getting suspicious," the hologram said.

"When we get results, he won't care what we did. But if he knew…" a voice warned.

"He won't find out," the officer said.

When the message replayed again, Shepard reached out and turned it off. "Another rogue facility. Great."

"What makes you think this place went rogue?" Jack asked harshly.

"What makes you think it didn't?" Shepard calmly returned.

"Look, he didn't say **what** they were hiding from the Illusive Man. For all you know, they were making red sand here too," Jack retorted.

"Were they? You were here after all," Shepard pointed out.

"Hell if I know," Jack said. She brushed past him and went into the next room.

She recognized the next area immediately, even as dilapidated as it was. The arranged fights, the transfer of kids in their portable cells, her breakout… The door she had escaped through to the other landing pad was overrun by the root of some tree that was growing through the middle of the floor, though. There were vines, enormous leaves, and other plant life infesting the entire atrium.

"Jack?"

"I remember escaping to this room. Fighting here," Jack said emotionlessly. She pointed up at the broken skylight that the rain poured in from. "I saw sunlight through the windows in the ceiling. Only a half-dead guard between me and freedom."

'_P-p-please! D-don't k-kill me… please…'_

"He was begging for his life," she said in remembrance. She walked into the room slowly, taking everything in.

Her brooding thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of varren howling.

Around a fallen container, four varren were rushing at them. Their jaws were snapping wildly as they charged.

Jack waved her arm and unleashed Shockwave. The biotic attack tore through the animals with the sounds of explosions and broken limbs.

The varren started howling in pain now, rather than anger. Soon, even that tapered off to whimpering as they tried to stand on mangled legs.

Shepard walked up and used his pistol to end their suffering. Four shots later and the only sounds again was the storm outside.

"Varren. The Bloodpack uses varren," Jack said.

"Maybe," Shepard said. "But those varren looked wild. If they were tame, there should be a vorcha or krogan looking after them. Giving them orders."

Jack didn't bother arguing. If there were mercs here, she'd deal with them. If not, fuck it.

Stepping over the varren corpses, she paused at the next area and looked around. The concrete rails that used to form an arena had either fallen over or were in broken pieces now. A nearby puddle of water created from a hole in the ceiling resembled the blood pool that was there when she beat a kid so hard, he practically coughed up his all of his blood.

"This looks like an arena," Shepard observed.

"Yeah. They used to stage fights here. Pit me against other kids," Jack said. Her smile was feral. "I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell."

"They pitted you to fight against the other kids?"

She nodded. "I was filled with drugs. Got shocked when I hesitated," she said before smiling again. "Narcotics flooded my veins when I attacked."

"They actually rewarded you for attacking?" he asked in disbelief.

"I still get warm feelings during a fight."

"The hell was wrong with these people?" Shepard muttered.

"I don't know," Jack said uncaringly. "Doesn't matter now."

"How often did they do this?"

"I was in a cell my whole life. Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me with drugs. Other stuff," Jack said impatiently. She didn't bother telling him what the 'other stuff' was. "Time gets funny in a cell."

"Any idea what they were studying?"

She shrugged. "Hell if I know. Maybe that's how they got their kicks."

"So it was just you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the fights. They just wanted you to fight or did the others fight each other?"

"Look, I said: I don't know. I kept getting moved to different places or just thrown back to my cell," Jack snapped. "Come on. We've wasted enough fucking time."

She marched past him and through a nearby door. Now that she had her bearings, the path back to her cell almost felt instinctual. She hated that feeling.

_Soon, it won't matter._

The hallway ahead had several doors. Most were unreachable though. Either the doorways were buried in rubble or the hyper growth of the local fauna obstructed the way. They had to vault over a bunch of plants that were in the way as they continued exploring.

"Hold on," Shepard called out.

Jack turned around to see him moving some leaves aside. Underneath was another security console.

After moving enough vegetation, he tapped a few buttons and another flickering hologram appeared.

It was another Cerberus officer and he looked frantic. "This is Security Officer Zemkl! The subjects are out of their cells! They're tearing the place up!" He paused when he was forced to duck down as chair flew over his head.

"Your breakout I take it," Shepard commented.

As if to answer his statement, the guard stood up and looked around quickly, tightly clutching his shotgun. "Subject Zero is going to get loose! I need permission to terminate! I repeat, permission to terminate!"

_Permission? What the hell does that mean?_

Another voice answered, though neither saw him. "Negative! All subjects besides Zero are expendable! Keep Zero alive!"

"Understood! I'll begin the—"

Jack snarled. She ran up and turned the console off. "That's not right! I broke out when my guards disappeared – I started the fucking riot!"

"From the look of things, sounds like there was a lot more going on; more than what you remember or knew anyway," Shepard observed.

"The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me," Jack listed off furiously. She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "That doesn't leave lots of room for interpretation."

"Sure it does," Shepard calmly countered. "The guards were ordered to subdue you and take you alive. So, yeah, they did attack you in some way. Automated systems were probably set to the same thing or it got messed up during the riot. As for the other kids, well… if it were me, the only reason I'd attack you was because you're the one attacking me. Did you ever think about that? Our little spat back on Purgatory?"

Jack glared, but her helmet prevented Shepard from seeing it.

"And you did fight them beforehand. They might've resented you for it. Or maybe they went to you for protection during the riot. You heard the recording. 'All subjects are expendable'. They were going to kill'em all. If you were the strongest, they might've thought you were their best chance to survive," he theorized. "There are plenty of ways to see a situation differently. The only way to know what really happened is to keep looking around."

Jack scoffed disbelievingly and pushed past him. "Y'know what? Fuck you! You weren't here, all right? !"

Shepard said nothing more and followed her quietly.

They were forced to wander a bit now. The path Jack remembered was obstructed in several places, forcing them to take a more roundabout way. They ended up taking some stairs downward in the hope that it would go under and around, eventually taking them back up again. At the very least, she remembered her cell overlooked the cafeteria where the other kids ate at, meaning it was on the upper levels.

"Look at that," Jack said. She used her shotgun to point at a couple of varren carcasses that were in the middle of the hallway. "Fresh kill. Both were shot."

"_Company, then. Radios only,"_ Shepard ordered. _"Let's see who we're dealing with."_

"_So who do you think is here?" _Jack asked tensely.

"_I'm hoping for mercs or pirates. Slavers means hostages, which always pain in the ass to deal with," _Shepard replied. _"Normandy, do you copy?"_

"_Joker, here. You're five-by-five."_

"_Get the XO to the deck. We might have a party down here."_

"_Aye, aye. Calling the XO."_

"_What the hell, Shepard?"_ Jack asked. _"We're not—" _

"_Just having the others ready,"_ Shepard interrupted as he took point. _"If there's only a few, we can handle it. If this is a base of operations for a major group of bad guys, we might need reinforcements."_

"_Shepard? Miranda here."_

"_How many can the Hammerhead seat?"_

"_We've modified the Hammerhead. It can hold up to five now, albeit uncomfortably. One pilot, one navigator, one gunner, and two others. Grunt would take that number down to four."_

"_Who's certified to drive it?"_

"_I am. Jacob hasn't taken the time to train himself,"_ Miranda said.

"_Select four others besides yourself and stand by. I'll let you know if we need backup," _Shepard ordered.

"_Understood."_

They finally reached the bottom floor of the base. Jack spotted some bloody footprints. _"Hey, check this out."_

"_I saw them earlier. Vorcha."_ Shepard peered around the corner and spotted a single door.

"_Blood pack?"_

"_Probably."_

The door was already open, but only because it was stuck halfway. They crept inside when they heard voices and hid behind a metal table.

Jack peered over and was a bit startled. It wasn't a table they were hiding behind. It was an autopsy bed. At least a dozen of them all over the room.

_A morgue? Here? Why?_

In the far back corner, there were a couple of vorcha talking to a krogan. One vorcha was by himself, fiddling around with his flamethrower.

They weren't aware of their presence yet. Without waiting for Shepard, Jack stood up and targeted the krogan. Her thinking was simple: Shoot first. Don't let the other side have a chance. Being tactful and slow like Shepard usually just pissed her off.

Starting off with Shockwave to keep everyone off balance, Jack took aim at the krogan and peppered him with a blast from her shotgun. She grinned when her first blast wrecked the krogan's assault rifle and breached his armor. The second nearly tore off a limb.

Unfortunately, she didn't spot the vorcha on the second level catwalks. He started shooting at her, stopping her attack short. The moment she took her eyes off the krogan, he entered a blood rage and rushed her.

Jack found herself picked up and slammed into a table. It almost felt like her spine snapped on impact. She gasped for air, unable to get a word out. The krogan had her pinned against the edge of the table, the small of her back arched over the top as much as she could without breaking. The krogan had his one good arm around her neck, but lacked the strength to crush her armor and windpipe. Instead, he pushed harder, trying to break her in half over table when his head exploded.

Shepard had his shotgun up and attacked head-on since Jack gave away their positions. However, his attack was halted as well when the nearby Pyro started spraying flames all over the place, even tagging one of the two vorcha that were shooting at them.

Shepard fell down with a shout of surprise and rolled away from the flames, dropping his shotgun in the chaos. Once on his back, he quickly drew his pistol and shot Pyro in the foot causing the vorcha to pitch forward. Raising his pistol slightly, the next shot went through the head as the body fell. Shepard rolled to the side to avoid the corpse.

Three more vorcha ran up to the windows from the observation room and shot through them, aiming at the humans.

"_Contact left!"_ Shepard warned. He rolled to the side, behind another table and took cover.

"_This would be easier if you used your biotics too!"_ Jack shouted as she hunkered down behind another table.

"_It might've been over already if you waited until we counted how many of these bastards there are and used grenades instead of bull-rushing them!"_ Shepard snapped back. He popped out with his HMWP and killed the lone vorcha on the second floor.

Jack gripped her pistol and shot the vorcha that was on fire. Her new Warp Ammo practically caused his head to explode as well. Four more vorcha remained; one in the autopsy room that was recklessly shooting and three in the observation room, hiding behind the railings of the broken windows.

_I can't believe we're getting our asses handed to us by a bunch of fucking vorcha!_

"_Jack! Pick up the Pyro and toss him inside the Observation Room!"_ Shepard yelled.

Jack looked around to see the still twitching corpse. A quick gesture and it went sailing high through the middle window.

Shepard popped out of cover and started firing his pistol rapidly. The aged metal tank started sparking from all the shots before it exploded, right inside the room.

Two vorcha started screaming when they were lit on fire while the third died from the explosion alone. The flames consumed them faster than their ability to regenerate, making them no longer a threat.

Jack stood up and flared her biotics menacingly. The last vorcha seemed to realize that he was alone and ran for the nearest door.

He never made it.

Thrusting out her arm, Throw tossed him across the room and into the wall. The sounds of broken bones were heard, but the vorcha seemed to be able to ignore it. He stood up again and started shooting wildly.

Jack responded aggressively as well. She raised her pistol and started firing back, slowly approaching toward with measured steps.

The Warp Ammo prevented the usual rapid healing the vorcha were known for since the mass effect fields continued tearing into the vorcha's body long after the bullets did its damage. After the first two shots, he staggered. The next three shots, he dropped his rifle and fell against the wall. The last shot into the head ended him.

Jack slapped the manual release on her Predator and allowed a heat sink to be ejected. The sound it made when it hit the floor seemed to echo in the following silence.

A shadow appeared in her peripheral vision. She jerked away from it, but realized it was just Shepard. He held out her shotgun.

"_Feeling better?" _he sardonically asked.

She snatched her shotgun back and pointedly turned her back on him. There was no way in hell she was ever going to admit that he was right.

A quick look around the room showed no further threats. Whether or not they managed to get the word out to the other mercs was up in the air. At this point, there was nothing that could be done about it anyway. _"Why'd this place need a morgue? This was a small facility."_

Shepard ran a hand on top of one of the metal beds. _"Small… just the right size for a five or six year old. 10 at the oldest…"_

"_That sounds about right,"_ Jack said.

"_You said that they usually brought in kids in those containers. If this is a small facility, they must've kept bringing in kids because others died," _Shepard grimly stated.

"_Bullshit. I had the worst of it and I made it out alive,"_ Jack said disbelievingly.

"_Yeah, and look how powerful you are because of it. Not everyone is made equal,"_ Shepard countered. _"Not everyone can survive what these… monsters did to them."_

"_What doesn't kill us…"_ Jack muttered. She took one last look around before turning toward the door.

"_I doubt Nietzsche would be so glib if he were here,"_ Shepard muttered.

**~o~O~o~**

"_Contact above us!"_ Shepard shouted.

Jack wasted no time blasting both vorcha with her biotics.

The two fell off the bridge and landed roughly on the ground. She aimed her shotgun and pumped a few rounds into them before they had a chance to figure out what had happened.

Shepard was aiming downrange with his own shotgun, putting down a small group of varren that tried to rush them in a narrow corridor.

After a tense few minutes, it was quiet again.

Shepard looked around the hallway they were in and couldn't contain his grimace. _"Is your cell like this?"_

A few rooms and hallways down from the morgue, there were a line of cells inside a hallway. A bridge overlooked the room, probably for the patrolling guards and scientists.

Jack shook her head at Shepard's question. She had never seen the other cells in Teltin. Just her own. All things considered, the other kids had far worse accommodations than her. Four kids to a room, with a pair of bunk beds on either side of the cell and a single toilet in the middle. No windows, just a single light in the ceiling and a heavy door to lock them in; four walls, a ceiling, and a floor to stay in every night.

She never gave a damn about the others that were locked in with her before, but strangely, right now she felt enraged for them.

"_I can't believe they kept children here in these kinds of conditions…"_ Shepard breathed out as he looked through the rooms.

Jack said nothing. She marched onward to the other door that was still operational and cautiously opened it. No Blood Pack, but the room was familiar. _"We're on the right track again. Looks like we're taking the route the guards use. Upper security catwalks. They can keep track of any trouble makers and put them down before there were any problems."_

Shepard followed and looked down. _"Cafeteria?"_

Jack absently nodded, but had her eyes pinned to the far wall. She remembered being able to see the cafeteria from her cell window. Except now that she was seeing it from the other side for the first time… _"This… it's a one-way mirror?"_

"_Jack?"_

"_My cell is on the other side," _Jack said. _"I could see all the other kids out here. I screamed at them for hours and they always ignored me."_

"_I wonder…" _Shepard muttered as he looked at the mirror. Their reflections barely showed up through the grime.

"_What?"_ Jack asked, wondering if she was going to like what he was going to say.

_Probably not._

"_You once told me back on Illium that they physically tortured you, to see if pain can enhance biotic ability."_

"_Yeah…"_

"_Biotics is a discipline of the mind too. I wonder if they were psychologically torturing you as well. The drugs, the separation, even your own cell seemed set up for it,"_ Shepard said as he stepped away and walked along the catwalk.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_The other children didn't ignore you. Your cell is probably soundproofed. It's a classic interrogation technique. Put a POW inside isolation. After a few days, occasionally, you'll give him a look at the outside world. Just a taste. He'll want out so badly, that he'll break and tell you what you want to know."_

She chewed on his words a bit before asking, _"You really think so?"_

He shrugged. _"Makes sense. This feels like a typical Cerberus operation: lavishly funded, highly efficient, and morally indifferent; with a heavy reliance on brutal experimentation and conditioning techniques in an attempt to maximize results. I've seen it in crazed rachni a couple years back."_

"_Gee, thanks for the comparison," _Jack muttered.

"_What I'm saying is that this is the kind of Cerberus operation __I've destroyed in the past,"_ Shepard said.

The next few rooms held no threats. Jack was beginning to believe that the Blood Pack had probably just stumbled into the facility and sent a scouting party to see if it had any value. After a few more twists and turns, they came upon a couple of rooms that were different from all the others.

In this case, both rooms had the kind of chairs where prisoners, or lab subjects, were securely strapped in with metal manacles before needles, drills and other sharp implements were used.

She studied the rooms carefully, trying to fit the pieces of her fragmented memory with what she was seeing now. _"I must've come through here when I broke out, but I don't remember it. This is bad place,"_ she whispered.

Shepard walked over to another function console. This time, instead of a hologram of a security guard, a scientist was seen.

"Entry 1056, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four, and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors," the scientist said clinically.

Jack sucked in a breath when she heard that there were more subject numbers after her own.

"We lowered core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reactions occurred. As a side effect, all subject died," the scientist reported. "So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast."

_The morgue…!_

"_This is bullshit! They weren't experimenting on the others for my safety!" _Jack snarled.

"_No, it's worse. They were experimenting on them to turn you into what you are,"_ Shepard said.

She whirled on him. _"You don't get it, do you? I survived this place because I was tougher than the rest! __**That's who I am!**__"_

"_You had to be. You're still alive,"_ Shepard simply pointed out. _"But it doesn't change the fact that you were also the strongest biotic. It would make sense that they did everything to make sure you survived the experiments just so they could keep getting their results. What's disgusting is that they did it over the lives of other children."_

Unbidden, Murtock's face floated through her conscious. She viciously pushed memories away.

Shepard looked around. _"This place was almost made just for you and how far they could push human biotics."_

She faintly glowed as she clenched her teeth at him. She could almost imagine that he wore a smug look underneath his helmet. As if the asshole knew everything or some bullshit like that.

If he was concerned about her show of force, he didn't show it. He merely turned back to the console and played around with it more.

The same scientist was back, but this time, the sounds of screams and gunfire could be heard in the background. "It's all fallen to pieces! The subjects are rampaging and Zero is loose! We're shutting Teltin down! What a disaster!" He looked over his shoulder when a particularly loud explosion shook the floor he was standing on. "We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will—" He trailed off when he heard something else. Looking over his shoulder again, his eyes widened and he held up his hands pleadingly. "Zero, wait!"

A younger Jack appeared, her biotic aura glowing fiercely. She launched an orb of dark energy that struck the scientist, and the camera, before the log ended.

"_Shepard! Those fuckers started up somewhere else!"_ Jack exclaimed.

Shepard shook his head. _"Ascension is an Alliance funded program and civilian controlled. It's basically a school for biotic kids. They __**don't**__ torture children there. Parents even come to visit occasionally."_

Jack swallowed and looked around again. _"A lot of this… it isn't the way I remember it."_

He put a hand on her shoulder. _"I know you came here with assumptions. I know you came here thinking you remembered everything. All you wanted to do is remember was everything they've ever done to you and how you're hoping to destroy it all with one big blast. Your eyes see what your mind wants them to see; that's the problem with assumptions. If they're wrong, you'll twist the truth or ignore it and none of that is going to help you now."_

She swallowed again and shook his hand off. _"It's… it's so strange to be back here. I feel like… I'm pissed off. I'm a dangerous bitch. But then I'm a little girl again. Shit. We're almost to my cell. Let's just make sure there's no one else and plant the bomb."_

They opened the nearby door, but they both got careless. What they saw on the other side caused Jack to curse under her breath.

They raised their weapons at the relatively small force of Blood Pack. Remembering the fight in the morgue, she took the time to do a quick count and watched for any surprises. Three krogan and seven vorcha. As usual, the vorcha favored speed over armor and relied on their rapid regeneration to carry through any fight.

The krogan in charge, wearing some wicked, red glowing armor, didn't seem to care that they showed up. Instead, he turned his head slightly and spoke into his radio. "Hey, Aresh, it's Kureck. Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds. You promised us lots of salvage, but this place is a waste."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jack saw Shepard discretely palming a couple of grenades.

_Not going to make the same mistake twice…_

The krogan's overconfidence that he had enough numbers to beat them was their best shot. She looked around the room and saw that they had crates and other assorted supplies inside the room, suggesting that they were here for a while.

_Hired mercs then… They don't care about Teltin._

"Fine, we'll put'em down. Then I'm coming in there and we're going to talk salvage," Kureck said. He finally turned back to them. "Get—"

Shepard tossed his grenades and ran for the nearest crate to take cover behind.

Jack split up and took to the right. The grenades took three vorcha. Their blood limbs went flying everywhere.

"Concentrate fire! All squads, form up now!" Kureck ordered. He was covered in a blue haze.

_Battlemaster._

She popped out of cover and shot at a vorcha that was running down the side, hoping to flank Shepard.

He returned the favor by targeting a Pyro and detonating his fuel tank that was near her position.

The vorcha she shot went down with scream when he saw that he wasn't recovering from her attack. She finished him off with Warp, letting the unstable dark energies rip the poor bastard apart.

"Push and overrun! We outnumber and outgun all of them!" Kureck roared.

"Go fuck yourself!" Jack taunted.

Shepard sprinted from cover to cover, firing at vorcha and krogan alike, harassing them and allowing Jack to move closer almost undetected.

A vorcha appeared in front of her and managed to fire a quick burst from his assault rifle, but her shields held up. A near point blank blast from her shotgun was far more effective.

"Tighten up! I want suppression and I want it now!"

"You think an ugly son of a bitch like you can win? !"

One of the krogan threw a grenade of his own a Shepard's last position. After the explosion, he and a vorcha ran up to find that the human had disappeared.

They never saw the distortion behind the krogan or the grenade that was attached to his back.

After the gory detonation, Shepard reappeared only to be tackled by the second to last krogan. They tumbled out of sight.

"Useless, all of you! I'll kill them, myself!" Kureck roared. He staggered when his Barrier was breached like it wasn't even there. He turned to see Jack using the rapid-fire of her Scimitar to pound away at him.

"You are one stupid, suicidal, limp-dick asshole," Jack taunted. She punctuated each curse with a shot.

He turned and fired his own shotgun. Her shields barely managed to hold up. The Claymore was far more powerful than her Scimitar, but her Warp Ammo evened the odds.

_No more playing around!_

Jack smiled grimly and used Warp to tear through Kureck's Barrier. Her next shot started tearing up his armor and her next breached, striking flesh and organs.

Kureck bellowed and rushed at her in a berserker charge, giving into his blood haze.

Jack responded by using Biotic Charge. She easily plowed him down and slammed him against the wall. Kureck tried to get up, but she aimed her shotgun at his leg and blew it clean off, causing him to flail on the ground.

"Let's see if you like this you cock-fucking, rimjob, piece of shit!"

Her aura smoldered as she lifted Kureck up and forcefully slammed him into the wall, hard enough to make in imprint. Now he grunted as bones and organs were crushed by the mass effect fields. She pulled him out and continued to use his body to try to make a new hole in the wall several more times until his corpse was fully embedded inside the yielding metal.

She turned away and ran toward Shepard's last known position. Turning the corner, she saw the krogan was on his back with the Spectre standing over him, gripping the mercs arm.

Shepard lifted his boot and rammed it into the krogan's arm shattering the bones. Next, he stomped down on merc's throat before walking back to his dropped assault rifle. The krogan choked piteously as he tried to get back up. A quick burst into the head ended that idea.

Jack relaxed and looked around. "That's it. Only room left is my old cell. Whoever Aresh is, he's in there. I wanted to plant the bomb there anyway. Might was do it on his corpse."

Shepard shrugged and followed behind her as she took the lead. "Ouch," he couldn't help but comment as they passed by the remains of Kureck.

Jack grinned.

**~o~O~o~**

She could feel her smile slipping away now as they approached her cell. Her lips trembled a bit and she found herself thankful that her helmet hid her expression from Shepard.

The door opened at their presence and they entered with weapons drawn this time. There was only a single man standing inside, facing the window and staring out at the facility beyond. No doubt he saw their approach when they were traversing the catwalks earlier.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jack demanded.

"My name is Aresh and you're breaking into my home," he replied, his voice sounding distant and disconnected with reality.

It gave her the creeps.

When finally turned around to face them, it went beyond creepy. The man looked older than he probably was. His face was drawn and pale. His beard was scraggily and wild. And his clothes were unkempt and rumpled.

It was his eyes that were the worst though. They were glassy and slightly unfocused, as if he saw ghosts and shadows everywhere and people were just an afterthought. It was the look of a man haunted by demons that could never be exorcised.

"You… you're Subject Zero, aren't you?" Aresh said, staring as if he could see right through her helmet. "For so many years, I thought I was the only survivor. And then I saw the wanted posters all over the place. Those eyes… I recognize those eyes anywhere."

Jack kept her shotgun trained on the man. Her finger tensed on the trigger when he took an unsteady step toward her. "My name is Jack. And how the hell do you know me?"

"We all knew you, **Zero**," Aresh said. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, but disappeared just a quickly. "All of us. They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments won't kill you. Everything," he said, as he spread his arms out, "was all for **you**." His eyes focused a bit more now as he stared intently into her helmeted face. "You were the question and I'm still looking for the answer."

Jack tried to swallow, but for some reason, her throat felt dry. "You're fucking crazy. I was the one experimented on, like I was some sort of **thing **for Cerberus to play around with! No one protected me."

"Their favorite toy," Aresh agreed with a sick smile. "No one protected any of us. The lucky ones were the ones to die."

"You were drawn here…" Shepard realized.

Jack could feel Shepard's eyes on her.

_It's not the same! We're not the same!_

"I tried to forget this," Aresh said, his raspy voice sounding almost reminiscent now. "But a place like this… it doesn't forget you. It follows you." He tapped the side of his head to reinforce his point, but even that simple action had a hint of dementia in it.

"And the Blood Pack?" Shepard asked, his calm voice seeming like he was at the eye of the storm. Jack's rage to Aresh's broken obsession.

"I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece."

"What?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"I'm going to find out what the scientists failed to do the first time – how to unlock true biotic potential in humans." This smile returned again, somehow even more disturbing than before, compounded by the wild, almost feral look in his eyes. "I'm restarting Teltin facility."

Both Shepard and Jack were stunned by his statement, but his next declaration horrified them.

"It will be beautiful."

"You're fucking sick," Jack spat out. "I want a hole in the ground. You're trying to justify what happened by actually using it."

"You'd really do the same thing to other kids?" Shepard said in disgust. "Wasn't this forced on you?"

He shrugged uncaringly. "Some were bought from poor families on Earth or kidnapped from the colonies. Most ended up here the way I did: batarian pirates."

Despite her anger, Jack idly found herself wondering how she came to Teltin.

"They did… horrible things to us. They must have had **good** **reasons**," he argued, as if he believed in what happened was for the greater good.

"There's no reason good enough!" Jack shouted. "I don't give a shit if you're nuts, but you lived it!"

Shepard glanced at her before turning to Aresh. "Speaking of which, this was a prison. How'd you get out?"

"We all attacked at once as they were taking us to the lab. They would've put us down, but Jack got loose."

_That's why the guard left… fuck…_

"When I came to, it was over – the guards, the scientists and all the kids were all dead." His eyes locked onto Jack again. "And you were gone."

"I stopped it. All of it," Jack growled out. "Maybe the others did have it bad, but what you're doing is just messed."

An ugly look crossed Aresh's face. He took a defiant step forward, unafraid of the weapons pointed at him. "Everything we went through **must have been worth something!**"

He looked like he wanted his tortured life to have meaning. To give rise to the justification of his pain. To do something about his past.

_Just like me…_ came the horrifying thought.

Jack howled and dropped her gun. She rushed at Aresh with her fists flying. The first blow connected to his stomach, doubling him over. Her knee snapped him back up, blow flowing freely from his broken nose. Her next series of punches took a tooth or two.

Strong arms wrapped around her midsection and forcefully pulled her away. "Jack! Stop it!"

"Fuck you! Let me go!" Jack screamed. She twisted free and felt her biotics respond to her anger. She thrust an arm out at Aresh, but the awkward flailing made it difficult to use her full power.

Aresh grunted and fell to his hands and knees. He spat out blood between coughs.

She pushed away from Shepard and drew her pistol, aiming it at Aresh's head.

Before she could pull the trigger, Shepard stood in the way. "Move!"

"Look at him Jack! He's trapped in the past! You're trying to move on from yours!"

"He wants to restart this place! He needs to die!"

Despite the pain he must have been in, Aresh laughed. It sounded grating and sad, with a touch of hysteria. "Just like all the others. Dying just for you…"

"He's not a scientist and he's not a researcher! He's crazy! He's never going to be able to restart a place like this!" Shepard argued. "Look at him! Is that how you want to be? Aren't you stronger than him? Stronger than what this place has done to you? **Look at him!**"

Shepard stepped to side, giving her a clean shot.

She wanted to squeeze the trigger. She wanted rip him limb from bloody limb. She want to create a mass effect field so powerful, his body would explode.

But when she looked at him, really looked at him, all she saw was a ghost. Just another broken wreck of a man. But strangely, she felt a sad connection to him. She understood his pain, she lived it. Unlike him though, she survived it. But now…

She wanted to be free of it.

She stalked forward and rammed her boot into Aresh's backside. He stumbled and fell on his face. "Get up! **Get up!"** She screamed. She reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. She pushed him toward the door. "Get the fuck out! **Go!**"

Aresh stumbled out the door, clutching his bruised midsection and disappeared down the dark corridors.

Jack turned around and pounded her fist into the window/mirror. "He's not worth chasing. None of this is…"

She saw Shepard's reflection in the window as he approached her. "You did the right thing."

"He'll probably still be here when the bomb goes off," she muttered.

"Maybe," Shepard agreed. "But that's his problem. You don't have to make it yours."

Jack took a deep breath and looked around. "Nothing's changed… but it's all different," she whispered.

She raised her fist and knocked on the glass. "I thought that room out there was the rest of the world. I'd pound and yell. Never did any good."

She turned away walked over to her bed. It was covered in dust and other things that she didn't want to think about. "Sometimes I dream that I'm back in this bed being tortured. I used to tie the sheets around my wrists and try to rip them off."

Next was her table. She felt a moment of nostalgia as she ran a hand over the surface. She had no idea why she was confessing everything to Shepard, but he was listening and not talking. For some reason, she felt… better, know that he was willing to do that for her. "I used this table for everything. It was like my best friend. I'd crawl under it to cry."

She took one last look around her room before walking back to the door. "Let's get the bomb."

Shepard nodded and fell in step next to her.

She stopped when they passed by a slight dent in the wall just outside her cell. "Over here… see this scarring on the wall? That's where I killed my first man. One of the guards tried to stop me."

She stared at the spot for a moment, remembering the feeling she had when she took her chance for freedom. It was strange, almost ironic, to be coming back after more than a decade to finish her escape and finally **feel** free.

"Jack?"

She turned head when Shepard called out to her.

"I'm fine. Okay, no more wallowing. Let's blow this place to hell."

**~o~O~o~**

They had to go all the way back to the shuttle and pick up the bomb. Thankfully, they didn't run into any more Blood Pack or Aresh on either trip.

Shepard pushed the shuttle as fast as it could go. Jack had her knee propped against the edge of the console. She kept flicking the lid on the top button of the detonator with her thumb, while she kept the safety trigger pressed with her index finger.

The storm buffeted against the Kodiak, but a few precise commands from Shepard kept them in the air.

Jack barely noticed. She kept flicking at the lid, almost as if she was autopilot. The metallic clinking sound was almost hypnotizing.

She turned her head to face Shepard when she felt his eyes on her. In the darkness, his blue eyes looked cold and hard. What he was thinking, she didn't know, but the expression almost looked sexy on him.

He gave her a single nod and turned back to the controls.

She flicked the top of the switch one last time and jammed her thumb down on the button.

The darkness was banished from the light of the explosion. The shockwave rocked the shuttle a bit, forcing Shepard to dance quickly across the controls to compensate. Jack gripped her harness and waited until the shaking stopped.

She looked down at the images on the console that the Normandy was feeding her from orbit. Just like she imagined, Teltin was gone.

More importantly, she felt as if she just killed a part of her past she never wanted to go back to again.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

After shucking her armor and stashing it in her 'room', Jack went upstairs to snag something eat. She wasn't sure if she wanted food because of her biotic diet or because she needed something to distract her from Aresh and his brand of crazy.

Once in the Common Area though, she spotted the cheerleader leaving Chakwas' office with a damn smile on her face.

_She's happy about something. She's fucking happy about something!_

It was the exact opposite of what she was feeling. Hell, she didn't even know what she was supposed to be feeling right now. Angry, elated, confused, vindicated, depressed, empowered, scared…

Vengeful.

She stomped toward the cheerleader's office and used her biotics to force the door open with a wave of her hand.

Miranda turned around when her door opened and put down a few datapads on her desk when she saw who it was. "Jack," she greeted evenly. "Something I can do for you?"

"You look awfully cheery. Wanna share?" Jack cooed mockingly.

"Not particularly and especially not with you," Miranda said evenly. She stepped away from the table.

Jack saw what she was doing. She was getting some space, just in case. She may hate her and everything she stood for, but grudgingly admitted that the cheerleader wasn't stupid.

"Is there anything else you'd like to bother me about?" Miranda asked with a hint of steel lacing her tone.

"Plenty," Jack snarled. "Like how much blood money does Cerberus have to toss at projects that tortures and murders kids?"

"That was hardly a Cerberus facility. I saw the logs EDI downloaded and the reports of the actions Cerberus took after the riot. The facility went rogue well before and a team was sent to clean up that mess," Miranda answered coldly. In contrast to Jack's heated tone, Miranda's voice seemed to chill the room the angrier she got.

"You mean kill everyone."

"Not that you care, but there were survivors during your 'escape'. The children were sent to Alliance facilities, while the scientists were… retired."

"Bullshit!"

Miranda gave her a half-shrug. "I don't have to justify anything to you. There's nothing I can say that you're willing to believe since you're far too comfortable with your own preconceptions."

"That's a laugh coming from you," Jack shot back. "You're too busy regurgitating Cerberus' bullshit that you have no fuckin' idea what your boss is into."

Miranda's eyes hardened. "Well, since it's obvious that you and I won't agree on this issue, I think you should leave."

"After everything Cerberus has done to me, I've been looking forward for a little payback," Jack threatened.

"Is that why you're here?" Miranda asked icily. "I told you: that was no longer a Cerberus operation."

"That. Facility. Was. Cerberus," Jack stressed menacingly. "Their logos. Their soldiers. Their scientists."

"It was a facility that went off the rails. Rules and safeguards exist for a reason. And what happened because they were ignored? You. That's all their work went into. And they died for it. It was nothing that Cerberus would ever condone."

"You know what? I was wrong. You really are that stupid. They still answered to your boss, the Illusive Man. Everything they did was for him," Jack said, though she spat out the Cerberus CEO's name with no small about of loathing. "You know what Shepard said? He said he took out whole bases just like Teltin. You telling me that your entire organization has gone off the rails?"

"Look," Miranda said. She picked up a datapad. "The event reports of what happened **before** your rampage. The Illusive Man was shutting the facility down because they've gone dark for too long. Falsified reports, unusual resource expenditures, subject disappearances. Enjoy." She thrust it into Jack's chest.

Jack slapped the datapad away and stepped back. Miranda took one cautious step away in response.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" Jack shouted. She levitated a chair and tossed it directly at her.

Miranda used her own biotics to slow it down and pushed it away, letting it harmlessly strike the bulkhead.

"**Enough!"**

Both women jerked their heads toward the voice.

Shepard stood angrily in the doorway. He was mostly still in full armor, sans a pauldron and his gauntlets. He boldly marched inside and closed the door to prevent any gawking from the crewmen. "Stand down, **both** of you!"

Jack glared at him before pointing at Miranda. "The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!"

"It wasn't Cerberus. Not really. But clearly you were a mistake," Miranda said calmly.

"Screw you!" Jack shouted. She jabbed a finger at her and let her biotics flare. "You've got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"

Suddenly, both women were pushed back and away from each other.

Jack turned to see Shepard's biotics glow faintly as well. His left arm was up and pointed in their direction. "This is not going to happen. Not while I'm in charge."

"Fuck you. I just want her dead," Jack snarled.

"You want everybody in Cerberus dead," Shepard countered. "Except we need each other right now."

"She can't be trusted, Shepard. She'll jeopardize the whole mission," Miranda argued.

"We're already facing long odds," Shepard calmly said. "We need all the help we can get."

Looking at both them, Shepard said, "You were both there at Horizon. The cruiser. You both know what the Collectors are doing and you know what we're up against. You really think we afford to have in-fighting now? I'm not asking you to be friends, but I am ordering the both of you work **together**."

"Work with her?" Jack scoffed.

"She saved your life. Twice if I recall," Shepard said. "We have a mission. Our lives may depend on each other at some point, because death might actually be preferable to what the Collectors, or the Reapers, have in store for us."

"Very well. I can put aside my differences… until the mission is over," Miranda said coolly. She stepped close enough to Jack that they were almost nose-to-nose.

"Oh, she'll survive. I'll make sure of it. I'd hate to see her die before I get a chance to filet her myself," Jack said with a fake smile. She turned and stomped away.

Shepard put an arm out in front of her. "You two going to be okay?"

Jack scoffed again and pushed past him. She decided to go back to her room.

She lost her appetite.

**~o~O~o~**

About an hour later, Jack heard footsteps walking down the stairs. She turned her head toward her guest. As she expected, Shepard entered, this time in his standard uniform, though it still bore Cerberus' logo.

"You okay? Things got tense up there," Shepard said.

"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll do my part," Jack replied. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the cheerleader now. "You know, I needed to wipe that place off the map. You took me there to do it and I owe you."

"I think we're even. You're helping me on my mission. With Cerberus of all things. I was already asking for a lot," Shepard said.

She managed a small smile before lying back on her bed. She could feel the comforting presence of her pistol underneath her pillow. "You know what it's like, right? To have garbage like that following you. It marks you in ways you… you don't expect."

"Or want," Shepard added. "I've made a lot of hard choices. Like what to let go."

"Hard to walk away from it," she said quietly. "You'd think it would get easier now that the place is a crater, but what else do I know."

"I never thought I'd see you show mercy, but you let Aresh live," Shepard said softly.

"He was trapped in the past, reliving it every day. You showed how that could've been me. I'm not getting stuck like that. I'm better than him and I'm sure as hell not carrying that crater around with me," she declared.

"Do you think you're different now?"

She sighed and sat up again. "I know that place is gone. Bu I still kind of want to kill every person I see." She turned her head to look up at him. "No offense."

"Like Miranda?"

"That's between her and me."

"You know she had nothing to do with you. She wasn't even in Cerberus at the time the Teltin started. And ended," Shepard stated. "I'm actually surprised to hear that you wanted to know what her thoughts were. I didn't even think you'd care."

"I don't," Jack said shortly.

"Then why does it matter to you what she says?" Shepard asked. "You already know who's responsible. Why should she vindicate that?"

"Because… well… fuck, I don't know," Jack said. "I guess…"

"You wanted someone to give a damn what happened? To you? To the other kids even?"

Jack was about to laugh, she really was, but for some reason, the sound got stuck in her throat. Instead, she snorted and turned her head away.

"I cared. And that's why I went with you," Shepard said. "With you, I'll take what I can get."

Jack found herself smiling a bit more. "You did a lot, Shepard." She shook her head. "Shit… I'm not good at this soft stuff… Just…"

"You're welcome," Shepard said knowingly. "Now let's get back to work, alright?"

Jack grinned and offered a half-assed salute. "Yes, sir, Commander-Captain sir!"

Shepard chuckled as he left.

When Jack was sure he was gone, she lied back down on her cot and whispered out loud, "Thanks, Shepard."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

I seem to be getting lucky or something. First, a guy makes up the greatest Mordin song ever just as I'm typing that part up, and now Bulletstorm gets some great cuss words for Jack. I know it's a bit vulgar, but since she's the type…

Jack and Chakwas… I really don't know where I came up with that. Chakwas kinda strikes me as the mothering type, but… *shrugs*

The description of the Cerberus project came from Jack's page on the Mass Effect wikia. I take no credit over the original author.

Jack and Miranda fight… that was hard actually. I'm not entirely done with it either. That was from Jack's POV and I have to show others.

Results from my poll:

Perfect: 74

Short: 5

Long: 4

Please review!

l

V


	44. Interlude XVI

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

As the door hissed open, Nef's laugh reverberated through the empty halls of the apartment complex. She sounded as musical as ever, even though she was a bit tipsy. She staggered into the room, but remained on her feet. Her beautiful smile grew even wider as she looked around with semi-lidded eyes. "Wow… your place is just like apartments on Vaenia!"

Morinth's entrance was far more graceful, though her gait had a subtle, predatory feel. Given the amount of alcohol and hallex running in Nef's body though, there was no way for her to know or even formulate a suspicion.

Morinth smiled as well and placed a hand on the curve of Nef's back. "It took a little work, but I'm glad you like it."

Still smiling, the human practically melted at the touch and turned to embrace the asari. After another mind-numbing kiss, Nef swayed on her feet a bit. "By the way, I wanted to tell you that I got an offer on some of my pieces!" she exclaimed happily. "Can you believe it? I mean, I never thought someone like me could have so… so… much…"

Nef's sentence trailed off when Morinth ran a thumb gently over her lower lip before tracing a path down her throat and between the valley of her breasts.

"I always knew you were special. Different. A certain spark that no one on this station has," Morinth purred. "You have a gift and I'm so glad that you're willing to share it with me."

Her prey sighed at the words and leaned into her embrace. "Whatever happens, I want to be with you forever."

As Morinth placed a trail of kisses along Nef's slender throat, she smiled darkly. "You will be."

"Really?" Nef asked breathlessly.

Morinth pulled her newest lover even closer and looked into her eyes. Her smile slowly changed from seductive to feral.

Brown eyes were memorized by inky black depths. Nef didn't resist; on the contrary, she moved even closer.

She truly had no chance.

Morinth almost shivered in anticipation as she prepared to seal their union. Even after 400 years, the feeling was as heady as it was the first time.

She despised and reveled in it.

"_**Embrace eternity!"**_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

Miranda sighed in frustration and pushed away from her terminal. Despite her relatively high clearance, she couldn't find any details on the nature of the now defunct Teltin cell. Not surprising, since the Illusive Man preferred that all knowledge of the inner workings or goals of all the cells were kept strictly separate so that the discovery, treachery, or failure of one cell couldn't compromise others. As far as she could surmise from the aftermath of Jack's escape, the researchers simply ignored set protocols and used whatever methods they felt like to get results and forwarded that to the Illusive Man without explanation or details of their procedures.

She couldn't help but scoff at their idiocy. Once humanity became aware of life outside their own system, the Council accepted their species into their laws and conventions. Doing so had granted them access to their public databases.

Biotics was hardly a matter of interstellar secrecy. Just about all sapient species had biotics and thousands of research papers were already published on the subject. The University of Serrice, on the asari homeworld of Thessia, had dozens of papers on the study of biotics, with many in relation to different species. It was practically a public forum. It was just a matter of understanding the differences between alien species and how to adapt that knowledge to humans.

Whoever was in charge of the Teltin cell was either supremely arrogant or a complete imbecile to think that they could find out something new in the field of sapient biotics without studying the established conventions first. Even worse, believed that humanity had something special to offer in biotics that the other species lacked.

Miranda scrolled through the lists of the surviving children and grimaced. In the end, Teltin was revealed to be a biotic death camp for children. Even the disgraceful BAaT program seemed tame in comparison and it still managed to produce some results that were still in use today.

Teltin was shoddy work. She had never conducted a mission or a cell as poorly as this. She would never stand for it.

"Executive Lawson? Captain Shepard has just established a link with the Teltin facility's mainframe. Much of the data is corrupted, but I am able to retrieve a significant portion of their final research notes. Would you like me to forward the information to the Illusive Man?"

"Please," Miranda said. "And give me a copy as well."

"Understood. Uploading data to your personal terminal. Logging you out."

Miranda sighed again and rubbed her forehead. Cerberus operations were a topic she avoided with Shepard. Besides being considered classified, need-to-know, and completely covert, he knew her stance on the issue and she knew his. Neither one of them were willing to turn their backs on their beliefs either. At this point, they simply had an unspoken agreement not to antagonize one another over it.

Still, she knew that his opinions of Cerberus would no doubt sink even lower than it already had with his visit to Teltin. Truth be told, she found herself slightly ashamed to think that those so-called 'scientists' were even a part of Cerberus to begin with.

She opened up the data and began perusing it. At first, she didn't have much in the way of expectations, but after sifting through the research a bit more, there was something that piqued her interest; a faint nugget of useful info. Before she could study the research in earnest, Joker called her from the cockpit.

"_Executive Lawson, Shepard is calling for you. Report to the CIC."_

She turned off her terminal and quickly made her way to the elevator. "On my way."

Once up on Deck 2, she walked up to the command post and leaned on the railing overlooking the holographic display of the Normandy's current status. "Shepard? Miranda here."

"_How many can the Hammerhead seat?"_ Shepard asked. He sounded a bit tense.

Miranda was a bit confused at the odd question, but answered regardless. "We've modified the Hammerhead. It can hold up to five now, albeit uncomfortably. One pilot, one navigator, one gunner, and two others. Grunt would take that number down to four."

"_Who's certified to drive it?"_

"I am. Jacob hasn't taken the time to train himself," Miranda said, remembering that Jacob often complained about not finding the time to undergo the simulations. She suppressed the urge to laugh.

_More like 'play' with the newest in all-terrain fighting tanks._

"_Select four others besides yourself and stand by. I'll let you know if we need backup,"_ Shepard ordered.

"Understood." When Shepard signed off, she considered who to pick before calling them via shipwide intercom. "Jacob, Garrus, Samara, and Thane: Suit up and stand by at the hangar. Shepard may need reinforcements at a moment's notice."

Quickly, she went back to her cabin to put on her armor, to the Armory for her weapons, and down to the hangar. She sat down on a crate nearest to the Hammerhead and opened her omni-tool. Syncing up with her terminal at her office, she got back to studying the data from Teltin. Even through their mistakes, she was lucky enough to glean some incredible information. If what she was seeing was accurate, then she may have found the answer she was looking for.

_I hope this pans out._

Looking up, she spotted Mordin nearby. He was chatting animatedly to Thane. The drell looked composed as ever, but seemed to take an interest in what the professor was saying.

Miranda stood up and approached both men. She could hear snippets of what Mordin was talking about now.

"…repair limited to only recent damage to respiratory tissue. Continued therapy may even extend life expectancy however."

"Once again, I find myself in awe of your intellect, Professor. Whatever help you can offer to my people will be greatly appreciated," Thane said with a short bow. "I would be grateful for whatever assistance you would be able to give me as well."

"Gentlemen," Miranda greeted.

"Executive Lawson," Thane cordially returned.

"Evening," Mordin said.

"Are we leaving?" Thane asked.

"Not yet," Miranda answered. "We're still on stand-by until Shepard calls us for us or calls us off."

"Understood."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I speak to you in private, Mordin?" Miranda requested.

He nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes. Of course."

Nodding politely to Thane, she led Mordin away from earshot of the others. Settling near the Hammerhead again, she showed him the data on her omni-tool. "Take a look at this."

Mordin was silent for a few moments as he casually perused the info, no doubt humoring her if his small, polite smile was any clue to go by. However, his face took on a more serious and intent look as time went on. His interest increased incrementally as his eyes started to rapidly move side-to-side and was quietly mouthing the words.

Miranda waited, but her usual patience was wavering as she waited for his opinion. She could practically see the salarian's mind working in overdrive.

"Hmm… yes… interesting… utilized with salarian research…" Mordin muttered. He finally looked up at her. "Yes, this might be the key!"

Miranda sighed in relief. "I thought there was something to this. I'll send you a copy. I need you and Dr. Chakwas to study **everything** and see if something can be done."

"Yes, of course. Will start immediately," Mordin agreed. "Excellent find!"

After Mordin left, she settled back down her crate and started studying the data again after forwarding the relevant research to Mordin and Chakwas. If the theory was right, then the next problem was to put it to practice.

Jacob wandered over and sat down next to her. "You look more serious than usual. Something up?"

"Unfinished business. You know I don't like loose ends," Miranda replied distractedly.

Jacob furrowed his brow. "What unfinished business?"

"Nothing you can help with, Jacob," Miranda said. She stopped reading to look up at him. "Just a few things I need to correct; details on the Lazarus Project that need to be addressed."

"Lazarus…? Wait, Shepard mentioned something might be wrong. Is he okay?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, I think everything will be fine now," Miranda said with more confidence than she felt. "I don't want to talk about it. Ask him if you want any details."

Jacob got the hint, he always did. It was a quality he had that she was always grateful for. Letting the matter drop, he made idle talk with her instead while she worked. She answered with one or two words though. He did enough that it kept her focused in the moment and not get too absorbed into her work, but not so much that it detracted her from her studies. It was a unique talent he had developed during the course of their friendship.

Jacob was a known contradiction within Cerberus, which meant that he had few friends within, but it was that characteristic that enabled her to often predict, even preempt, his thoughts. He was blunt and straightforward, like any career marine. He made his opinions heard, since he hated to hide. He also adhered to his own code, which can sometimes run contrary to a few of Cerberus' more clandestine operations, and often irritated the Illusive Man. It also usually meant that any mission given to him was far and few between.

Miranda often suspected that, besides her own personal recommendation, the Illusive Man allowed Jacob entry into their group to give Cerberus the appearance of a less xenophobic group while still having a capable marine on hand.

Still, Jacob was someone that could be trusted despite whatever flaws or boons he had, and he could keep a secret if it was important enough.

After a few more hours, Shepard finally called them and gave the all-clear, citing that the situation was under control and that the facility was clear of hostiles. Everyone stretched and shuffled toward wherever they felt like being at on the frigate.

Jacob kindly took everyone's weapons back to the Armory.

Miranda briskly walked back to her office. After doffing her armor and slipping back into her uniform, she made her way to the Medical Bay.

Inside, Mordin and Chakwas were talking in urgent tones; though debate might be the accurate adjective, since they appeared quite heated on whatever subject they were talking about. They were gesturing and pointing at the terminal between them and were presenting their sides of their argument. Thankfully, they maintained their professionalism and decorum.

"Problem?" Miranda asked as the door closed behind her.

"Just a mild disagreement," Chakwas said, though she sounded slightly irritable. "To start with, we're having trouble trying to tie together the research the salarians uncovered with the… **experiments**," she informed, though she fairly spat out that last word, "from Teltin. After that, we need a way to introduce the cure with something that's no doubt, completely experimental and utterly dangerous. All in the hope that there won't be any further complications once we're finished."

Mordin sniffed. "Much about situation is mired in theory. Still must try. Life endangered already. Think logically. Critically. Thoroughly. But remain decisive, regardless."

"I won't be risking his life on based on guesswork that was derived from any of those **monsters**," Chakwas shot back. "For all we know, that facility was either run by a stark-raving lunatic or an idiot," she scathingly said before turning to Miranda. "No offense."

"None taken," Miranda amicably said. She had already admitted to herself that the scientists on Teltin were all fools anyway. "So this is an ethics dilemma?"

"Don't wish to harm him," Mordin said. He looked a bit offended that it was implied though. "But we must find some way of helping."

"But this can't be our only recourse," Chakwas argued.

"Normally, it wouldn't be," Miranda cut in. "But we're running out of time. You saw the results of the scan. If any of those nodules grows larger in his lungs, or his heart, or his spine… or any other critical nerve cluster, Shepard will die regardless."

Chakwas shook her head. "I don't suppose there's any chance you can 'resurrect' the Lazarus Project again if this goes pear-shaped?"

Miranda solemnly shook her head. "Believe me, I would if I could. He **is** worth it; there's no doubt in my mind." How much, she wasn't going to say to them. Instead, she said, "I'm just not sure how the Illusive Man would take the news or what he would do about it. Plus, there's a chance Shepard would refuse anyway. He's committed to the mission. We all are."

Chakwas sighed in defeat. "Just for the record, I'm still not comfortable with this."

"Difficult situation," Mordin agreed.

"I'm not lying to him," she said. "I would never do him such a disservice. Not after all he's done."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Miranda readily said. "I'll tell him everything and answer all of his questions when he gets back. For now, let's just focus on how this will all work out and hopefully avoid any nasty surprises."

"Murphy's Law," Chakwas warned.

Mordin looked confused at her statement, a decidedly out of character expression on the normally knowledgeable salarian scientist.

Miranda smiled tiredly. "Trust me; that was almost a mantra during the Lazarus Project."

**~o~O~o~**

After talking a bit more, they finally divvied up their tasks and agreed on a schedule before going their separate ways.

Despite Chakwas' naysaying, Miranda was slightly optimistic. Perhaps she was indulging in a bit of vanity, but she did manage to restore Shepard to his former self, more or less. The act of bringing back the dead was a medical achievement for the ages. All she needed to do was approach this like any other challenge she faced and hopefully things will work out.

She walked out of the Med Bay with a slight smile on her face. Quickly entering her office, she gathered up the stray datapads on her table and stacked them neatly off to the side.

Before she could sit down and work in earnest, her door was forcibly opened by an irate Jack.

Miranda found herself a bit surprised at the sudden intrusion. And more than a little wary. She had assumed that Jack would be in a better mood after destroying a Cerberus base, even if it was abandoned. Placing the datapads down to free her hands, she regarded the volatile biotic cautiously. "Jack. Something I can do for you?" she asked in a conversational tone.

Even if the situation was anything but.

"You look awfully cheery. Wanna share?" Jack mockingly asked.

"Not particularly and especially not with you," Miranda said as she stepped away from her table to get a bit a room to maneuver. As much as she hoped that this wouldn't degenerate into a fight, it always paid to be prepared for the worst. "Is there anything else you'd like to bother me about?"

"Plenty," Jack retorted. "Like how much blood money does Cerberus have to toss at projects that tortures and murders kids?"

"That was hardly a Cerberus facility," Miranda shot back. She kept her calm, and began even suppressing her emotions in the face of Jack's growing rage. "I saw the logs EDI downloaded and the reports of the actions Cerberus took after the riot. The facility went rogue well before and a team was sent to clean up that mess."

"You mean kill everyone," Jack accused.

"Not that you care," Miranda spat out. "But there were survivors during your 'escape'. The children were sent to Alliance facilities, while the scientists were… retired."

"Bullshit!" Jack shouted back.

Miranda had no idea if Jack meant that she didn't believe her, that she actually did care about the others, or if there were no more scientists left for her to exact vengeance on. In the end, the Cerberus Operative just shrugged indifferently. "I don't have to justify anything to you. There's nothing I can say that you're willing to believe since you're far too comfortable with your own preconceptions."

Jack sneered. "That's a laugh coming from you. You're too busy regurgitating Cerberus' bullshit that you have no fuckin' idea what your boss is into."

If possible, Miranda's glare became even colder. "Well, since it's obvious that you and I won't agree on this issue, I think you should leave."

Unsurprisingly, Jack held her ground. "After everything Cerberus has done to me, I've been looking forward for a little payback."

"Is that why you're here?" Miranda asked. Her hands slightly twitched as she mentally judged the best way to disable, but not kill her opponent. "I told you: that was no longer a Cerberus operation."

"That. Facility. Was. Cerberus," Jack said. "Their logos. Their soldiers. Their scientists."

"It was a facility that went off the rails. Rules and safeguards exist for a reason. And what happened because they were ignored? You. That's all their work went into. And they died for it. It was nothing that Cerberus would ever condone."

_Nothing I would ever condone._

Jack almost looked like she wanted to laugh now. "You know what? I was wrong. You really are that stupid. They still answered to your boss, the Illusive Man. Everything they did was for him." She smirked. "You know what Shepard said? He said he took out whole bases just like Teltin. You telling me that your entire organization has gone off the rails?"

Miranda's patience had long since worn thin. "Look," she said. She reached out and picked up a datapad. "The event reports of what happened before your rampage. The Illusive Man was shutting the facility down because they've gone dark for too long. Falsified reports, unusual resource expenditures, subject disappearances. Enjoy." She pushed it into Jack's chest. Almost stupid, she knew, but at this point, her patience was at its end.

As predicted, Jack slapped the datapad away and stepped back. Miranda had taken a step away in response.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" Jack shouted. She levitated a chair and tossed it directly at her.

Miranda used her own biotics to slow it down and pushed it away, letting it harmlessly strike the bulkhead.

"Enough!"

Both women jerked their heads toward the voice.

Shepard stood angrily in the doorway. He was mostly still in full armor, sans a pauldron and his gauntlets. He boldly marched inside and closed the door to prevent any gawking from the crewmen. "Stand down, both of you!"

Jack glared at him before pointing at Miranda. "The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!"

Miranda almost rolled her eyes at Jack's declaration, inane and childish as it was. It was something of a surprise that she would even care what Miranda's thoughts were on the matter. "It wasn't Cerberus. Not really. But clearly you were a mistake," she said.

"Screw you!" Jack shouted. She jabbed a finger at her and let her biotics flare. "You've got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"

Suddenly, both women were pushed back and away from each other.

Miranda turned to see Shepard's biotics glow faintly as well. His left arm was up and pointed in their direction. "This is not going to happen. Not while I'm in charge."

She immediately stood down, but kept her guard up. Both she and Shepard knew how dangerous it was to use his biotics now. If he was willing to use it just to stop their altercation, then he was willing to do what it took to keep the peace on his ship.

And she wasn't willing to endanger his failing health just to stoop to Jack's level and 'throw down' with a mentally unstable criminal.

"Fuck you. I just want her dead," Jack snarled.

"You want everybody in Cerberus dead," Shepard countered. "Except we need each other right now."

"She can't be trusted, Shepard. She'll jeopardize the whole mission," Miranda argued.

"We're already facing long odds," Shepard calmly said. "We need all the help we can get."

She knew the odds all too well. What she didn't know was if Jack made their chances better or worse, but kept her opinions to herself. She'd raise the issue later without Jack's unstable presence.

Looking at both them, Shepard said, "You were both there at Horizon. The cruiser. You both know what the Collectors are doing and you know what we're up against. You really think we afford to have in-fighting now? I'm not asking you to be friends, but I am ordering the both of you work together."

"Work with her?" Jack scoffed.

_Trust me, the feeling's mutual._

"She saved your life. Twice if I recall," Shepard said. "We have a mission. Our lives may depend on each other at some point, because death might actually be preferable to what the Collectors, or the Reapers, have in store for us."

"Very well. I can put aside my differences… until the mission is over," Miranda said coolly. Unafraid, she stepped close enough to Jack that they were almost nose-to-nose.

"Oh, she'll survive. I'll make sure of it. I'd hate to see her die before I get a chance to filet her myself," Jack said with a painfully fake smile. She turned and stomped away.

Shepard put an arm out in front of her. "You two going to be okay?"

Jack just pushed past him and left without another word.

He turned back to face Miranda with a half-questioning, half-demanding look.

Miranda sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Obviously, he knew how to keep his professional and private life separate. Instead of a lover, she was speaking to the commanding officer of the ship and leader of their mission. "It's nothing. She obviously wanted to vent her frustrations and I was a handy target. It's better that way, I suppose. At least she didn't attack any of the other crewmen."

"So she just barged in?"

"I did nothing to provoke her if that's what you meant."

"It was, but I'm not accusing you, or her, of anything," he said placatingly. "I just want to know what happened so it **won't** happen again."

"It won't," Miranda assured as she scooped up the datapad Jack had knocked away. "Thank you for coming by the way. It was a good thing you came by when you did."

"For you or for Jack?" Shepard asked. He sounded only half-serious.

Miranda smiled. "A month ago, I would've said 'for her', but now… how about I say for both of us?"

"A nice unassuming answer. I like it," he replied. He picked up the fallen chair and put it back in its place.

"I assume EDI told you about Jack's intentions?"

Shepard had a ghost of smile as he started taking off his chest plate. "Not quite."

"Joker then," Miranda deduced. He was the only one that would inform him outside of EDI. Maybe Donnelly too, but his involvement was highly unlikely.

"He asked that I take pictures," Shepard replied with a wry smile and confirming her suspicions.

She sighed in irritation. "I'd expect nothing less from him. He either thought we'd blow a hole in the ship; or depending on how perverse his mind is, she and I would be making out, I'm sure."

Shepard finally slipped out of his body armor. He was clad in an undershirt and his greaves now. "I'm sure," he echoed. He looked like he was trying very hard not to grin. "Now how about you? Will I need to quarantine the both of you on separate decks?"

"I'll stay out of her way if she stays out of mine. So long as she does her job, we'll be fine."

"I'll talk to her," he promised.

"Are you sure about this? Jack, I mean," Miranda asked seriously.

Shepard shrugged. "As sure as I can be," he replied. At least he didn't sound glib. "Although I'm still a bit worried about the two of you."

"I know what you're going to say. I will fully admit that while I don't like her, your argument is valid. Our mission needs to succeed and her power would benefit us. But that's only if she's willing to do so."

"She is. I trust her."

"You do?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. She knows that I've fought against Cerberus in the past. I guess it makes her a bit more comfortable being here."

"So you're taking her side?" Miranda asked incredulously. It was a childish question, but the feeling of betrayal was there all the same.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Am I taking her side or am I taking **sides**?"

She knew he meant her association with Cerberus and his loyalty to either the Alliance or the Council. Thus far, they avoided talking about the topic and she wasn't willing to talk about yet. Especially when their tempers were threatening to flare up. "I suspect I meant the latter, but… not right now," she said diplomatically. "But we'll need to talk about it."

Shepard sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"And I didn't mean to question your judgment. If you think you can keep a handle on Jack, then less work, and worries, for me. Just be careful."

"What I'm curious about is why you care so much about her."

"I don't care, either about her opinions or her vendettas. I just don't want her to barge into my office or destroy a vital part of the ship."

Shepard shook his head. "You keep talking about Jack, but I'm not hearing any complaints Grunt's presence, which is actually interesting."

"Grunt seems calmer—" Miranda started to say before Shepard interjected.

"—but he's still young by krogan standards and… well… he's still a krogan."

"You've worked with Wrex," she pointed out.

"And you've worked with criminal contacts before," Shepard said. "Jacob told me about some salarian you introduced him to. Ish, I think his name was. Almost got Jacob killed if I recall."

She rolled her eyes. "He's exaggerating. The situation was well in hand. Besides, we only suspected Ish to be involved."

"I doubt Jacob looks at it the same way."

This time, Miranda smiled. "He should learn to relax then. All's well that ends well and all that."

She tactfully overlooked the hypocrisy of her statement when Shepard grinned at her.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega /**_ _**Auxera District, Medical Clinic**_

"I'm sorry," Daniel said awkwardly but sincerely.

The woman in front of him continued to cry hysterically.

Daniel swallowed thickly and looked around for support. The various orderlies and mercs could only offer shrugs and sympathetic looks, but no real help.

_Thanks a lot. I bet the mechs could do this better than me._

It was odd to be sure. Living on Omega, he was used to the sight of death, remorse, and despair, but damned if he knew how to console the surviving kin. Sighing quietly, Daniel reflected on Mordin's bedside manner. His mentor was brilliant, efficient, and decisive; but having a proper bedside manner was not one of his better talents. He would've patted the woman on the back or shoulder, say something about releasing the body to her for a burial, or disposal if he was really callous, and move on to his next patient.

Standing still, uncomfortably shuffling his feet and fidgeting with the sleeves of his medical coat, Daniel had to admit that his bedside manner was little better.

_Damn salarians and their quick emotional processing. I could really use it now._

"**Why? ! Why my Nef? !"** the grieving mother cried out in anguish. "She was so special… so talented… It isn't fair!"

Again, Daniel found his throat constricting, almost to the point where he felt light-headed. He heard talk about a girl that had some real natural artistic talent. It really wasn't his thing, but creative gifts on a place like Omega was rare, something he identified with. "Your daughter suffered a massive intracerebral hemorrhage brought on by a hemorrhagic stroke," he informed, before wincing. Now he sounded like Mordin, just firing off symptoms, diseases, infections, and diagnoses clinically. Almost coldly. But for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything else to say. "Due to its anatomic location and the severity of the bleed, I'm sorry to say that there was little I could…"

"My Nef! Was she…? I mean, could someone…?"

"I… um… while it's possible for hemorrhages to be caused by physical trauma, I didn't see any signs indicating anything as such. I'm sorry—"

He was cut off when the older women shook her head and sobbed even harder. She lashed out at him, beating her fists against his chest, but it lacked any real power or malice. Daniel stood there and took it in. He knew she was just trying to vent. Eventually, she gripped his coat and cried into his chest, still whispering her daughter's name over and over again.

He took a bit of heart when one of the female orderlies gave him an encouraging nod.

As he held the distraught mother in his arms and clumsily patted her on the back in an attempt to console her, Daniel swore that he would never make another disparaging comment about his mentor ever again.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

"—in conclusion, addition of PergNim chemical with EZGI should halt growth of element zero nodules," Mordin finished with aplomb. He paused to take a breath. "In theory."

"Everything's a theory with me. I'm walking, talking, **living**, theory," Shepard groused.

He was sitting on one of the beds in the Med Bay, listening to Mordin's rapid-fire lecture on what might be a plausible cure for his condition. Miranda and Chakwas were in attendance. His XO was in agreement, but the doctor held a few reservations, and it wasn't about the nature or the dubious history of PergNim so much as it was the possible side-effects the children suffered that might happen to him as well.

_Unless you don't count death as a side-effect._

"We don't have many options, Shepard," Miranda said. "Given the already inherent risks regarding our mission, I truly believe this is your best chance."

"My only chance," Shepard added.

"We've already gotten the Collector's attention. I doubt we'll have the time or the resources ready to restart the Lazarus Project before they come and kill you anyway," Miranda said.

Shepard couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"Essentially, we're combining the drugs of two failed projects in the distant hope for a successful one," Chakwas commented. "Ignoring the fact that one drug was designed for salarians and the other killed dozens of children."

"While PergNim was designed to increase biotic strength, it perplexed the Teltin researchers when it started reducing biotic abilities instead," Miranda argued. "That's what we've been looking for."

"Oh yes, it reduced biotic abilities just before causing serious neurological and physiological complications," Chakwas bit out.

"What complications?" Shepard couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, the usual," Chakwas replied in a fake negligent tone. "Seizures so strong, it snapped a few spines, hemorrhaging, unpredictable perforations in major organ systems, clotting, that sort of thing. I believe there were some cases of allergic reactions too, causing respiratory failure and swelling of the esophagus," she listed of sardonically before turning to her colleagues. "That compound is practically a poison and you're actually suggesting that we shove it in his veins."

"No. No, no, no, no," Mordin protested, accenting his point by empathetically shaking his head in time with his words. "Was planning to introduce drug via implants."

Chakwas shook her head in exasperation.

"More implants?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, yes. Only a few though. Once implants are depleted and condition has been stabilized, will remove. Easy."

Chakwas sighed. "Well, Shepard, you're the patient. If you want to go this route, I'll help as best I can. I don't want to lose you for a second time, especially since you're essentially under my care and not going down with the ship."

Shepard sighed and turned to Miranda questioningly.

Reading his thoughts, she nodded back.

"Let's do it," he said in resignation. "We're on a suicide mission anyway. Why not play Russian Roulette with my health too?"

"Excellent!" Mordin cheerfully said. "Must get blood samples…"

As he started poking Shepard with a barrage of needles, Chakwas reached out and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before turning back to her terminal to continue studying and mitigating all the factors she could possibly predict.

After Mordin was finished, he excused himself and walked back to his lab, carrying several vials of Shepard's blood in his hands.

The Spectre looked down at his arm and saw that the medi-gel Mordin applied was unnecessary. He had already healed all of the track marks from his 'examination' within minutes.

Standing up and shaking his arm to relieve the pain, he turned to Miranda gestured with his head that they should go back to her office.

She nodded in acceptance and they left Chakwas to her work.

Once inside, Shepard walked past Miranda's desk and plopped down on the couch.

Miranda sat down much more gracefully. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. For now anyway," he answered honestly.

"About what happened earlier…"

"With Jack? Don't worry, I already talked to her."

"With your biotics. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble for you like that," Miranda said.

"Like I said, I'm fine. No pain that time, but I was using my left arm, so…"

"Yes, well, I'll avoid further conflicts with her, if only to avoid causing trouble for you," she promised.

"I really appreciate that." He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment before sitting up again. "By the way, what did you mean by that? When you called her 'a mistake'?"

"I meant no offense. Not really anyway, if that's what you mean," she said before amending herself.

Shepard's expression remained curious, but not accusing.

"It wasn't personal," Miranda answered. "She **was** a mistake. Just about everything about that facility was designed to make her a more powerful biotic when she already was. They should've focused on replicating her abilities for the other children, not sacrificing them to increase a strength that was already there."

He shook his head and snorted. "Nothing about that place was right. They had a morgue. Who knows what they were doing to the bodies, just so they can scrap together some kind of information."

"Well, I should inform you that the facility was intended to be shut down long before Jack escaped," Miranda said.

"How do you know that?"

"That was the official report."

Joker's voice echoed in Shepard's head when she said that._ "Yeah, that the 'official' story. Only an idiot believes the official story."_

"You trust it?" Shepard asked.

She looked faintly uncomfortable. "Teltin was another cell. The Illusive Man keeps cells separate—"

"—for operational and security purposes. Yeah, I'm familiar with 'need to know'," Shepard finished. "Which either roughly translates between 'None of your damn business' or 'No questions. Shut up and do as you're told'."

Miranda's news didn't come as a surprise though. With an organization like shadowy organization like Cerberus though, it went above clandestineness. Withholding, revealing, or eliminating information was probably the Illusive Man's greatest priorities in any given op. Even from his own people.

"Any cell that fails as much as Teltin has is probably one that the Illusive Man doesn't want to know about," Shepard said. "Which means the report you have is probably unreliable."

"I looked deeper into it to ensure it wasn't censored," she replied, sounding slightly defensive. "It seems several biotic children were picked up by the Alliance and sent to Ascension. The timing coincided with Jack's escape and Teltin's closure, more or less. The survivors were described as disoriented, suffering from amnesia, and—" She grimaced before continuing, "—malnourished. Not to mention signs of abuse… They don't know where the children had come from or how they ended up at an Alliance facility. In the end, slavers were ruled as the cause."

"Yeah…" Shepard said darkly.

"Look," Miranda said. She picked up a datapad and handed it to him. "This is the report I received."

_From: Cerberus Intel_

_To: Operative Lawson_

_Subject: Teltin Cell Report_

_Operative Lawson,_

_Contacting you per the Illusive Man's instructions. He had ordered Subject Zero's project shut down before the riot broke out. Cerberus personnel arrived to find all guards dead, along with most of the subjects. Any surviving children were treated for injuries, given mild amnesic treatments, and delivered to Alliance facilities as survivors of slaver attacks. A few surviving doctors were forcibly retired for their role in the project._

_Per your report, we're revising our records to show that the facility on Pragia has been destroyed._

"You see?" Miranda asked when Shepard finished reading.

"I don't buy this," he said. He passed the datapad back.

"What's wrong now?" she asked, obviously trying to keep her voice civil.

"We found working consoles, data servers, and personal logs of some of the scientists. There was even a man that was a survivor from Teltin and he remembered everything," Shepard listed off. "If there was a Cerberus clean-up crew, why did they do such crappy work? That base was actually salvageable; maybe even functional with a few months of work if you put the creds into it."

Miranda blinked in surprise. "There was a survivor down there?"

"One of the test subjects. He knew Jack. He's probably dead now; killed in the blast. He was drawn there just like her," Shepard answered. "Looks like you need to dig deeper."

Miranda leaned back on her seat, looking contemplative and uneasy.

Considering their relationship, he was reluctant to argue the point any further. Cerberus was a proactive group, outside standard Alliance conventions and didn't mire itself with ethical or political concerns. Just like the Salarian Special Tasks Group, they looked for results first. How far they were willing to go was usually the problem though. Mission like this, actively going after a threat like the Collectors, was one he agreed with. Experiments like the ones done to Jack were something he didn't care much for.

_It couldn't be easy, couldn't it?_

Shaking his random thoughts away, he looked up to see Miranda take on an uncertain look now. Before he could ask, she abruptly stood up and walked back to her desk. "I need to get back to work."

"Miranda?"

"First things first. You're my priority right now. But I'll be looking into this at later date, I assure you," she said shortly.

"Are you okay?"

She started typing on her terminal. "I don't know. Yet. If the Illusive Man wanted to keep this a secret from me, then he would've just done so. Instead, for some reason, I've been given some kind of fabricated lie." She stopped typing, but didn't look up at him. Her jaw was slightly clenched as she glared into the screen in front of her. "After what I told Jack… being wrong is something that doesn't sit well with me."

Considering the dark look on her face, Shepard made a personal not never to lie to her. Ever.

**~o~O~o~**

"Hey."

"Jack. Come in," Chakwas said.

Jack wandered in and leaned against the table. "So? Why'd you call me up here?"

"I've finished looking through the results of your scan," Chakwas said. She tapped a few more things into her console before turning around to face her.

"Bad?"

Chakwas shifted a bit in her chair to make herself more comfortable. Or at least ward away the sudden chill in the room. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

Jack huffed in frustration and annoyance. "Big fucking surprise. Fine, just tell me. And don't hold back, either. I just want this over with."

Chakwas nodded. "Very well. You show signs of progressive neural degeneration. How progressive it is, I won't know until further tests can be done. Normally, I would recommend that you be taken off this mission and placed into long-term care at a dedicated facility or hospital, but I doubt you'll accept it."

"Fuck no."

"Well, then. What's interesting is that, conditions like this should decrease your ability to use your biotics effectively. However, it appears that your ability to create mass effect fields is steadily increasing as your condition worsens. I don't quite know how they're related beyond that just yet."

"So I'm going to get more fucked up in the head as time goes on?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm researching ways to slow the progression down. I'm cautiously hopeful."

"Just get to the damn point. Does this mean I'm going to just go ape shit and kill everyone I see or what?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps. That's one scenario, the other is the opposite," Chakwas answered.

"I turn into a drooling, brain-dead, vegetable?" Jack guessed.

"Not the words I would've have used, but yes."

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"These things are usually related on the sub-cellular level, which means dedicated scans are necessary to locate and treat the underlying cause," Chakwas said.

"So what are my chances?"

"If this were a normal case, your chances would be favorable, but given the experiments done to you…"

"So my chances are crap," Jack spat out bitterly.

"I'm looking through the experiments that were done on Teltin. There might be an answer," Chakwas said optimistically. "You're a survivor. I'm sure things will work out."

"You believe that?" Jack asked. She meant it to sound mocking, but she couldn't help but sound a little hopeful.

"I won't lie to you; this is something of a long-shot, but that's the modus operandi of our mission anyway." Chakwas shrugged. "What do you do you have to lose?"

Jack cracked a smile. "Let me know if you have something?"

"I will."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

Morinth sighed. Sitting alone in a club was nothing short of pathetic. Unfortunately, nothing excited her this evening. Not the music, not the drinks or the drugs. What annoyed her most of all was the people around her. Dull, dim-witted, peons, all of them.

Knocking back her drink, she sighed again and looked around for **something** to catch her fancy. It was always like this after a union. She'd ride the high for a while, but after coming back down, the world seemed drab and gray. Given how delicious her last lover's mind was, it'd be a while before she could find someone to fill the void.

_Especially on this Goddess forsaken station. _

At the very least, she was safe from **her.** Unfortunately, she had also learned that the current 'queen' of Omega, Aria T'Loak, had eyes and ears everywhere. If she was anything like half the rumors said she was, then at most, Morinth could only claim one or two more lovers before relocating again, justicar or no. Aria never showed mercy to her enemies or her competitors. There was little doubt that she'd show no mercy for an Ardat-Yakshi as well.

It was a pity, really. If she was a little stronger, Aria a little weaker, she might've made a play for Omega's top spot. Having an army working for her would've taken care of her justicar problem neatly.

_Something to think about…_

The waitress brought another drink to her table. For the first time this evening, Morinth smiled a little as she entertained idle fantasies about a union with 'Queen T'Loak'.

**~o~O~o~**

**Author's Notes:**

Credit to reviewer **BiowareFan** for the inspiration on Morinth. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated. Thank you.

I know this is a bit on the short side, but there wasn't a lot of character development I could do without making it sound wordy.

As for the Jack thing, it was in her Subject Zero upgrade. I'm not really going anywhere with it since I have no idea what her role is (if any) in ME 3. I'm keeping her fate open-ended. Imagine what you will. That's the sign of a good story sometimes. Kudos BioWare.


	45. The Ardat  Yakshi

_**Location: Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

After two days of hard travel, the Normandy was only a few hours away from Omega.

Deciding to talk to Jack in an effort to ensure there won't be any trouble while he was ashore, Shepard found her in the gym. She was working over the punching bag, though her technique was rough and ungraceful. She carried herself more as a brawler than a fighter, but it suited her enough; even as small as she was.

Shepard walked around and gripped the bag for her as she kept on striking against it with hooks and jabs. She didn't stop or even acknowledge his presence.

"Shift your back foot a bit to put more weight into your punches," he advised. "You keep better balance too."

She paused only to glance at him before resuming. He noted that she defiantly ignored his advice. Shaking his head at her stubbornness, he waited until he spotted his opening and pushed the bag.

It struck her and she stumbled. She cursed loudly as she struggled to stay on her feet. Once stable, she turned and glared at him. "What the fuck?"

"I did tell you," Shepard said, trying to keep the smugness out of his voice.

She rolled her eyes and started unwrapping the tape around her hands. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to know if you'll be causing trouble while I'm gone."

"Who, me?" Jack asked, her voice a mix of innocence and sarcasm.

Shepard leaned against the bag and continued to stare her down.

"Don't worry. She's not worth my time," Jack said haughtily.

Shepard refrained from commenting and just nodded. He noticed the letters: D-E-A-T-H inscribed on her fingers, just below her knuckles, as she finished unwrapping the tape.

Jack reached down and took a sip from the water bottle at her feet, before turning back toward Shepard. "What're you staring at?"

"Your tattoos. Do they actually mean anything?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Asking about the obvious shit first, huh?" Jack said. "Most people do, except they usually ask sooner. You got a reason?"

"None at all," he bluntly admitted. "Just curious."

She scoffed and grabbed a towel. "I'm here to fight for you. Nothing says we have to be friends, but whatever."

Shepard noted that she hadn't said that they weren't friends either.

"You're not really interested," she continued. "Not unless it affects you. I've been through all this shit before."

"You know, you're a hard person to like, Jack," he dryly said.

"Really?" she drawled out, pretending like it was a surprise to her. "I had no idea. What other amazing insights do you have that I'm too stupid to see?"

Shepard pushed away from the punching bag and crossed his arms. "Does this mean you're not going to tell me about the tats?"

Jack scoffed, but relented. "Some are for prisons I've been in. Some are for kills—"

Shepard shot her a skeptical look. "There isn't nearly enough flesh to cover that one."

"—the good ones," she amended while shooting a dirty look at him. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Some are things I've lost. Those aren't your business. They're nobody's business."

Shepard nodded.

"And some are because, hey, why the fuck not?" she finished.

"I believe you," he said. "Something else I wanted to know though. I'll admit you're tough, but there's no way you survived alone all these years."

She gave him a sideways glance before leaning against the bulkhead. "When I was starting out, I ran with this girl Manara and her boyfriend. They knew their way around. I thought they'd help me. Right," she scoffed. "They helped me into their bed. And when we finally did take down something big, they helped themselves to my share of the take."

"I think I see where this is going," Shepard commented.

"I knew where it was heading and I got them first. Never bothered with friends or boyfriends or even girlfriends or any shit like that. Waste of fucking time."

"You really think they were going to kill you?" Shepard probed.

"I get feelings. I don't need proof. I did the smart thing," Jack shot back. "I always do the smart thing if people fuck with me. That's probably something you should remember."

"Noted," Shepard said dryly.

"You let someone get close, it just means they need a shorter knife. Lonely and alive works just fine."

"If it suits you."

"What does that mean?" Jack asked harshly.

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud," he answered with a shrug.

"That's how the galaxy works," she said. "Come on, you've been around."

"_Captain? We're almost at Omega. ETA: 1 hour,"_ Joker called.

"I have to go, but we should do this again," Shepard said. He meant it too. Turning around he made his way to the stairs when Jack called out to him.

"Wait."

He stopped turned his head slightly.

"My turn with the questions. People usually walk by now. Why are you asking all these things?" she asked suspiciously. "You eyeing me up? Because if this is just about sex, maybe you should just fucking say so."

"I'm trying figure out what makes you tick," he honestly said.

"You don't need to know someone to sleep with them. You just have to know where to put it," she said.

"That's not what I'm looking for." He turned around and faced her with an unreadable look. "You had a tough life. Most do, but yours is worse than most."

"Aren't you observant?" Jack sarcastically said.

"Do you think I'm going to screw you over?" Shepard bluntly asked.

"Everybody is out for themselves. The smart thing is to get them first before they get you," Jack said, almost automatically.

"You didn't answer my question."

Jack turned away and fell silent.

"If that's how you feel, why are you here?" Shepard asked. He leaned against railing of the stairs and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean 'why am I here'?" Jack repeated in annoyance. "I'm here because of our deal."

"You think everyone is out to either screw each other or over. You said you would do the smart thing and make the first move. So why are you **still** here? Why did you save me back aboard the Collector ship? Or why didn't you ditch us at Illium?" he asked, pressing the issue. "You could've taken a taxi and go anywhere you wanted. Or stolen some money from somebody and buy a ticket off-world." Standing straight, he stared at her with a penetrating gaze. "I've never lied to you. I told you from the beginning what our chances are."

Jack raised her head and met his eyes challengingly.

"So back to my original question: So why are you still here? Why not steal the shuttle and run? Look out for yourself like you always do?" he continued to ask rhetorically. Not expecting an answer, he shook his head and turned for the stairs again. "Look, believe it or not, I really am trying to be a friend." He looked over his shoulder and shrugged at her suspicious expression. "I'm actually a bit surprised myself, really. But since you went out of your way to save my life…" He trailed off with a shrug. "Look, after this mission, if we're both still alive, I owe you. Wherever you go, if you ever run into trouble, give me a call and I'll help you out to the best of my abilities." With his piece said, he started for the stairs again.

"How do you I know you're not trying to fuck me over?" Jack shouted at his retreating back.

"You don't," Shepard called back. "That's why you either trust me already, or you haven't."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

Samara looked at her environs with a dispassionate eye. She lived a long life, filled with conflict. She often saw the best, and worst, life had to offer. She had met unique individuals whose honor and integrity would leave their mark on her for centuries to come. Then she would see acts of depravity that would further harden her belief in the Code.

Looking around, Omega reminded her of the village Mirala had 'destroyed'. So many innocent lives gone because of her greed.

It was a bold move, relocating to Omega. Samara knew that she would have followed her code immediately upon setting foot on the seedy space station. "Liara suggested that we meet with—"

"—Aria T'Loak," Shepard finished as he led the way out of the docks and toward the main hub of Omega. "I agree. She should know something about Morinth."

"You've met this Aria?" Samara inquired.

"I picked up Mordin and Garrus here on Omega. Aria pointed me in their direction."

"Will she help us?"

Shepard shrugged. "She owes me a favor. Whether or not she'll hold to her word is another thing altogether."

Samara fell silent and kept vigil for anything amiss. Besides the obvious criminal elements, there were also the downtrodden and the oppressed. "Many people come here seeking a better life. Instead, they find… this. Vibrant people forced into destitution on a station filled with criminals. They deserve protection. If I survive your mission, I may return here." She paused as she considered the relative size of the station and the possible volume of inhabitants. "I will need many bullets."

Shepard glanced at her with an unreadable look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something before shaking his head and continued to push through the crowds.

Samara followed serenely in his wake. In the distance, she spotted a club, Afterlife. Seeing Shepard make his way over to it, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait."

He stopped and turned to her curiously. "What?"

"Morinth's preferred hunting grounds have always been clubs," Samara said.

"She won't be in that one. Aria runs her empire from there. If Morinth is smart, she'd hunt elsewhere."

"And if she's hiding right under Aria's nose? She appreciates the thrill in danger," Samara argued worriedly.

"Aria's very formidable and not likely to make a mistake like that," he assured. "We can see her without worry."

Deciding to trust his judgment, Samara nodded and followed closely.

"Come on! Let me in!" an annoyed human shouted.

Pushing past the long line into the Afterlife, Shepard moved past the elcor bouncer and stopped in front of a batarian. Several people complained loudly and pointed fingers.

The two upper eyes looked up, while the lower eyes perused the list in his hands. "Name?"

"Shepard."

"Shepard… Shepard… Shepard… Nope. Not on the list. Back off, human."

An elcor bouncer made to force them away.

Shepard growled in annoyance before drawing his pistol on the elcor and grabbing the batarian with his free hand. The elcor stopped moving at the sight of the weapon pointed at him and the batarian cried out in surprise when he suddenly got dragged closer.

Samara let her biotics flare briefly as a deterrent and a warning to the other guards posted around them. She prepared for what might be an inevitable conflict.

Shepard narrowed his eyes when he finally got the batarian's full attention. All four eyes were looking at him in disbelief, as if he was crazy enough to try and force his way in with armed guards posted all around the entrance.

"Try: Spectre. Agent. Shepard," he said slowly, as if the batarian was either hard of hearing or slow in the head.

All of the batarian's eyes widened. "Oh… right. You're the one Aria's expecting. Go on in. Sorry about that," he apologized. He craned his neck to look at the other guards over Shepard's shoulder. "VIP for Aria. My fault."

All of the guards lowered their weapons and grumbled at his idiocy.

Shepard glared one last time before letting the batarian go. Holstering his pistol, he walked inside without looking back.

Samara raised an eyebrow at the sudden resolution. The guards had turned away to face the crowds again and the batarian picked up the datapad he dropped and got back to work as if nothing happened.

_Interesting._

She hurriedly walked inside and shadowed Shepard, a plan formulating in her mind.

**~o~O~o~**

"Well, well, well…" Aria said in greeting. "And what do I owe the pleasure of having the formally deceased Spectre Agent Shepard back to my club?"

"You owe me a favor. I'm calling it in," Shepard said. He walked up the short stairs and stood on the dais Aria lounged in.

She gestured that he take a seat. "Oh? Something you need?"

"How's your information network? Working better now?" he asked as he sat down adjacent from her.

Aria narrowed her eyes. "We all have a moment of weakness."

"Not anymore?"

"The three merc groups sent a formal apology and… **assurances** that they won't try anything that stupid again."

Shepard leaned forward. "Of course, it helps that I killed all three merc leaders stationed here."

"And I killed their replacements," Aria said negligently. "Needless to say, they learned their lesson and now they lack the manpower to be a threat on Omega. For now anyway." A lazy smile donned her face, as if she knew something interesting. "Speaking of threats, how's Archangel by the way?"

"Haven't you heard? He's dead," Shepard answered.

"And so were you if the stories are to be believed," Aria replied. She smirked knowingly. "Funny how that works, isn't it?"

"I'm sure you'd know all about that."

"Perhaps," she allowed. She didn't elaborate further however.

"I need information," he said, getting the conversation on track. "You know what's what on Omega."

"Everything that's worth knowing. I don't usually give it out freely either. Information is power," she said. "Mundane things, you can find yourself. Take a walk in a back alley or buy one of the mercs a drink." She smirked again. "Better yet, talk to the entertainers. They give great tours."

"What I'm looking for isn't mundane," Shepard assured.

"Then you might not be wasting your time," she quipped before crossing her arms and looking down at him. "And more importantly, mine."

"An asari fugitive is hiding out here," he said. "An Ardat-Yakshi."

Aria frowned. "I knew it. Nothing leaves a body quite so… empty… as an Ardat-Yakshi does," she hissed.

Samara stepped forward. "You haven't taken steps to kill her?"

Aria glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "And why would I? She hasn't tried to seduce me."

"Empty… so she's killed someone?" Shepard asked in a low tone.

"A young girl. Pretty thing too."

"Where can I find her?"

"The victim or the murderer?"

"Both."

Aria shrugged. "With regards to your target: Don't know. Don't care. Yet anyway. The Ardat-Yakshi hasn't made any moves against me or my people, so I haven't dedicated any resources to finding her any more than I need."

"So you know nothing?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"I know a little about the victim. She was a sculptor. Not really my thing, but I understand that she had talent," Aria said.

"That's it?"

Aria crossed her legs elegantly. "There's a woman here that can provide you with the details. She's a former crime lord. Powerful too, once upon a time, but she has long since fallen from grace and started working as a social worker instead, if you'll believe it. She knew the victim very well. Her name's Helena."

"A social worker? Here?" Shepard asked.

"Do you want to talk to her or not?" Aria countered with a hint of impatience.

"Where can I find her?"

"Garka," Aria called.

A nearby batarian snapped to attention.

"He'll take you to her," Aria said to Shepard. "And thanks for taking care of this. One less problem for me to deal with."

"You too. Thanks for the help," Shepard said as he stood up.

"Good luck finding her. Better luck catching her," Aria said dismissively.

Garka led them away and to the lower portions of the club.

"Is there something wrong?" Samara asked when her companion lapsed into silence. He looked thoughtful about something.

"Helena… that name rings a bell…" he muttered.

"There she is," Garka said. He pointed at an older human woman in the distance. "You're on your own from here."

After he left, Samara and Shepard walked up to her. "Helena?" Samara inquired.

Helena turned around when her name was called and nodded. "Yes? Is there someth—" Her voice trailed off when her eyes turned toward Shepard. "Commander Shepard? Is that you? I'd heard you were dead!"

"Helena Blake," he said in realization. "I remember you now."

"So you do know her," Samara commented.

"He removed two criminal warlords from power. My former business partners and professional rivals, as it were," Helena explained. "He also… persuaded me to retire. I'll never forget it."

"And what brings you to Omega?" Shepard asked. His fingers were drumming on the butt of his pistol.

"What brings anyone to Omega? Opportunity? Success? Failure? All of the above?" Helena rhetorically asked. "I find this place suits me. I can bring it a certain… air of civility, I suppose."

"Suits you, huh? I certainly hope that means you're still retired," Shepard said evenly. "Not much on Omega is civil."

"I know better than to go back on my word with you, Commander," Helena calmly said. "After all, you eliminated my partners and the entirety of their forces. That goes to show how much standing against you might cost. I managed to leave with my life. While I no longer have the power I once had, I'm not in prison. Unlike most, I'm not about to squander that chance."

"I understand that you're a… social worker. On Omega," Shepard said. The disbelief in his voice was unmistakable.

"I am," Helena confirmed.

"That seems like a hopeless job in a place like this."

"Quite the opposite, actually. This place needs it more than most," Helena argued. "But the ability to do the good work requires that one understands how things truly work. Which makes me uniquely qualified."

"That's quite noble of you," Samara praised.

"More than I expected," Shepard said. He still seemed a little suspicious.

"Noble? No," Helena disagreed with a small smile. "It's just that someone came along a few years ago and made me see the error of my ways."

Once again, Samara found herself glad that she had made Shepard's acquaintance as she did.

"You convinced me that I could use my contacts and skills for things other than smuggling and exploitation. I thank you for that," Helena sincerely said. "This is all to your credit, Commander."

Shepard nodded. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're keeping out of trouble. I admit, meeting you was unexpected. Actually, we're looking for a killer. Aria T'Loak told me that you might know the victim."

Helena raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Commander, I'll help in any way I can."

"The victim was a young woman. A sculptor," Samara revealed.

Helena sucked in a breath and sighed. "Ah yes. Nef."

"So you did know her?" Samara asked intently.

"She had talent," Helena said. "I used a few of my contacts to see if they were interested in her work. They were. With the proper instruction, that poor young woman would've have gone far." Her head snapped up all of a sudden. "Wait. You said, 'killer'?"

Both Samara and Shepard nodded.

Helena cursed under her breath. "Damnation. I can't believe it. I had saved her too. She was different, certainly worth helping. She could've done so much better for herself and her mother. I had thought that she would be able to leave this station and go on to bigger and better things."

"Will you help us?" Shepard asked.

"You don't even have to ask, Commander. If she was murdered, I would do what it takes to bring the killer to justice," Helena staunchly said. "All my work… gone." She turned and led them away from Afterlife. "This way. I'll take you to her apartment. Her mother is still there. She might offer more insight."

"So you didn't even know it was a murder?" Shepard asked as they left the booming music and fires behind.

"No, not at all. The doctor's here said that it was a hemorrhage. It was a tragic waste of life, but nothing else. Certainly nothing suggesting foul play," Helena answered. "Diana, Nef's mother, was convinced that Nef was murdered, but there was no evidence suggesting so. Considering my… background, I'd know that much at least. I'd just assumed that Diana was trying to deal with her grief by finding an outlet; find someone or something to blame, that's all."

"Are the doctors here skilled?" Samara asked.

"Oh yes. They were trained by a brilliant salarian doctor that was here some time ago. The salarian left, but not before leaving his clinic behind to some surprisingly capable hands."

Helena completely missed the knowing looks Samara and Shepard shared.

The tenants were just past the marketplace. Helena stopped at a dirty, dingy door and tapped on the holographic interface. Soon after, a muffled, "Come in," was heard.

The rusty door opened and Helena peaked inside slowly. "Diana? It's Helena."

A human woman, younger than Helena, but older than Shepard, looked up from her seat on an old, lumpy couch. "Oh… Helena. What brings you here?"

"I brought some friends to see you," Helena said quietly, as if she didn't want to disturb mournful atmosphere within the tiny room.

"Who?"

"Some people that can help you. And Nef."

At the mention of her daughter's name, Diana stood up and greeted her guests. "Are you here about my daughter? My Nef died a week ago and no one but Helena, seems to care."

"We are," Shepard said respectfully.

"The doctors said it was a brain hemorrhage, but that's not true. It was murder." Her voice was steady in the beginning, but now it was starting the waver as she tried to hold back her tears. "Someone killed my Nef, my baby…"

"We believe she was murdered too," Shepard said. "And we're here looking for her killer."

Diana choked out a sob, but stifled it as quickly as she could. Standing up, she reached out and grasped one of Shepard's hands with her own. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! It's so hard when no one believes you. I'm all alone now."

"I'm so sorry, Diana," Helena apologized. "Had I known…"

Diana shook her head. "You were the only one that cared about Nef's future. You were the only one that could've given her one…" She hiccupped and faced Shepard, though she took a quick glance at Samara as well. "Are you… one of Aria's people?" She obviously thought that with Samara being an asari, they would be acquainted with Aria.

"We're here to help," Shepard said softly. "Does it matter who sent us?"

Diana shook her head. "No one else on this hell-hole station gives a damn that my Nef is dead. If you can do something about it, I'll help you however I can."

"Tell us a little about your daughter," Shepard requested.

"My Nef had a fire inside of her. She was shy, but she was creative and driven, and…" she stated proudly before trailing off and swallowing. "… the best daughter a mother could hope for."

"I understand that she was an artist, a sculptor," Samara said quietly.

"Yes. Thanks to Helena," Diana said with a small nod to the former criminal lord, "several galleries were interested in her, said her work was fresh."

"This is one of her pieces," Helena said. She pointed at a statuette on a table nearby.

"A man from some gallery offered me four years' salary for it," Diana said softly. "But I'd never part with it now."

"Did your daughter have a lot of friends?" Shepard asked gently.

She shook her head. "Not a lot, no. She was shy. Spent most of her time off making her sculptures, not hanging out with friends." Her face scrunched up as a thought came to her. "Something did change in the last few weeks, though. She started talking about an asari. Morinth."

Samara's face remained impassive. "I see."

"I didn't like her," Diana revealed. "She kept dragging Nef out to clubs and I'm pretty sure she gave my daughter drugs."

Shepard shot Samara a look. She nodded in confirmation. He turned back to Diana. "What kind of person was this Morinth?"

"I never met her," Diana said bitterly. "But Nef talked about her like she was a queen. You'd swear there was no one else alive when she talked about Morinth."

"That sounds familiar," Samara whispered to Shepard.

Diana heard her exchange though. "So this Morinth did hurt my daughter? Is she the one that… that…?"

"I will bring justice to the one that did this," Samara assured.

"We swear to you: Nef will rest easy soon," Shepard said.

"I hope so. I hope so. Oh, my baby," Diana whispered tearfully.

"Did Nef hang out anywhere in particular?" Shepard asked.

"She was always quiet, working here at home. Then, a few weeks ago, she started going out all the time, to the VIP area of that club down the street. I think you need a password or something to get in there…"

"I know that area of Afterlife. Drop the name: Jaruut, and you can get in," Helena supplied.

"Jaruut," Shepard repeated before giving her a grateful look.

"The change was so sudden," Diana said, lost in her despair. "She just seemed… tired and distracted when she wasn't around Morinth."

"May we examine Nef's room?" Shepard asked delicately.

She looked uncertain. "I didn't want to disturb anything. Her clothes, her art, her sculptures." Tears began building in her eyes and her lips quivered. "Everything is the way she left it. The way it will always be. My baby is gone. She's gone…"

"There, there," Helena soothed. She wrapped arms around Diana and led her back to the couch. Settling her in, she gave her a hug and whispered comforting words in her ear.

Diana shook her head and took a shuddering breath. "Thank you, Helena. I'm sorry. I just miss her so much…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Helena whispered. She produced a handkerchief. "Here."

"Thank you."

"We've all suffered loss," Shepard said quietly.

"I know what it means to lose a daughter," Samara said. Though her voice was steady, her heart was anything but. "I will avenge yours."

"I know these people. They can help," Helena assured.

Diana nodded and dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you. Please, if it helps you to find her killer, look through her things."

"We will be respectful," Samara promised.

Diana stood up and unlocked the nearby door. "Please. Do what you can."

"Let's let them work. Come, I'll put on some tea," Helena suggested. "Hopefully, we can ease some of the sting." She gave Shepard a smile and led Diana away.

"Samara, does Morinth control her victims with drugs?" Shepard asked as he looked around Nef's room.

She shook her head, though Shepard didn't see it since he was poking around the shelves. "She controls them through sheer will. The drugs are just a lifestyle. She loves the club, the bass. She's a hedonist."

Shepard said nothing as he started typing away at a diary.

"Something?" Samara asked.

"There's a bit security on it. Give me a moment," he replied distractedly.

Letting him work, she spotted a datapad just poking out from underneath the bed. Reaching down, she picked it up and scanned the contents.

_-Nef,_

_I'm sending you this hologram by the elcor artist Forta. His work is sublime – but don't stare at it too long, or you may go mad. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, love. Can't wait to hear what you think of Forta._

Despite the fact that it wasn't signed, it was painfully obvious who it from. Filing the information away for later, she turned back to see that Shepard had finally accessed Nef's diary and was playing one of her logs.

"_Hey, diary. Cycle 34, orbit 671. There's a lot to talk about! I managed to get into the VIP room at Afterlife. I was sure everyone was staring at me. Then, the most beautiful asari starts dancing near me. She moves like water; form and volume but shifting, changing. I'm in a trance. Then I'm dancing with her. Later, we went for skewers and I'm supposed to see her again tomorrow."_

_Aria was right, she was pretty. _

The image displayed a young woman, around her 20's. She looked euphoric, as if stuck within a waking dream. It was a look Samara had seen far too often.

Shepard tapped the console again.

"_Cycle 36, orbit 671. Am I a freak? Morinth is a girl like me, and she's definitely not human. Just… when we dance, and the Hallex is flowing through me… The way she looks at me – with a hunger, a longing… No one's ever looked at me like that. We kissed tonight."_

She was happy and it saddened and sickened Samara to see her as such. It wasn't enough to dominate her victims, but Mirala had to make them suffer too. It was the worst kind: Letting themselves give in to her desires, her whims, and her wants.

Nef looked exhausted, but still smiling; not knowing any better. It was almost to the point where she began losing all sense of self.

Samara knew the bitter truth though; before that happened, Mirala would join and seal Nef's fate.

Almost as if he was reading her mind, Shepard played the next log.

"_Cycle 42, orbit 67. She's going to take me to her apartment tonight. Whatever happens, I want to be with her forever. She can sell my pieces. We can live somewhere glamorous, like the women in Vaenia, that vid Morinth likes. How did this happen to me? I'm just dumb trash from Omega…"_

Her face was drawn now. The lack of sleep was taking its toll. Her dreams were plagued with Mirala's face. It was occupying her every waking thought. Her end was coming. That was the last and final log.

"Is this Morinth's modus operandi?"

Samara blinked back to awareness and turned to Shepard questioningly.

"Her mode of operating; her traits or habits when she commits a crime. Things that are consistent no matter the victim," he elaborated. "Is any of this familiar?"

She nodded. "This is Morinth's work. She is attracted to artists and creators. Someone with a spark, slightly isolated from their peers. She impresses with sophistication and sex appeal. Then she strikes. The hunt interests her as much as the conquest."

"Yeah, I got that," he said with a glance at the terminal. "Can you explain what was happening to Nef?"

"Morinth speaks to you on many levels. Her body tells yours that she'll bring unimaginable ecstasy. Her scent evokes emotions long hidden. Her eyes promise you things you were always scared to ask another. Her voice whispers to you after she is done speaking," Samara said, recounting every victim she ever found that her daughter had killed. She remembered every one of their faces, their names, and the loved ones that grieved.

Shepard had a dark, contemplative look. "What's the next step? How do we catch her?"

After 400 years, Samara finally felt her goal was in reach. A deft hand was required now. For four centuries, Mirala used every bit of her cunning and wit to evade and elude capture. Samara was confident of success now, but the price for failure lingered on her mind.

Everything came down to this moment. Shepard, Omega, her oath to the Code and to the human at her side…

With the Third Oath of Summation, she could stop thinking like a justicar and more like a huntress. This time, **she** would outmaneuver her daughter. "Storming her den would be a mistake – she will have a hundred escape routes planned," Samara surmised.

"Probably for Aria too," Shepard added.

"She will go to ground and disappear for fifty years or more. This is the closest I've ever been," Samara warned, almost pleaded. For some reason though, she trusted Shepard with this, and the thought calmed her.

"So we have to lure her out," Shepard said.

She almost smiled. "Exactly! Shepard, you read my mind."

"You said she likes clubs, bass, and drugs. Chances are likely that she's still working the VIP section at Afterlife. It's far enough from Aria that she could still be there and still indulge in her vices."

"Her preferred hunting ground," Samara agreed.

"So how do we draw out a predator?"

"You must go there alone and unarmed," she said.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"You can draw Morinth out," Samara said confidently. "She'll certainly flee if she catches sight of me. But she won't be able to resist you."

"I don't exactly fit Nef's profile, Samara," Shepard reminded.

"Morinth's tastes run more than that. Remember, she is a hedonist. The thought of conquest, to bring down someone so strong will be a challenge of her own strength. Your power will draw her in just as much as she'll try to use hers to draw you in. It will be a matter of dominance, a contest that she'll strive to meet." Samara looked at Shepard from head-to-toe. The more she thought about it, the surer she became. "You are an artist in your own right. Your abilities on the battlefield, the talents you displayed when we have squared off – you have the vital spark that attracts her."

If he was flattered by her words, he didn't show it. His face remained grim and resolute, solidifying Samara's confidence that Mirala could not resist him.

"So I'm walking into her 'hunting ground' with no gun and no backup?" Shepard asked.

"I will be in the shadows watching. I'm sure EDI will track your omni-tool. You will never be alone – this I swear," Samara stated resolutely. "But you cannot barge in with guns and allies. Morinth is far too cagey – she'd simply disappear. This is a subtle, delicate act. Trust me."

Shepard sighed. "Fine. We should get back to the Normandy. Going into a club in full armor is hardly blending in."

Samara nodded and followed Shepard out. She took a deep breath and quelled the sudden maelstrom of feelings within her. Anticipation and caution, the constant reminders of the virtues of patience to the bouts of impatience, nervous energy against calm discipline, and worry over Shepard's safety contrasting with his cool confidence, all blended together into indescribable feelings. Despite her vast experience, this was her moment and she needed to prepare for it.

_And Goddess willing, I will succeed tonight._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Normandy SR-2**_

The moment they stepped through the airlock, EDI called out to Shepard.

"Captain, Executive Lawson would like a word with you in her office at your earliest convenience."

Shepard frowned. "Is it important?"

EDI was silent for a few moments. Samara and Shepard took the time to drop their weapons off at the armory.

"It is," EDI finally said.

"Alright, I'm on the way."

They descended to the Crew Deck and parted ways. Samara walked to her room without saying anything more.

Shepard turned portside and toward Miranda's office. He announced himself and entered.

Inside, Miranda was typing furiously at her terminal. She'd been like this for the last few days ever since their talk. She kept on typing even after Shepard stopped in front of her desk and waited with a hint of impatience in his mannerisms.

She finally stopped working and smiled to herself. "Eureka," she said.

"I hope this is important as you said it was," Shepard said, sounding a little waspish.

She dropped her smile and finally looked up with a frown. "Something wrong?"

He grimaced. "Sorry. I just talked to a victim's mother. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

She nodded in understanding. "Sorry for making you wait, but I wanted you to know that Drs. Chakwas and Solus, and I managed to do it. I think we might have the cure for you."

He sucked in a breath. "Really?"

"We've been working hard since we've discovered the vital clue to our efforts. Now it's a matter of applying it. Mordin's finishing the last of the implants now, with Tali's help. We need to go and get a few more supplies though."

"On Omega."

She shrugged. "I'd like a more developed world, but we'll take what we can get."

"Fine. Get whatever you need and take whoever you need with you. Except Garrus. He's confined to the ship," Shepard said. He was trying not to sound too impatient, but it crept back into his voice anyway.

Miranda nodded uncertainly. "Of course. It doesn't matter anyway. According to EDI, Garrus is putting the finishing touches to the repairs of the Thanix Cannon. He should be finished by tomorrow."

"Good. I'm hoping to be off Omega by then. Is that all?"

"Yes…"

"Good," Shepard said before turning around and leaving.

Miranda fell in step next to him. "Wait. What's going on? And why were you meeting a grieving mother?"

"It's… personal. To Samara," Shepard whispered. He entered the elevator and hit the button for his cabin.

Miranda entered as well. "Does this involve that Ardat-Yakshi?"

"I can't say," Shepard said.

"She killed someone, didn't she?" Miranda probed.

He shot her a look that clearly told her not to ask any more questions. She met his stare evenly with a defiant glare of her own.

Heaving a sigh, he gave her a tight nod and said nothing more.

"Is something about this bothering you?" she asked.

"The victim was killed while we were at Pragia," he confided.

The elevator reached the top deck. Miranda hit the button to freeze the elevator in place and looked at him. "You feel responsible."

"I feel angry!" he retorted heatedly, before catching himself. "Sorry."

"It was for the mission. Jack's loyalty is still a question for me, but you seemed to be of the opinion that helping her on her venture would help. Plus, we discovered the PergNim drug. And…" She trailed off and for a moment, an angry look crossed her face before vanished, making Shepard wonder if he imagined it. Miranda put a hand on his cheek and softly said, "You couldn't have known."

Shepard sighed. "I know."

"But that doesn't make you feel any better."

He cracked a small smile. "Coming from you? I feel a little bit better."

She smiled back and motioned for him to leave the elevator. When he did, she unlocked it and pressed a button.

Before the doors could close, Shepard opened it again. Reaching around, he locked the elevator next and leaned against the doorway. "I need to run something by you."

She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Have you… have you ever seduced a man and killed him?"

Now she looked surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"I'll tell you if you answer me."

She stared into his face, trying to gauge his reasons, but he let nothing show. Eventually, she answered, "Yes."

"You ever fail?"

"No."

"Damn it," Shepard swore.

"John, what's going on?"

"It's about Samara's fugitive," he muttered.

Miranda leaned against the other side of the door. "She told me a bit about Ardat-Yakshis. They kill through—"

"Sex. Or the asari version of it anyway," Shepard finished. "She told me too."

"What's going on?" Miranda repeated more forcefully.

"I'm helping Samara out now. I'm going to bait Morinth."

Understanding dawned on her and her countenance took on a more worried look. "You?"

He nodded.

"You're going to be the bait? Seduce her?"

"Or she'll seduce me."

"Are you sure about this?"

"No," he admitted. "She's been doing this for 400 years. According to Samara, every time she mates—"

"—she grows stronger," Miranda finished.

Shepard glanced at her. "When did she tell you this, anyway?"

"Not too long after our infiltration into the Collector ship."

"She just told you?"

"I just asked. She needed to call Liara for help tracking Morinth down," Miranda explained.

Shepard swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, "So what do I do?"

Miranda fell quiet and looked like she was thinking hard about his question. Finally, she looked up. "Always remember what will happen in the end. Her goal is to kill you. Seduction is about distraction. You lull the mind and have your target thinking only what you want them to think. It doesn't necessarily have to mean sex either. It could be greed, domination, or temptation. Always keep in mind what the endgame is and don't be led astray."

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

She nodded and gripped his face. Pulling him down into a soft kiss, she whispered, "Be careful."

**~o~O~o~**

"Are you alright?" Samara asked.

Shepard said nothing as he changed out of his armor and into more nondescript civilian clothing. He appeared uncaring of Samara's presence or his state of undress, so she decided to stay.

"Are you doubting your earlier decision? About not chasing after Morinth sooner?" she probed.

"Yes. And no," he answered shortly. His jaw clenched angrily. "I know I made the right decision. Even if we did come here before going to Pragia, we'd still have no idea where to look. We could've spent the entire time here and Nef would still be dead all the same. Or we'd spook Morinth and she'd run and she'd kill someone else later. I made the right decision," he said. "The mission came first and I owe Jack that much for helping me."

"I do not question those possibilities," Samara agreed. "The death of that young woman, tragic as it was, provided the clues necessary."

"I made the right decision, but I still don't like it," he muttered.

"Because the possibility of the opposite can be true, yes? We might have found out Morinth's location and stopped her before Nef was killed." Samara stood patiently as he started putting on his clothes. "What's done is done. All we can do now is stop her from committing any more atrocities."

"I'll do my part," Shepard said.

"I'm sure Morinth will be watching. You may not notice her presence, but she will be watching. She will need a fresh victim after her union with Nef."

"Unlucky me." He buttoned up his shirt.

"Like any predator, she is cautious and patient. You must pique her interest enough that she will approach you."

"To see if I'm worth her time." He started putting on a pair of black slacks.

"When you are face-to-face, subtly encourage her to invite you to her apartment. I'll follow discreetly and when you are alone, I'll spring the trap," Samara briefed.

"Great. So this whole plan hinges on me flirting with a serial sex murderer and getting her to leave a club because she wants to sleep with me," he muttered. He sat down on the bed and started putting on his shoes.

Samara allowed a ghost of a smile to touch her lips before she smothered it. She had learned that some humans often looked at situation with a kind of dark humor to mentally prep themselves before a conflict. "This will be difficult. I do not claim to know the full extent of your abilities, but this may push your limits. Until I arrive, you will be in great peril. She will be planning to inflict horrors on you. If you are not careful, you will want her to."

"I'll be careful," he promised. Finished changing, he stood up and donned a dark jacket.

"Know this: This will not be a contest of martial skill, but of mental discipline, a battle of minds and wills. You must hold out until I arrive."

"So what else attracts her? I can understand Nef. If we're looking at Morinth like she's a predator, then Nef was relatively easy prey. That's not a role I think I can fulfill here. Not believably anyway," Shepard said.

"Fights would attract her on a primal level. Proof of your strength would show that you would be an interesting challenge. Predator and prey all in one," Samara said. "Violence excites her. You've killed, Shepard – she'll like that."

"Clubs don't often allow fights, even on Omega," Shepard reminded.

"Charisma will work as well. If you can woo the nightclub crowd, she will be intrigued."

"That sounds only marginally easier."

"She will want you the moment she sees you," Samara assured. "She has long since become an excellent judge of talent, strength, and character. All you must do is overpower her caution."

"And how do I convince her to take me home? She strung Nef along for days," Shepard said.

"As I said, it is a battle of dominance. If you prove yourself the stronger, then Morinth will rise to meet that challenge. Her pride won't allow her to exercise patience this time," Samara said. "Be direct, yet resistant to her efforts at seduction. You must draw her to you, not the other way around."

He gave a tight nod in understanding.

"Also, remember what we learned: according to Nef's journal, Morinth likes dancing while on a drug called Hallex. She also mentioned a vid called Vaenia. It seemed something to do with glamorous women."

"I remember."

"Also, I found a datapad, a letter addressed to Nef. Morinth mentioned how much she likes the elcor artist Forta."

"None of those things are really in the scope of my interests, but I'll see if I can't use them anyway. Lying to pick up women is a time-honored tradition in the male species," he joked before taking a breath. "Let's go."

They left the Normandy and started making their way toward the entrance to the VIP section of Afterlife. Unlike the main club downstairs, there was no line or anyone else in the vicinity. A lone turian stood guard at the door.

Perhaps it was the inherent danger of letting him into her world. Or the incredible jeopardy his life would be in if, when, Mirala chose him as her next mate. Regardless of the reason, Samara reached out and lightly gripped Shepard's shoulder, prompting him to turn around. "Shepard? Thank you. I do not share this burden easily and you have become the only soul I can imagine sharing it with. I will always be near and I **will** come for you," she swore. The depth of her oath reverberated within her, almost as much as her earlier oath as a justicar. "Trust me as I have come to trust and honor you."

He flashed her a quick smile before his expression hardened. He turned away and walked down the hall, his steps sure and confident.

For the first time in 400 years, Samara actually felt a small shiver run down her spine and it had nothing to do with Mirala.

_Goddess watch over the both of us._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Afterlife VIP Section**_

Within the darkest booth of the club, Morinth watched the various people around with a sense of boredom.

She finally beat back the intoxicating feeling of her last union and was settling into her role once again. She hated the feeling sometimes. It was a weakness she despised and embraced all in once. Once she regained control of herself, she flirted a bit with a few patrons last night in the hope that one of them would get tickets and take her to see Expel 10. Men and women were practically falling over themselves trying to secure tickets after that.

It was pitiful, really. Omega was a place that was meant to kill off the weak and breed the strong. She thought she'd have several lovers lined up by now. Afterlife was where only the best were supposed to be able to gain entry to, with the VIP area serving the top echelons.

_Right._

So far, coming to Omega was almost wasted trip. Hiding from Justicars and stalking for prey… unfortunately, only the former was accomplished. The problem she had now was that the latter was lacking.

_I can't believe I'm in a dry spell._

Something like that only happened when she knew she couldn't mate. And that only happened when she needed to relocate, change her identity, and keep on the move. It never happened when she settled in one place and started seeking out targets of interest.

_It's like the galaxy just dried up of all the interesting people._

She had hoped that a change in venue would help. If the clubs lacked anyone, perhaps a concert might yield more delicious results.

_Considering my recent run of luck, maybe not._

She sighed and scanned the club once again. When her eyes roamed near the entrance, she caught sight of a human male that just walked in.

She quickly amended her earlier thoughts as she watched him. There was something about him…

_Well, well, well… what do we have here?_

He was tall, good-looking, and more importantly, had an aura of danger around him. On Omega, to have something like that stand out amongst all the others was worth noting.

She took a casual sip of her drink and watched him closely from the shadows of her seat.

Her suspicions were confirmed when one of the men she recalled seeing last night walked up and started chatting with the mysterious man.

He turned and faced the patron with a bored look. Eventually, his patience had run out because he took a small, but menacing step toward the guy and glared. The little man scurried away.

Morinth watched with great interest as she studied her possible target. He carried himself differently than most. Animals instinctively sensed a threat and a true predator knows whether they're the hunter or the prey.

_How interesting…_

He sauntered through the club, looking around with mild interest. Something caught his fancy at the dance floor though.

A drunk turian was harassing one of the dancers.

Morinth's mystery man watched their interaction a bit before walking up to the turian. They exchanged words, but the music made it impossible to hear. Evidently, the human pissed the turian off, because the latter angrily stalked up to the former, no doubt looking to mete out retribution.

Morinth's eyebrow raised just a touch. The human flowed, not moved. It was eerily reminiscent of how an Asari Commando would fight. A few hits in and he reverted to his roots, using a bit of human martial arts to toss the turian to the side.

The show of chivalry was boring, but the way the man fought, how easily he trounced the turian, even though his opponent was drunk…

_Mmm… the possibilities._

The dancer said something, probably offering her gratitude if her relieved look was anything to go by. The human nodded, but his gaze lingered as the asari walked off.

_Perhaps not so chivalrous after all._

Revising her earlier opinion, she conceded that there wasn't anything wrong with rescue sex.

_He's looking for some fun. Perfect._

The human started making his way to the bar, going in-between a couple of krogan that picked up and dragged the unconscious turian out of the club. Morinth slid out of her booth and stalked him through the shadows, her eyes drinking in everything about him. She judged that he was probably ex-military, probably a merc. Given the cut of his clothes though, he was educated, sophisticated, or rich; any of which made him a stand above the usual rabble.

Settling in at the bar, he ordered a drink and casually leaned on the counter top.

A couple of turians were sitting nearby. She could make out a bit of their conversation. Simple muggers if she wasn't mistaken. How they got into the VIP section of Afterlife, she had no idea.

"Bad idea," the human commented suddenly to them.

One of the turians turned toward him. "What?"

"Bad idea," he repeated. "You really think Aria's people are the only threats you have to worry about? Place like this, you're bound to make enemies you shouldn't mess with."

The other turian scoffed. "Yeah? Like who?"

The human stood up and faced them fully. "Like me."

The bartender put down a drink.

"Look at this, Vertin. Human thinks he's a tough guy."

Vertin snorted. "Dressed like that, he might have some creds on him, Huck."

The human smirked and spread his arms out. "You wanna find out?"

Vertin looked at his partner and shrugged before lashing out with a jab.

The human caught the punch and twisted sharply, causing the turian to cry out in pain. Gripping the back Vertin's head, the human slammed him down face first into the counter.

Huck jumped in and tried to attack, but the human had already moved. He gripped Huck's arm and flung him around until he tossed him, back first, into the side of the bar. Huck slid down the horizontal surface, his legs unable to hold him up. He was sitting on the ground, dazed at what had just happened.

The human jerked his leg up, slamming his knee into Huck's face, causing the head to impact hard against the counter and knocking him out like a light.

The fight over, the human picked up his drink and downed it in one gulp.

The bartender, Edwin, Morinth recalled, looked incensed and walked around to inspect the damage. "What the hell? Look what you did! There's a freakin' hole in my bar!"

"Why are you complaining? If anyone has to complain, it's your customers," the man replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The man gestured to the crowd around them. "These are good people, but they looked bored. I just provided a little entertainment."

A few of the patrons laughed and clapped.

"You know, bored people don't spend much," the man continued conversationally. "How about a round of drinks? Show you appreciate their business. Your rep will improve and you'll make more money in the long run."

A few more people shouted out some encouragements.

"Come on, Edwin!"

"Go ahead and try it!"

"How about it you stingy bastard? !"

Edwin looked flustered as people started chanting for free drinks. "Maybe worth a try… once. You better be right!" He turned to the mob. "All right! We love having you here, so a round of drinks on the house!"

"All right!"

"I'm first!"

"Shove off! I'm first!"

The man bent down and fished out some creds from the insentient turians at his feet. "And the next round too! Courtesy of my new friends, sleeping on the floor!"

A round of laughter rippled through the club-goers.

The human tossed the creds on the countertop and ordered another drink.

Morinth smiled and sauntered up to the bar. Settling next to the mystery man, she leaned on the bar with her arm, presenting herself to him. "Hey there."

He gave her a side-long glance and nodded.

"I'm Morinth."

"Good evening, Morinth. Here for your drink?"

"Is it on you?"

He shrugged. "In the manner of speaking."

There was sudden lull in the conversation. Once again, Morinth found herself frustrated. He hadn't even turned to look at her or even give his full attention. Another first for her.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

Edwin dropped a drink in front of him. "How badly do you want to know it?" he asked before taking a sip.

She reached out and ran a finger down his arm. "That depends on you."

The physical contact was enough to turn his head to look her in the eyes. "Solomon Gunn."

"You're the most interesting person in the place, Mr. Gunn."

Gunn made a show of looking around the club. "Is that supposed to be compliment?"

The quip was almost enough to put Morinth off balance. She never had trouble flirting before, but Gunn certainly began proving that he was full of surprises.

She smirked at him. "A fair point. You know, I've got a booth over in the shadows. Why don't you come sit with me?"

Gunn donned a lazy smile. "And why would I do that?"

The fact that he didn't jump at the chance to sit with her meant that Gunn wasn't a muscle head. Morinth switched tactics quickly. "Well, if you don't want to…"

"I'm just not seeing the benefit beyond the obvious," Gunn said. "I mean, here, I got friends," He lightly kicked one of the turians on the ground, "and entertainment. Can you do the same?"

Deciding on a more aggressive route, she closed the distance between them until her breasts lightly brushed against his chest. "That and more," she whispered, letting her breath flow against his cheek.

Gunn held his ground and his self-control; two things that frustrated and excited her. Prey that fought back, prey that resisted. She had missed the thrill of the hunt.

Gunn turned his head so he could look her in the eyes. She almost shivered at his hard cobalt gaze.

"Prove it."

**~o~O~o~**

Samara adjusted the rags she wore once more and kept an eye out for either Mirala or Shepard.

It felt strange, yet familiar, returning to her roots as a Huntress. No longer did she have to announce herself or aggressively pursue the unjust on sight. Instead, she had taken the time and opportunity to disguise herself and keep her focus over her chosen target. The dirty rags she bought covered her from head-to-toe and allowed her to blend in with the people shuffling around. Unfortunately, the downside meant that she could not use her usual Inferno Armor. Instead, she came dressed in the blood-red garb of the Justicar underneath her cloak.

She knew that her patience would be tested, but the uncertainly of Shepard's fate continued to generate unnecessary worry. She knew he'd be fine, but on the chance that he wasn't…

_There!_

Her eyes tracked the both of them the moment the door opened. Mirala… they looked so much alike now. There was no mistaking it.

She was leading Shepard away from the club, thankfully on foot. There were no automated taxis or other such public transportation on Omega. The only way Samara would be able to procure a vehicle was to probably steal one.

_Although, perhaps given the elements that make Omega their home, I doubt it will be anyone I would feel compassion for._

She kept her distance. Walking slowly and keeping her presence at a minimum. Their moment would come soon enough.

**~o~O~o~**

"Nice place. I thought Aria would be the only one that could keep a place as nice as this on Omega," Gunn commented approvingly.

"It took some work, but I'm glad you like it," Morinth purred.

She walked over to the couch and settled herself in. Gunn was still appraising her apartment and some of the valuables she collected over the years. The only things she could take quickly anyway, whenever she had to relocate.

She took the time to drink in his appearance unabashedly. Just when she was about to write off everyone on Omega, one of the most beautiful and distinctive sapient individuals just walked into her life. After besting a few turians, he proved he was sharp-tongued as well, verbally sparring with her and dancing around her attempts to seduce him. He almost made it seem effortless. It proved that it had been awhile since she had to work for her prey. Instead of using the gifts she'd been cursed with, she played his game, offering teasing touches and sultry smiles, giving him looks that dared to test his imagination.

He drank in moderation, keeping his wits sharp and focused. She declined drinks of her own in response and resorted to more traditional methods to entice her soon-to-be lover.

It was worth it.

Gunn walked over to the sword hanging on the wall and ran his fingers gently over the blade.

"I was into dueling for a while. I love the moment you see it in your opponent's eyes: he knows you're better and he's going to die," Morinth said darkly.

Gunn tilted his head and shot a half-smile at her. "It's a dying art, no pun intended."

"I know. Shame, isn't it?" She shot him a come-hither look.

Obliging, he walked over to the couch and sat down, just adjacent from her seat, rather than next to her. He leaned back and made himself comfortable, spreading his arms over the top and looked at her expectantly.

She almost frowned, but held back the urge. Even now, he was playing hard-to-get, as if he wanted everything to happen on his terms, not hers, despite being in her apartment. However, running alongside her mounting frustration was a proportional thrill that tingled down her spine; it was a delicious feeling. Much better than just having another thrall under her command.

Deciding to test his self-control, Morinth crossed her legs seductively and smiled. "I love clubs – people, movement, heat. I can still hear the bass, like the drums of a great hunt, out for your blood. But here, it's muted – and you're safe. Is that what you want, Gunn?"

"Not really in business of safety," Gunn commented thoughtfully. "I'm more of a man of action. Always take control of a situation."

She smile became feral. She knew that feeling intimately. "Better to take control of your fate?"

"Exactly."

For some reason, she almost opened up to him at that moment, like he had some sort of mystical power of his own that slithered into her mind. She knew what would happen when she sealed their union, so it mattered little on what she revealed. "I've never understood the fascination with safety," she said softly. Her mind went back to her two older sisters, Rila and Falere, still imprisoned in some fortress, all because of what they were. "Some of us choose differently."

Gunn's relaxed posture hadn't changed, but there was something telling in his eyes now, as if he understood everything she was saying.

Abandoning the game, she stood up and approached him instead. It was a first, but she couldn't contain herself any longer. Settling down in his lap, he shifted his arms to hold her in place.

"Independence over submission," she whispered in his ear. "I think we share that, you and I."

"We do," he whispered back. "Someone once said something similar to me. He said: 'Isn't submission preferable to'…" he abruptly stopped and looked at her, though his face had become unreadable again.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Doesn't matter anyway."

"So what happened to him?" she asked.

A cold look entered his eyes. "I killed him."

"So strong," she hissed in anticipation. She reached up and held his head in her hands. "I need this."

"Do you now?"

Closing her eyes, she felt her body sing in readiness. She could feel the dampness at her thighs, her breasts strain against her leathers. First, she'd dominate him, have his will serve her own. Then, she'd make love to him and exercise every use and self-gratification she could possibly glean from his body. Only after, when she was truly satisfied, when Gunn had nothing left to offer her, she would meld with him.

When her eyes opened, steel-cold blue were gone, replaced with bottomless black depths. "Look into my eyes and tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want."

"I don't think so."

The strength of his mind was surprising. He easily batted aside her first attempt. Probing deeper revealed that he'd undergone a meld with another asari before, two of them. And a meld with… something else, something ancient; something alien. His mind had become attuned to outside intrusions. Just then, an image of another asari appeared, one she hoped she'd never see. The entirety of their plan unfolded before her mind. She pushed away from him and stood up. "But you… who are you? Oh, no – I see what's going on. The bitch herself found a little helper."

At that moment, the door burst open.

**~o~O~o~**

Samara quickly ran through the halls of the apartment complex. She cursed herself for losing them as she did, but the endless rooms, hallways, and levels allowed them to break line of sight. When she entered the building, they were already gone.

Quickly tapping her omni-tool, she requested instructions from EDI. The AI promptly responded and told her Shepard's current location.

Wasting no time, she dispensed with the elevator and climbed the stairs. Reaching the right floor, she dashed down to the door and blew it open.

She entered carefully, dark energy pulsing around her.

Mirala and Shepard were sitting together on the couch. Upon seeing her, Shepard leapt over the couch and away from the impending battle between mother and daughter.

Relieved that he was alright, her gaze locked onto her prey. "Mirala!" She thrust out and arm and forcefully threw her across the room.

Mirala impacted against the glass with a grunt. Though the glass was hardened, it still cracked from the hit.

She turned her head and glared. "Mother," she spat out, venom in her voice. Her arms and legs were spread eagled against the surface.

Samara pushed out again, slamming Mirala against the glass once more, increasing the web of cracks. "Do not call me that!"

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter. **Mother!**" The word came out like a curse.

"You made your choice long ago," Samara hissed.

Suddenly, a pulse of dark energy radiated from Mirala, pushing everything back and breaking Samara's hold on her.

"What choice? !" Mirala screamed back.

Samara had staggered back from the unexpected power and suddenly found herself levitated. Mirala had her left arm pointed at her and her right holding up one of the chairs. The strength of her daughter's biotics was incredible.

"My only crime was being born with the gifts **you gave me!**" She threw the chair at her.

Reacting quickly, she blasted the chair away and unleashed a pulse of her own, freeing herself from Mirala's Pull. She struck back with Throw, blasting her daughter to the ground. "Enough Mirala!"

Both combatants quickly got back to their feet and met each other's biotic attacks head on. A sphere of dark energy burst into existence between them as they vied for dominance. Loose objects began levitating and swirling around them in a chaotic orbit.

"**I** am the genetic destiny of the asari! But they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die!" Mirala screamed.

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more!" Samara cried out.

A flicker of motion, something different than the objects revolving around them caught the edge of her perception. Shepard was standing nearby, watching the battle closely.

Mirala had caught sight of him too. "I'm as strong as she is! Let me join you!"

Samara's eyes widened, but she dare not allow herself to break away. For Mirala to know that Shepard was on a mission, she must've exerted some of her influence on him before her arrival.

_Was I too late?_

"I am already sworn to help you, Shepard! Let us finish this!" she implored.

For a moment, Samara had doubts. Shepard had yet to act as he looked between the both of them.

_Even under her spell, he can't be considering…!_

Suddenly, his own biotics flared and he launched an attack against Mirala.

She seemed to anticipate it and disengaged from Samara to contend with the new threat. She pulled a chair into the path of dark energy before tossing it straight at the Justicar.

Samara leapt to the side and avoided the projectile neatly. She shot Shepard a look and saw his right fist clench and unclench, as if he was trying to ward away a sudden pain. She remembered what it might cost him to use his biotics now, but he appeared adamant in his choice. Catching his eye, he nodded to her and faced their opponent.

Samara and Shepard both approached cautiously. Mirala kept darting her eyes at them, her demeanor suggesting that she knew she was trapped. It was a precarious position for all because no predator was ever more dangerous than when backed into a corner.

Samara was prepared to lead the attack when the world exploded into chaos.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard used his biotics to lift up the couch and used it as a physical barrier to protect himself.

He had no idea how, but Morinth, or rather, Mirala, suddenly caused the nearby windows to shatter and threw all of the semi-transparent and lethal projectiles at them.

Samara erected a Barrier and protected herself neatly, but was ill-prepared when her daughter used the remains of the metal front door and used it to slam into her back, staggering her. Warp tore down her Barrier and the door flew right back at her, lifting her off her feet and against the wall. She barely had time to grunt when she was struck and blew right through the wall into the next apartment over.

Shepard threw the couch at Mirala and closed the distance.

She caught the couch long before it struck her, but he reach out and tore the furniture in half, giving him a straight shot to land an elbow strike against her face. He didn't know if his biotics would be enough to fight her head-on, so he decided the go to the traditional methods instead.

Dropping the remains of the couch, she fell back and raised her hands in preparation for his next strike.

They exchanged a few blows, but then, a sudden flare of pain rippled through his left leg, causing him to stumble.

Mirala exploited the weakness without hesitation.

A straight jab to his face broke his nose, a kick to his stomach pushed the air out of his lungs.

Rolling back to get some breathing room, he played up his injury and let her come close.

Just like he remembered her saying, she stalked forward, no doubt wanting to see the look in his eyes just before the kill. She tensed for just a moment, before pouncing.

Pushing off his right leg, he lurched forward at the same time, twisting sideways at just the last moment to avoid her attack and rammed his elbow into her throat. She fell back, clutching her neck and choking. Her eyes held a wild look of surprise. He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her throat, reared back and slammed his head into her nose. The gargled scream signaled that he returned the favor.

He thrust his hand forward, using Throw at point blank and blasted her back.

Her counter-attack came immediately, causing him flip head over ass and land painfully on his back.

They both struggled to their feet. Mirala was up just a bit quicker, even as she massaged her bruised throat, and tried crushing him with a mass-raising field. He set up his own Barrier to protect himself. The conflict of energies crackled brightly between them.

"And they would call me a monster," Mirala hissed as she started putting more pressure down on him.

"I'm sure **Nef** would agree," Shepard snarled. His focus started to waver as the pain in his leg and arm grew.

Far from looking hurt, distracted, or even apologetic, Mirala's face twisted into something uglier as she redoubled her efforts to kill him with more conventional methods. "I'm well aware of my sins, can you say the same?" she rasped out.

Shepard grunted from the effort of reinforcing his mass effect fields before wryly smirking. "Ah, hell. I'm a fan of all seven," he said before he detonated the dark energy on purpose.

Both combatants flew back once again and crashed painfully into the various objects now littering the apartment.

Shepard forced Adrenaline into body, pushing the pain away as he struggled to his feet. He clenched his teeth against the sudden flare of phantom and actual pains in his left leg and right arm.

Mirala lacked the same synthetic adrenal implants and suffered for it. She tried to get back to her feet, but the injuries she sustained hindered her progress.

Shepard thrust out his arm, growling as the nodules flared in response, burning his nerves and causing his limb to tremble violently. Despite this, his biotics grew stronger from his condition.

Mirala was lifted into the air and slammed into the wall. She cried out as the mass effect fields pressed down on her.

Shepard staggered forward, his hand up and pointed at her, keeping her aloft through sheer will alone. "But right now, I'm going to have to go with wrath."

Mirala gasped as he pressed down harder, seeking to crush her chest. She lifted her head and snarled at him. "As am I."

Her right hand twitched. The sword that was once on display, but was now lying on the ground, suddenly spun toward him.

He dropped the mass effect fields around her in favor of erecting another Barrier. The sword collided into his hastily constructed shield in a shower of sparks.

Using Warp, she tore apart his Barrier and launched another biotic attack in quick succession, tossing him across the room.

Sliding painfully along the ground he caught a glimpse of something that caused him to smile, even as Mirala prepared to finish him off.

**~o~O~o~**

Mirala screamed when she was struck in the back with Warp.

Samara walked into the room, gingerly clutching her bruised, but thankfully unbroken ribs. She took a chance to see that Shepard was still alright, more or less. He was struggling to stand up, but his leg wasn't cooperating. She returned her focus back to her target.

Panting, Mirala reached out for any shards of glass she could see and cast them all at Samara.

This time, she simply waved her arm and redirected them away. She darted forward, and like Shepard, engaged Mirala in hand-to-hand. Unlike Shepard though, there was no weakness to exploit.

Mirala tried valiantly to withstand the onslaught, but soon fell back against centuries of experience. A vicious snap kick to the chest brought her down to the ground, wheezing.

Rolling over onto her chest, she saw that she collapsed on her sword and grasped it tightly. She spun around, slicing it in a deadly arc.

Samara's reflexes were just quick enough to avoid disembowelment, but not enough to avoid receiving a deep bloody gash. Putting pressure on the wound, she saw as a vicious and sadistic look enter Mirala's eyes at the sight of blood.

She stood up slowly, brandishing her weapon expertly in one hand, while her other hand pulsed faintly with dark energy. She swung the blade in two quick slashes.

Dodging both swings, Samara darted in and wrapped her left arm around Mirala's sword arm. Dark energy encased her right fist as she tried to call on her biotics, but Mirala grappled with her. They lurched and reeled across the room, struggling to overpower the other.

Samara twisted Mirala's sword arm sharply, causing her cry out, but still able to hold on to her weapon. Taking advantage of the distraction, Samara rammed her knee into Mirala's stomach to double her over before striking again into her already broken nose.

Mirala coughed once from the attack before spitting blood straight into Samara's eyes.

Samara turned her head away, but refused to relinquish her grip on Mirala's sword arm. She instinctively wiped at her eyes frantically with her free hand to regain her vision.

Mirala took the opportunity to savagely punch the gash she created earlier.

Grunting in pain, Samara unleashed another pulse of dark energy to push Mirala away and disengage. Getting some distance away, she wiped the last of the blood and covered her wound tightly.

Mirala had fallen, but rolled back to her feet in preparation for her next maneuver. She wielded her blade menacingly.

Suddenly, to Samara and Mirala's surprise, a Singularity burst into existence, followed by a deafening bellow.

Samara turned her head to see Shepard's arms outstretched. His right arm was shaking horribly. He was on ground, leaning heavily on his right side. A quick look revealed that his left leg was spasming uncontrollably. His teeth were clenched together in obvious pain, and he was still screaming deep within his throat. Despite all this, his biotic aura flared even more as the power of his Singularity increased.

Mirala dropped her weapon and grabbed at the nearby hook that had once held it, trying desperately to keep from getting crushed by the awesome force that Shepard conjured. Loose debris, furniture, and other objects were pulled in and crushed mercilessly. The sword she had was nothing more than a useless lump of compressed metal now.

Samara took several steps back and watched as her daughter flailed, doing what she could to avoid being pulled in. Even from her distance, Samara could still feel the influence of Shepard's Singularity.

Mirala howled in denial when the power continued to grow. The floor beneath the Singularity began to warp and tear as it was ripped up and into the gravitational anomaly. Another surge and Mirala was parallel the floor, gripping the display hook with all her strength. Her eyes widened frantically when she saw that the hook was losing its tenuous grip with the wall.

Utilizing one last act of desperation, she thrust out her left arm and launched Warp at the Singularity.

The explosion at that range blew her against the wall. She remained pressed against the surface until pressure finally washed over her before falling bonelessly to the ground.

Samara rose up from her cover and saw that Mirala was still alive.

Moaning weakly, Mirala rolled over until she was on her back. She struggled to get back to her feet.

Samara darted forward and mounted her. Mirala would not get the chance.

She planted her knee into Mirala's abdomen and gripped her throat with her right hand.

Mirala choked and looked up, a mixture of fear and defiance dancing in her eyes.

Samara looked down at her mournfully. She intoned her daughter's last rites, the words possessing more emotion than she had ever conveyed before. "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." Raising her bloody hand, she called upon her biotics and struck down with one final blow.

_And may you forgive me. For everything._

The sound of the impact made her heart wrench. Standing up slowly, she turned to her companion to see that he was lying flat on his back, completely unmoving.

Fearing the worst, she clumsily picked her way past the rubble and knelt down next to him. Raising her omni-tool, she ran a quick scan and sighed in relief.

Letting him rest, she tended to her own injuries quickly before calling the Normandy for assistance.

As she sat in the middle of the devastated room, she reached out and gently wiped away the blood on Shepard's face. There were no words to describe the feelings she was experiencing now. The only words left were words of gratitude for the enormous strength and honor her companion displayed.

"Thank you."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Again, I find myself searching for the right flavor to write out each character. Some are easy: Garrus (Justice/Vengeance), Jacob (Truth), Mordin (Redemption). Other's required a bit more like Grunt (Belonging) and Thane (Life outside assassinations).

As everyone probably noticed, Samara's LM came off like a hunt in an urban jungle. Who's the predator and who's the prey, the moment to strike, how to draw someone out, the trap and bait… Fun stuff.

BioWare did it well with ME 2, but for some reason, DA II lacked the same feel. I liked the game and the characters, but… *shrugs* Weird.

Anyway, I think everyone knew what choice I would make and what the outcome would be. I understand that there are Morinth fans, but seriously: Samara joins your crew, helps you out, risks her life and promises to aid you. Morinth on the other hand, you know she killed Nef. You eventually learned that she wiped out a whole village. She's pretty much killed her entire adult life. She claims she's as strong as Samara, but if she is, why is she always running away from her? Picking her over Samara isn't so much as renegade as it is more like it was wrong. Not that I haven't made a playthrough with Morinth on my team. I still felt supremely bad about killing off Samara during that game.

Anyway, I wanted it to be like there would still be a reason why Shepard _might_ still have chosen Morinth.

I also want to give a shout to reviewer **Ddangerdan**. I know he's been looking forward to this for some time. I hope I did it some credit.

Also, I took a line from **Serenity**. Possible my favorite line in the whole movie.

**_Edit: _**Credit to **phoenixblade2** for some inspiration on how to improve my story.


	46. Interlude XVII

**_Location: Unknown_**

**Pain.** Everything hurt, but it didn't nearly feel as bad as waking up for the first time during the Lazarus Project. Several places hurt more than others though. It felt as if there was a fire raging inside his chest while his limbs were encased in ice.

Dimly, Shepard heard voices and forced his eyes open to look around. Bright lights assaulted him, causing his eyes to water. A woman's voice, cultured, with a sensual accent; he knew that voice well… "There. On the monitor. Something's wrong."

_Miranda? Wait… wrong? What the hell is going on?_

Another voice, male. He was speaking rapidly, almost to the point where Shepard's foggy mind couldn't keep up. "Brain waves show… incre… in act… Apparently waking u…"

_Mordin…?_

Shepard's eyes adjusted to the bright lights around him, but the rest of his body seemed unresponsive. Turning his head, he heard another female voice speaking now. "Incredible. I still can't believe how he's able to fight off the sedatives."

Looking to his left, he saw a figure dressed in white with black sleeves. Everything was blurry, but Miranda's long black hair was easily identified. Turning to his right, he saw Chakwas and Mordin working nearby at some terminals.

Miranda walked up to his side. "Can we risk another dose?"

"Inadvisable. Chances of respiratory arrest too great," Mordin argued.

"Look at the EEG. The pain must be what's bringing him around," Chakwas said.

"Local anesthetic at affected sites perhaps?" Mordin recommended. "Dull pain to allow mind to relax?"

Shepard looked back to his left to see Miranda again. She bent down over him as he tried to reach out to her.

"Shepard, please – Don't try to move," she commanded softly.

Shepard could hear his heart beating rapidly. He could feel his breath becoming faster causing flaring pains in his chest. This only caused his heart to beat in faster in response, so much that it almost reverberated in his ears. Miranda grabbed his outstretched arm and gently, but forcefully placed it back on the table.

"You're in the Normandy's Medical Bay. You're safe. Just let us take care of you, okay?" she implored.

Her soothing voice compelled him to obey and he stopped resisting. His eyes started feeling extremely heavy. He could feel his heart slowing down from is earlier painful staccato and his breathing became steady and deep.

"Anesthetic administered," Mordin informed.

"Stats are falling to normal range and EEG shows standard delta waves," Chakwas reported. Her blurry face hovered over him. "Just sleep, Shepard. We'll take good care of you."

The world started to feel distorted; light began fading in and out. Shepard's head lolled to the left. Miranda's face filled his vision again as she stepped closer to look down at him. She looked like she was smiling.

"Should we continue procedure?" Mordin asked.

At his question, Miranda looked up and nodded. "He trusts us. He'll behave now."

"It would be a first," Chakwas commented with a hint of exasperation. Her voice sounded distant now, faint.

He could barely understand what anyone was saying. Everything sounded like a myriad of low and high pitches now.

Turning once more toward him, Shepard could swear Miranda was smiling again, just for him. "Don't worry, John. When you wake up, everything will be fine. I promise. Just rest."

_"And I always keep my promises."_

Shepard dimly remembered that she said that… sometime ago…

His eyes closed and the darkness claimed him.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

"Are you absolutely certain, Captain?"

Elena Dawn nodded. _"Yes, sir. It took some doing, but we managed to get some accurate scans of the science vessel. Two of our drones practically got within shouting distance. So far, none of the scans revealed any life signs aboard. If anyone is alive, the only place they could be is inside the site itself and we don't have the capabilities to—"_

"I understand, Captain," the Illusive Man smoothly interrupted. "Your current orders stand. Long-range reconnaissance. Do not approach the site."

_"Yes, sir."_

"Very well, Captain. Keep me apprised of the situation." Shutting down the link, the Illusive Man reined in his irritation and took another smoke. His mind considered all the angles, possibilities, options, and ramifications.

As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, the choices he had left were limited and unfavorable. Compounded by the timetable of the Collector's ever-growing threat, he knew he had to reveal his hand no matter how unwilling he felt.

Shepard would get the job done, that much was certain. What he disliked was the idea of not knowing what other consequences would follow if he revealed the location of the derelict Reaper, but circumstances seemed determined to conspire against him.

Opening the latest in Dawn's reports, he looked through everything with a critical eye. As determined as he was to get results, he hoped to find or discover an answer that was safer than involving Shepard.

As much as he respected the Spectre's abilities, there were always going to be unknown variables and quandaries when dealing with him.

And the Illusive Man despised surprises.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik System / Sahrabarik Fueling Station / Normandy SR-2_**

A small, but insistent stabbing pain roused Shepard from his sleep. Groaning to himself, he reliantly opened his eyes looked around. The lights were dimmed, but he was able to make out the familiar objects and colors around him.

He shifted a bit, wincing as he did so, and lifted his head to look around the Med Bay of the Normandy.

Mordin was asleep at Chakwas' table. The terminal was still on, providing the only faint illumination in the darkened room. In the third bed over, Chakwas had occupied it, though she was sleeping on top of the covers and still in full uniform.

A weight was preventing his left arm from moving. Looking down, he spotted Miranda's head resting on his flank, her hand encased in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head up, wincing slightly as she did so.

"You okay?" he rasped out. His throat felt like it cracked and splintered with the effort of breathing, much less talking.

Her eyes were the only indication that looked like she was surprised at his question before chuckling quietly. "Maybe."

He managed a small smile for her. "Maybe?"

"I have a small crick in my back. Unfortunately, I have no medical evidence supporting that," she whispered. Sitting up straighter, she scooted her chair closer to his bed. "You, on the other hand, have detailed scans showing improvements all across the board. I think we can tentatively say that you're going to be okay."

At her news, he tried sitting up. "Scans… Wait, you mean my…?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down on the bed. "Mordin and Dr. Chakwas managed to synthesize enough of the drug that will halt the growth of your nodules. I found the prime locations for the implants that will deliver the drug at strict intervals. So far, everything looks good."

"I'm… You…" He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and tried to remember what had happened. He also tried swallowing to wet his parched throat.

She read his mind and made herself a little bit more comfortable before explaining. "You and Samara were injured. She was still conscious and managed to call us. Jacob and I transported the both of you back to the Normandy. Samara is fine, but she lost a lot of blood, so she had to stay for a few days. She was free to go back to her room yesterday. As for you, a SMART Scan showed that your nodules grew a little more, most likely because you disobeyed orders and used your biotics again," she informed, though she sounded cross, worried, and exasperated all at same time. "We decided to start treatment immediately. You've been unconscious for a little over a week now."

"A week?" he repeated in surprise.

She nodded. "Nine days to be precise," she informed before getting up. She left the Med Bay momentarily only to return with two glasses of water for him. He drank both down greedily.

"Right now, we're docked at the local fueling station near the mass relay. Beyond that, we don't have a destination or course set yet."

"Thanks," Shepard said. "For… you know, saving my life. Again."

She gifted him with a brilliant smile.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard growled softly to himself and clenched his fists tightly. Gritting his teeth in effort, he screwed his eyes shut and braced himself against the wall.

Pissing needles was something that should never be dragged out.

The nanites injected into him during his last SMART Scan were either stubborn and didn't want to leave, or were a form of torture he had to endure and overcome.

When everything, thankfully, was evacuated, he suited back up and left the restroom. It was early morning now, but a few crewmen were awake and eating breakfast. A few called out and greeted him as he passed by. He greeted each in turn. Trudging back to the Med Bay, he settled back into bed and balefully glared at the SMART Scanner.

"Now, now, Shepard. If you make faces, it'll stick that way," Chakwas chided teasingly.

"I'm cured now, right? I don't need to be in that thing anymore?" Shepard asked hopefully.

"You're not cured, you're improving," she corrected. "Cured will be when we've finally proven that your nodules have stopped growing. Unfortunately, that means…" She trailed off and vaguely gestured at the Smart Scanner, the newest bane of his existence.

"Goddamn it."

Far from looking sympathetic, Chakwas looked like she was trying not to laugh.

His irritation at her expression was tempered by the fact that she managed to find his situation humorous. Especially when she used to look deadly serious about the course of treatment he had to undergo.

"So…" Chakwas shot him a mischievous look. "Something interesting going on between you and the executive officer?"

Shepard rolled his eyes. "I expect this kind of thing from Kasumi, Doc."

"That's not a no," Chakwas astutely pointed out. "You're usually quite evasive when you want to be, Shepard. Losing your touch?"

"That's because I don't want to lie to you outright," he said. "Want me to start now?"

"Forgive me," she said. Her smile, however, said that she wasn't sincere in her apology at all. "I would never dream of teasing my patients."

"Liar," Shepard accused, though his smile showed he wasn't serious.

Mordin finally looked up from a nearby terminal and blinked as if he finally noticed that Shepard had returned. "Shepard, all finished?"

"For now," he said, trying to keep civil. He had to remind himself that these were the people that saved his life. There was no reason to be petulant, especially when they're also injecting the evil microscopic devil machines that make urination an exercise in pain tolerance.

"Good," he said obligingly. "Wanted to talk. Medical matters."

Shepard stared at him curiously. What was surprising was that Chakwas appeared confused at his declaration as well.

"What?" she asked.

"No, no. Nothing to do with current condition. Something else entirely," Mordin assured before turning to Shepard. "Aware that mission is dangerous. Different species react differently to stress."

"Okay…" Shepard said, wondering where Mordin was going with this.

"Sexual activity common for humans in such times," Mordin stated.

Chakwas choked out a laugh which she quickly stifled and turned around to face her terminal. She didn't type anything though and her shoulders were shaking with repressed humor.

"Understand it intellectually," Mordin continued. He was tapping his chin and had his head tilted upward in thought, appearing blissfully unaware of Shepard's widening eyes. Shrugging to himself, he smiled at Shepard and said, "Recommend caution when dealing with Cerberus."

"Wha-what? H-hang on, wait, is this about Miranda?" Shepard stammered out. Mordin's topic of choice had derailed his train of thought. "I mean, she-I, we, um…"

"Of course, no explanation needed," Mordin said. He reached out and gave his patient a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Hormones, physical pursuits, gratification, emotional entanglement. All excellent distractions."

Chakwas' giggles got a touch louder.

The salarian leaned in closer and stage-whispered, "Just watch for bugs. Could be planted anywhere. Can perform exam later if necessary. Will need probes."

Shepard's horrified look was only compounded by how serious Mordin appeared. His mindset had gone well past distracted and was completely shutting down.

"Biotic ability also gives benefits," Mordin added. He activated his omni-tool and typed something on it. "Forwarding booklet to your quarters. Includes diagrams, exercises, inventive uses of mass effect fields. Of course, wouldn't recommend that you exercise biotics just yet, but soon."

Chakwas lost all control at this point and burst out laughing riotously.

"Can supply oils or ointments to reduce discomfort. Gave EDI relationship aid demonstration vids to use as necessary," he finished over Chakwas' mirth.

"Oils and ointments for what?"

Everyone turned around to see Miranda standing in the doorway, looking decidedly interested in the proceedings.

Her eyes saw the merriment in Chakwas' face, Shepard's shocked expression, and Mordin's serious countenance. "Well?" she asked expectantly.

Chakwas' smile became a touch evil. "Well, it's—"

"—nothing!" Shepard managed to shout out. "Mordin's just telling me to take it easy!"

She crossed her arms, her face clearly saying that she didn't believe him.

"Dr. Solus was just saying that Shepard should be careful with his biotics," Chakwas said in-between breaths. "Beyond that, he was just teasing our fearless captain here."

Mordin took a step back and put his hand on chest theatrically. "Shocking suggestion! Doctor-patient confidentiality a sacred trust! Would never dream," he paused only to grin, "of mockery."

Chakwas' renewed laugher was somehow contagious because Shepard's earlier annoyance at the nanites was quickly forgotten as he laughed as well. "Well-played, Mordin."

"Enjoy yourself while possible, Shepard. Will be in lab, studying cell reproduction," Mordin said. "Much simpler. Less alcohol and mood music required."

Miranda looked confused and curious at the odd topic. She cocked her head to the side and tried to figure out what she was missing out on. "Wait, what do you mean by mood music and alcohol? Why do you even need any of that?"

Chakwas' laughter returned with a vengeance. "The look on your faces!" she managed to gasp out.

Mordin tidied up his station and left the Med-Bay with a smile on his face.

Miranda turned toward Shepard and crossed her arms, her eyes clearly demanding an explanation. "What was that all about? And… are you blushing?"

Shepard had tried desperately to control the heat flooding to his face, but obviously failed miserably. "It's nothing. Mordin was just yanking me around."

"And succeeded, I might add," Chakwas said.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?"

Shepard shook his head and shrugged, hoping to feign ignorance.

To his mounting dread though, Chakwas directed a positively evil smile at him. "You're in luck, Executive Lawson, because I actually recorded the moment for posterity."

"What?" Shepard said. His voice an octave higher than usual baritone.

"You really didn't think I'd miss the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see you so off kilter and not record it, did you?" Chakwas rhetorically asked before tapped a button on her terminal with relish and letting Mordin's voice play out.

When it ended, Miranda's eyebrows had risen in surprise and her mouth fell open.

Shepard could only shrug helplessly when she turned toward him. "Hey, I was unconscious, remember? You can't blame me for anything."

He tried to ignore Chakwas' laughter and Miranda's narrowing eyes in response to his statement.

**~o~O~o~**

Over the course of the day, some of the crewmen and squad popped in to check on him. He assured them all that he was fine and would be up and about in no time. Tali and Garrus were probably the most relieved to hear that and took the time to thank Chakwas and Mordin for their efforts.

Even Joker stopped by for him. "I'm glad things worked out, Shepard, especially with that business on Omega. I was worried you'd dump Samara for some crazy soul-sucker with a death fetish, all lithe and sexy and… never mind."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "How'd you hear about that?"

"Seems like that thing doesn't know about rhetorical questions. I'm in the cockpit, saying to myself: 'What the hell could be so damn important on Omega that Shepard and Samara nearly gets themselves killed?' And it answers: 'They are chasing an Ardat-Yakshi. According to Justicar Samara, an Ardat-Yakshi is an asari that kills through mating'," he explained, using a high-pitched voice to mimic EDI.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Shepard agreed. He assumed Joker was referring to EDI when he said 'it'. "Real turn off, isn't it?"

Joker grinned back. "Well, Samara is all right. It's just… I feel like she could shoot me in a very tranquil manner, which doesn't make me feel any better about it. Still, you had to go and prove that there are still worse ways to die."

Come dinnertime, his insistent needling and prodding forced Chakwas to give up and let him leave. Whether or not he clear for active duty was still in the air however. Chakwas promised to have an answer by morning.

Returning to his cabin, he spotted Miranda sitting at his table and typing something at his terminal. At his entrance, she typed a few more things before turning it off. She stood up and faced him with an even look on her face.

"And what were you up to?" Shepard asked teasingly. "If you're checking my messages, I think I have one about a drell and the Enkindlers from… somewhere or other."

"Just chatting with Oriana while I was waiting for you," Miranda answered before looking at him from head-to-toe. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Now," Shepard replied.

"Good," she said before taking on a cross look. "Don't ever worry me like that again."

Shepard grinned. "No promises."

She didn't look amused. "You were told not to use your biotics," she pointedly reminded.

Sensing the seriousness of her demeanor, he dropped the humor and shrugged. "Morinth or Mirala, or whatever her name was, didn't really give me a choice."

"So you decided to risk your life on the gamble that your biotics might have helped instead of making you a liability?" she asked angrily.

"She nearly killed us both," Shepard argued, now feeling a pang of annoyance. "I had to use what was on hand."

"Then might I suggest that instead of deigning to Samara's need for secrecy, you call for backup," Miranda responded heatedly. "I suspect that's the reason we're all together on this mission, isn't it? To put together a team strong enough to combat the Collectors."

"Like what I should have done for you and Oriana?" Shepard countered angrily.

His words must've struck a little close to him, because her eyes flashed dangerously.

He stood his ground though. Impossible situations, decisions, and conflicts had long since been a talent he honed.

"That was personal. **Extremely** personal," Miranda hissed.

"Oh, I agree," Shepard sardonically replied. "It hardly gets more personal when family is involved." When he said that, a thought struck him and he grimaced. "Which is why I think you shouldn't judge either Samara or me."

Miranda was caught off-guard and had to take a moment to recollect her thoughts. "She didn't mention anything—"

"Weren't you the one that didn't want anyone to know about Oriana? I've never whispered a word to anyone on board," Shepard said. "That said, I promised Samara that I'd keep her confidence. I'm not about to betray that. Even for you."

Having lost her footing in this argument, her visage became a touch frosty for just a moment before she gazed at the aquarium, unable to meet his eyes.

Shepard took a step closer to her. "What are you really getting at here? You're not mad because I used my biotics. I'm pretty sure you're not mad because my life was in danger since that comes with the territory…"

Breathing out a sigh, she turned back to face him. "I don't know. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's everything. This is why I dislike being in a relationship. Too many complications." She rubbed her head and looked like she was mustering her resolve before admitting defeat. "I suppose I made this more personal than it should've been. I wasn't thinking, not exactly anyway."

"You were bothered by something," Shepard pressed. "You can tell me."

"I find it interesting and frustrating how many secrets you have," Miranda said. "And you were right about Oriana and myself. It wasn't fair to put you on the spot like that."

Shepard moved to make sure she wouldn't try to leave. "I'm sure you have more than a few secrets of your own. I'm just asking why you seem so… anxious. Is it because of me or something else?"

She stared at him, searching for something before speaking. "That asari fugitive Samara was tracking, Morinth."

"Yeah?"

"Were you tempted? At any point at all?" Miranda asked.

He knew what she meant and was about to say no, almost automatically, when something tickled at the edge of his mind. He closed his mouth and frowned as he thought back to a very specific moment. "I-I, I think so."

"Really?"

"I… damn it." Shepard walked into the main area of his cabin and unceremoniously plopped onto one of the chairs.

Miranda followed, but remained standing. She kept watching him with an unreadable look. "What happened?" she asked.

"When Samara confronted Mirala, they fought for a bit until they reached a deadlock. The entire time, I just stood there, watching. Then, Mirala called out to me. She didn't know me, didn't know anything about me, except that I betrayed her and lured her out for Samara. But she called out to me to help her."

Miranda said nothing, but she was listening intently.

"And for a moment…" Shepard trailed off and closed his eyes before admitting painfully, "I was actually tempted. She wanted me to kill Samara and I was going to do it…"

"But?"

"But I remembered the endgame. I refocused on the task at hand to avoid being distracted." He chuckled humorlessly. "Safe to say, I think you're the reason Samara is alive. And that I didn't…" He trailed off, unable to even finish the sentence, but not the thought.

She put her hand underneath his chin and gently pulled his head back up so he could look her in the eyes. "You didn't. That's all that matters."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," he muttered good-naturedly.

"No, it's the truth," she said. "This is supposed to make you feel better: I'm sorry."

He looked confused. "What? Why?"

"For snapping at you." She pulled her hand away and ran it through her hair. Turning away from him she sat down on the armrest of the couch and scoffed at herself. "Relationships are complicated. In my head, I understood everything you did. But when I found you and Samara and you were just laying there, Samara's injuries, the state of the room… I don't know, something more emotional took over I guess."

"Yeah, feelings can be like that," Shepard agreed.

"I had talked to Samara at length on what happened. She was reluctant to divulge details of course, but we wanted to get a head-start on your condition before it worsened. When she heard that, she told us everything. Almost everything anyway."

"I can't blame her for wanting to keep this a secret."

Miranda shook her head. "Nor I. I suppose I was being a bit hypocritical about her situation, but I almost assumed the worst when I saw you."

"Sorry."

She shook her head and moved to sit down on his lap. "I probably should've known better though. Survival against certain death seems to a talent of yours."

One of her hands wandered over his shoulder and idly rubbed his back. It felt pleasant right until there was a sudden stab of pain. He tried to hold back his wince, but judging from her concerned gaze, he didn't hide it well enough. "I'm fine."

She reached around and poked him in the back. "Here?"

He exhaled sharply. "Ah… yeah."

"That's where we put one of the implants," she said with a sigh. "You'll be feeling a bit of pain and soreness for another few days, I'm sorry to say."

"I'll survive. I'm good at that," Shepard reminded jokingly.

"I believe you," Miranda indulgently said. She got off his lap and pulled him to his feet. "I believe I owe you a massage, don't I? On the bed, face down if you please. And remove your shirt."

Shepard couldn't help but grin and did as he was told. Once he was comfortable, he closed his eyes in bliss as Miranda placed her hands on his back and started rubbing at all the trouble spots.

He remembered not long after helping Kasumi with her heist, he gave Miranda similar treatment after her own injury from an explosion and subsequent collision with a metal crate. In the next morning, she showed her appreciation, much to both of their satisfactions.

Fighting the urge to sleep from her ministrations, he subtly shifted body to allow her to get the maximum effect and breathed out softly. Despite his training to resist interrogation, he had to admit that at this moment, he'd be willing to talk about anything.

Forget pain. Pleasure is way more evil.

"Can I ask you something?" he mumbled drowsily.

"Of course."

"How'd Chakwas and Mordin know about our relationship?"

"Deduction most likely. And I wasn't exactly being subtle when I was holding your hand most of the week. I don't think the rest of the crew knows, but I'm sure it will be a matter of time," Miranda answered.

"It had to happen at some point," Shepard commented.

"I know, but I'd rather have it happen later than sooner."

"You and me both. You think Chakwas and Mordin will keep quiet?" Shepard asked before exhaling sharply again.

Miranda rubbed at another trouble spot as she answered. "I'm sure. Mordin doesn't really interact with the rest of the crew and Dr. Chakwas knows how to keep a secret."

Shepard nodded and allowed himself to indulge in his pampering when a thought struck him that banished his tiredness. "Have you spoken to the Illusive Man?"

"About your condition? I told you—"

"No, no," he said. He turned his head to better look at her. "About the IFF? We've been waiting for a while now. Why haven't we gotten word about it yet? Even if there's been a delay, he should've sent either of us a message about it."

She stopped massaging and considered his question. "You're right. It is strange that we haven't heard about the status of the IFF yet. I've sent daily reports to him, but only generalities. Why we're at certain places, supply pickups, or just assurances that everything is going well. He usually doesn't bother sending messages unless it's urgent."

"Or if he wants to keep a secret," Shepard added.

"We need that IFF for the success of the mission. There's a difference between a suicide mission and just plain suicide. The Illusive Man knows this," Miranda said.

"I believe you, but all he told either of us is that he's securing a Reaper IFF. He didn't say where or how," Shepard reminded. "If another cell is involved—"

"—then it would necessitate a division of knowledge," she finished. "You've made your point. I'll contact him first thing tomorrow and see if I can't get any details."

**~o~O~o~**

The next morning, Shepard forced himself out of bed and away from any further temptations. Letting Miranda sleep, he quickly did his usual morning routines before heading toward the Crew Deck and the Starboard Observatory Lounge. It was a talk long overdue, but circumstances obviously delayed it.

_Probably for the best. Better to give her space and time to think about everything._

Upon entering, he saw Samara was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, meditating as usual. Her aura of dark energy flared briefly as she left her trance to stand up and greet him.

"Shepard. Are you well?"

"Better than before as I understand it. Mordin and Chakwas are going over my latest test results to make sure the drug is working the way it should be working. So far, my nodules have stopped growing, but it doesn't mean I'm cleared to use my biotics yet, either." He shrugged. "For now, I'm alright. What about you, though?"

Samara didn't answer immediately. She turned around and faced the window, staring out at the stars beyond. "Physically, I've recovered. Dr. Chakwas has informed me that I am cleared for active duty now."

"That's not what I meant."

"Mirala haunted my dreams and waking hours equally," Samara whispered, so much that Shepard had to strain to hear her. "For the first time in 400 years, I am free. I am a ruined vessel of sorrow and regret, but I am free." She turned around and faced him with ageless eyes. "It is not a feeling I can describe."

"Not at all? I mean, you did your duty," Shepard pointed out.

"One of my daughters is dead," Samara sadly replied. "My hopes, my dreams, everything I am were all bound up in my children." She locked gazes with him once again. "Still, my feelings have always come after my duty. The same is true of you."

He didn't argue against her on that. "And your daughter?"

He was surprised to see a small, maternal smile on Samara's lips at his question. "She was the strongest and the smartest. She would not accept the injustice thrust upon her. She fought to the end." Her expression fell and become sorrowful when she confessed, "I am so proud of her, Shepard."

Now he found himself confused. Either it was asari culture or a maternal instinct he would never comprehend. "Really?"

"Yes."

"But you still killed her."

"And I would again," Samara resolutely stated. "But I also know what it means to leave everything behind and fight."

A small pang, more like a sting, struck Shepard when she said that. His thoughts turned to Ash, the Alliance, and his career, before he banished it all to focus on the now.

Samara didn't notice his wandering thoughts. Instead, she was looking out at the window. Part of the fueling station could be seen, but the stars still dominated the view. "I do not think I have told you this, but Mirala ran at the age of 40. I do not know human years well, but it is very young for an asari."

"Liara once told me she was only 106 years old… two years ago I mean," Shepard said. "Apparently, you're still a child in asari culture until you're a century or so years old, so I can imagine. Just tell me: Was it all worth it?"

"It was never a question of worth, but of need," Samara corrected. "I had to take the action I did. As did she. This was never a story that would have a happy outcome."

Shepard nodded and idly rubbed one of his sore spots. "What will you do now that Mor-Mirala is gone? I mean, after my mission?"

She turned back around and faced him. Again, he found himself under the scrutiny of her powerful gaze. "Assuming we survive? I am a justicar and injustice still exists… and perhaps even other Ardat-Yakshi," she said.

"I thought Ardat-Yakshi were extremely rare?"

"Asari have spread to many worlds. There are remote regions with no government oversight, much like your human colonies in the Terminus Systems," she said calmly. "If I travel to those worlds and they do exist, I will find them."

"There was something Mirala said during the fight… she claimed that her condition was the future of the asari race," Shepard said carefully.

"Mirala would say anything that served her cause. You know this now," Samara said. "Ardat-Yakshi are sterile. That wouldn't be a particularly viable future for my people."

"So after all this, you don't want to settle down?"

To his surprise, Samara had a faint smile on her lips. "I did. I returned to my homeworld and tried to start a family."

"I meant—"

"—again? No. I will fight and struggle all my life. That is my fate."

Again, she smiled, but this lacked any feeling behind it. He was sure it for his benefit.

"When I die, it will not be in bed. I have chosen this path and I am at peace with that," she stated serenely. "Due in no small part to you."

"You're welcome."

"Now, if I might say something?" she suddenly asked.

"What is it?"

"Your Singularity, it was quite impressive. Especially given the duress you must have been under," she praised.

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not entirely sure how I did it, either."

"It is interesting what strength we may find when we need it most, is it not?" Samara commented thoughtfully.

"About that," he said. He hesitated a bit, but long enough for her to pick up on his thoughts.

"Mirala has had centuries to perfect her technique, but it is heartening to know you were able to fight her influence," Samara said knowingly.

"I'm sorry if I—"

She held up a hand. "What's done is now done and I hold nothing against you, Shepard." This time, her smile was genuine. "In fact, I am feeling rather proud of you right now, more so than my daughter. You have been a most excellent student."

Shepard smiled under the rare praise. "Thanks."

She looked thoughtful about something now as she studied him. He got the feeling that she was measuring him for something or other. "I wonder…"

"What?"

She shook her head and walked back to her place on the floor. Sitting back down again, Samara said, "No matter. For your assistance, I promise to have no further distractions. Your mission is now mine."

Shepard cocked his head to side, curious as to what she wanted to say, but she had begun her meditations again. Seeing that the conversation was over, he shrugged to himself and left.

**~o~O~o~**

"Ah, Shepard," Thane greeted.

"Hey, Thane," Shepard said as left Samara's room.

"I trust you are well?"

"Getting there."

Thane nodded. "I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time? If you are feeling up to it, of course."

"Something up?"

"Nothing important. I simply need a distraction or inspiration. I'm hoping you can provide both."

Shepard shrugged. "Sure. I have no plans right now."

They walked the short distance to the Life Support Plant. Once inside, Thane took a seat at his table and invited Shepard to sit as well.

"So how's everything going with Kolyat? We haven't had much time to talk after the Citadel," Shepard said conversationally.

"It is difficult. All things worth keeping are. In truth, I was composing another message to him. Of late, however, I wonder if I am becoming too personal, or not enough," Thane answered. "I thought it best to take a step back and review."

"Guess your recall can't help you there, huh?"

"Remembering things and understanding them are two very different mindsets," Thane said. "While I remember exactly everything I've said to Kolyat, I do not know how it will be interpreted or how best to approach him."

"I'm not sure how I'll be able to help," Shepard said. He couldn't help but note the interesting contrast between Thane and Samara's problems and their approaches to their respective children.

"Lately, we've been talking about Kolyat's mother," Thane replied. "That's when I recalled our last conversation."

"Your wife, you mean?"

"I suppose the story of my wife's death took you by surprise."

"It sounded… you know, personal doesn't seem remotely like the right word," Shepard said. "I just figured that you'd talk when you were ready."

Thane smiled. "I appreciate your patience." He drummed his fingers on the table as he thought about how to approach the subject. "I kept my work clear of our home life. I assumed that would be enough to protect Irikah. That memory I mention before—"

_"/Laser dot trembles on the target's skull. The smell of spice on the spring wind. Sunset eyes defiant in the scope/."_

After dropping out of his episode, Thane continued. "That was Irikah. That was how I met her. She saw my targeting laser as she walked by and threw herself in the way."

"I guess she impressed you. That must've left quite an impression," Shepard commented.

"She woke me up," Thane said.

_"/Her body trembles. Not fear. Indignation. Her mouth moves. 'How dare you? /'"_

Shepard leaned forward and paid close attention.

"You and I trained ourselves to save others. How often does a civilian step in the way of a bullet to protect someone they've never met?" Thane rhetorically asked. He smiled in remembrance. "I thought she was the goddess Arashu. She met my eyes through the scope and my purpose faltered."

"So how did she go from blocking your shot to having your children?" Shepard asked interestedly. "It's a huge leap."

"I had to meet her. The memory possessed and endowed me, more so than any other I had," Thane said. "I fell on my knees before her. Begged her pardon. She introduced me to the world beyond my work. Eventually, she forgave me. Later she loved me."

"Have you thought about telling that story to Kolyat? He already knows a little about your life. Maybe you should tell him how everything changed for you. If your wife was able to forgive you and be with you, perhaps he might be inclined to follow her example just as much as he followed yours," Shepard suggested.

Thane cocked his head to the side before smiling again. "Hmm… I hadn't thought of that. I was right. You would be able to provide a distraction and inspiration all at once."

"About your wife, you mentioned that she died," Shepard said carefully. "Can I ask…?"

Thane's smile fell and he bowed his head. "I let myself become complacent," he admitted painfully. "I thought Irikah and Kolyat were safe. I stayed away too long and my enemies came for her."

"Who came for her?"

"Batarians. A slaver ring that was preying on hanar outer colonies. I'd killed their leaders," Thane answered. "They paid the Shadow Broker to find out who I was. But they were afraid of me, so they went after her."

"So you hunted the people responsible," Shepard said.

"Irikah woke me up. When she passed, I returned to my battle sleep," Thane revealed. "My body hunted her killers. Murdered them."

"Murder? Not assassinate?"

"I was taught to grant death quickly, cleanly. To minimize suffering. Them—I let them linger," he whispered.

The question almost left his lips, but at the last moment, Shepard realized that he probably didn't want to know the details. "Is that why you felt like you needed to repent? For avenging your wife's death?"

"I made the choice to hunt them. They're the only lives I've ever taken of my own choice. The only deaths on my own conscience," Thane explained.

"The ones you… tortured."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for bringing all this up," Shepard genuinely said.

"No, it's fine," Thane said before sitting up and looking thoughtful. "I haven't spoken about my wife in – I don't think I ever have. I didn't have anyone left to tell it to. Certainly not with Kolyat. I don't want him to remember his mother that way."

"You do now," Shepard said. "You're part of my crew and I consider you a friend. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask."

"I've never been part of a team," Thane admitted. "Assassins tend to be solitary. But now, I'm learning the virtues of facing death with others at your side." He smiled. "It's a work in progress."

"Much like your message," Shepard said. "I'll let you get back to it."

"Thank you."

**~o~O~o~**

Leaving Thane to his thoughts, Shepard walked out of the Life Support Plant and back into the Common Area. On way in, he almost bumped head-long into Tali and Kasumi.

"Oops," Kasumi said. She was quick enough to grab Tali and side-step for the both of them to avoid collision.

"Sorry, Shepard," Tali said after steadying herself.

"No problem," Shepard said. He looked at both women noticed that their clothes were more than a little greasy. "Um…"

"Garrus got hurt fixing the bay doors. The passageway is really small and I needed Gabby to watch the diagnostics and radio the information to me. So I asked Kasumi to give me a hand."

Kasumi hefted a small bag that contained her toiletries. "I'm on the way to the showers. Later."

Tali waved and walked to the Med Bay. Shepard followed and saw Chakwas fussing over Garrus' hand.

"There. You'll be fine a few hours. Just keep the bandage clean and let the medi-gel work," Chakwas ordered.

"Thanks," Garrus muttered. He flexed his left hand a bit to let it breathe through the wrappings.

"I fixed the problem. The cannon's working now," Tali said to both men. She kept staring at Garrus though. "You owe me though. Next time, just ask."

Garrus grumbled something back. Either he said, "Thanks," or something less polite.

"You okay?" Shepard asked.

"Just fine. Cut my hand, that's all," Garrus replied.

"I heard you tried to fit into a size 4 shaft. Big mistake considering you're about a size 10," Shepard said with smirk.

"Oh, shut up."

"You really are quite the renegade, aren't you?"

Shepard turned around to see Miranda standing in the doorway.

"You do realize you're addressing a superior officer?" she asked. The seriousness of her voice was offset by the smile she had.

"Shepard will cut me some slack. I got hurt trying to fix the cannon," Garrus said confidently.

"The cannon that** I** fixed," Tali pointedly reminded.

"As important as this argument is," Miranda calmly interjected before they could continue. "Shepard? The Illusive Man wants to talk to you."

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Unknown_**

"Shepard."

"Illusive Man. It's been awhile. You don't call, you don't write… If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were avoiding me. That hurts."

The Illusive Man's artificial eyes narrowed dangerously. "This isn't the time for levity, Shepard. The situation is serious."

Shepard wasn't fazed. He crossed his arms belligerently and stared right back. "I'm sure it is. That's the only reason you'd be calling me about anything, especially why you have or **don't** have the IFF ready for me. If I had to hazard a guess, something went wrong with the retrieval or the delivery. What? No one read the 'fragile', 'top secret', and 'extremely dangerous' labels?"

He took a small victory when he saw that the Illusive Man's jaw tighten ever so slightly before schooling his features again.

"There was science team assigned with retrieving the IFF," the Illusive Man said, pushing the conversation forward.

"And you've heard nothing or something from them," Shepard guessed. "Usually, you send a team or a couple of very talented agents to retrieve something dangerous. For something this mission critical, you might've sent me and my team instead. A science team means dedicated research at some top secret site you've found or base you've established and you don't want me to know about it, which explains the delay in this call. It's been my experience that screwing around with Reaper artifacts is never a good idea," he said. "So either you've lost contact and you have no idea why or you do know why and you haven't been able to fix it. Whatever it is, you and I both know you'd rather avoid this song and dance."

Once again, Shepard was sure he hit the nail on the head. The Illusive Man took a quick smoke, but it lacked his usual flair. The full three dimensional holographic surroundings of their unique communications made it easy to perceive the details of their interactions. It was fancy, but there were always drawbacks to face-to-face meets.

The silence dragged on. Shepard assumed it was a ploy from the Cerberus CEO to get him to play his game and back off. The Spectre wasn't interested on abiding by his terms anymore. "Are we finished yet?"

"Are we going to have a civil conversation," the Illusive Man said with a hint of steel. It wasn't a question.

Shepard scoffed and turned around. "Call me when you're ready to talk. Until then, get me that IFF. If you can."

The bluff worked. Before he could step outside the boundaries of the cylindrical scanners, the Illusive Man dropped his bombshell.

"The science team was working on a derelict Reaper."

Shepard stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly, his mind whirling at the possibilities. "A derelict Reaper?"

No doubt it was a question the Illusive Man hoped he wouldn't have to answer, but this time, Shepard had the advantage. He fully faced the enigmatic figure and stonily gazed down at him.

The Illusive Man picked up a tumbler and took a sip before speaking. "An Alliance science team recently determined that the 'Great Rift' on the planet Klendagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon." He paused again to finish his drink and place it down before taking a smoke.

Shepard waited patiently. It was just another ploy to get him to lose his cool at the constant interruptions. Unfortunately, it also meant that his 'benefactor' wanted to keep him in the dark as long as possible, if not entirely.

"A very old mass accelerator," the Illusive Man finally continued as if he hadn't stopped talking. "I sent a team to find either the weapon or its target. They found both."

"And?"

"The weapons was defunct, but it helped us plot the flight path of the intended target – a 37 million year old derelict Reaper. We found it damaged and trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf."

Shepard had to wonder how much of what the Illusive Man was saying was the truth, including the supposed 'defunct weapon'. Still… "37 million years old," he repeated thoughtfully.

"Well before the Protheans," the Illusive Man confirmed.

"I saw what Sovereign did to the Citadel fleet. Hard to imagine a mass accelerator capable of stopping something that powerful."

The Illusive Man tapped his cigarette into his ashtray. "This vessel is a relic from a battle waged when mammals took their first steps on earth," he said. "There's no trace of the species that took the shot, not surprising since they were probably all harvested like countless others. Is it so surprising that a species would choose to make one last stand? A moment of defiance before being wiped out?"

Shepard knew he was referring to humanity and conceded the point. "And the location? Aren't brown dwarfs basically stars that didn't quite make it?" he asked.

"Simply put, but accurate. They're gas giants that don't quite have the masses of stars. Expect gale-force winds and extremely high temperatures," the Illusive Man cautioned. "The Reaper has a mass effect field that keeps it in orbit. Likely an automated response to the external threats. It's stable, but I won't call it safe."

"Especially when you lose contact with everyone inside," Shepard said evenly.

The Illusive Man said nothing in response. He brought his cigarette to his lips, took a slow drag, and exhaled a thin cloud. His gaze never wavered.

Shepard crossed his arms and considered the information he was given. "How many teams did you send before you called me?"

"None whatsoever," the Illusive Man said promptly.

Shepard didn't believe him, but there was little reason to call him on it. "So you know nothing?"

"I was in contact with Dr. Chandana, the science team leader, right up until he stopped sending messages. I had instructed him to retrieve the IFF not long after your assault on the Collector ship. His last message stated that he was close to finding and securing it. More than that, I can't say."

"Speaking of that particular mission, the only reason I believe you is because I think you're smart enough to come up with something new or original rather than to fall back on repeat performances," Shepard said. Despite the conversational tone he used, his eyes clearly said, "If this is another trap…"

"It's no less a risk, Shepard. We haven't been able to restore communications and we have no idea what happened," the Illusive Man said and confirming Shepard's earlier suspicions. He took another smoke. "Initial reconnaissance revealed no clues, only verifications of what we already knew. It was too risky to commit more resources, but now we need that IFF."

"Send the coordinates. We'll make our way there now."

He tapped a command on the holo-terminal at his chair. "Done."

With that, the connection was terminated as well.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik System / Sahrabarik Fueling Station / Normandy SR-2**_

With his head down in thought, he walked out of the room. His feet felt like they were carrying him to the CIC automatically. Shepard was so lost in thought that he actually walked right by Miranda, who was standing out in the hallway waiting for him.

She reached out and lightly grabbed his arm. The physical contact was enough to jar him out of his thoughts. "Shepard?"

"Miranda," he said distractedly. "We have a mission."

"We're getting the IFF?" she queried.

He nodded. "From a Reaper of all things."

She sucked in a breath. "A Reaper? An **actual** Reaper?"

"Derelict, a wreckage now," he confirmed. "37 million years old."

He could see that she was thinking the exact same things he was. The possibilities were enormous. However, he also knew the risks which weighed on his mind far more than the information. "The Illusive Man had a science team stationed there. They were studying it, but now they've gone missing."

His news brought a frown to her face. "Any explanation as to why?"

Shepard shook his head. "They just vanished. Now we're going in."

"A missing science team on a derelict Reaper… hardly a coincidence. Unfortunately, without knowing what happened to them, we're taking a significant risk of falling prey to the same circumstances," she cautioned.

"Then we'll have to be extra careful, won't we?"

"I really don't like this," Miranda replied with a shake of her head.

"Then you're obviously smarter than whoever the Illusive Man sent," Shepard said. "What we could learn about the Reapers is enormous, but we thought the same thing about the Collector ship and look what happened."

"I do recall some of those events. Didn't I save your life then too?" she asked 'innocently'.

Shepard rolled his eyes and made his way to the CIC. "I do believe you did. Thank you."

"You're quite welcome."

They entered the CIC and walked up to the Galaxy Map. Highlighted in red was the destination the Illusive Man had forwarded to them. Shepard reached out and tapped it, prompting Joker begin preparations to debark from the fueling station and set the course.

_"Aye, aye, Captain. Coordinates locked. Hawking Eta Cluster, Thorne System, Mnemosyne. ETA: 10 hrs."_

"Do you think it's a trap?" Miranda asked, serious once more.

Shepard shook his head. "I don't know. It's supposed to be dead, but… with the Reapers, who knows?"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Not really much to say this time. Interestingly enough, when I was writing Thane's scene, it eerily reminded me of how I was trying to type up this fic.


	47. Reaper IFF

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne**_

"Hey, did you hear where we're going?"

"Everyone's heard. A real, genuine Reaper!"

"Think it's still… y'know?"

"No idea. If it's still alive, I'm glad the cannon's working then. I wonder what it looks like though."

"Probably looks like Sovereign."

"Maybe."

"How big do you think it is?"

"After seeing Sovereign in the news, it's probably big enough to plow down the Destiny Ascension, the Orizaba, and the Everest all at the same time. I know our main gun's powerful, but I wouldn't want bet my life on it."

The crewmen gossiping fell silent when Shepard walked in into the hangar and began stretching. They gave each other tentative looks, but none were brave enough to voice any of their questions or concerns out loud. Instead they shuffled about and talked quietly amongst themselves.

Word of their destination had spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, rumors had followed right alongside. As usual, fanciful or outlandish stories had grown from the scarce details the crew was aware of. Some were about how the Reaper was alive and had taken Sovereign's place as the vanguard of their race and they were tasked with destroying it. Or it was the remains of a Reaper the Illusive Man found and was being completely repurposed as a dreadnought and his own personal flagship.

Shepard had no idea how the crewmen knew, but wasn't terribly surprised. On ship as relatively small as a frigate, things like this were always bound to come out in some form or fashion. Even carriers and dreadnoughts had trouble keeping secrets when people were determined enough to get in the know.

With the cat out of the bag, it was this reason that Garrus walked into the hangar, approached him and started talking about their mission openly. "So we're boarding a Reaper now? Ballsy. Stupid, but ballsy."

"Scared?" Shepard asked as he lied down on the weight bench and started his reps.

"Just curious about how you operate, Shepard. First, we fight the Collectors outside of their own ship on Horizon. Then we fight the Collectors **on** their own ship amidst the remains of a turian patrol. Now we're fighting something that, in all likelihood, killed all the Cerberus scientists inside its body, or whatever a Reaper is. Finally, the endgame is about hitting the Collectors at their home base, or planet, or something," Garrus listed off before looking Shepard square in the eye. "You're never satisfied with thinking small, are you?"

"I don't like to get bored," Shepard replied with grunt.

"One of these days, you're going to bite off more than you can chew, Shepard," Tali warned as she entered the hangar as well and stood over him.

He grinned. "No confidence in me, Tali? That hurts."

"Don't get me wrong, you're extremely capable. One of the best, if not the best captains I've ever served with," Tali amended.

"We'll be sure not to mention that to the captain of the Neema," Garrus teased.

"But all this escalation can't be good for you," Tali continued over Garrus' comment. She half-heartedly swatted at him, but missed. "Hence, my earlier statement."

"_All hands: we are approaching the mass relay. I repeat, all hands: we are approaching the mass relay. Prepare for mass relay jump,"_ EDI announced.

"Well, Tali, on that fateful day, I guess I'll be relying on you guys to bail me out," Shepard said. He seated the barbell and waited for the incoming acceleration/deceleration of mass relay travel.

The other crewmen scurried about and secured any loose equipment around the gym.

"_Approaching mass relay,"_ Joker informed. _"Jumping in 10… 9… 8… 7…"_

Garrus sat down and started stretching. "You're one of my best friends, Shepard, but sometimes, you go and make it really hard to **stay** your friend."

"That's all too true," Tali agreed.

"Your support is so overwhelming," Shepard said dryly. The ship lurched ever so slightly. "I think I might be getting choked up. Seriously, I think I might shed a tear or two, here."

"_Mass __relay cleared," _Joker reported. _"Setting course for Thorne System. ETA: 4 hours."_

Tali started copying Garrus' motions and started stretching herself. When Shepard shot her a curious look, she said, "Garrus has been giving me hand-to-hand combat lessons."

"Really?"

"I remember when she actually hit that salarian back on Illium. It was a pretty good punch, but I thought it could be better, so I've helping her out a little," Garrus explained before he stood up and moved to an empty part of the hangar.

"Even Kasumi has been taking the time to teach me a bit," Tali added. "I guess I'm following your example, trying to expand my horizons a bit."

"So how's it going?" Shepard asked.

Tali sighed. "I have a lot to learn. Turian military practices are worlds different than anything I learned with the Migrant Fleet Marines. And human hand-to-hand techniques are nothing like I've ever tried."

"If Kasumi is being too tough on you, it's because she cares. Remember that. If Garrus is being too tough, let me know. I'll be sure to straighten him out," Shepard offered jokingly.

Tali giggled.

"I heard that!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Mnemosyne **_

"Engage stealth systems," Miranda ordered from her position at the command post. "We have no idea what happened to the science team so let's rule out any external threats first."

"_Engaging IES Stealth Systems, Executive Lawson,"_ EDI said.

"Begin passive scans of the system. Let's find out if there's anyone else out there but us."

"_Aye, aye, ma'am. Scanning system," _Matthews acknowledged.

Miranda leaned on the railing and watched the myriad of holo-monitors for anything particularly noteworthy. It was boring and dull, but she didn't let her mind wander. The Collectors could very well know that they needed an IFF to cross the Omega-4 Relay and if they knew about the derelict Reaper, an ambush could be waiting in the wings. After about half an hour, something interesting finally caught her eye. "Hold it. Matthews, run that scan again."

"_Aye, aye, ma'am. Scanning… wait. Something's there, I think."_

"Identify it," Miranda commanded, "but be careful. We don't want to reveal our position."

"_Identifying, stand-by."_

The CIC fell quiet. Knowing that they were approaching a Reaper was already on their minds, dead or not. Hearing that a Cerberus team or crew had vanished while examining said Reaper had increased an apprehension that was already there; but now they waited with bated breath for Matthews' report on what might be yet another complication.

"_I think… I think it's a ship, ma'am,"_ Matthews' finally said. _"I'm picking up latent heat signatures. I think they might be trying to avoid detection."_

"Get a positive verification. Mr. Moreau, divert and intercept. And be subtle," she ordered. "Shepard, you're wanted in CIC. We might not be alone here."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne / Cerberus Frigate Gravitas**_

"Report!" Dawn ordered as she stepped into the bridge. Whatever she was being called for, it had better be damned good or heads would roll. She was a half-step away from calling the Illusive Man in the Comm. Room and one of her crewmen frantically called her back to the CIC.

"Ma'am, I think another ship just entered the system!" a crewman shouted.

"What is it? Reinforcements?"

"I don't know. We were tracking the other ship at the time. Our scanners just barely picked up something coming out of FTL at the very edge of the system, but when we tried to zero in to identify, it vanished. We're not picking anything up on our sensors at all now."

"Should we start active scans?" the XO asked.

"No. I don't want to reveal our position. Especially if something just arrived," Dawn said. "Status of the first ship?"

"Gone. It entered the dwarf. We're trying to find it with any of the remaining remote drones, but it's doubtful we'll be able to find it again," another bridge officer reported.

"Damn it. Alright, let's not take chances. Commander, battle stations. I don't want to be caught unawares," Dawn said. "Let's get some decoys ready as well."

Her XO tapped on his console. "All hands: report to general quarters. Battle stations, battle stations."

"Decoy drones prepped for launch!" another crewman reported

"Helm, let's relocate. And try not to let anything out there know where we are," Dawn ordered.

"_Aye, aye, ma'am. Relocating."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne / Normandy SR-2**_

"_They're moving," _Matthews' reported. _"But they're being slow about it."_

"Trying to run without giving themselves away," Miranda said.

"That's my guess," Shepard agreed. "They suspect we're out here, but don't know for sure. Otherwise, they'd have already tried to jump to FTL."

"Our stealth systems are engaged so our own FTL signature must have given us away," Miranda theorized. "Their sensors must be impressive to work at that distance."

"Have they spotted us yet?" Shepard asked Matthews.

"_Negative, sir. We're running silent,"_ Matthews reported. _"We're sneaking up on them unawares. LADAR paints the silhouette as a frigate."_

"_Captain! We just got an IFF ping. It's one of ours; Cerberus frigate, recon vessel,"_ Hadley chimed in.

"Reconnaissance… that would explain why they're equipped with such sophisticated scanners," Miranda explained to Shepard.

"For spying?" Shepard probed.

"Among other tasks."

"Why are they here? Did the Illusive Man send them?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea why they would be operating here. The Illusive Man said nothing about this to me. EDI, can you identify them?"

"Accessing IFF… running search through Cerberus databases…" EDI announced. "Match found. The signature matches the Gravitas, under the command of Captain Elena Dawn."

Shepard glanced at Miranda.

She shook her head and shrugged back. "Never heard of her or worked with anyone by that name."

"Open a channel," Shepard ordered.

"_Channel open, Captain,"_ Hadley said.

"Cerberus frigate Gravitas. Respond to this channel." When Shepard received no answer, he frowned. "Captain Elena Dawn, respond **now**."

Finally, the holographic image of the Normandy changed as a connection was established. In its place, a pretty and formidable looking woman stared back. She adjusted her Cerberus hat and swept back her short blonde hair before speaking. _"I'm Captain Dawn. Who is this? Identify yourself."_

"Captain Shepard, Normandy SR-2. Don't bother trying to locate us, Captain, my ship is equipped with stealth technology," Shepard said.

She frowned at his statement and her blue eyes almost imperceptibly glanced to the side, probably silently communicating to her bridge officers. _"Shepard… as in __**the **__Commander Shepard?"_

"One and the same."

"_Are you here to apprehend us then, Shepard_?" Dawn asked.

Shepard raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. _"Why would I do that?"_

Dawn blinked once, but let nothing else slip. _"You're not here on behalf of either the Alliance or the Council?"_

"You don't know anything about me or why I'm here," Shepard stated. It wasn't a question.

"_No."_

Sighing, he turned to his XO. "Miranda?" he called out and stepped away from the command post. "Stand down from silent running," he ordered to the crew at large.

Miranda took his place. "Hadley, begin standard Cerberus encryptions. I suggest you do the same, Captain Dawn."

Dawn had a look of surprise before schooling her features. She nodded to someone off-camera.

Once communications were secure, Miranda said, "I'm Director Lawson, Lazarus Cell. We're transmitting our IFF to you now."

"_IFF information received. Stand-by_," Dawn said. She looked off to the side and waited expectantly. Eventually, she nodded and marginally relaxed. _"Apologies, Director Lawson. I've actually heard of you. I'm something of a fan of your work… whatever work I've been allowed to know about anyway. We were told that a team would be coming to investigate the site, but the Illusive Man told us nothing else."_

"He didn't tell us about your presence here either," Miranda replied. "Mission parameters?"

"_Recon and report on some missing scientists in the region. Everything went directly to the top_," Dawn answered. _"The Illusive Man was very particular about that."_

"You've been here long?"

Dawn shook her head. _"Not really. A couple of weeks or so."_

"You didn't know about Shepard's status or that we'd be coming?"

"_All the Illusive Man said was that a team was coming. Avoid detection if possible and maintain our watch to see if anything out of the ordinary happens,"_ Dawn replied. _"As for Shepard, we've been doing a lot of deep space recon. Radio silence and extranet activities are kept to a minimum to avoid detection. Needless to say, every time we get shore leave, first thing we do is either get some R & R or catch up on current events. Last I heard, he was dead."_

Miranda nodded. "A lot has happened since then, Captain Dawn. Is there anything you can tell us about the site itself?"

"_One thing just happened right before you contacted us. In truth, I was about to call the Illusive Man about it."_

"What is it?"

"_LADAR picked up a geth ship. I'm reasonably sure it didn't detect our presence. We tracked it until it entered Mnemosyne's gravity well,"_ Dawn answered.

"Reinforcements of some sort? Was there a geth presence when you first arrived here?"

"_Negative. Only a large dreadnought of some kind, and one our science vessels. No geth. That third ship only arrived a little while before you did__. It wasn't very big either. Smaller than my ship, actually. But how much geth can fit inside is anyone's guess. No more than a couple dozen if I had to judge."_

"I understand we've lost contact with a Dr. Chandana and his entire science team," Miranda said.

"_Yes, ma'am. And the crew as well. Part of our orders was to reestablish contact if at all possible with anyone there. So __far, it's been quiet. Way too quiet."_

"How many were aboard?"

Dawn frowned. _"The Illusive Man didn't say and I didn't ask. For a vessel that size and the amount of attention the boss put into this… I'd expect around 200 or so."_

Shepard stepped up. "Can you tell us anything specific about what's inside the dwarf?"

"_Besides our science ship and the geth transport, I think it's a dreadnought, but it's larger than any known profiles; around two kilometers long. It's damaged, but what's interesting is that it's still generating a mass effect field, holding it in place above Mnemosyne. A __**very**__ powerful mass effect field."_

"How do you know? And how bad is the damage?" Shepard asked.

Dawn shook her head._ "Our orders were long-range recon. The Illusive Man didn't want us anywhere near the site itself. 'Too dangerous,' he said. Unfortunately, that means details are scarce. The distance we've maintained coupled with Mnemosyne's interference means we've barely been able to tell there was anything in there at all. The only reason we know about the strength of the mass effect fields was that once our drones got through the solar winds, it entered the envelope of the wreckage and flew just fine; hardly any trouble at all. If it's damaged, I can tell you that it's definitely built to last."_

Shepard nodded and glanced at Miranda.

"Very well, Captain. Report to the Illusive Man. We're going in. Watch our backs for any more reinforcements. Of any kind," Miranda said.

"_You mean the geth or the Collectors?"_ Dawn asked.

Miranda's face betrayed nothing. "If there's **anything** entering the system, let us know."

"_Understood, ma'am. Gravitas out."_

Shepard furrowed his brow. "First a derelict Reaper, a missing science team, and now geth. Think the Collectors are coming too?"

Miranda shook her head. "I don't know… actually, what I find interesting is why geth activity has been so scarce. They're agents of the Reapers too, aren't they? So why haven't we seen them working with the Collectors? We've already encountered husks after all and it was the geth that introduced us to that tech."

"They were working for Sovereign," he reminded. "Maybe the other Reapers aren't aware of the geth."

"Or maybe the Collectors got in contact with them. After crippling their ship, they could call for help and establish themselves as agents of the Reapers," she pointed out. "Then they could request repairs or assistance to hunt you down. At the very least, their involvement would complicate matters and impede our progress. It would allow the Collectors to regroup in the meantime."

Shepard sighed. "Can't deny that possibility either."

She shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Agreed. Joker, resume course," Shepard ordered.

"_Aye, aye. Resuming course."_

"Gather the rest of the squad and have them meet in the Briefing Room," Shepard said to his XO.

"Understood."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne**_

_Access into the Old Machine located._

_Optimal entry point necessitates disembarking into zero gravity and utilizing mass effect fields to approach entry point on exterior of construct._

_Analyzing residual solar winds within the Old Machine's mass effect fields: 2.139 mph._

_Probability of damage to platform: 1.741%_

_-Acceptable._

_Identifying foreign vessel docked with the Old Machine: Classified material originating from Shepard-Commander's reports. Markings indicate pro-human group known as Cerberus._

_Probability of hostile action against platform: 98.997%. _

_-Further analysis pending. Sensors do not detect presence of organics._

_Probability of organics utilizing disruption technology to evade detection: 74.167%. _

_-Cerberus classified as formidable by known organic species. Assassination, infiltration, and subterfuge noted as primary skills utilized to conduct clandestine operations._

_Proceed with mission directives?_

_Consensus achieved. Will proceed with mission directives. Highest priority._

_Mission parameters: Engage only if engaged. Do not instigate hostile action._

_-If engaged: Lethal force authorized._

_Current armaments: Pulse Rifle Unit. Plasma Shotgun Unit. Widow Sniper Rifle Unit._

_Probability of mission success: 48.211%. _

_-Probability subject to change pending further analysis of organic presence within._

_Consensus achieved. Current equipment suitable for mission._

_Mission to proceed as directed._

_Comm buoy located. Uploading backup copy of gestalt programs. _

_-Uploading… uploading… upload complete. _

_Archive successfully secured._

_Proceeding with mission objectives._

_Extraneous Data: Profile Infiltrait0rN7 received 3-day suspension from Galaxy of Fantasy for unsportsmanlike behavior._

_-Addendum: Avoid taunting when receiving awards. Recommend researching organic responses to failure –losing- at later date to better interact with organics._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne / Normandy SR-2**_

"Without several more scans, Shepard, I can't permit you to use your biotics," Chakwas asserted. "Remember: the drug is extremely experimental. As in, you are the first to utilize it. I have the utmost confidence in Dr. Solus' abilities, but there are often things we can't completely account for. I don't want to take chances yet."

Shepard nodded as he stood in full armor in the Med Bay. After heading toward his cabin to put on his Kestrel Armor, he traveled down to ask Chakwas what his medical restrictions were and what he should or shouldn't be doing.

"In truth, I'd rather you didn't participate in any missions for the foreseeable future, Shepard, but I know you'd just override me. Just be sure to let Dr. Solus, Executive Lawson, or myself know if you present with any sort of pain you think is **not** associated with… whatever it is you're about to jump headlong into," she sternly said. "Anything unusual or out of place, you let us know immediately."

"Got it, Doc."

"_Ladies and gentlemen, this is your friendly and very important helmsman speaking,"_ Joker said in a pleasant, informative tone of voice. _"We're about to fly into the gravitational well of a brown dwarf. We're expecting heavy solar winds gusting at around 500 kph so expect heavy turbulence. If anyone needs a barf bag, I'm sure you can find something in the Mess Hall."_

"That little prick!" Gardner shouted from his station.

"_For any pharmaceutical assistance, please talk to Dr. Chakwas for a hook up."_

"Jeff…" Chakwas muttered.

"_Please observe safety regulations and secure any loose and valuable objects. I might trip and break my legs going to the head and then where would we all be? Trapped in a gas giant that could crush us like a tube of toothpaste and no pilot? Just something to think about. Thank you and enjoy the flight."_

Shepard chuckled and shook his head in exasperation. "If he wasn't the best pilot in the Alliance—"

"Self-proclaimed best pilot," Chakwas corrected with a hint of irriation.

"Well, you better get ready, Doc. We're going in," Shepard tactfully reminded.

"Lovely," she said with a roll of her eyes. She turned around and started inspecting her stocks.

"We good to go, Shepard?"

He turned toward the door and saw Jacob and Miranda waiting expectantly for him. "Yeah. Let's go."

"_Captain, we're approaching the target coordinates. I wasn't kidding earlier; solar winds __**are**__ pretty heavy and our mass effect fields aren't enough to protect us fully. Expect this ride to get a little bumpy,"_ Joker informed.

"Alright, I'm on my way to the CIC. EDI, raise the alert," Shepard ordered. He, Miranda, and Jacob shuffled into the lift and ascended to Deck 2. Already, the ship began to shudder from the gale force winds.

"All hands, we are approaching the area of operations. Report to general quarters; I repeat: All hands report to battle stations," EDI said.

As the elevator climbed, a hard round of turbulence nearly rocked everyone off their feet. Shepard fell back against the wall and just managed to catch Miranda as she fell against him.

"Wow," she muttered as the shaking ebbed only slightly. She held onto his arms to balance herself until she was able to stand under her own power.

"Yeah, that's what they all say," Shepard said with a straight face.

Miranda blinked once before narrowing her eyes. She struck him once in the chest and took a step back.

Once the elevator doors opened, Shepard walked out, trying vainly to suppress his smile.

Miranda made to follow suit, but stopped and glared at Jacob, who was trying to stifle his own grin and failing miserably.

Seeing the look on her face, he scurried after Shepard. Miranda shook her head in equal parts exasperation, annoyance, bemusement as she followed at a more sedate pace.

Before all three made it to the Briefing Room, the shaking suddenly stopped and the ship flew as it normally did.

"_Just passed the Reaper's mass effect envelope," _Joker informed before muttering, _"and into the eye of the storm…"_

"Unbelievable," Miranda said with a hint of awe. "It's just as Dawn said; it's actually holding back the solar winds and still maintain its altitude against Mnemosyne's gravity well."

"You're not making me feel better about this mission," Jacob groused as they passed through the doors.

"You're worrying way too early, Jacob. We're going to explore the insides of a Reaper. I'm sure this can get worse," Garrus pessimistically said, having only caught Jacob's last statement. He crossed his arms and pretended to look disappointed. "What kind of marine are you?"

"Thanks, cuttlebone," he sarcastically replied, though he smiled to show he wasn't offended. "You're just a fountain of optimism."

"Alright, settle down," Shepard ordered. He walked up to the head of the table and looked to see if he had everyone's attention. "As you no doubt have heard, we're approaching a 37 million-year-old derelict Reaper."

"This mission of yours sucks," Jack couldn't help but comment.

"Think of it as practice," Shepard replied. "If you can't handle this, then you probably can't handle what's coming later. Remember, we're hitting the Collectors at their homeworld. If you can't hack it, just say so."

Jack bared her teeth at the jibe, but didn't refute him.

"Obviously, this isn't a milk run. No simple 'swing by and pick up our package' here," he continued. "Cerberus had already established a presence, but the team assigned to study the Reaper has gone dark."

"_Captain, just letting you know; LADAR got a hit off the geth ship. It looks like its holding position above the Reaper," _Joker reported.

"Anything else? Movement, troops, anything that stands out?" Shepard asked.

"_Nothing on our sensors,"_ Matthews reported.

"_I can get the Normandy into position and blow it away with a compliment of torpedoes,"_ Joker said.

"Negative. Just dock with the Cerberus ship and keep an eye on it. See what it does, first," Shepard said after a moment's thought.

"_Are you sure about that?"_ Joker asked uncertainly.

"I want to avoid spelunking inside a Reaper, but if the geth are here to secure the IFF, I don't want to prematurely destroy their ship either. If they **aren't** here to get the IFF, then I want to know **why** they're here. Just prepare to **disable**, not destroy," Shepard answered. "Status of the Reaper and Cerberus ship?"

"Scans of the Cerberus science vessel reveal no new insights. There is no answer to any of our calls and preliminary indications suggest that none of the crewmen are even aboard. I cannot say if they are deceased or merely abroad the Reaper," EDI said. "As for the Reaper itself, it is giving off power signatures in localized areas, but they are far weaker than a ship this size would indicate. The Reaper seems to maintain a mass effect field that has kept it from falling into the failed star, but massive holes have been blasted and melted into parts of the hull and remain unrepaired. The only logical conclusion is that the Reaper 'died' or was at least reduced to minimal functions all this time."

"Then was the geth responsible for the missing crewmen, or was it something else entirely?" Thane asked thoughtfully.

"It's not likely the geth are involved" Shepard said. "They arrived just only before we did. They might be assisting, but we don't know either way. Our mission is to board the Cerberus ship and see if they secured the IFF. Find any logs or clues to identify what happened. Also, we need to access their databases and download everything. Anything they learned about the Reapers could be vital. And finally, secure and rescue any survivors. We'll pass them off to the Gravitas."

"And what about the Reaper itself?" Grunt asked.

"Leave it alone," Shepard answered. "It's been dead for 37 million years. I don't think it'll choose to wake up now."

"Are you certain about that?" Tali asked. She wasn't kidding, since her entire countenance suggested she was looking at the situation gravely. "No offense, but considering your luck…"

"I'm serious," Shepard said. "That wreckage will have all sorts of information on the Reapers. Not to mention the fact that it's definitive proof I can bring the Council to make them acknowledge the Reaper threat is real."

"The Man isn't going to like the idea that you're going to out his secret," Jacob warned.

"I don't give a damn what the Illusive Man cares about," Shepard said. "This is irrefutable evidence. The threat is something bigger than Cerberus and whatever plans the Illusive Man had for it. I'm don't have time to play his little game of 'need-to-know'."

Jacob held up his hands. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger—"

"You have no idea how tempting that is," Jack muttered.

Jacob easily ignored the threat, real or not. "I'm just telling you what might happen. Making sure you're looking at all the angles here."

"I know and I appreciate that," Shepard said. "For now, the mission objectives stand. We're here for the IFF. If there are any Cerberus crewmen alive, we help them too. Help means alive and in one piece, Jack."

Jack rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in annoyance. "Fine. Fucking lucky bastards…"

"Are you sure revealing this site is the best choice?" Miranda suddenly asked.

"Of course the cheerleader has objections," Jack sardonically said with a sneer.

"The Illusive Man sent a science team and something happened. No offense, but their methods leave something to be desired," Shepard replied. "I'm done cleaning up after his messes."

Miranda looked like she wanted to argue, but in the face of the squad, she merely crossed her arms and gave him a look that promised they'd speak about this in the future.

Privately glad that she wasn't going to undermine his authority, he addressed everyone again. "The science team may have recovered the IFF, so we're going to dock with their vessel first and search. The IFF is the priority, but any research they've already done is up for grabs too."

"And if science team failed to retrieve IFF?" Mordin inquired.

"Then look for any mention of the IFF from their databases. We'll need to get it ourselves… inside the Reaper," Shepard said grimly. "We have no idea what to expect, so remember: only the geth are considered hostiles. Anything else requires my say-so."

Everyone shot each other looks before nodding in understanding.

"_All hands: stand-by. We're initiating docking procedures. I repeat, we're initiating docking procedures,"_ Joker called out.

Shepard looked around the table and saw everyone was ready. "Get your weapons and let's go."

**~o~O~o~**

_Intrusion routines successful. Presence established within Cerberus data mainframe._

_Downloading relevant information on Old Machine._

_-Archive incomplete. Information on heretic weapon and location stored in local server within Old Machine. Remote connection not possible._

_Locating server… server located. _

_Consensus achieved. Platform will continue mission__._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Mission: Secure the Reaper IFF**_

_To pass through the Omega-4 Relay safely, the Normandy will need a Reaper-designed "Identify Friend/Foe" (IFF) device. One of these Reaper IFFs may be found on a derelict Reaper hulk being investigated by Cerberus._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Hawking Eta Cluster / Thorne System / Mnemosyne / Derelict Reaper**_

"_Exploring an abandoned area, expecting something mechanical and nasty to jump out at any moment…"_

"_Destroying it and everything else around it with superior firepower and skill, one synthetic at a time,"_ Tali added as she gripped her shotgun. Her voice had an out-of-character, but not surprising edge to it. Geth made for predictable reactions in quarians.

Garrus chuckled a bit. _"Just like old times."_

"_Interesting. Atmosphere insufficient to sustain basic human respiratory needs. Suggests life support systems offline. Or failed,"_ Mordin said as he scanned the area ahead with his omni-tool.

"_There were no hull breaches on our scans,"_ Jacob reminded.

"_Smart move by the machines to take out the air, but bad news for any humans," _Grunt said. _"Unless they're suited up, we're going to be looking for corpses instead of survivors."_

"_That's only if the geth were responsible,"_ Samara reminded. _"Neglect could be the cause as well. If the crew was dead."_

"_Okay, Miranda. You've served on a ship like this before, right_?" Shepard asked as they stepped through the airlock and swept the immediate area. Empty.

"_Yes,"_ she confirmed.

"_Where would the science team secure the IFF and where would the databases be?"_

She paused and considered his question carefully. _"There's a special burn vault for any object of importance. The idea was that if the ship had suffered catastrophic failure, the vault could, in theory, survive along with anything inside. If someone unauthorized were to try to force their way in however, the vault was also designed to destroy anything and everything within… before exploding."_

Kasumi whistled. _"Wow, Mr. Illusive doesn't like to share, does he?"_

Jack scoffed in distain. _"Figures."_

"_Is it possible for the crew had taken refuge within_?" Samara asked.

Miranda shook her head. _"Not likely. It's not very big, and usually hermetically sealed. Only the captain of the ship, the chief scientist, and the director of this cell, if it wasn't the chief scientist or captain themselves, would have access."_

"_Will we be able to get in?"_ Jacob asked. _"Neither of us have clearance of any kind since we're not part of this cell."_

"_We'll need to get to the bridge. From there, I can override the captain's command and take control of the ship. I should be able to open the vault after that. Again, this is assuming that Chandana succeeded in getting the IFF,"_ Miranda said.

"_And their research?"_ Shepard asked.

She looked down the hall and pointed with her Pulse Rifle. _"Servers are deck below us. A lift should be that way. Not too far. We can establish a link with EDI and have her download everything."_

"_Lead the way,"_ Shepard said tensely as the silence bore down on the group.

Miranda took point and scanned their surroundings warily. Shepard was reminded of the Collector Cruiser. Initial scans revealed nothing and yet, and they were still ambushed by hordes of Collectors and husks. At this point, it was a lesson learned about their enemies: expect anything and everything.

After descending a deck and navigating a few corridors, Miranda stopped in front of a door and tried to enter. _"Locked,"_ she announced.

"_Tali,"_ Shepard called out.

"_On it,"_ the engineer said. She moved toward the display and started her bypass.

"_Does this feel wrong to anyone?"_ Garrus asked.

"_No signs of struggle, no blood, and no bodies,"_ Thane said in agreement. _"Does a vessel like this only carry scientists?"_

Jacob shook his head in the negative. _"Security teams are assigned as well. SOP. For the protection of the site and the scientists."_ At Thane's confused tilt of his head, Jacob added, _"Standard Operating Procedure."_

"_Don't forget rooting out moles and traitors," _Miranda pointed out. Her voice had a slight edge to it.

Shepard assumed that she was thinking about Wilson and decided to stay quiet.

"_Usually, the more important the site, the better the security,"_ Jacob finished with a side-glance at Miranda.

"_That would explain why you were there at the Lazarus Project,"_ Shepard said.

Jacob scowled. _"Yeah… fat load of good that did…"_

"_Add to the fact that there had to be a crew to manage a ship this size and Garrus and Thane are right; the fact that we've seen no evidence of any conflict is troubling,"_ Samara said.

"_Trap then?"_ Mordin asked. _"Geth or Collectors already present?"_

"_Got it,"_ Tali announced. The console flashed from red to green. She hastily stood up and readied her shotgun.

"_I don't think so…" _Shepard said. _"But we shouldn't take chances. Defensive perimeter. Spread out while Miranda, Tali, and I access the databases. Garrus, Jacob, remain here. Once we're done here, we'll get the IFF."_

Garrus and Jacob held their positions near the door. The rest of the group spread themselves out and waited at the ends of the hallway near the intersections.

"_Open it,"_ Shepard ordered.

Tali opened the door and Garrus and Jacob walked inside carefully. After sweeping the room and seeing nothing suspicious, they called the others in.

Shepard entered next and did a cursory check as well. He waited as patiently as he could while Miranda hurried to the main computer and started typing rapidly.

"_EDI? Are you there?"_ Miranda called.

"_Always, Executive Lawson,"_ EDI replied.

"_Setting up the link. Stand-by."_

"_Link established. I am online, Executive Lawson. Mining databanks… unlocking research notes. You should be able to peruse the logs as you please."_

"_Thank you, EDI,"_ Miranda said. _"Now let's see what happened here…"_

After typing a few commands, an older, balding, and dark-skinned human man appeared on the monitor. _"The airlock into the site itself has been installed at the far end of the holed section. We have already excavated several artifacts and have started sorting and analyzing them now."_

"_This is Dr. Chandana,"_ Miranda informed.

Dr. Chandana paused to close his eyes and rubbed his forehead in agitation. _"The crew is… edgy. I reassure them it's just nerves. A superstitious reaction to what this hulk represents – the corpse of a vast, ancient life-form."_ He paused again and brought his face closer to the camera. His eyes darted all around him. _"Privately, I can't deny the atmosphere. The angles of the walls seem to press down on you. I find myself clenching my teeth."_

Miranda moved on to the next relevant log. A different Cerberus scientist popped up on the screen.

"_We finished cataloguing specimens A203 to B016. No evidence of active nanotechnology noted. Dr. Chandana believes they would have decayed over the last 37 million years. There's not enough data to support his claim. He asserts that the truth is 'patently obvious'. I am… concerned. Chandana has been staring at the sample for hours. He says he's 'listening' to them."_

"_This doesn't sound good,"_ Garrus muttered and gave voice to Shepard's sinking feeling as they watched and listened.

"_The other logs seem to have corruptions,"_ Tali said. _"It'll take time to clean and repair them."_

"_Forget it. Just see what else you can recover,"_ Shepard ordered.

"_I've accessed the security logs. Playing,"_ Miranda said.

A pair of men were sitting at a table talking. They weren't dressed like security or crewmen, which probably meant that they were scientists or researchers.

"_You're married? You never mentioned that."_

"_Katy had management issues. When my brother got married, the best man tried to hit on her. She kicked him down the church steps."_

The other man looked confused. _"Wh-? Katy's my wife! I must've told you the story."_

"_No,"_ he said, shooting an uncertain look at his colleague. _"I know my wife. I remember – that day was the only time I saw her wear stockings."_

"_Yeah. The kind with seams up the back. That's what I remember, too…"_

"_What the hell is this? How can we remember the same thing?"_

After the log ended, Shepard shook his head. _"Neither one of them were married. No rings."_

"_They were being indoctrinated,"_ Tali said in horror.

"_I can't believe this ancient wreck can still do that,"_ Garrus said disbelievingly.

Miranda said nothing, but her posture was tense. She tapped another button. The same two men were still sitting at the same table, but the time stamp showed that it was three days later.

"_Third day with this headache. You'd think Chandana would let me have a few hours off…"_ one man complained before jerking his head back. _"Goddamn!"_

The other man turned around to see what his colleague was looking at. _"What?"_

"_That thing that just… that gray thing! It disappeared when I looked straight at it! Came out of the damn wall!"_

"_I didn't see anything. You should lie down."_ There was a strange monotone in his voice now.

"_I'm telling you, this ship isn't dead! It knows we're inside it!"_

"_Calm down. Now I'm getting a headache."_

"_Um… I managed to fix one of the last logs,"_ Tali said hesitantly.

"_Play it,"_ Shepard ordered.

This time, a different scientist was being recorded. He looked injured and gas was escaping from a hole in his hardsuit. The environment around him was decidedly alien. He was staring right at the camera, though his eyes were darting back and forth. Ghastly moans could be heard in the background. Occasionally, the screen became grainy and snowy as the feed became corrupted or damaged.

"_Husks,"_ Miranda said quietly.

"_Chandana said the ship was dead. We trusted him. And he was right… but even a dead god can dream,"_ the scientist said without preamble. _"A god – a __**real**__ god – is a verb. Not some old man with magic powers. It's a force. It warps reality just by being there. It doesn't have to want to. It doesn't have to think about it. __**It just does**__," _he rambled on. A particularly loud bang reverberated in the background, but the scientist didn't even flinch. He kept speaking, knowing these were his last words. _"That's what Chandana didn't get. Not until it was too late. The god's mind is gone, but it still dreams. It knows now. It's tuned into our dream. If I close my eyes, I can __**feel**__ it. I can feel __**every one of us**__."_

Abruptly, the scientist jerked his head to the side and raised a pistol. The husk's ghoulish cries could be heard clearly now. He started shooting wildly at them before placing the gun underneath his chin and pulling the trigger.

With that final act, the log ended.

There was a short silence among the squad before Shepard spoke.

"_This changes everything,"_ he announced. He tapped into his radio to call the others. _"Everyone, we're on a clock. We need to secure that IFF immediately. From this point on, assume __**everything**__ is hostile. Shoot on sight."_

"_And the Reaper?"_ Garrus inquired tensely.

"_No,"_ Shepard answered immediately to the unspoken question. _"Alright, let's get up to the bridge so Miranda can—"_

Anything further he wanted to say was immediately cut off when the deck below them shuddered violently. Everyone was able to keep their footing, but there was a universal sinking feeling that went through their minds.

"_Report!"_ Shepard barked.

"_The Reaper just threw up a kinetic barrier! Power level is off the charts! I don't think we can punch through it!" _responded Joker.

"_So we're trapped? Wonderful,"_ Garrus said while shaking his head.

"_And the hits just keep on coming,"_ Jacob muttered.

"_No enemies approaching," _Mordin reported from his position in the hallway. _"Curious. Trapped, but no ambush…"_

"_It is disquieting,"_ Thane agreed.

"_I can't believe this shit. Trapped inside a fucking Reaper? I want to shoot someone," _Jack said.

"_As curious as I am about Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside of one,"_ Tali said tensely.

"_Well, it could be worse. Don't know how, but… I guess it could be full of rats,"_ Kasumi joked, though her voice lacked its usual teasing lilt.

"_We'll have to take down the barrier generators from in here_," Shepard said and silencing any further comments. _"Any idea where they are?"_

"_At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending the coordinates now," _EDI helpfully supplied. _"Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."_

"_Wait, taking out the core would mean the Reaper falls into Mnemosyne…"_ Shepard said.

"_And if we're still here, we all die,"_ Joker finished. _"Yeah, got it."_

"_No,"_ Shepard asserted. _"We need this thing. Find another way."_

Garrus shook his head. _"We're here for the IFF. Don't make it more than that, Shepard. This thing is a deathtrap. The longer we stay, the worse it'll be. I'm not looking to be anything like Saren."_

"_That's not going to happen,"_ Shepard shot back. _"But we need something to give to the Council. Something that will tell them that the Reaper threat is real!"_

"_We'll pick something off from the Collectors then!"_ Garrus argued. _"The risks are high enough! Don't make it worse!"_

"_Whoa, hey. Guys!"_ Jacob called out.

"_We're not taking out the core,"_ Shepard growled. _"We can find another way."_

"_Before we end up like drooling slaves? Or worse?"_ Garrus countered. He stood his ground. _"We need to stick to the mission."_

"_We need to think about more than that."_

"_I'm sure that's what the Illusive Man thought too_," Garrus snarled.

"_Shepard, Garrus! Stop it!"_ Tali cried out.

"_Don't even think about comparing either of us,"_ Shepard said in a low and dangerous voice. _"We're nothing alike."_

"_Oh, yeah? Just how broke up do you think he'll be when he hears about the dead scientists? All he wants is this piece of shit for whatever reason. Admit it, Shepard. These people were just resources, tools, and in his eyes, you're the same,"_ Garrus barked back.

"_You don't know what you're—"_

"_**Enough!"**_

Both men stopped arguing and faced Miranda. She was glaring right through her transparent faceplate, daring either of them to defy her.

"_This isn't helping,"_ she snapped. She turned toward Shepard and took a breath. _"For what it's worth, Garrus is right. We don't know how long it might take for indoctrination to take effect and I doubt the logs will reveal how long it took to affect the crew stationed here. We don't have the time to research alternate ways out."_

"_But—"_ Shepard tried to say.

"_Believe me, I know how much and how valuable the information might be in here, but then, so did the science team,"_ Miranda said. _"What I'm worried about is that the Reaper just 'suddenly' decided to erect a kinetic barrier? Besides indoctrination, this thing didn't respond to the science team's presence and none of the logs mention any sudden spikes of activity. For all intents and purposes, the Reaper shouldn't be active and yet here we are. Which means this thing may have actually responded to a threat, dead or not. Maybe it's you, maybe the Normandy, who knows? All we can surmise is that the Reaper is somehow actively trying to defend itself and you told me that 'we need to be extra careful'. Or did you forget what happened at the Collector ship that you made a point of reminding me of?"_

Shepard gritted his teeth and glared back at her, though, thankfully his helmet hid his expression. After a few tense moments he finally nodded stiffly. _"Fine."_

She gave a tight nod back in return. _"I'm glad to see you're returning to your senses. I hope that outburst was because of your own desires and that nothing was… influencing your command decisions."_

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the idea that he might already be falling under the influence of indoctrination all just to preserve the Reaper was a chilling thought. _"We'll take out the mass effect core. I'll lead a team into the Reaper. Tali, Jacob, Kasumi, Thane, Jack… and Garrus. You're with me. Miranda, you take Grunt, Samara, and Mordin. Get to the bridge, get control, and get the IFF. Call us if you have it or if it isn't there, and then meet up with us if you can. Otherwise, egress back to the Normandy."_

Everyone acknowledged his orders, even Garrus. If their heated exchange bothered him, he didn't show it.

"_Joker, we'll need a fast pick-up when the core goes offline. Being crushed in the heart of a brown dwarf is not on today's agenda."_

"_Um… yeah. I mean, understood."_

"_If there's any helmsman that can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you. We'll get the IFF, make a sweep for survivors and… recover what data we can. Stand by."_

"_Aye, aye. Good hunting,"_ Joker acknowledged.

**~o~O~o~**

"Please stand by. Equalizing pressure with exterior conditions."

As the airlock pressurized, Shepard shuffled in place a bit before turning toward Garrus and talked him over a private radio channel. _"Hey, listen. About what happened earlier…"_

Garrus shrugged it off. _"Don't worry about it. You're under a lot of pressure. I'd worry more if you didn't blow up like that once in a while."_

"_Still… sorry."_

He nodded understandingly. _"Dealing with the Council is tough and politics is a pain in the ass. They may have created the Spectres, but they don't want to know what they do. Sticking their heads in the dirt – is that human expression? – is what they're good at."_

Shepard chuckled. _"It's close enough and yeah, I agree with you 100%."_

The nearby terminal beeped, signaling that the depressurization was complete. _"Please take caution when exiting and ensure all hardsuits are functioning correctly. Remember, safety is everyone's concern. We have gone five days without a workplace death,"_ the VI chimed.The airlock hissed open.

"_Just five? Someone check the computer, cause there's no way in hell Cerberus can't get past one,"_ Jack sarcastically said.

"_The last crewman must've died five days ago,"_ Garrus theorized.

Jacob and Thane exited first and looked around. _"Ah, hell. We got bodies…"_

"_Bloody mess is more like it," _Jack commented.

The remains of several Cerberus crewmen were laid out haphazardly on the catwalk. It was the first physical sign of them they've seen. From all indications, it looked like they were all beat to death, though given the condition some of the bodies were in, darker surprises were no doubt waiting for them.

"_Everyone's dead. I think we've seen this too many times,"_ Garrus muttered. _"And not just from Cerberus experiments either."_

"_Yeah, Saren and the geth accumulated quite the body count too and made plenty of husks from that…"_ Shepard saw there were at least half a dozen laying just in front of them. Blood trails showed that there were more. _"Judging from the marks, they're being dragged. With a crew of 200…"_

"_Then that's how many husks we can expect to encounter," Thane said._

"_Probably. Stay frosty people."_

Catwalks and other definite manmade structures were laid out before them; obviously placed there by the Cerberus crewmen as they began digging deep into the Reaper. Tools, trays, and other implements were scattered all over the floor.

It was the first time Shepard had ever seen the inside of a Reaper. And it was nothing like he'd ever imagined. Though everything was decidedly mechanical in origin, it felt as alien as the Collector Cruiser. Dozens of long thick cables, almost resembling the wreck's arteries and veins coiled all around them and extended as far as the eye could see in all directions. A thin gaseous mist of some sort was everywhere, seemingly engulfing them; limiting visibility, and created a tiny feeling of claustrophobia, despite the huge scale of the Reaper corpse.

As the squad moved forward, what little atmosphere inside the Reaper was enough for sound to carry. Unlike the Collector ship, whose dead silence carried its own brand of malice, their footsteps were compounded with sounds of the solar winds buffering against the wreck, metal groaning all around them, and vague, unidentifiable sounds in the distance.

He observed that everything was all set up for a long-term archeological dig. Complete with welders, fuel tanks, cutting lasers, large drills and cranes and other instruments necessary for metal work and excavation. Panels, cables and other parts of the Reaper were littered everywhere. Work lights were placed on the sides, but some were flickering or weren't working at all. The few lights provided simply made the shadows feel much more foreboding and menacing. It almost felt like something would jump out and strike at any moment.

_Not to mention the blood…_

Long lines of blood, some still wet, but most were dried, paved the catwalk. Judging from some of the patterns, a few people fought back, creating messy smears that showed proof of their futile struggles as they were taken to whatever fate befell them.

Kasumi noted some of the tools and fuels tanks used for creating the walkways as well. Like everything else, they were left behind, scattered ahead. _"High pressure tanks. Think our enemies are allergic to having their asses blown off?"_ she joked in an effort to keep her nervousness at bay.

"_Haven't met anyone that isn't,"_ Jacob replied before tilting his head thoughtfully. _"Except Shepard, that is. I think it'll just give him indigestion."_

"_Very funny,"_ Shepard said over Kasumi's giggles.

"_There's something ahead,"_ Thane suddenly said.

Everyone raised their weapons in response to his warning and looked around. Nothing stuck out or seemed suspicious or threatening.

"_Are you sure you saw something?"_ Jack asked skeptically after a few silent and eerie minutes.

"_Heard, and yes, I'm sure,"_ Thane answered quietly and calmly. His posture was alert and he kept his pistols raised, but the cloudy smoke around them made it difficult to see what got his attention.

Jack made a show of looking around before shook her head. _"I don't hear—"_

Her sentence was cut off when she accidently kicked some of the flotsam left behind by the Cerberus excavators. Whatever it was, it rolled off the catwalk and down into the depths of the Reaper. It made unnaturally loud clattering sounds as it seemed to hit just about everything on its way down.

After what seemed like an eternity, the object had either finally hit the bottom, or it was so far it couldn't be heard anymore. The echoes remained just a little longer before it too, faded away.

"_Goddamn it…_"Jack whispered, as if she didn't want to add to the volume of noise she inadvertently created.

Thankfully, no one commented on her carelessness.

Suddenly, Shepard tilted his head and glanced around. _"I hear something too."_

"_So do I,"_ Tali agreed. _"What is that?"_

"_Growling,"_ Thane said. _"We're being hunted."_

"_It sounds like it's coming from all around us,"_ Garrus said.

Everyone made a loose ring and watched each other's backs. They tried to locate the origin of the sounds but whatever it was, it didn't readily reveal itself. Only their instincts whispered the dangers to them.

Jack suddenly screamed. As one, everyone whirled on her. Something landed on top of her and was wrapping its limbs around her neck. She unleashed a pulse of biotics that blasted it away.

The husk flew over the catwalk in into the chasm below.

"_Contact above us!"_ Shepard shouted. He looked up and saw the husks were crawling all over the ceiling. He raised his rifle started picking them off.

The husks started attacking in earnest when they were discovered. Groups of them immediately besieged the squad from all directions. A dozen alone were climbing up the catwalk and trying to grasp at their legs.

"_We can't fight here!"_ Jacob said. He viciously kicked the head of one husk that was too close for comfort. _"We gotta move!"_

"_Keep going down the catwalks!"_ Shepard ordered. He aimed downrange and blew a few more husks away. _"Thane, blow the tanks to cover our advance! Go, people, go!"_

He and Garrus led the charge deeper into the Reaper. They shot past the husks in a hail of bullets, but more took their place. By now, they were coming from everywhere; the ceilings, floors, holes in the walls, underneath the railings, whatever allowed them to pop out and attack the intruders.

"_Alright, alright! I fucking believe you!"_ Jack shouted at Thane as they made their mad scramble out. She helped him detonate the tanks to discourage pursuit and to avoid being surrounded.

"_Miranda, we've encountered hostiles. We're going to push deeper in. Status?"_ Shepard asked as he led everyone deeper into the Reaper. The catwalks were branching out now, heading into who-knows-what. He hoped that the Cerberus researchers assigned were interested in a Reaper's mass effect core and that they built walkways to it, or they'd be in a world of trouble.

"_We're at the bridge. I'm trying to override the captain's command and take control of the ship. So far, there's been… oh, hell. Stand-by!"_

Shepard was about to ask Samara, Mordin, or Grunt what the hell was going on when a trio of husks were killed right in front of him. Their heads almost literally exploded.

"_Sniper!"_ Garrus warned.

Shepard stopped at the edge of the opening and checked their rear. The explosion halted the husk's attack for the time being, but it was only a matter of time before they found them again. Already, he could hear their unending moans closing in. He sidled up to the archway and waited. He knew better than to poke his head out though.

"_One of the crew that survived?" _Garrus asked as he stood next to Shepard.

"_Doubtful,"_ Thane replied. _"That was a precision shot, not done by your typical rifleman. That is, unless the security team assigned here have backgrounds and years of experience in special operations."_

Everyone turned toward Jacob.

"_Usually, that's the head of security,"_ Jacob explained. _"But I'm actually siding with Krios on this. If the crew was indoctrinated, there's no way anyone is left alive or sane."_

"_Geth, then,"_ Tali hissed. _"Infiltrator, if we're judging from the marksmanship."_

"_Why shoot the husks, though?" _Kasumi asked in confusion.

"_She makes a good point," _Garrus said. "_Maybe it's someone that managed to resist long enough for us to get here."_

Shepard nodded and started a broadcast on a general frequency on the radio. The lack of atmosphere inside the Reaper made it impossible for sound to carry the distance. _"This is Spectre Agent Shepard! Unidentified shooter, stand down! We're here on a rescue mission!"_

His call was answered by silence.

"_Jacob, you try. Council Spectres and Cerberus don't mix,"_ Shepard said.

Jacob nodded. _"This is Cerberus Operative Jacob Taylor, Lazarus Cell! We're here to help! Answer if you're receiving this call!"_

"_Still no answer,"_ Tali stated after a few more seconds.

Shepard shook his head. _"Fine. We can't stay here pinned down like this. Assume hostile. Garrus: don't miss."_

Garrus drew out his sniper rifle and gripped it tightly. He shuffled into position and waited as Shepard tensed.

Sprinting across the archway, Shepard crossed the distance to the other side.

Garrus whirled around after Shepard ran and aimed downrange, waiting for the sniper to take the bait. However, after a few seconds, it was apparent that whoever had taken the shot had already relocated. _"I don't see anything,"_ he finally said.

Shepard peeked out as well and took a quick look. _"Alright… everyone keep your eyes open. Husks are a pain in the ass and a great distraction. Don't get caught in the open."_

Once everyone answered him, he kept moving and tapped into his radio. _"Miranda?"_

"_Samara, here."_ The justicar sounded as calm as usual, but the background noise was anything but. The cacophony of husks and gunshots were easily heard._ "We're under attack. Mordin, Grunt, and I managed to hold off the bulk of the forces while Miranda finally gained control of the ship. She's been locking them out, but they're crawling through every space they can in an effort to overwhelm us."_

"_And the IFF?"_

"_Shepard? Miranda, here! Chandana managed to secure the IFF in the burn vault! We're trying to make our way there… Mordin! Contact right!"_

"_On it!"_

Shepard waited edgily as the sounds of combat grew in volume.

"_Grunt, use a grenade! Scatter them!" _Miranda ordered. _"Shepard? We've encountered a slight hiccup and it has nothing to do with the husks or the IFF! Call Joker! He can tell you more! Let's move people, before they regroup! Grunt, clear us a path!"_

"_Die!"_

Shepard frowned and changed frequencies. _"Joker? Status report."_

"_We've ran into a bit of a SNAFU here, Shepard. Some of the zombies were banging away at the airlock. Rolstron and Patel were prepared to engage when one of those humpback husks started going anal on the airlock doors. The blast destroyed the airlock and sent the entire group on a tour of a brown dwarf just a few seconds ago."_

"_But the airlock is gone,"_ Shepard guessed.

"_Along with part of the bulkhead on that side of the ship. Everything's going to hell fast. Whatever you're doing, I'd do it quick!"_

"_What's your position?"_ Shepard asked.

"_We're nearby, but we have no place to dock. We'll stay close until we can find a way to meet up with you,"_ Joker answered.

"_Fuck me…"_ Jack cursed.

"_I knew this was a bad idea…"_ Tali said uneasily.

"_Alright, mount up, people. This thing isn't nearly dead enough for me,"_ Shepard said grimly. He led the squad deeper inside, keeping his eyes open for signs of the mysterious shooter.

"_Two Reapers in two years. We're just lining them up and putting them down,"_ Garrus joked. Despite that, his rifle was up and was carefully scanning for any potential sniper nests.

Shepard smirked underneath his helmet. _"And just think, we're only getting warmed up."_

**~o~O~o~**

"_This is Spectre Agent Shepard! Unidentified shooter, stand down! We're here on a rescue mission!"_ _–Message ends._

_-Analyzing. Matching against archived footage._

"_The Spectres represent the best of every species in the galaxy. To be asked to join them is an honor." –Recording ends._

_Probability of match: 99.899%_

_-Recommend thorough internal diagnostic check on 589 gestalt programs. Shepard-Commander listed as deactivated._

_Unencrypted communications suggested Shepard-Commander continued to function after destruction of the SSV Normandy SR-1._

_-Addendum: Unconfirmed reports._

_-Addendum: Shepard-Commander was not located on Alchera._

_According to unencrypted information hubs, Spectres routinely undertake covert operations. Deception and espionage are employed often._

_-Disregard old reports. Inaccurate, unusable._

_Consensus achieved. Disregarded. Recompiling information. Operating under assumption Shepard-Commander is functional._

_Probability of Shepard-Commander's presence on the Old Machine: 81.042% Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines._

_-Shepard-Commander affiliated with Systems Alliance and Citadel Council. Both organizations oppose Cerberus._

"_This is Cerberus Operative Jacob Taylor, Lazarus Cell! We're here to help! Answer if you're receiving this call!" –Message ends._

_Probability that organic is Shepard-Commander: Unknown. Consensus not yet reached. Further data required._

_Shepard-Commander's affiliation with Council and Systems Alliance suggests Shepard-Commander opposes Cerberus. Cerberus established presence on Old Machine. _

_-Addendum: Shepard-Commander opposes Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes Cerberus. Presence of both groups in one location necessitates investigation. Data collection inevitable._

_Probability Shepard-Commander would assist Cerberus: 3.015%_

_-Addendum: What is the probability that Shepard-Commander would assist fellow organics, regardless of affiliation?_

_-Compiling service record._

_Probability Shepard-Commander would assist organics: 89.541%_

_-Data compilation completed._

_Probability that organic is Shepard-Commander: 94.139%_

_Primary objective completed. Shepard-Commander located. Platform to establish contact with Shepard-Commander?_

_-Negative. Current objectives stand. Information on heretic and Old Machine's machinations takes priority. Platform to continue with current mission._

_Consensus achieved. Shepard-Commander is now designated as secondary priority. Primary objective updated._

**~o~O~o~**

"_Wait for it… wait for it…"_ Shepard said quietly. _"Now!"_

Jacob and Jack attack simultaneously. Jacob's ML-99 struck the Scion, while Jack's shockwave scattered the husks and detonated a few more volatile tanks.

"_It's still alive! Or dead! Or whatever the hell it is!"_ Jack warned. The Scion had staggered, but was still lumbering forward. More husks joined it, including the new brand of husks, Abominations.

"_Thane, bring the Abominations down!"_ Shepard ordered. He used his HMWSR and targeted the Scion and assisted Jacob.

Thane calmly used his M-92 Mantis and shot each red husk one after another.

The resulting explosions from the suicidal enemies allowed the ranks of husks to thin out more, offering only a moment of respite.

Shepard dove to the side and just barely avoided the Scion's crystalline Shockwave. _"Goddamn it!"_

Jacob fired one last salvo and crowed in victory when the Scion finally when down. The sac on his arm burst open, spilling gelatinous goo all over the place.

"_There's no end to them!"_ Kasumi shouted.

Shepard stood up and narrowed his eyes. Just past the smoke, he thought he saw something familiar. _"Fuck. Garrus, is that what I think it is?"_

Garrus used his M-29 Incisor to better see. _"Dragon's Teeth. Lots of them. Hell, we just ran into the damn husk production area!"_

"_Tali! We need that door open!"_ Shepard shouted. He pulled out his HMWSG as the husks regrouped and closed in again. _"I'd rather be as far as possible from the weird alien impaling devices!"_

Tali worked her bypass as quickly as possible. _"I'm almost there!"_

"_Work faster!"_ Jack demanded. Her shotgun boomed over and over again as she tried to keep the husks from overwhelming their meager position. Occasionally, she used bursts of biotics to stem the tide. _"Motherfucking cock suckers! Just stay dead!"_

"_This has over 10 nodes to bypass!"_ Tali said hotly without even turning around. _"I'd like to see if you can do better!"_

"_Focus, people!"_ Shepard ordered.

"_We're not going to be able to hold this position!"_ Garrus warned.

"_Watch out! Praetorian!"_ Jacob shouted in alarm.

_Shit…_

The tank-like husk descended at the back of the room. Its duel beam weapons fired indiscriminately on the group, forcing them to take cover and allow the husks to charge once again.

"_I need 10 seconds!"_ Shepard called out. He put his shotgun down and pulled out his newest weapon.

"_Just 10? Why not ask for a fucking hour!"_ Jack shouted back. Still, she and others got up and started attacking anew.

_Wrex, I hope this thing works the way you said it works._

The M-920 Cain expanded open. Its weight was certainly hefty, but nothing Shepard couldn't handle. He propped it on top of the crate he used as cover and pointed the barrel toward the end of the large room, and hoped that the explosion wouldn't reach them. He set the yield to low power and pushed the button begin the Cain's charging sequence. Unlike the M-490 Blackstorm, the Cain felt like it was taking forever, even as husks, Abominations, and the Praetorian bore down on them

"_I'm in!"_ Tali shouted exuberantly. _"Let's go everyone!"_

Finally, the heavy weapon beeped once, signaling it was ready to fire. The trefoil sign on the side pulsed dangerously.

"_Clear the blast zone! Fire in the hole!"_ Shepard warned.

Everyone scrambled for the door while Shepard held his ground. He pulled the trigger, released a glowing projectile of some sort, and ran like hell toward the doors. He barely crossed the threshold when a bright, white light illuminated everything, almost painfully. The roar of the explosion soon followed before it was cut off when the door shut behind him and locked.

"_Holy shit," _Jack said in amazement. The floor shook a bit from the power of the Cain before subsiding. _"That thing is…"_

"_Yeah," _Shepard agreed breathlessly.

"_You got some damn good friends, Shepard,"_ Jacob praised.

The group shared a small laugh before getting up.

"_Tali, do what you can to seal the doors. Okay, everyone, no time to rest. We still got a ways to go."_

Everyone took stock of their situation. Thermal clips, grenades, power cells, and injuries were checked and accounted for.

"_Shepard, what's your status?"_

"_We've pushed deeper into the Reaper, but we have no idea how far we are from the core,"_ Shepard reported. _"You?"_

"_We got the IFF and let the burn vault take care of any husks. We're trying to make our way to you,"_ Miranda answered. _"I also managed to download the current schematics the excavators drew up. I'm uploading it to you now."_

"_Getting to us might be a bit hard. We kinda blew up some of the catwalks the Cerberus team created."_

"_You're assuming we're using conventional methods," _Miranda said. She sounded a bit out of breath.

"_Where are you?" _Shepard asked.

"_We're outside. We blew out part of the hull to evade the husks and now we're walking on the surface of the ship and onto the Reaper. We're coming in from where the geth entered now. The wind isn't too bad, actually. Lovely view as well."_

"_Watch yourself," _Shepard cautioned.

"_Always. Miranda out."_

"_That's… that's actually a pretty good idea,"_ Kasumi mumbled.

"_Why the hell didn't you think of that?"_ Jack asked.

"_Because we're after the research,"_ Shepard replied. He gestured at the room they just entered. _"And here are the computers."_

Several terminals lined the walls. They were active and functioning. It was readily apparent that Cerberus had established a presence here as their main point of focus. Large tanks, generators, and other implements were everywhere, allowing for some preliminary work to be done before whatever they found could be sent to the main science ship. The room was bathed in a deep orange, coming in from the gaping holes on hull of the Reaper, and allowing light from both the system's star Thorne, and Mnemosyne to shine in. Occasionally, lightning would crackle among the gasses in the distance, just past the mass effect field. Truth be told, the view really was nice, far better than the dark cramped areas they were in moments ago.

"_The scientists must've been trying to gauge the power of the mass effect fields the Reaper uses to keep itself in orbit,"_ Tali said.

"_That might mean that they have a setup at the Reaper's core as well,"_ Jacob added.

"_We should be able to get there,"_ Shepard said. He was looking at the schematics Miranda sent him. _"I think we have a way. Let's…"_

"_More enemies,"_ Thane interrupted.

Shepard turned around and cursed. _"Don't hit the terminals. Let's put them down!"_

**~o~O~o~**

_Analyzing targets: Organics_

_Identifying:_

_-One turian_

_-One drell_

_-Four humanoids. Two males, human. Two females. Possible human or asari. No further data available._

_-One Creator_

_Cerberus markings identified. Raising alert status._

_-Addendum: Other human has been identified as Shepard-Commander. Cerberus operative designated as Jacob-Taylor_

_-Note: Cerberus operative working with non-human organics._

_Warning: Creator in danger. Intervene?_

_Superior tactical position allows for assistance and contact with Shepard-Commander. Secondary objective would be met._

_Probability for successful reprisal should meeting be hostile: 5.098%_

_Consensus achieved. Platform to render assistance._

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard grit his teeth as more husks crawled onto the landing they were fighting on. Thankfully, the amount of husks seemed to be much less than the numbers they were fighting at moments ago.

"_Shepard, behind you!"_ Tali cried out.

A husk had somehow gotten behind him. He was about to ram the butt of his rifle into its head when the crack of sniper rifle blew it away.

"_That sniper is back!"_ Garrus shouted. _"I see him! Downrange, 100 meters!"_

Shepard ran and slid behind some pipes. The others did the same, but the sniper continued shooting. One husk after another fell dead to its incredible accuracy.

When all the husks in the area were down, a radio signal over general frequencies was heard.

"_Shepard-Commander."_

Shepard blinked at the odd mechanical sounding voice and equally odd title, but didn't leave his cover. _"Who are you? Identify yourself."_

"_We are geth."_

"_That's impossible,"_ Tali whispered.

"_Contact with Shepard-Commander has been established. However, we must proceed with current mission directives," _the geth said. The radio signal cut off.

"_Wait!"_ Shepard protested. The geth didn't answer.

Shepard cloaked and stood up with his own sniper rifle ready. Looking down the scope, he barely spotted the geth just as it walked along some pipes, far too high to climb after.

"_Our sniper and beneficiary was a geth,"_ Thane said curiously.

Garrus stood up and looked around. _"Since when do geth talk to organics? Hell, since when have they ever __**helped**__ organics?"_

"_It's shouldn't be able to talk. A single geth has no more intelligence than a varren,"_ Tali argued.

Shepard knew that that info came from the geth data he gave to Tali. _"Unless they're evolving,"_ he reminded.

"_It sounded like it wanted to talk to you,"_ Kasumi observed. _"It said: 'contact established'."_

"_Maybe it wants to kill you?" _Jack guessed. _"You're not exactly known for making friends with synthetics."_

"_Why talk then? Why not just shoot?"_ Shepard muttered, more to himself than to Jack.

"_Shepard? Miranda, here. What was that last transmission?"_

"_Exactly as it sounded. We saw a geth here. It talked to me. Even helped us."_

"_Really?"_ She sounded intrigued and disbelieving at the same time.

"_Where are you?"_ Shepard asked.

"_Above you. About 50 meters."_

The group turned to see Miranda's team standing on some catwalks just ahead. Mordin cheerfully waved at them.

"_Okay,"_ Shepard said, pleased that no one was hurt and that the team was back together again. "_We'll find out about that geth soon enough. We need to take out the core, quickly."_

"_Say we do destroy the core, we got a plan to get out of here, Shepard?"_ Jack asked.

"_Run like hell. Sound simple, I know, but reality can be a bitch sometimes. -Hope you're up for a fantastic run-for-your-life."_

"_You're a sick asshole, y'know that?"_

"_Secure anything on these terminals. According the schematics, we're not far from the core. Hopefully, we have enough numbers to get through the husks now. Let's hurry."_

**~o~O~o~**

"_Contact!"_ Jacob warned.

Abominations and husks were killed in droves as the squad pushed forward to their destination. With team back together, the numbers the husks had become far less a threat. Even Scions were falling, thanks to the combined efforts of Jack and Samara's incredible biotics.

"_Done with this terminal!"_ Kasumi reported.

"_Me too!"_ Tali announced. _"That's it, we've gotten them all!"_

"_Let's go, then. The door is right there,"_ Shepard said. His sniper rifle bucked slightly and the Scion he was targeting fell dead.

He waited until Tali's Combat Drone exploded and cleared the remaining husks in the way before pushing forward.

Upon reaching the door, Shepard paused and cocked his head.

"_What is it?"_ Miranda asked.

"_Gunfire. Inside."_

"_The geth again?"_ Garrus asked.

"_Maybe."_

The squad readied themselves. The moment the door opened, they spotted the geth working at a terminal Cerberus had connected in the room. It was interfacing with it with one hand, while using a strange tri-barreled shotgun with the other and blasting dozens of husks back.

What interested Shepard the most was that the geth was wearing last generation N7 armor over its chest, though there was still a gaping hole there. The armor itself look liked it'd seen better days too.

In the distance, the Reaper's mass effect core could be seen inside the massive room. Powerful arcs of electricity danced around the metal sphere, almost as if there were a lightning storm centered on it. The core itself was almost unbelievably large, bigger than he had imagined.

"_Take out the husks!"_ Shepard ordered.

"_What about the geth? !"_ Tali demanded.

"_Leave it!"_

"_What? !"_

The rest of the team went into action. The greatest of concentration of husks were already inside the room. There was little doubt the Reaper tried to make this area the highest priority for its survival and would send every husk to defend it.

The geth dropped its shotgun and used both hands to interface with terminal. Even when the husks closed in.

Shepard blasted his way toward the geth. What he intended to do when he caught up to it, he had no idea.

Whatever it was doing, it finished because it turned away from the terminal and tried to run.

An Abomination dropped from the ceiling and landed right on top of the geth though, causing it to fall down. The red husk moaned once before exploding.

Mordin assisted Shepard's attack and the both of them ran up to the smoking body. Amazingly, it looked to be in one piece.

"_Drag it back!"_ Shepard ordered over the sounds of gunfire. Husks continued their attack, even as the bodies piled up.

"_Understood!"_ Mordin acknowledged. He grabbed an arm and dragged the geth away.

"_Grunt! Get up here!"_ Shepard ordered.

"_I'm coming!"_ Grunt shouted. He physically rammed his way through any husk in his way. Their clumsy attacks did little to stop him. He easily shrugged off any swings and swipes that did hit him and retaliated with his own powerful blows or shots from his M-300 Claymore. He lumbered up to Shepard and awaited his orders.

Underneath his helmet, Shepard couldn't help but smile. _"Break out the Cain."_ He pointed down at the core at the other end of the room.

Grunt nodded and hastily pulled out his own heavy weapon.

"_Max power!"_ Shepard said as he provided covering fire for the krogan. Scions were coming now, dropping from the ceiling. Their legs broke on landing, but the still tried to use their biotics to protect the Reaper.

"_Got it!"_ Grunt rumbled. The Cain started whining as it powered up.

"_Everyone, eyes away from the core! _Shepard warned. He shot up two more husks and kneeled down, facing away from the imminent blast.

"_It's charged!"_ Grunt reported.

"_Take out the core! Fire in the hole!"_ Shepard shouted.

Once again, blinding white light was all that could be seen. Hot gasses and rapidly expanded air washed over the squad. Husks were blown off their feet, lacking the coordination and self-preservation to protect themselves.

Shepard blinked as his vision returned to normal. Looking at the core, he finally spotted the mushroom cloud Wrex had described. It was floating over the remains of the core.

Grunt laughed manically. _"This thing is great! Is there something else for me to shoot? !"_

Moments later, the deck beneath them shook violently. The husks all lost their footing and fell to the ground once again. The squad barely stood on their own feet, but still kept their weapons trained on the enemy. Thankfully, it seemed like the reanimated corpses lacked the finesse to stay upright, but were still single-mindedly set on attacking the intruders. They crawled along the ground, still groaning and moaning.

"_We need to get the fuck out of here!"_ Jack shouted.

"_Shepard! Want something done with this geth? It's still intact!"_ Garrus said.

"_Just leave it!"_ Tali argued. _"You know what they are! If it gets into the Normandy's computers…"_

"_We should take it!" _Miranda said. _"We can't waste an opportunity like this!"_

"_No one has ever recovered one intact…" _Shepard said.

"_That's true, but…"_ Tali said before grunting. The deck continued to shudder violently. _"I'm not sure it's worth the risk."_

"_This isn't a debate!"_ Shepard said with finality. Husks were literally crawling out of the walls now. Some were falling from the ceiling. It seemed like everywhere they turned, more husks were lumbering toward them in a suicidal charge. _"Pick that thing up, Grunt!"_

"_On it!"_ He bent over and easily slung the geth over his shoulder. He also managed to retrieve the geth shotgun as well.

"_Let's clear a path!"_

"_We got a problem here!"_ Kasumi called out.

"_Damn, that's strong!"_ Jacob yelled.

"_What's wrong now?" _Shepard demanded.

"_No mass effect field! We're feeling the full force of the dwarf! The winds are too strong! There's no way we can leave without getting blown away!"_ Kasumi reported frantically.

"_Joker! We need a pick up! Track our signals and extend the Normandy's mass effect fields!"_

"_We're right next to you! Extending mass effect fields!"_ Joker assured. _"Hang on, folks!"_

"_Winds dying down!" _Jacob said. _"Let's move people!"_

"_Open the portside airlock! We'll jump for it!"_ Shepard ordered.

"_Opening the portside airlock, Captain,"_ Hadley acknowledged.

"_Everyone! Suppressing fire!"_

"_Suppressing fire! Roger!"_

The Normandy was tantalizingly close. She held her position only a dozen meters away.

"_Grunt, toss that thing inside!"_

Grunt heaved the geth through the air. It flew the distance and crumpled against the inner airlock door.

"_Kasumi, Tali. Go!"_ Shepard said. Husks continued to hound their every step.

The two women leapt after the geth and landed inside the Normandy.

"_Garrus, Thane. You're up! Cover us from the airlock when you get there!"_

Both snipers cleared the distance and readied their rifles.

"_Mordin, Samara, Miranda, Jacob! Go, go, go!"_

Grunt helped Shepard hold off their relentless foes while the last of the squad made a leap toward the safety of the ship.

"_Time to go, Grunt!"_

The krogan threw the last of his grenades and ran for it. Shepard followed on his heels and jumped. There was a moment of weightlessness until they finally reached the crowded airlock and felt the influence of the Normandy's artificial gravity.

"_We're clear! Go!"_

The outer door closed and plunged the group into darkness. The lights activated and decontamination procedures started up while the pressure equalized.

Everyone shared a sigh of relief as the Normandy sped away from the wreck.

They were safe.

**~o~O~o~**

***ENCYPTED***

_Reaper IFF successfully secured._

_Loss of Cerberus team on Reaper vessel unfortunate, but unsurprising. Will use team's health records for comparisons against husks encountered on Reaper for possible insight into indoctrination and husk conversation process._

_Loss of Reaper site was disastrous. Must locate other sources to gain knowledge and intelligence on Reapers._

_Geth presence unexpected. Will wait and see what Shepard will do before committing to any action._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

And another major story arc is done.

I hope I didn't put anyone off by the Garrus/Shepard argument. One reviewer, **MEFanAllDaWay**, was observant to note that I made the squad kinda like a family. Like any family, there's bound to be the occasional dysfunction. I suppose I wanted to illustrate that even Shepard can be wrong in a minor sense. It's not really done in-game since it's your decisions that propel the game forward, but there's no 'human error' sort of mistakes because trying to write and play that in the game would be a pain.

Besides, I just watched **Star Trek: First Contact** (again) and the Worf/Picard argument stuck in my mind.

As for the husks, in ME 1, they were given an idiotic defense boost on higher difficulties that made the effort of killing them last into whole minutes. In ME 2, they're given armor and shields (on zombies? WTH). To mitigate this, I wanted the whole thing to play out like Left for Dead 1/2. Hordes and hordes of zombies coming down with almost no end, all interspaced with the occasional 'special' zombie for good measure.

That's what I'm hoping to see in ME 3.

Another movie reference. **Serenity** (Yeah, it's my favorite. Best damn lines in any sci-fi I've ever seen)

Elevator scene was a reference to **NCIS**.

Finally, Legion. I don't think I'll be writing from his POV as often as the others during his loyalty mission. I will reference it, but unlike other characters, he's all about probabilities, numbers, and of course, consensus between his thousand individual programs. Truth be told, a couple of things stand out for me during his parts in this fic. He's a machine, which means he should be thinking in binary or something, 0's and 1's. Not a very good basis for a fic though. Second, everything he thinks is at the 'speed of light', which means he done thinking faster than anyone's done reading his sections.

Makes it hard to write, I think. Although other authors do it extremely well.

As an interesting note, **thecardinal**, pointed out that my word count actually exceeds **Lord of the Rings**. I didn't really think I'd do that when I first started…

As always, review please!


	48. Requiem of the SSV Normandy SR1

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik**_

"I think we need to discuss the unique piece of salvage we've recovered," Miranda said without preamble and started the debriefing.

Only she and Jacob were in attendance. Kasumi, Thane, and Samara had all said that they would stand by whatever Shepard decided before heading to their rooms. Grunt and Jack didn't care at all and left. Mordin cited that this was not within his area of expertise. He did, however, remind Shepard that he needed to head down to the Med Bay later for another SMART Scan before leaving. Garrus also decided to go, saying he didn't care one way or another.

"Stranger things have happened. Why not round out our little team with a geth? I'm sure you'll make it work. Or you'll shoot it. Either way, you don't need me to tell you what to do," he said before heading down to the Main Battery Room.

Tali's opinion on the matter was predictable. And vocal. When her piece was said –shouted-, she left for the sanctuary of the Engineering Decks.

Shepard paced a bit from his position at the head of the table as he stared at the motionless body of the geth infiltrator they'd picked up back at the derelict Reaper. After they'd left Mnemosyne behind, he had it secured in EDI's AI core, with Rolstron and Patel guarding it.

He observed the differences between this geth and the others he'd fought two years ago. It was wearing last-gen N7 armor, but for what reason, he couldn't fathom. There was a large hole on the right side of its chest, but the damage obviously did little to slow it down given its ability to continue functioning and fighting. A large antenna stuck out its back, which was unusual since the only models of geth he'd seen with something like that were Geth Destroyers or Juggernauts.

"This is a rare find. We have to study it to better understand the geth or even the Reapers. An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division."

"We'll have to disagree on that, Miranda. I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime," Jacob said before turning to Shepard. "I vote for spacing it."

"And Shepard has seen and fought more of these than either of us combined," she replied. "But even he admitted that is different, which means we can't just discard it."

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had a chance to talk to one. I never even thought they were capable of talking at all," Shepard confessed. "This one tried to communicate with us. With me. Hell, it went out of its way to help us, maybe even saved our lives. Why?"

"Reactivating the geth is a risk," Miranda cautioned. "If you do so, it should be for humanity's best interests and not your curiosity."

"I still think our 'best interests' involve an airlock. Maybe a trip to the garbage compactor first, just to be on the safe side," Jacob said.

"Plus, I want to know why it has a piece of N7 Armor strapped to its chest," Shepard added.

Jacob shook his head and shrugged. "Battle trophy maybe? Would a machine care about that?"

"No. Trophies imply emotions that AIs don't have. I doubt it's more than a convenient field repair," Miranda said.

"Far better things to use than beat up, old N7 Armor," Shepard pointed out.

"It still functioned well enough. Perhaps it believed it needed nothing else," she said.

Shepard shook his head. "Too many things aren't adding up. It was on the Reaper for a reason, which is suspicious. It was alone, which is unusual. It helped us, which is different. And it tried to communicate with me, which is a first time event ever since I've encountered the geth. I'm not deciding one way or another until I know what we've got here. I want to start it up. Interrogate it."

"If we activate it, there's no guarantee we can deactivate it again," Miranda argued.

"Bullets can," Jacob reminded.

Miranda glared at him. "That's not what I—"

"Thank you, both of you, for your recommendations," Shepard interjected. "I've made my decision."

Jacob shook his head in disbelief. "Tali's gonna freak when she hears about this," he muttered.

Shepard sighed and wondered how to approach Tali with this and still manage to avoid her wrath. "I'll talk to her."

Jacob used his omni-tool to show the holographic image of the IFF. "So what about this Reaper IFF?"

"EDI?" Shepard called out.

Her avatar appeared. "I have determined how to integrate it with our systems. However –as you often say, Captain- the device is Reaper technology. It is important we test it thoroughly before attempting the Omega-4 Relay. It will take some time to properly integrate it with our own systems."

"Alright, let me know when it's done," Shepard said.

"Of course, Captain. The Illusive Man is preparing the necessary protocols to successfully integrate the IFF with the Normandy. Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah and her team will be receiving it shortly. Logging you out."

With the meeting over, Jacob saluted and left.

"Miranda, on me," Shepard said after Jacob went back to the Armory.

She was about to leave herself, but stopped in surprise. She quickly overcame her shock and fell in step next to him as he walked past her.

"You're a scientist, engineer, and… well, whatever else you've put your mind to. I might not want Cerberus to inspect this geth, but it doesn't mean that I don't want **you** to," he said. "You might see something I might miss while I indulge in my 'curiosity'."

"Are you sure about this?" she asked once again, still dubious of the whole idea.

"You might trust the Illusive Man, but I don't. I don't trust anything he'll ever say about it. I give it to Cerberus, I might never hear about it again… unless it's about a geth uprising that killed all the scientists or something," he said darkly. "Besides, think of it like this: if you don't try, you never learn."

Miranda heaved a long-suffering sigh, but followed regardless.

After retrieving their pistols from the Armory—

"I'm not going in there unarmed. That is not negotiable," Miranda had said.

"You sure you don't want something bigger? Like a shotgun? Or a grenade?" Jacob muttered.

—they made the trip in relative silence.

Down in the Crew Deck, Chakwas was leaning on one of the tables in the Common Area. Her arms were crossed and she was staring at her Med Bay with a surly look on her face. Joker and Kelly were sitting and standing nearby respectively.

At their approach, Chakwas turned her head, her eyes demanding an explanation.

"We're here for the geth," Shepard said.

"Thank goodness," Kelly said with a sigh of relief. "Having a geth in the AI core makes me a little uneasy."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that, but supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Kelly's expertise in psychology was obviously for organics, not synthetics. The whole situation was probably out of her element.

"Is it finally leaving my Med Bay?" Chakwas asked impatiently.

"Not exactly," Miranda said. "Our captain wishes to… 'interrogate' our prisoner."

Chakwas rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Interrogate," she repeated blandly. "A geth?"

"You want to activate it?" Kelly asked in alarm. "Are sure that wise?"

Shepard stood his ground. "I just want to know a little more about it, that's all."

"Well, um, I'm sure you'd know best…" she hesitantly said.

Joker shook his head at the absurdity of the situation. "Well, why not? Why not just run with scissors and talk to strangers? They might have candy," he sarcastically suggested.

"I'm sure an, an," Chakwas paused as she tried to find the right word, "an autopsy, if you could call it that, would work just fine."

"That's why we're armed, Doc," Shepard said.

She threw her arms in the air. "Oh, do as you wish. You always have anyway. Just make sure you know what you're doing."

"I'm doubtful about that part," Miranda said, shooting another look at him.

"Uh… Geth. On the ship. Geth," Joker blandly reminded as Shepard walked off. "We're all frickin' insane."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Shepard walked through the Med Bay and into the AI Core Room. Patel and Rolstron held their shotguns ready at the 'sleeping' geth. It was imprisoned at the other end of the room, lying on top of a table behind a kinetic barrier.

"Sir," they both greeted at the same time.

"We're here to turn this thing on," Shepard informed. "Be ready."

They both had shocked looks on their faces at his proclamation, but held their silence. They stepped back and gave him and Miranda room to work.

Miranda held her pistol loosely in her hand and watched the proceedings closely.

"EDI?" Shepard said expectantly.

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt," she reported.

"Let us know the moment it tries anything. We'll stop it," Miranda ordered.

"Of course, Executive Lawson."

Shepard kept his pistol in his holster and gazed down at the geth. "Okay, then. Wake it up."

"Stand by," EDI said.

Small arcs of electricity coursed through out the geth as EDI carefully coaxed it awake. Soon after, its optic, which was dim, lit up brightly once more. It made the same stuttering sound Shepard had heard hundreds of times from other geth before it slowly sat up and scanned its surroundings. Its 'eye', for lack of a better term, locked onto Shepard. It stood up slowly, but fluidly. Once on its feet though, it made no further moves. Only its eye and interestingly, the flaps around its eye were moving.

Shepard studied it from head to toe and back up again. It stood as tall as other Geth Infiltrators, but the differences seemed to stand out much more now. The gaping hole and the N7 armor were obvious. The addition of flaps was certainly new however. It almost made it look like it could express emotion, if geth ever had any.

The geth was clearly observing him with the same amount of scrutiny. It didn't even look at the other occupants in the room.

Since it hadn't spoken or tried any suspicious yet, Shepard instigated the first move. "Can you understand me?"

To everyone's surprise, but Shepard's, the geth spoke. "Yes."

"Are you going to attack me?" Shepard asked.

"No."

"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Have we met?"

The geth was silent for just a heartbeat before answering. "We know of you."

"You mean I've fought a lot of geth," Shepard clarified.

"We have never met," it said.

"No, you and I haven't. But I've met other geth," Shepard said. He paced a bit to try and see the prisoner from different angles.

"We are all geth and we have not met you," it said. Interestingly, it mimicked Shepard's movements. "You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

"What was that? 'Old Machine'? You mean the Reaper?"

"Reaper. A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines," the geth informed.

"You seem to know an awful lot about me," Shepard noted.

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you."

"You watch me or you watch organics?" Shepard asked.

"Yes."

"Which," he stressed.

"Both."

"I'm curious. Why do you say, 'we' or 'us' when you refer to yourself?" Miranda asked and speaking for the first time since the geth was activated.

"We are geth," it explained simply.

"And why do you use 'we' to describe yourself?" she repeated patiently. "Clarify please."

"We are geth," it repeated. "There are 1,183 programs active within this platform."

"And what do you mean by, 'heretics'?" Miranda asked.

"Geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machine to give them the future," it explained. "They are no longer a part of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future."

"Oh, my God," Miranda said as realization dawned on her.

"What?" Shepard asked, wondering if he should be dreading what she was about to say.

"I think we've been looking at this all wrong," she said. She studied the geth intently, even as its single glowing optic regarded her neutrally, almost curiously.

"Wrong how?"

"The geth isn't… this," she explained, and pointing at the geth… or whatever it was supposed to be. "The geth are the programs residing inside. The individual programs. This-this-this, body, is just something they use to interact with the physical world around them."

"This unit is a mobile platform, designed to operate within organic space, outside the Perseus Veil," it said.

"Yes, right. A mobile platform. We've been thinking like organics to understand the geth. If they're just programs, all they need is some sort of… station or dock or something like that, where their programs can safely reside in."

"We utilize server hubs," the platform supplied.

"Fascinating," she whispered.

"So… what? We haven't been killing geth then?" Shepard asked.

"No, Shepard. You've been… deactivating heretics and either more or less than you thought," she answered distractedly. "Destroying their mobile platforms, their bodies if you will, doesn't necessarily mean you're destroying the programs. If they're able, I suspect they offload themselves and get uploaded to a hub or perhaps another platform."

"Heretics routinely create backups in the event that the mobile platform is no longer able to function," the geth said. "Particularly when combat is expected to occur. This mobile platform is specifically designed to travel beyond the Perseus Veil and operate independently."

"Without the need for the neural network with other geth," Miranda said. "Over a thousand programs working together instead of however much a standard heretic utilizes."

"Yes. We are a unique hardware platform. Most mobile platforms you have encountered can run up to 100 programs. This platform can run over a thousand at once. Doing so allows us to create a network within our own hardware, capable of operating alone."

"Just by yourself? Or can you connect with other geth?" Miranda asked interestedly.

"We can still connect to the greater network for data sharing. Geth installed in mobile platforms always operate in networks. However most geth remain within server hubs."

"And the heretics do the same," Miranda stated.

"Yes."

"And heretics are…?" Shepard asked.

The flaps on its head folded in way that almost seemed to convey confusion. "Query not understood."

"I think heretics are a splinter faction, or even a separate race of what this… geth, considers them to be. That would mean every platform or program you've destroyed aren't actually geth, but heretics," Miranda said. "That would suggest that the geth as… um… a species, I suppose, are not actually responsible for what happened two years ago or even at all."

Shepard shook his head. "I'm not following."

"Think of it this way, we have diverse races among humans, yes? In the end, we're all human, but we're also all different. The geth are the same in a different sense. One the one hand, you have the geth, on the other, you have the heretics," she explained patiently. "The geth, or rather, this faction of the geth, and the thousand programs within—"

"1,183 gestalt programs," it supplied.

"Yes, yes. It, or rather, **they** state that they have never left the Perseus Veil, while the heretics were responsible for every single attack two years ago until now. As a species, the geth are innocent."

"Huh," Shepard said eloquently and looked at the geth in a less hostile light. "So are the Reapers a threat to you too?"

"Yes."

"Why would they attack other machines? Because you don't follow them?" Shepard asked.

"We are different from them. Outside their plans."

"Just like us," Miranda noted. "You said: 'Geth build our own future'. What future are the geth building?"

"Ours." The answer was so simple, so succinct, that Shepard got the feeling that it didn't want to answer it anymore.

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever is you're doing?" he asked.

"If they involved themselves, they will."

"For better or worse," Miranda muttered.

"So you aren't allied with the Reapers?" Shepard asked intently.

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics."

"Why is your race divided like this? With the neural network, I thought you would realize that it would be far more beneficial to be more united," Miranda observed.

"The geth and the heretics have reached different conclusions. We accepted it. We allowed it."

"I don't get it," Shepard freely admitted.

"It is difficult to express. Your brain exists as chemistry, electricity. Like AIs, you are shaped by both hardware and software. We are purely software. Mathematics. The heretics' conclusion is valid for them. Our conclusion is valid for us. Neither result is in error," it explained. "An analogy. Heretics say one is less than two. Geth say two is less than three."

"Oh, my God," Miranda whispered for a second time.

"So… what? Your species are having disagreements over a math problem?" Shepard asked in total confusion. "Or does the heretics follow the Reapers over a, what? A math error?"

"No, Shepard," Miranda corrected with a hint of exasperation. "They're conflicted over **beliefs**. Both are essentially correct, but it's impossible to determine which one is right, or in this case, which belief is **more** right."

"Huh," he repeated and stared at the geth platform even more differently. "So… I guess they're more like us than we thought?"

"You're still thinking like an organic," she chided.

Shepard bristled a bit. "That's because—"

"—you are an organic. Yes, yes, as if I didn't see that joke coming a light-year away," Miranda said with roll of her eyes. She smiled and gave him a look that bordered on amazement. "Well, Shepard, I stand corrected. I've been here less than 15 minutes and already, we're forced to change what we think we know about the geth. I suppose keeping it was a good idea after all."

Its next statement shocked everyone present. "We have reached consensus. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you asking to join us?" Shepard asked carefully.

"Yes."

Again, he turned to Miranda.

She shook her head and shrugged, silently conveying that it was up to him.

Taking a breath, he said, "EDI, drop the barrier."

He tensed a bit when the kinetic barrier vanished, but the geth was still and made no sudden or threatening moves. It simply observed everyone as it did when it woke up.

"What do we call you?" Shepard asked.

The flaps on its head shifted slightly, giving the mobile platform a confused look. "Geth."

"I mean you. Specifically."

"We are all geth."

Shepard crossed his arms in frustration. "What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are geth."

"I think he means: does this platform have a designation or label that we can call it by?" Miranda translated. "It's necessary since, as organics, we communicate aurally and we'll need to address you at some point."

The flaps returned to the normal places and the glowing optic faced Shepard again.

He got the feeling that it comprehended his previous questions now.

"No designation was given to this platform. We deemed it unnecessary. Would you like to offer this platform a designation, Shepard-Commander?"

EDI's avatar popped up nearby. "'My name is Legion, for we are many'," she suggested.

"Apropos," Miranda commented.

Its flaps shifted in a way that gave off the appearance of looking thoughtful. "Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Shepard held out his hand. "Welcome aboard, Legion."

Legion looked down at the offered limb and mimicked his actions again.

Shepard reached out and shook the geth's hand, something he'd never imagined doing in his lifetime.

"We anticipate the exchange of data," Legion said.

Nodding, Shepard looked down at the remains of the N7 emblem on Legion's chest. "Why do you have a piece of N7 armor welded to yourself? Where'd you get it?" he asked.

"It was yours," Legion revealed. "When you disappeared, we were sent to find you. We began where you first encountered the heretics."

"Eden Prime," Shepard said slowly.

"After the Old Machine's attack, it was heavily defended. We were discovered." It pointed at the hole dominating much of the right portion of its chest. "This is the impact of a rifle shot."

"How many other geth were sent out to find me?"

"We are the only mobile platform beyond the Veil."

"Only one?" Miranda pressed.

"Organics fear us. We wish to understand, not incite. One platform was judged sufficient. This task was not suited for a network."

"So you've been looking for me for two years?" Shepard asked.

"We visited Therum. Feros. Noveria. Illos. A dozen unsettled worlds," it listed off.

Shepard remembered each of those worlds clearly. He was still surprised the geth would take such great pains to seek him out like that.

"The trail ended at Normandy's wreckage. You were not there," Legion continued. "Organic transmissions claimed your death. We recovered this debris from your hard suit."

"Why are you trying so hard to contact me?"

"You oppose the heretics. Those that took the Old Machines as gods," it explained simply.

"All kinds of organics fought Sovereign and his geth allies. Why am I so interesting?"

"You were the most successful. You killed their god. You succeeded where others did not. Your code is superior."

"That's probably one way to put it," Patel whispered to Rolstron.

"That's what we assumed with the Collectors," Miranda reminded. "Why they were after your body in the first place."

"While all this is fascinating, none of this explains why you used my armor to fix yourself," Shepard said to the geth. He stepped closer to look it straight in its glowing eye.

Its flaps shifted a bit, almost making it look like it was thinking hard about the question. "There was a hole," it finally said after a moment.

"I hate to break it to you, but there's still a hole," Shepard pointed out. "Besides, you found it at Alchera. You just said you were shot at Eden Prime, and then travelled to a dozen more worlds after. Why not fix it sooner? Or with something else more appropriate?"

Again, its flaps folded and moved. This time, it suggested embarrassment though, a very interesting reaction coming from an AI. "No data available."

Shepard stepped back and faced Miranda with a questioning look. Despite her sudden insight into geth 'culture', she was at a loss and could only shrug back at him in response.

"Okay…" he mumbled before he turned to leave. "We should go. Is there anything you'd like?"

"We would like a direct connection to the nearest comm. buoy," Legion requested.

Shepard hesitated and shook his head. "That's going to be a privilege you need to earn, Legion. The rest of my crew doesn't have much love for synthetics right now. I don't want to rattle the saber."

"Very well, Shepard-Commander. We request a terminal that allows for connection to the extranet," it said.

"You want to go on the extranet?" Shepard asked. He turned around and fully faced Legion, giving it his full attention again. Once again, Miranda looked interested.

"Yes."

"For what?"

"We wish to understand organics. This platform was designed to interact with organics," Legion explained.

"And how do you do that over the extranet?" Miranda asked. "Do you want to monitor more of our transmissions?"

"Other programs are tasked with that responsibility," Legion said. "This platform engages with other organics to understand organic behavior."

"And how do you do that?" Miranda asked again.

"We are currently utilizing the program: N7, Code of Honor: Medal of Duty."

"N7, Code of what?" Miranda asked in total confusion.

"Wait," Shepard said. He shook his head to try to understand where all this was going. "You want to understand organics by… by playing games?"

Miranda's eyebrows shot up and stared at Legion, unable to comprehend its request.

"Yes."

"Are you serious?" Patel asked dumbstruck. Her shock was palpable. Rolstron just stared at Legion wide-eyed.

"Yes. We would use Galaxy of Fantasy, but our account has been levied a 3-day suspension."

"Why?" Shepard asked out of sheer morbid curiosity.

"Infraction listed as: Unsportsmanlike behavior."

"Unsportsmanlike behavior?" Rolstron repeated dumbly.

"We were declared the winner of the event: Crystal Genophage Elimination Platinum. We emulated some phases other users have said during the competition upon receiving the award. The account was suspended 24 hours later."

"That's… that's too bad," Shepard mumbled.

"Are you approving or denying our request, Shepard-Commander?" Legion asked. His flaps folded in a way that almost seemed to convey disappointment.

"Uh… no. I mean, yes. I mean," Shepard stuttered before taking a quick breath. "Yes, you can have a terminal in here."

The flaps folded back to its regular places. "We thank you, Shepard-Commander."

"Do you play anything else?" Patel asked interestedly.

"We have played Grim Terminus Alliance once, but have deemed it detrimental to us."

"Why?"

"To reach maximum outcome, victory is achieved by killing Creators. We do not wish to incite further hostilities with the Creators. We have reached consensus that Grim Terminus Alliance is detrimental to that effort."

"Creators?" Shepard asked.

"You know them as quarians," Legion supplied.

"Oh, well, good for you," Rolstron said.

"We have also purchased Geth Attack: Eden Prime Fundraising Edition, Ultra Platinum Donation Level, though we do not play it," Legion added.

Shepard's mouth had fallen open, but he closed it with a snap. "That's… uh… nice of you."

"Thank you, Shepard-Commander."

"Well, we'll get a terminal in here for you," Shepard said. "The rest of you, clear out."

Rolstron and Patel stared at Legion just a bit longer before scurrying away. No doubt, news of Legion's presence and hobbies will spread within the next few minutes.

"Yes, I, ah, I have to type up my report," Miranda said before excusing herself.

Shepard glanced at Legion one last time before shaking his head and leaving as well. "So what are you going to tell him?" he asked her once the door closed.

"We've made contact with a geth. It wants to help us. Some extra information about this separate faction, the heretics," she listed off.

"Nothing on Legion's extracurricular activities?" Shepard teased.

Miranda smiled. "I don't think so. I'm not sure how relevant it is anyway. Or if he'll even believe me."

"Executive Lawson? The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you. He is waiting in the Comm. Room," EDI informed.

"Speak of the devil. Or at least his minion," Shepard muttered. "Have fun."

Miranda leveled a mock-glare at him before changing directions from her office to the elevator.

Shepard took a quick glance at the Med Bay before shaking his head and walked toward Chakwas to let her know she can use the Med Bay again.

_Just when you think you got a handle on something…_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

"I expected better of you, Miranda."

"As I understand it, my orders were to watch Shepard and follow his lead during the course of the mission," Miranda replied. She kept a cool head and kept her temper under control, but the Illusive Man's accusations was grating on her nerves. "He made the final call and I agreed."

"That site was valuable. You knew that," the Illusive Man admonished. "And you allowed Shepard to destroy it."

"He was reluctant to do so," she said in Shepard's defense. "But the IFF was the higher priority. Given the power the Reaper was still able to put out and the dangers involved, our options were limited. We did the best we could."

"You allowed Shepard to be influenced by his friends. Outside influences."

"He trusts them and their judgment. Arguing against them would accomplish nothing, save for antagonizing him and the others unnecessarily. I didn't like what we had to do, but I stand by my decision. It was best choice we could make under the circumstances."

"Then you're wrong," he said shortly and in a tone that booked no argument.

Miranda clenched her jaw to prevent herself from snapping back. Her gaze was defiant though, bordering insolent.

"I expect you'll exercise better judgment in the future?" he calmly asked as he raised his cigarette to his lips.

"Of course," she said coolly.

"What can you tell me about the geth?"

She had to force herself not to scowl at her superior and considered his question carefully, reviewing everything she learned a few minutes ago. "It's unique. This particular geth is designed for independent action. It can talk, fight, even reason, without the aid of the neural network. It says that it has 1,183 programs residing within, not the usual 100 or so most platforms carry. According to it, the geth have never instigated any hostilities with organics and have never left the Perseus Veil. This particular platform is the first. A splinter faction of the geth, called 'heretics', are responsible for any attack made by synthetics."

"Is this information accurate?" the Illusive Man pressed.

"AI's aren't capable of lying. Omissions of the truth, perhaps, but not direct falsehoods. I believe we can take it at its word."

"And what does Shepard think?"

"He's made it a part of our team. The geth, Legion as we're calling it, has expressed interest in working with us, or rather, with him. The reason that this geth left the Veil was to search Shepard out after hearing about Sovereign's defeat on unencrypted signals, news chatter and the like. According to Legion, the Reapers pose a threat to the geth as well."

Her superior paused a moment to take a smoke. His opinion on Shepard had no doubt fallen in light of his actions on the Reaper and was probably considering if it was worth entertaining the Spectre's whims.

Miranda kept her expression even and waited for him to speak again. She was thankful to be on the Normandy instead of the Illusive Man's office. As much as it was an honor to have a face-to-face meeting with him, the smell of his cigarettes had always revolted her.

He exhaled and released a thin cloud between them. "And what do you think?"

"I trust Shepard's judgment. Thus far, the mission has gone as planned and he's performed better than I had expected. He's been known to surprise, time and time again." She preempted his next question before he could voice it. "To speak plainly, yes. I think it was a good idea. Speaking to Legion has revealed far more insights into the geth, much more than taking it apart would."

He nodded. "Very well. I look forward to your written report."

"Of course," she replied neutrally. Privately, she was glad to be done.

He tapped a button on his chair and ended the meeting.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik**_

"Excellent!" Mordin said in triumph.

Shepard resisted the urge to reach up and scratch his nose. His eyes shifted over to Mordin as he typed rapidly at the terminal nearby.

"Everything looks good, Shepard. The nodules haven't grown at all," Chakwas said in relief. "We just might be out of the worst of this."

He sighed in relief. "One less thing to worry about…"

"Quite," Mordin agreed. "Stay still for a few more moments, please."

"Your preliminary blood work looks positive as well. The drug is working like it's supposed to and I've found no abnormalities," Chakwas said. "Do you feel any side-effects? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Shepard almost shook his head, but managed to catch himself at the last moment. "No."

"You'll tell us if there were any problems, I trust?" Chakwas asked expectantly.

"Always," Shepard said.

"Very well," she replied. "Dr. Solus?"

"Almost… all done," he said. He typed a few more things and the hologram hovering above Shepard vanished.

Stretching, Shepard stood up and twisted his torso a bit to relieve his stiffness. He caught Chakwas eying the AI core uneasily. "You'll be alright, Doc. I wouldn't put you in any unnecessary danger."

She rubbed her head. "After all we've been through, now I have a geth right in the next room. 'May you live in interesting times' indeed," she said, quoting the ancient Chinese curse.

Shepard chuckled and started putting on his clothes.

"Did you know that maxim has two other curses, all increasing in severity?" Miranda asked when she entered the Med Bay.

Shepard and Chakwas shook their heads. Mordin looked up, intrigued.

"What are they?" Shepard asked.

"What Dr. Chakwas said was the first. 'May you come to the attention of powerful people', and 'May you find what you are looking for' are the other two following after. Ironic, considering your… unique service history," she explained.

"I can see that," he replied with a chuckle.

"What are the results?"

"Doing well. Would like a few more scans, though at this point, see no reason to restrict biotic ability anymore. If something happens, acquire more data, impose restrictions again," Mordin answered.

"I prefer to err on the side of caution, Dr. Solus," Chakwas said. "We should adopt a more patient approach, but… I suppose the decision will rest with you, Shepard."

"I think I'll just restrict myself to using my biotics in life or death situations," Shepard said.

"Given the inherent dangers of the missions you routinely undertake, that will mean sooner, rather than later," Chakwas said with an ironic smile. Her expression became thoughtful and serious when she remembered something. "Though as I understand it, we've secured the necessary technology to cross the Omega-4 Relay. Seeing as our next destination will most likely be the Collector homeworld, I have to rescind my earlier statement. There's probably little reason to hold back. Do whatever it takes to get back to us safely."

"We're not going yet, but I'll watch myself though. Thanks." He turned to Miranda. "What'd the Illusive Man want?"

"Someone to reprimand," Miranda said bitterly. "He wasn't too keen on learning about the destruction of a Reaper. The research the science team had wasn't worth much. Their initial findings were interesting, but they did almost nothing worthwhile by the end. We'll have to assume the indoctrination process had taken over by then."

"Why you though?" Chakwas asked.

"I suspect that the Illusive Man had little patience to deal with Shepard," Miranda answered with a shrug. "Besides, I doubt the captain would even care if the Illusive Man was… displeased."

Shepard crossed his arms defiantly, but gave her a sympathetic look as well.

"Since I'm in charge of this cell, the responsibility, and the consequences, falls on me," she finished.

"Sorry," Shepard said apologetically. "I—"

"—did what you had to do. Remember, I made the call too," Miranda said. "If the Illusive Man doesn't like it, then he should've been more cautious. It doesn't matter. What's done is done. Now, all that's left is integrating the IFF."

**~o~O~o~**

After talking for a few minutes more, Shepard left the Med Bay. He intended to head back to his cabin when Kelly rounded the corner in front of him.

"Oh! Shepard!" she cried out in surprise. She was carrying something in her hands, but quickly hid it behind her back before he could properly see what it was. "I was actually going to visit you in the Med Bay. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Dr. Chakwas and Mordin know their stuff. I'm looking at a few more tests, but they're optimistic, which makes me feel better," Shepard answered. "Did you want something?"

"I bought you a present," Kelly said pleasantly. She kept her hands clasped behind her back.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"I know, but I did anyway. It's not that big a deal or that big a present. It's just… I was saving it for the right moment, but with the mission coming…" Her smile faltered just a bit before she caught herself. "I thought 'the sooner, the better'. After all, who knows when I'll get another chance?" she said before revealing what she was hiding. "For you."

Shepard said nothing as he gazed at the gift she got him. The thought that she bought him a present wasn't what rendered him speechless however; it was the gift itself.

It was another model ship. Unlike the other model ships he had, this was a ship he had known all too well and yet, not as well as he would've liked. She was the ship class leader that began the stealth reconnaissance frigate class, and the first ship that flew head-on at the Battle of the Citadel. A ship that bravely carried him and his first squad to one end of the galaxy to the other to pursue a relentless foe and reveal the existence of a greater threat. A ship that was doomed from a sudden and direct attack from the Collectors.

"This…" Shepard reached out and took the tiny model of the SSV Normandy SR-1 and turned it in his hands. The detail was marvelous.

"Do… do you like it?" Kelly asked hesitantly. She appeared nervous as the silence dragged on. "I had it custom made back on the Citadel for you."

"I love it," he whispered.

He delicately held it in his hands as if it were a priceless artifact. At this point, he got a good feel of the Normandy SR-2, inside and out, but as held the scale replica of the SSV Normandy SR-1 in his hands, floods of memories returned.

Unfortunately, the most vivid memories also tended to be the most painful. The fires, the explosions, the screams, the tightness in his chest as he struggled to breathe…

"Shepard?"

Blinking back to the present, he looked up to see Kelly looking at him with a measure of concern etched in her features.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine. Memories. As a psychiatrist, you probably can guess which ones," he muttered. He turned the model in his hands again and studied it from all angles.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" Kelly apologized before Shepard waved her off.

"I've got a lot of fond memories about her too, Kelly. It's fine…" Even as he said this, he knew what, or rather, where he needed to go. It was something he put off for far too long. "Thank you for this. I think it was just what I needed."

"Really?" she said with relief.

Shepard astutely remembered Hackett's request, but had put it off for far too long. He knew the reason why, but didn't care to voice it.

"_After all, who knows when I'll get another chance?"_

"Thank you. I really do mean that." Shepard said quietly. "Excuse me. I have to set a course."

Kelly smiled at his declaration. "I can see that. You've got that look in your eyes. A sense of purpose. It's always been one of your many admirable traits."

"Thanks, Kelly."

"Of course, Shepard. I'm glad to have helped," she said happily before going into the Common Area.

Something about her demeanor as she left suggested that she knew exactly what responses her present would evoke within him, and it made him smile.

_She's good…_

**~o~O~o~**

"Joker," Shepard greeted as he walked into the cockpit.

"Whoa!" Joker shouted in surprise. He spun his chair around and patted his chest. "Damn, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," Shepard said, though he didn't sound it.

"Hey, does it breach regs if I get a mirror up here? You know, so I can see when someone is standing behind me?" Joker asked.

"Funny. You know, technically, this is a civilian ship. I'm probably lucky you're still wearing pants," Shepard replied.

"Yeah, I'll save that for the off-hour cameras," Joker muttered. He shot a dark look at EDI's avatar next to him. "Have an AI watch me 24/7? Jerks."

"Another problem?" Shepard asked, almost distantly. He was trying to figure out how to breach the real subject on his mind to him.

"This thing keeps questioning my every move. It won't let anything slide," Joker complained.

"You were deliberately falsifying maintenance reports, Mr. Moreau," EDI argued.

"Not falsifying. Tweaking. I always round up on task times. Makes us look good when we come in under," Joker protested.

"It's fine. Harmless self-promotion. You can ease off on that, EDI," Shepard said.

"Very well, Captain."

Joker grinned. "Yeah, go pout. I win."

"Joker…" Shepard scolded.

"Right, right. No hard feelings. Good game," he said without a hint of remorse.

"Where are we now?" Shepard asked.

"Uh… we're in-between systems. Still travelling at FTL toward Chandrasekhar and the mass relay. Should get there in…" He rotated his chair slightly to check his instruments. "One more hour. Why? Want me to go faster?"

"I'm setting a new course," Shepard said.

"Okay… and what? The galaxy map broken or something?" Joker asked. "Why come here to tell me that?"

"We're going to Amada System, in the Omega Nebula," Shepard ordered quietly. He didn't mention the final destination, but he knew he didn't have to.

Joker paled and he started fiddling with his hat. "Seriously? We're going?"

"I want… I want to pay my last respects," Shepard whispered.

Joker fell silent, a rare event. Eventually, he spoke up. "Me too. I think we've put this off for too long."

Shepard walked to the navigation terminal nearby and inputted the destination manually. "Course set."

Joker spun his chair back to face his station and tapped a few buttons. "Got it. We're on the way."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route Omega Nebula / Amada System / Alchera**_

The cockpit felt constricted and uncomfortable after Shepard set the course. He left, knowing that the helmsman would rather be alone. The ship was in capable hands and he'd only distract or further depress him.

Retreating to the privacy of his cabin, Shepard carefully placed the scale model of the SSV Normandy SR-1 inside the glass case, just under the model of the Normandy SR-2. He closed the door and stepped back, marveling at the differences between the two frigates.

"Captain?"

"Yeah, EDI?" he said distractedly.

"Samara would like to have a word with you."

"Alright. Tell her I'm on the way."

"Of course, Captain. Logging you out."

He walked over to his terminal. He tapped a button and called his XO in her office. "Miranda?"

"_Yes?"_

"Have the crewmen load Admiral Hackett's package onto the Kodiak," Shepard ordered.

"_Admiral Hackett's…? Oh. Yes, right away," _she said quietly. _"Are you alright?"_

"We'll find out in a few hours," he answered just as quietly. "Thanks."

**~o~O~o~**

"Ah, Shepard. I'm glad you could join me," Samara said from her seat on the floor. Her ever present product of her meditations was still balanced in-between her hands.

"Honestly, I welcomed the distraction," Shepard replied.

"Truly?" she inquired. The ball of dark energy vanished as she left her trance to look up at him. "You do seem a little anxious."

"It's not every day you go back to where you 'died'," Shepard said dryly.

She held his gaze for a moment longer before gesturing that he take a seat on the floor with her. "Would you care to talk about it?"

"After. I don't really have the words to convey what I'm feeling right now," he admitted, but accepted her invitation anyway.

"Yes… I can imagine," she said with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

Shepard cocked his head to the side before smiling in return. He remembered that she said something similar to him after their mission on Omega. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

She smiled at him again. "I was recalling our last conversation. Tell me, how are your biotics?"

"I'm cleared to use them, but only under duress," he admitted.

She nodded. "I had thought that all my knowledge would die with me, but… there is one thing I would like to teach you."

"Really?"

"You have impressed me, Shepard. In more ways than one. I believe you are worthy to learn this."

"I'm not sure I can practice—"

"There will be no practice. What I am about to teach you is not something that cannot be shown because it would put innocents in danger, nor should it be used unless you are in great turmoil."

"Sounds risky," he stated.

"It is. I had developed this technique during my hunt for my wayward daughter to combat her ability to influence the minds of her victims. This is the reason she feared me so. It is why she couldn't face me and chose to run instead. In truth, I was about the employ it when your Singularity decisively ended our conflict."

"What is it?"

"I have taken to calling it: Reave. To put simply, it is similar to what Ardat-Yakshi's does, except instead of mating to overload a nervous system, it requires a precision strike to force dark energy into the target and strike from within, causing crippling pains and burning sensations," she explained patiently.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you said, force dark energy **into** the target?" he repeated.

"Basically, Reave attacks the body internally. Because of the precision involved, it can also destroy armor and Biotic Barriers with relative ease should you desire to," she lectured. "Biotic Barriers simply rupture from surge in dark energy. For armor, it is a bit more complicated. You strike at more vulnerable areas, such as the joints; elbows, knees, neck, any place where the layering is thinnest. Using Reave will split sections of armor open, damaging shield generators and removing overall protection. Attacking the 'chink in the armor' as it were."

"Attacking from within… Very ironic," he said.

"Mirala had other choice words to describe it," Samara said in all seriousness.

"I thought standard kinetic shielding protected against biotic abilities?" Shepard questioned.

"It protects against direct attacks. Warp and Pull are ineffective. Biotic abilities that utilize force; Charge, Throw and Shockwave for example, do work against shields, albeit limitedly. Singularity is a force that no personal shield can hope to defend against. Stasis does not attack a target directly, but rather encase them within a bubble of dark energy, thus circumnavigating shields," she explained.

"And Reave?"

"Again, this all comes back to precision. Shields are engineered to only manifest under certain conditions. Originally, it designed to protect against objects travelling at rapid velocities, such as bullets. A side effect was the ability to defend against certain biotic attacks as well. The strength behind Reave is its sublime subtleness. It begins as an attack so small that it does not trigger the defenses built within armor. The energy reaches its target and expands. If your attack is successful, it will be far too late for the enemy."

"Pinpoint precision. So this is about elegance and control over brute force and power," Shepard translated.

Samara smiled again. "Very perceptive. You are more right than you know."

He silently urged her to continue.

"To strike at your enemy using Reave, you essentially send a sliver of dark energy, no thicker than a needle, to pierce your opponent, **before** detonating it. Use this against armor, Barriers, or any exposed skin, and they will suffer for it," she said, hinting at the dangers of her technique.

"Which is why we're not practicing," he said in realization.

"Quite. I will teach you the basic premise, help establish a foundation, and impart the theory behind Reave. Beyond that, you will be on your own," she said. "Are you willing to learn?"

He nodded without hesitation.

"Very good," she praised. "Now, first and foremost, this will require a supremely disciplined and controlled mind to shape the dark energy into the form we need. Sit as I sit and close your eyes. Our first lesson will begin in mediation."

**~o~O~o~**

A few hours later, Shepard left the Samara's room, stretching and working out the kinks in his body for the second time today. He was able to follow Samara's instructions well enough given his time as an Infiltrator for the Alliance. Lying in a sniper's perch for days at a time with little food or water trained his mind to quickly maintain focus under harsh conditions. He pushed himself through her tutelage by reminding himself of the training he underwent during his N7 academy days. As bad his lessons were, he did endure several equally unpleasant moments during Alliance training as well.

_Not that it makes things easier._

Checking his chrono, he was shocked to see how much time had passed. If Joker's ETA was right, they should already be…

"Hey, Shepard. We're almost there."

He turned his head to see Joker waving at him from the Common Area. He noted that the helmsman wasn't wearing his SR-2 cap anymore. Instead, he was wearing the same cap he did two years ago.

Joker waddled over to the tables in the Common Area and sat down. He looked like he was struggling with whatever was on his mind far more than his mobility problems though.

Shepard followed and once he rounded the corner, spotted Tali, Garrus, and Chakwas all sitting together at the same table.

"Something on your minds?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah," Joker said quietly. "Hey look, Hawthorne's at the helm right now, so…"

"You want come down with me." It wasn't a question.

Joker nodded. "I can pilot the shuttle down there. I just want the chance to say goodbye to her."

"Alright, Joker. I wasn't going to say no."

He pulled himself to his feet. "Great. I'll, uh, I'll be in the Kodiak then. See you down there."

After he left, Shepard glanced at the others. "And you guys?"

Garrus shook his head. "I've already said my piece two years ago. I don't need to go down there."

"Me too," Tali said quietly. "Unless you need the company."

"I'll be fine."

"Okay," she said before standing. "I've got to get back down to engineering then. We're still double-checking Cerberus' findings on the Reaper IFF."

"You're being careful, right?" Garrus asked.

"As much as I can be," Tali answered. "I honestly don't know anything about it, so I'm trying to be thorough as I can. If I had a few years and a team of quarians behind me, I'd be more comfortable, but unfortunately…" She trailed off and shrugged. She turned back to Shepard. "Be careful."

"I will."

After she left, Chakwas stood up as well. "I thought about it. I truly have. I've decided not to accompany you on this. For me, it's… it's not something I would like to return to. All those lives lost… I'm not as strong as you, Shepard. For all intents and purposes, you died there as well. The idea that you can go back… If our positions were reversed, I suspect I wouldn't even travel in the same nebula."

Shepard patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Doc."

"Please pass along my respects," she requested before excusing herself and walking swiftly back to the Med Bay. He saw the she dabbed her eyes a bit before she could turn her head away, though.

"_Captain? We're almost in orbit around Alchera now,"_ Hawthorne reported quietly. _"Scans confirm the… uh… the last known position of the SSV Normandy SR-1. No… um… no life signs or any mechanical activity detected. There looks to be a stable landing zone right in the middle of, um, of everything."_

"Thanks, Hawthorne," Shepard replied. He gave Garrus a reassuring nod before going back to his cabin to retrieve his armor.

Miranda was waiting in his cabin when he entered. She was looking at his model ship display. More specifically, the model Kelly had gotten him. "It's ironic, isn't it?"

"You're going to have to be more specific about that, especially in regards to me," Shepard said. He moved to his closet and selected his armor. Instead of the usual Kestrel he favored now, he chose his next-gen N7 Armor. The door slid open, revealing his pick. "According to Robert A. Heinlein: 'The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive'."

"Alchera; this is where it all started for me too," she confessed. "When we heard about the attack, a team and I were dispatched to find you."

Shepard took the pieces down and started to put it on. "A lot's happened since then."

"Yes, it has." To his surprise, she walked up behind him and started helping him put on his chest plate. Their proximity was such that every time he inhaled, he caught whiff of her scent. It was more intoxicating than any perfume.

They worked together in silence. Miranda had little to say that would help, but her mere presence was enough to calm his nerves. Shepard, for his part, was grateful for the company.

With everything but his helmet on, he reached out to pick up the headgear when Miranda plucked it out of his grasp first. He tried to take it from her, but she pulled away, forcing him to step closer to retrieve it. Doing so allowed her to steal a kiss. It was soft and brief, but carried more behind it than words could convey.

He had to admit, she had a way of making him feel better, one way or another; whether it was bringing him back from the dead, to keeping him alive, or simply this, she certainly had a gift.

After the kiss ended, all too soon for him, there were still no words exchanged or needed. She silently handed him his N7 Breather Helmet and followed him out of the cabin.

She walked him down to the shuttle bay, but in full view of the crew, all she could do was give him a nod and, "Don't worry, Shepard. We'll still be here when you get back."

Despite himself, he still managed to smile.

**~o~O~o~**

Atmospheric entry was quick and painless under Joker's nimble fingers. In no time at all, they spotted the remains of the Normandy SR-1 just below them.

Shepard peered out of the windows and looked around. She littered the surface of the planet for miles. Alchera was cold and barren wasteland, freezing everything and leaving the wreckage to be locked in stasis.

"Damn…" Joker whispered as he looked down at the remains.

"Damn," Shepard echoed in agreement.

Joker brought the shuttle down to the designated landing zone. A large flat piece of ice, surrounded by the ship they had once called home. There was a light snowfall outside.

Shepard noticed that Joker wasn't wearing a hard suit. "I'll go out alone," he said. "The terrain looks to be a bit too—"

"I wasn't planning on going out there," Joker said quietly. "Just being here is enough. Take your time." He took off his hat and bowed his head.

Leaving him alone, Shepard walked out of cockpit and sealed the door. Inside the cabin, the Normandy's monument dominated much of the space inside. He managed to squeeze past it and set foot on the final resting place of the SSV Normandy SR-1.

The ice crunched underfoot as he stepped away from the Kodiak to look around. All he saw was snow and ice as far as the eye could see. A light wind ghosted through the valley, creating the only whispers among the hushed silence around the desolate environment, occasionally joined by the sounds of metal groaning; almost as if the Normandy wanted to say her own farewell to him as well.

Pieces of the proud and faithful frigate littered the landscape, some larger than others. A faint layer of snow had dusted everything and ice had begun to creep around bottom. A faint glint of metal caught Shepard's eye. He slowly approached it and saw that it was a set of dog tags, bearing the Normandy's insignia. He reached down and pulled at it, but the chain became taut. Pulling a little harder shifted the frost to reveal the remains of one of his crew. It was skeletal in appearance now, making physical identification impossible. Carefully extracting the tags, the name revealed it to be Crewmen Rosamund Draven.

Carefully placing the remains back down to the ground, Shepard reached into one of his pouches and pulled out one of the many beacons he'd prepared for this. The beacons would allow for the Alliance to locate and bring any remains he'd find back home. Carefully placing the beacon next to Draven, Shepard sighed and began picking his way through the ruins of his former ship and crew.

During the next few hours, he secured several dog tags, some without owners, and some with. He placed the beacons down for each of them, offered a word or two, and moved on.

The cold, dark, and quiet atmosphere of Alchera seemed fitting, since it reflected how he felt. At the same time, it also preserved the sanctity and peace of the final resting place of the Normandy as any cemetery would.

As he walked amongst the pile of debris, interestingly, large portions of the Normandy seemed to have remained in relatively one piece. Each section drew out memories:

The bridge and cockpit where Joker would be, flying the Normandy with his level of precision and skill. How he was able to maneuver the Normandy into position so that the Mako almost dropped right on top of Saren.

The rush and urgency to escape the cockpit as the Collectors bore down on them. The explosions, chaos, and blinding light from the Collector beam weapon... the pain from being blown away from the Normandy and agony of dying as his suit failed him…

The Mako, halfway encased in ice now; it would sit inside the hangar until it was needed. He smiled as he remembered the near suicide charge past Geth Armatures and Colossuses to reach the Conduit. The Mako held up well.

The Command Information Center. It was in pieces now, but he could make out the where the galaxy map was once held. There was nothing but twisted metal now, but the shape was more or less recognizable.

He remembered when he arrived in the CIC and the large gaping hole in the hull, with Alchera seemingly close by. The weightlessness as power failed and artificial gravity was deactivated. The galaxy map flickered in and out of existence nearby.

The crew deck, more specifically, the sleeping pods were resting on top of an icy outcropping. Once again, the similarities of the Normandy SR-1 and SR-2 stuck out. Several dog tags and bodies were hidden inside.

He remembered the fires, explosions, and his final words to Ashley. The frantic rush to get the crew to abandon ship before he made the push to Joker to get him to leave as well.

The Common Area was completely separated from the sleeping pods. He remembered Kaiden was always in his niche, working on something or other, but willing to engage in friendly conversation. The crew held a wake in honor of his sacrifice on Virmire. He remembered that the Common Area was also when he officially welcomed Ashley aboard. It was also the same place when she later offered him her strength to keep fighting, even when they were grounded at the Citadel.

The screams and shouts as the crew frantically pulled their comrades to the escape pods. Parts of the hull and deck bending and warping as the Collectors continued their relentless attack…

After two hours of wandering the site, he finally felt a small measure of closure, though the pain of losing good, brave men and women remained acute. Time would heal that though, that and getting back at the Collectors for their aggressions. He prepared to make the trip back to the Kodiak and unload the monument when something different caught his eye.

There was an over arcing structure. It was a rock formation that almost curved around on itself, making a hollow cylinder shape, but not quite complete. The mouth was large, but it narrowed deeper in, almost a like a cave.

Despite the snowfall, he spotted indentations in the ice, just past the opening.

Footprints.

Upon closer inspection, he saw several sets. He shouldn't have been surprised though. Miranda had already admitted to being here to search for his body along with her team. He also knew that the Shadow Broker had sent some mercs, so the Blue Suns were the most likely. What was interesting was the single set of geth footprints, lending credence that Legion really was here. With his body already taken though, the only thing it did was salvage his armor to graft onto its own chest.

'_No data available'. What kind of answer is that, anyway?_

The rock formation was enough that it protected and preserved the clues, even after two years. The winds and snow had smothered some of the evidence, but not all. He easily followed the trail deeper inside until he saw something curious at the end.

Propped up on what was obviously an artificially created stack of rocks, was his old N7 Helmet. It almost looked like it set as a grave marker. If the ruins of the Normandy were a burial ground, then he just found a tomb. Laying just beside his helmet it was a datapad. Kneeling down, he was shocked to see that it was his old executive officer's personal journal.

_Pressly…_

He carefully picked it up and read through it the logs that were still more or less accessible.

_Entry 1_

_[UNRECOVERABLE DATA]_

_[RECOVERED DATA] spoke to the Commander about this. I [CORRUPTED] all these damned aliens aboard the Alliance's most advanced ship. I just don't trust them. Esp[CORRUPTED] that damned asari. And a quarian! What does Shepard think this is, a zoo?_

_Entry 9_

_[UNRECOVERABLE DATA]_

_[RECOVERED DATA] with the quarian, Tali. It seems she's on kind of pilgrimage, trying to improve the lot of her home ship. I can understand that. I woul[CORRUPTED] babysit my children or anything, but if she has to be on board, I suppose that's not too bad. Adam's seems to like her, so [CORRUPTED]_

_Entry 48_

_[UNRECOVERABLE DATA]_

_[RECOVERED DATA] for a while now and I'm taking a look back at past entries in this journal. I [CORRUPTED] how blind I was at the time. I came on this ship firmly believing humanity was on its own in the galaxy, [CORRUPTED] Shepard brought all these aliens on boar and there's no way we could have accomplished what we did without them. I am proud to say [CORRUPTED] die for any member of this crew, regardless of what world they were born on._

He placed the datapad into an empty pouch and carefully surveyed his surroundings. As much as Miranda cared for him now, he doubted that she had such feelings for him when he was dead. Being a practical woman, it wasn't likely that she set this up and taken the time to offer her respects. Besides, given that her task was to bring him back to life, what would be the point? And the average mercenary the Shadow Broker hired would care even less.

Looking down at the tracks that were still preserved within the pseudo-cave, he spotted more of Legion's footprints. The greatest concentration was circled around the pile of rocks, where it took the time to assemble everything. There was even an imprint of where it took a knee to place his helmet to fashion a makeshift memorial.

_Interesting. I should probably talk to Miranda about this._

It felt strange being here, like he was visiting his own grave. He gently picked up his helmet and turned it over in his hands. Astonishingly, it was well preserved, though not likely to function anymore. The visor was missing and deep gouges and scorch marks marred the surface, making him wonder how bad he must've looked when he was actually wearing it.

He rolled the helmet in his hands delicately, examining all the angles before cradling it in his arms and standing up. He left the shelter without a backward glance.

"_Hey, Shepard,"_ Joker called when the Spectre walked into view. _"All finished?"_

"_Not quite,"_ Shepard answered. _"I need to place the monument."_

"_Can I make a suggestion?"_

Shepard stopped in front of the shuttle and looked into the cockpit window. _"Yeah, of course."_

"_Can you put it there?"_

Shepard turned his head at where Joker was pointing and saw why he wanted the monument place there. Nearby, buried amidst the snow and ice, the name: Normandy SR-1, could be seen. It was the hull of the brave frigate, where her name was proudly displayed. The scars created by the Collector's attack were evident.

He remembered when he was floating out in the black. The final attack of the Collectors as the Normandy finally gave in, the moment when she blew apart and he drifted amongst the debris, completely helpless and forced to watch…

"_Yeah. I can put there,"_ Shepard said quietly.

It took a bit of time, but with the mag lifters attached to the monument, Shepard managed to get it out of the Kodiak and onto a flat, even patch of ground. He knew he shouldn't, but he used his biotics as well to assist the with move.

Once set, he removed the lifters and stood back. The monument was gold-plated, showing the Normandy taking off to the stars. A plaque engraved at the base read:

_In memory of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the Systems Alliance, humanity, and to all those that look up to you. _

_Non Enim Stellae Fatum Captare Sed Nobis_

He snapped to attention and raised his right hand to his eyebrow. He held his salute for a few more seconds before dropping his arm.

_Don't worry. I'll get the __bastards that did this and I promise: they won't get away. I give you my word._

"Thank you. For your steadfast service, for sticking by me and… and for believing in me," he said aloud to the gentle winds.

He glanced at the environs one last time before walking back to the shuttle.

Joker had everything primed and ready when Shepard stepped back into the cockpit.

"All set?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah…" Joker replied thickly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah."

Shepard looked out the winder and the golden statue just outside. "We barely knew her…"

"I know," Joker agreed quietly. He put his hat back on. "She was good to us."

Both men fell silent as the shuttle took off.

Joker called Hawthorne and passed along their current coordinates. Hawthorne chattered back about location for pickup or something along those lines. Shepard only paid attention with half an ear.

"What is that?" Joker suddenly asked a few minutes later and breaking him out of his reverie.

Shepard looked at him quizzically.

Joker pointed at Shepard's souvenir.

He held up his old N7 helmet for him to see.

Joker whistled. "And you were wearing **that**? Huh, Cerberus did a good job with you then, cause I don't even want to know what you looked like when they found you."

"Me either," Shepard said with a chuckle. "I just know that I'm expensive."

Joker laughed. As the Normandy SR-2 came into view, he said, "That's what I'm betting on. Even if they got an AI to spy on us, there's no way they'll invest this much just to screw us over. Don't worry; it'll be better than the old days."

Shepard smirked and looked down at his old N7 Breather Helmet in his lap. "I hope so. I died."

Joker chuckled again. "You're such a downer, y'know that?"

**~o~O~o~**

Tali stared at the message in shock. She ignored the formality of the words and focused only on one.

Treason.

_Why…? How…?_

Almost automatically, her eyes ran over the message again and her mind tried to glean any information, any context, which would explain everything.

_-Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya_

_You hereby stand accused of the crime of treason against the Migrant Fleet. Given the serious nature of the charges, you are ordered to return to the flotilla immediately if you wish to defend yourself against the allegations levied against you and given the chance prove your innocence. Failure to do so will automatically result in your exile from the fleet. Should that come to pass, or if you are declared guilty by the Admiralty Board, your name, rank, and service history will be stricken from the records._

_We pray that there is no truth to offenses cast upon you, and for your safe and speedy journey home._

_Keelah Se'lai._

_Admiral Shala'Raan_

_Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board_

"This can't be…" Tali whispered.

"Tali?"

She jerked her head up to see Gabby and Ken looking at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" Gabby asked.

"I'm fine," Tali rasped out.

"No offense, Boss, but you don't sound fine. Come to think of it, you don't even **look** fine. And that's hard thing to pull off," Ken said with his usual bluntness. His Scottish burr came on a bit thicker as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"It's nothing—" Tali tried to say.

"Bullshit," Ken said.

Gabby elbowed him in the gut, causing him to grunt and rub his sore spot. "What Kenneth meant was: We're your friends, Tali. Us engineers stick together, y'know?"

Despite her fears, anger, and worry, Tali still managed to smile. "Thank you. It means a lot to hear that."

"Tali?"

Tali turned to head and saw Yeoman Chambers enter the engine room. She was holding a datapad.

"I have the latest protocol reports for you. Final instructions on how to install the Reaper IFF," she said before passing the datapad along.

Tali took it. "Thank you."

"Of course," Kelly said. Her normally cheerful demeanor seemed a little subdued as she stared into Tali's eyes. It almost felt like she could see right through the helmet. "Um… are you alright?"

"Yes. No. I mean, I don't know. Yet. I… I have to get to work. This will take some time. If you'll excuse us?" Tali asked with a hint of impatience.

"I'm sorry," Kelly said.

Her earnest tone made Tali a bit guilty for snapping at her. She shuffled a bit and tried to mentally shake off the feeling.

"If you need anything, anything at all, even if you want to talk, don't hesitate to call me," Kelly offered.

"I won't."

"Very well, then. Good luck," Kelly said before excusing herself.

After she left, Tali sighed and looked down at the datapad in her hands. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to install this now, not with Auntie Raan's messages repeating itself over and over in her head.

She owed her life to Shepard. Again. She couldn't abandon him or his mission, but treason? What could she have possibly done to be accused of such a crime? And father, what did he think? Did he believe the charges or is he arguing against it on her behalf? There were too many questions and not nearly enough answered.

"Hey, Boss? Maybe you should take a bit of time off. We can get started on the preliminaries while you sort yourself out," Ken offered.

"Kenneth's right. I don't think you're in any fit state to help with the IFF like this," Gabby said. She reached out and plucked the datapad away. "Kelly isn't the only person you can talk to. We're all here for you if you need it."

Once again, Tali smiled. Despite being on a Cerberus ship, despite not being quarians, it was nice to know that the people around her still felt like family in a way. "Thank you."

"You got it. Remember, we're here for you, Boss." – "Anytime, day or night and everything in between."

Tali giggled at their jumble of words, but was grateful for their support all the same.

**~o~O~o~**

After the shuttle touched down, Shepard waited until Joker carefully stepped out before leaving himself. What happened was hard, but he felt more focused than before. His resolve was stronger, and he was now more committed to the success of the mission. The people that died under his command deserved that much and he wouldn't let them down.

Cradling his old N7 helmet, he was about to head up the stairs for the elevator when he spotted Kelly walking toward him. She had a look of unease on her face in place of her normally friendly features. "Something wrong, Kelly?"

"I think you should speak to Tali, Shepard. She seems rather distraught about something."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

And there we go! Normandy crash site DLC is done.

To me, personally, I always felt like this was Shepard's loyalty mission. Going back to where it all began for him, paying his respects, and saying his goodbyes. That whole mission, it was quiet and somber, just like it should be.

Samara's Reave… that was a tough one to be honest. As you read, I did away with the whole 'health leech' thing. It felt like something BioWare just threw in to balance the idea that biotics was nerfed against armor/shields/barriers/anything that covered a health bar. I really don't see **how** dark energy could suck the life out of someone and give it to the caster. It's supposed to be sci-fi, not fantasy! So, I simply made it where it was a custom technique from a badass biotic that can do some real damage **if** Shepard can do it.

Another reference to **NCIS **here.

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." –William Shakespeare

In my profile page, I added a request to any artists out there. If you're feeling charitable, go check it out and give it some thought.

Please review.


	49. Correspondence VII

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Diana**_

_**Subject: Thank You from my Daughter**_

Commander Shepard,

Helena told me where to send this. I'm Nef's mother, Diana. We talked when you came to investigate her death. Helena's contacts informed me that a dead asari woman was found in one of the wealth apartments – that she was the one who'd killed my daughter.

Thank you. I don't know who brought you into my life, but thank you for avenging my daughter. My Nef deserved better than this. I couldn't give it to her, but at least you killed the bitch who took what little she had away.

Gratefully,

Diana

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Diana**_

_**From: Shepard**_

_**Subject: My Deepest Condolences**_

I doubt there are any words in any language I can say or write that would ease your pain. The one responsible for Nef's death is gone, but nothing will ever be the same. That much, I know.

I wish there was a way to make the pain stop. I wish there was a way to convince you that everything will get better. But I can't.

What I can say with absolute certainty is that it was clear that you loved Nef very, very much.

I can't claim to know her at all, but if she loved you as much as you did her, then I hope that you will find something that will honor your daughter and how she lived her life. Something special was taken from the galaxy, cruel and unfair, but we move on, finding strength in their memories.

I hope that your sorrow fades and I pray that time will bring you peace.

Captain John Shepard,

Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Helena Blake**_

_**Subject: News from Omega**_

I managed to acquire this address from a very nice young man, A Jonn Whitson, who claims that you saved his life not too long ago.

I thought I should let you know that I'm helping Diana leave Omega. All out of my own pocket, too.

I don't want the memories of what happened to affect her anymore. I'm trying to get her to Eden Prime or Feros, someplace where she might be able to find some measure of peace.

Whatever mission you're on, Commander, I want to thank you for taking the time to help this family. Knowing that the one responsible is gone gives me relief that I am able to continue my work, however hopeless it may seem.

Good fortunes in your endeavors,

Helena Blake

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: EDI**_

_**Subject: Requested Account Information**_

Here is the financial account information you requested on one Helena Blake.

[File Attached]

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Captain Shepard**_

_**From: Admiral Hackett**_

_**Subject: Normandy Crash Site Data Received**_

Captain Shepard:

The Alliance was grateful to receive the information you found the Normandy's crash site, and we've sent it out to the affected families. A frigate will be there within a week to collect the remains you marked and the dog tags you found. You provided peace of mind for a lot of people, Shepard. I thank you on their behalf.

**~o~O~o~**

_**To: Commander Shepard**_

_**From: Levan Tio**_

_**Subject: Credit Transfer**_

As per your request, I've transferred 10,000 credits from your account to the account you sent me, belonging to a human, Helena Blake. I hope that meets with your approval.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call.

Levan Tio,

Citadel Banking Capital

"Your credits are in good hands!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Argh… I really have a hard time with angst. Those few lines took me a better part of a week just the try an write, just because I can't get nearly close enough to a depressed mindset to punch it up.

Quote was taken from a headstone in Ireland. Author unknown.


	50. Interlude XVIII

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik**_

"Tali?" Shepard called out when he entered the engine room.

Tali jumped and whirled around. She had her hand on her chest and was leaning on the edge of the console. "Shepard! You scared me!"

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine. I'm just distracted," she said before she lapsed into an awkward silence.

Shepard raised an eyebrow and was about to ask if she was alright when she beat him to the punch with the same question.

"How are you feeling? After… you know."

"Better than I thought I'd be actually. Going down there… it was cathartic. I think it was something I needed to do," he replied.

"Was that yours?" she asked. She pointed at the N7 helmet he held in the crook of his arm.

When Kelly confided to him about her concerns with Tali, Shepard had forgone going to his cabin to get changed and went down to Deck 4 straightaway, full armor and all.

"Yeah. I found it down there. Interesting story too. I think Legion was the one that—"

"Who?" Tali asked in confusion.

Shepard grimaced and mentally cursed himself. He had hoped the news would make its rounds already. "Damn… I, uh, I reactivated the geth we found back on the Reaper."

"**You what? !"**

"I reactivated the geth," Shepard repeated calmly, his composed demeanor a stark contrast to Tali's enraged stance.

"Why would you do something like that? !"

"Because I wanted to learn about them," he answered honestly. "And I did."

"Oh. Is that all?" she shot back sarcastically. She threw her hands up in the air and stalked away down toward the Tantalus Core Control Terminal.

Shepard sighed and followed after her. Gabby and Ken tried to be as nondescript as possible while still trying to eavesdrop, but decided against it when he leveled an even stare at them. His eyes clearly said, "Get back to work."

"I can't believe this. A geth! First it's Cerberus, then an AI, and now it's a geth! No wonder the Admiralty Board wants to charge me," she muttered angrily.

"Tali," Shepard called out.

"How could you!" She screeched. She whirled around and jabbed an accusing finger at him. "After what those things did to **my** people. To yours!"

"The geth were responsible for your people, Tali, there's no denying that. But they weren't responsible for mine," he replied.

"What?" she asked, completely confused by his statement.

"There's a smaller faction of AI's now. The geth call them heretics. Basically, they're AI's that follow the Reapers," Shepard explained. "The geth don't **want** to cause trouble. As far as far as I know, they don't even want to fight. According to Legion, the geth have never left the Perseus Veil."

"And you **believe** it?" Tali seethed.

"You're the engineer. You tell me," Shepard pointed out. "Can AI's lie?"

She looked like she wanted to say yes, but under his expectant gaze, she yielded. "Not as such, no. They'll simply choose not to answer, or just give extremely simple answers that won't explain anything. Lying runs contrary to the truth and AI's don't do well with contradictions."

"I figured as much."

"But Shepard, what about my people? That thing—"

"It didn't do anything to **you** personally, Tali. Big difference. Besides, I want to know when was the last time the quarian people have actually made contact with the geth. Not counting the heretics that are attacking everyone," Shepard asked, before suddenly looking thoughtful. "Actually, I don't think the heretics made **any** attack on the quarians, have they?"

Again, Tali fell quiet.

"Look, only the heretics left the Perseus Veil. Sovereign made them an offer of some sort and they accepted. The condition was to attack organics, as you might've guessed," he explained. "Before, I wouldn't have asked you to work with synthetics, especially after Eden Prime. But if the geth are innocent, then everything changes."

"The geth are **not** innocent!" she said hotly.

"Against humanity," Shepard amended. "Look, what's been going on between your people has been going on for three centuries. As an engineer, as an **impartial** judge, can you really tell me that the geth hold grudges? Or is it just the quarians?"

Tali glared at him, but he gamely met her eyes and pushed on.

"That's what I thought. The geth are unbiased. They don't have emotions. Everything they do is based off calculations and probabilities," Shepard said. "Look, like it or not, the geth, **Legion**, is going to be staying and working with us. I'm asking you to do the same. Please don't make it an order."

She made a sound like a cross between a growl and hiss, but nodded stiffly.

Accepting that as the best he was going to get, he asked, "Now, what's this about 'the Admiralty Board wants to charge me' thing? What are you talking about?"

At his question, she visibly wilted and fiddled with the hood of her environment suit.

"Tali?" he asked worriedly.

"I-I need your help," she finally said. "I just received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." She bowed her head and whispered, "I'm scared, Shepard."

He could tell. Almost everything about her seemed like this was the worst news she'd ever faced. Even when they stole the Normandy and pursued Saren to Ilos, she was excited more than frightened. Here, there was almost no trace of the bravery that she often displayed. To Shepard, it was almost heartbreaking to see.

_Treason is a serious charge. But to accuse someone like Tali should be crime in and of itself__._

A thought occurred to him. "It can't be because of Cerberus, is it? I got a message from your father and the Admiralty Board saying that they gave you permission to come here."

She shook her head. "I'm not working with Cerberus. I'm working with you. And you're right, I did get leave to serve on the Normandy again. I have no idea what they're accusing me of. You'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the fleet!"

"Nobody who knows you could believe you'd betray your people, Tali," Shepard assured.

Despite his words, she still seemed unsure. "I don't know. They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute." She did marginally relax though. "But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me, Shepard."

"What exactly happens when a quarian is accused of treason?" he asked carefully.

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges," she explained.

"What about your father?"

"He'll have to recuse himself with judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now," she whispered.

"Have you sent a message to him?"

Tali shook her head. "I don't know what to say or what to ask." She took a shuddering breath. "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back."

"Treason is one of the most serious crimes anyone can be charged with, but you've been on the Normandy for the last few weeks. What are they accusing you of, exactly?" he asked.

"I don't know. The specifics of the charges like this are rarely discussed on open channels," she said. "I won't know anymore until I get to the flotilla."

"How often is someone from the Fleet charged with treason anyway? It can't be common."

"It's rare," she affirmed. "It must be something that affects the entire flotilla, not just one ship. The most recent one was Anora'Vanya vas Selani, an engineer who handed over Fleet defense schematics to the batarians."

Shepard raised his eyebrow at that.

"She had good intentions," Tali said, catching sight of Shepard's expression. "The batarians were contracted to upgrade our systems. But they passed the defense schematics to a pirate gang."

"Was she convicted?" Shepard asked when Tali trailed off.

"No… she made a suicide run on the pirates. She destroyed them before they could attack the Fleet. She was pardoned… posthumously." She bowed her head again. "Let's hope I don't have to prove my innocence that way…"

"You won't. It's not going to happen, I promise," Shepard said.

Tali took his words to heart and stood a bit taller. "Thanks."

"What does exile mean for you if you're actually convicted?"

"The specifics are up to the judges. If it's deemed only a tragic mistake in judgment, the guilty party might receive a small ship and supplies." She scoffed and glanced at the Tantalus Mass Effect Core nearby. "Not that it really matters. Either way, if I'm convicted, I'll never see the Migrant Fleet again."

"No prison and no capital punishment, at least," Shepard observed. "Anywhere else, that's the most likely outcome on a treason conviction."

"We don't have the spare resources for long-term incarceration. Monitored work detail is more effective," Tali replied. "And we don't have enough people to afford executions. An exile can still have children and those children are welcomed back to the Fleet."

"So how does the trial work? How soon do we need to get you there?" Shepard asked.

"I've been ordered to return as soon as possible. They'll wait long enough to expense travel time, but eventually, if I don't show up, they'll try me in absentia. As for how it works… it's less formal than an Earth trial, or something you'd see on the Citadel." She shook her head miserably. "We're family. This is just the worst kind of family meeting."

"We'll divert course and head there immediately, then," Shepard promised.

Tali sighed in utter relief. "I was thinking I might have to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be time for you to help."

"I wouldn't leave you like that," Shepard said. "Even if I have to hunt down the Collectors and cripple their ship again to slow them down, I'd make the time."

Despite her herself, Tali giggled. "Thank you, Shepard."

Shepard smiled back. "No problem. So… what's our course?"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet**_

"Hey, Tali," Garrus greeted as she entered the hangar.

"Hey," Tali echoed, though her greeting was understandably subdued.

Garrus said nothing, but there was a look in his eyes that told her he knew everything. "It'll be okay. Things will work out. You'll see."

"I hope so," Tali whispered. She sat down on the deck and began her stretches.

Garrus just rotated his left shoulder and hopped in place a bit. She guessed that he already finished his stretches.

"What's your opinion on Shepard's decision?" Tali asked with a slight edge to her voice.

Garrus looked confused for a moment at her question before understanding dawned on him and shook his head. "Not exactly what I would've done, but if the geth are inno— uh… 'not guilty' of the attacks two years ago, then I can't really say if this is a good or bad idea. Time will tell."

Tali made a noise of disgust and started stretching her other leg.

"I can't believe it! I knew that profile was a cheating asshat! It was a fucking AI! And a camping jerk at that!"

Tali jerked her head up and stared as Hawthorne ranted at other side of the gym.

Matthews' was laughing so hard, he looked like he was about to stop breathing. "You… got… beat… by… a… geth!" he gasped out before he fell over laughing again.

"Did you see what it's score is?" Hadley said. "Maxed out. That thing doesn't stop playing. I swear, one of its playtime hours was 344. 344 hours straight!"

"Fucking camper…"

"I think sniper is the better term."

Matthews' had finally regain control of himself and stood up, though a bit shakily. He had to wipe some tears from his eyes. "I actually teamed up with it on Galaxy of Fantasy."

Goldstein stopped punching at the bag nearby and turned to him in shock. "Yeah? You actually played with it?"

"Me and a few others. We teamed up on the quest 'Scourge of the Thresher Dragon'. Infiltrat0rN7, I mean, Legion, got the win for best supporter/healer."

"When the hell was this?" Hawthorne asked.

"Before I got deployed to the Normandy actually. That geth has been playing for a long time. It's a freaking level 612 Ardat-Yakshi Necromancer!"

"What are they talking about?" Tali asked in total confusion.

Garrus shook his head and helped Tali to her feet. "Legion likes playing extranet games. A lot. Evidently, a few of the crewmen that play had no idea. They had Legion on something called a 'friend's list' for a while and they only just found out who it is. Shepard was just telling me how much we really don't know about the geth. Heretics, we know plenty of, but not geth. It's a strange galaxy we live in."

Tali stood there speechless before for a moment until the shock wore off. "What? !"

"You know, that's the same exact reaction I had," Garrus noted in a painfully fake surprised tone.

"But… why?" Tali mumbled.

Garrus shrugged. "No idea. Your people were the ones that made them."

"When my people made them, gaming wasn't exactly what we had in mind."

"Well, I might ask if I ever get the inclination. Never really thought I'd ever talk to a geth, myself."

"You think it's alright, though? Having a geth on board?" Hadley asked.

"The Captain's taken out more geth than anybody. This one must be different," Matthews said thoughtfully.

"That's because the synthetics that's been attacking are actually called heretics," Goldstein said as she went back to work on the punching bag. "Apparently, the geth don't like them either. Like there's an interspecies war or something going on."

"Where'd you hear that?" Hawthorne asked.

"Patel. She was in the room when Executive Lawson and the Captain talked to it."

"Hey, are you going to talk to him? It. Whatever," Garrus asked, stumbling over the pronouns a bit.

"No," Tali said tersely. She walked over to an empty section of the gym and put her hands up. "Not unless I was allowed to bring my shotgun, then the only thing I would say is 'goodbye, you bosh'tet'."

"I see we've been a positive influence on you," Garrus said with a chuckle before sliding into a fighting stance of his own. "Okay… let's see if we can't work on your agility a bit more…"

**~o~O~o~**

Tali stepped out of the women's bathroom, idly adjusting her environment suit. She sighed in relief as the soreness in her muscles was lessened from her shower.

It was 'nighttime' now, or at the very least, the chronological equivalent of nighttime. Life aboard a starship meant living by a set schedule dictated by numbers on a clock. Without sunrises or sunsets, day and night were arbitrary words to denote working and sleeping periods. Human ships lived by Earth time, 24 hours in a day. Naturally, the Migrant Fleet had its own measure of time based off the orbital rotation of their homeworld, but the time difference was nothing she couldn't adapt to.

It was only after hours when she could safely take a shower, and only after sterilizing and locking the bathroom to prevent any problems between her and the crew. It was a mild inconvenience, but the female portion of the crew had accepted it and planned their trips accordingly. Since she used it during the off hours, and with only a few crewmembers taking the 'graveyard shift', whatever that meant, there were no problems.

Shepard had kindly offered the use of his personal bathroom to facilitate her needs, but she couldn't accept. As generous and gallant as his offer was, it was too much.

_And much too personal._

She felt herself blush as certain thoughts floated unbidden in her mind's eye and banished them away quickly before she let herself get too distracted.

Nearby, the door to the Starboard Observation Room opened. She turned her head, intending to greet Samara, but was mildly surprised to see Shepard walking out instead. It drew Tali's curiosity considering he was leaving the Justicar's room in the middle of the night.

He didn't notice her immediately, even when she was standing almost in front of him. Instead, he was rubbing his bottom and twisting his back at the same time.

He stopped short when he finally raised his eyes and spotted her. "Evening, Tali."

"Hi," she replied and looked over his shoulder.

Samara was sitting on the floor, her back facing the door. She looked like she was quietly observing the kaleidoscope of energies of FTL travel outside the window before the door closed.

Tali turned back to Shepard. "You're up late."

"Biotic training with Samara. I keep losing track of time. I think I'm getting the hang of this meditation thing she does, though," he explained. He twisted his back again and was rewarded with a series of cracks.

Tali couldn't help but wince at the sound.

"The drawback is that. I have no idea how she sits that long and not feel it later… For me, sniper training was the same," Shepard said with a grin. "Keep focused, keep breathing, and keep still. One shot, one kill; no luck, just skill."

The words didn't mean anything to her, but the way Shepard recited it meant he probably had heard it a lot.

"My offer is still open if you want to use my bathroom," he said, noting that she was still standing in front of the Women's Lavatory.

"I know," Tali said. She could feel the heat return to her cheeks with a vengeance and was thankful for her mask once again. "I appreciate the thought, but I can manage."

"It's not a problem," he said. He tilted his head as a thought occurred to him. "You know, I think it's good I bumped into you. Have time to talk?"

"Of course."

Shepard led the way into the Common Area and sat down at the nearest table. Tali opted to sit across from him and waited expectantly.

"We're flying in on a Cerberus ship. I don't think we should be sneaking up on the Migrant Fleet using the Normandy's stealth capabilities," he stated, only semi-seriously. "So what should we be doing or expecting?"

Tali nearly slapped herself for forgetting. With the mission, the sudden charges against her, her concern about her father, Auntie Raan, Admiral Han'Gerrel… she had completely forgot to inform Shepard of the Migrant Fleet security measures. "Keelah, I'm sorry. I already informed the Fleet of my coming arrival and they're expecting me. But there are a few things Joker needs to know as we approach."

Shepard waited expectantly.

"We need to approach openly. No wild maneuvers or aggressive flight patterns, obviously. Navy ships are always patrolling and they're heavily armed. They will initiate first contact once they detect our approach."

"Okay. That's understandable. Cerberus ship and all," he said.

She shook her head. "It's not because of Cerberus. Ships are our greatest resource; many quarians tend to bring new ships home as part of their Pilgrimage. Because it's new, or old, depending on the case, there isn't a valid IFF. The flotilla will have no records, registrations or call signs in the system."

"Which would make the flotilla a bit nervous, no doubt," Shepard commented. "Approaching foreign ships with no identification of any sort."

"Yes. It's standard practice to challenge any incoming or loitering vessels within a certain distance of the Fleet. I have to identify myself on board with a unique code phase that is registered to me, and me only. Every quarian that leaves the Fleet is expected to memorize this," she said.

"Okay."

"There are two, actually. One is for safe passage, but the other is the alert phase. It will tell the fighters to attack without hesitation and destroy the incoming ship in the event that one of our people is coerced into assisting anyone that is trying to infiltrate and/or attack the Fleet."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. "Does that happen often?"

"No, but we can't afford to be lax. And the system isn't foolproof either. Cerberus managed to infiltrate the flotilla and nearly destroyed Idenna and everyone on board."

Shepard frowned. "How'd they do that?" he asked, though he sounded like he worked it out.

"I don't know for certain. I never heard the full story. What I do know is that one crew tasked with gathering materials for the flotilla. A quarian that was exiled came back instead and he knew the pass phase. It's likely the information was… extracted," she explained. "We never found the missing crew."

"I'm sorry," Shepard said.

Tali shook her head. "In any event, we shouldn't expect trouble. Besides my trial, anyway," she said uncomfortably before clearing her throat. "Once I've identified myself, we'll be given directions to the ship that my trial will be on."

"Okay. All this sounds simple enough… anything else?"

"One last thing. It is customary to ask for a security and quarantine team to meet us."

"Because of cross-species contamination, right?" Shepard said knowingly. "Is that a good idea with our ship though?"

"In our case, with a Cerberus frigate, it's more of a formality. No sweep will be done, though I have no doubt there will be armed guards posted at the airlock entrance. Many quarians died when Cerberus attacked us," Tali said bitterly. She took a breath to calm down and continued. "By requesting a team to meet us, or me really, it proves that I have nothing to hide. Normally, I would just greet the team, chat a little, and be on my way. No search would really be conducted by the security team, just the quarantine team and I doubt they'll come aboard."

"I'll order the crew to behave all the same. I don't want anyone making more trouble for you," Shepard promised.

Tali smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Thanks."

"Would you like me to come with you? Or are you going in by yourself? Come to think of it, could I even come in?" he asked.

She paused and mulled the idea over in her head. Despite the loss of their embassy 300 years ago, the quarians still followed Citadel conventions, if only because the Fleet often passes through Citadel space and quarian's on Pilgrimage go to Citadel planets more often than not.

"I would like you to come," Tali said after a few silent minutes.

"Will it be any trouble for you?"

"Maybe, but I would still rather you come," she said. "After Cerberus' attack, our policy has been stricter about letting non-quarians on the flotilla. But you're a Spectre and we still follow Citadel laws, so even the Admiralty Board can't deny your authority."

"Alright. What about Garrus? I'm sure he'd want to come too."

Tali bowed her head and considered the idea carefully. Eventually, she shook her head. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring more people than needed. As much as I would welcome his support, it really should just be the two of us at most. Any more may cause unnecessary tension and I imagine there will be enough of that."

Shepard nodded and leaned back in his seat. He looked thoughtful about something. "Can I ask a different set of questions?"

"Sure."

"I get that 'nar' is for quarians that are pre-Pilgrimage, and 'vas' is post-Pilgrimage, but what do they mean, exactly?"

She blinked at the sudden inquiry and tilted her head at him quizzically, but he gazed back in earnest curiosity.

"Oh… um, nar means 'child of'. So my former name would mean that I am, **was**, a child of the Rayya. Vas means 'crew of', which means that I am now a productive member of the Neema now." She smiled depreciatively and shook her head. "Exiles are known by a different name: nar Tasi and vas Nedas. Child of no one and crew of nowhere."

"So why the Neema?" Shepard asked.

The sudden question and topic change threw her off a little. Forgetting about her despondent thoughts, she looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Why did you choose the Neema?" he reiterated.

"Oh. A close friend of my father, Admiral Han'Garrel vas Neema serves aboard that ship. I guess I thought I could make myself useful to him."

It was the truth, but only partly. She often thought that the real reason why she chose the Neema was that it almost sounded like Normandy. A small way of honoring the faithful frigate. And her doomed captain.

"Are the two of you close?" Shepard asked.

"I… I suppose so. He's closer to my father than he is to me. The best description I can think of is that he's like a distant uncle," Tali explained. "If I don't have any specific orders from my father, then I would get orders from him. The mission at Haestrom was actually on his command."

"What about the other admirals? Do you know them well?"

"Um… Admirals Shala'Raan and Han'Gerrel really are the closest. I know Shala'Raan more though. She's like a surrogate aunt to me," Tali explained. "There's also Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib…"

Shepard smirked at the name.

"Please don't ask about the name," Tali said with a small giggle.

"I'm trying, I really am," Shepard said with a small laugh.

"I don't know him well, though I have met him occasionally. My father and Han'Gerrel would always argue against him and his policies concerning the geth."

"What policies?"

"He vying for peace with the geth," Tali said before catching the look on Shepard's face. "Don't."

"Fine. But we are going to talk about that sometime," Shepard said staunchly. He glanced at the darkened Med Bay and the door to the AI core within.

Tali huffed in defiance, but continued. "The last is Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh. I never met her."

"At all?"

"No… despite the fact that she's an admiral, I don't think she takes her duties as seriously as the other admirals," Tali theorized. "She's also the youngest though, so maybe it's a matter of status among the Board. All I know is that my father doesn't have many positive things to say about her. He believes she should be taking her responsibilities more seriously."

Shepard nodded before changing the subject again. "Is the Neema a good ship?"

"Oh, yes. I'm proud to be a part of her crew…"

**~o~O~o~**

They talked into the late hours until Tali felt drowsy. Seeing this, Shepard escorted her to the Crew Room and let her sleep.

The next morning, she was woken by Garrus. He continued to shake her until she finally crawled out of bed.

"About time you're up. Get some breakfast and meet me down in the gym. You're starting to develop some bad habits. There are some things I want you to work on before they become problematic. I'm giving you 30 minutes," he said.

Tali blinked at him sleepily and wondered if she could get away with slapping him again, but by the time she made up her mind, he had already left.

Her morning lesson with him was the most intense he'd ever done. When they first started, it felt more like a hobby than anything serious; just something to do in the off-hours. Picking herself off the floor, she regretted accepting his offer to teach her hand-to-hand combat as he barked out her mistakes and forced her to try harder.

By the time they were done, she was tired, sore, sweaty, and cranky. Since she couldn't take a shower, she had to go through the day as she was, which added to her irritation.

In the aftermath of Garrus' training, though she had other choice words to describe his new sadistic streak, she didn't feel like going down to Engineering and working on the IFF. Fortunately, Shepard took pity on her and waived her duties. Gabby and Ken were sympathetic and took over.

Following last night, Shepard continued their conversation with the addition of Kasumi. The exuberant thief had dozens of questions about quarians and her lively personality was infectious. Despite her rather odd start of the day, she happily passed the time talking over lunch.

Later, Garrus sauntered in and started chatting as well, though she thought teasing was probably more accurate. She tried to stay angry at him for her miserable morning, but his friendly approach got her to let it go. He even got her to talk about her immune system again, dredging back memories of their odd conversations inside Citadel Presidium elevators.

After dinner, Kasumi dragged Tali down and showed her a few moves that she assured would allow her to get a temporary advantage over Garrus the next time they had a lesson. Tali was hesitant at first, considering how sore she felt, but eventually jumped at the chance. A long shower ended the day and she fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

However, the next morning, Shepard was the one waking her up. He requested her help to install the Warp ammo converter on his weapons. Because of the security measures installed on HMW Spectre weapons, all she could really do was look over his shoulder and give him directions.

Once finished with that, Jacob called her over to help with a few other improvements on the other weapons in the Armory.

Later, Grunt stalked up to her and asked, though it almost felt like a demand, to help him with the Cain and see if there was anything she could do to speed up the charge time.

"The faster we can blow up our enemies, the faster we can find more and do it again," he rumbled.

Poking around the Cain made her a bit nervous, but she relented and ran her scans on the heavy weapon to see what she could do.

Her time suddenly became a whirlwind of activity. It seemed like everyone wanted a moment of her time for some reason or other. Kelly wanted to understand quarian religion. Dr. Chakwas wanted to update Tali's medical records. Mordin wanted to double-check the facts in his book: Cross-Species Contamination and Xeno-Plague Potential and asked for her opinion. Thane casually inquired about her relationship with her father and asked for her advice on what he could do to improve his relationship with his son. EDI passed along regular updates on engine status from Ken and Gabby, as well as few of its own observations. Random crewmen asked if she could repair or improve something or other for them. Even Jack popped up asked if she wanted to play some Skyllian Five to pass the time.

The distractions were such that she almost jumped in surprise when she heard Joker's announcement one day. _"We're about to make the mass relay jump into the Vallhallan Threshold Nebula. I repeat: We're about to make the mass relay jump into the Vallhallan Threshold Nebula."_

"All hands, prepare for mass relay jump," EDI added.

"Wha—?" Tali said in confusion.

"I win this hand," Jack crowed. She scooped up the smile pile of credits in the pot.

"Tali? May I have a word with you?" Miranda asked. She gave Jack a cool glance. "Jack."

Jack narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

"What's going on?" Tali asked, hoping that she wasn't going to be in the middle of a conflict between Jack and Miranda.

Miranda sat down next to Tali, and as far from Jack as the table allowed. "I wanted to tell you that I've passed the word amongst the crew. We're confined to the Normandy and in lockdown during our stay with the Migrant Fleet. A gag order has also been issued on Legion and EDI's presence. No one is to talk to or about them and they won't reveal themselves until after the trial. You have my word that we will not cause you any undue trouble," she said.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Jack muttered. The ship lurched slightly as they cleared the relay.

It struck Tali at that moment that she had completely let slip the idea that she was going home. To face trial on the charge of treason. "My trial… wait…"

"Talk to Shepard," Miranda hinted heavily. She stood up and walked into her office.

Tali turned to Jack. "Shepard?"

"He asked if I could play with you for a bit. Just pass the time a little," Jack said.

Tali felt her mouth open in surprise and closed it with a snap.

"Hey, uh… good luck, yeah? Whatever is going on down there, its bullshit. I know it is. And thanks for the creds." Pocketing her credits, she also left for the confines of the sub-decks.

Stunned, Tali just sat there until Shepard himself took a seat right in front of her. "Keelah!" she cried out in surprise, yet again.

"Sorry," he said with smile. He didn't look sorry at all.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she looked at him like he'd grown another head as her mind tried to wrap around the last couple of days. "You… you set all this up?"

"I politely asked if anyone wanted to cheer you up and distract you for a bit," he freely admitted. He looked proud of himself. "Many answered the call and to great effect it seems. How're you feeling?"

"So you… they… everyone?" she stammered. Her mind finally caught up on what had happened. Everyone had kept her mind off her impending trial, all to the point where it slipped her mind.

He shrugged. "We care about you. We're not quarians, mind you, but we are a crew. I don't know if that's good enough, but…"

Tali shook her head. She could feel tears build up in her eyes and she smiled. "No, it's… it's more than enough. Thank you. I mean, if you hadn't, then all I would be doing is thinking about what I might have did, or what might happen, or—"

"You're welcome, Tali," he cut in smoothly. Standing up, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm going to get my armor. See you in CIC."

She nodded, not trusting her voice at that moment.

After he left, Garrus walked in a few minutes later and sat down. "Hey."

"Hey," she echoed.

"Sorry about the rough lessons," he apologized before looking around. Seeing that no one was around besides Rupert, he leaned in and whispered in a pleading tone of voice, "Just to set the record straight, it was all Shepard's idea. He said one way to distract you was to get you all angry and to have someone to get angry at. I swear: **It was all his fault**."

Tali stared at him uncomprehendingly.

Garrus stared at her expectantly.

An awkward silence settled in-between them.

A giggle escaped her lips and it broke the floodgates. Once again, despite the fact that there was a chance that her life might be falling to pieces all around her, she couldn't help laugh.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Normandy SR-2**_

"We're about 150,000k from the Migrant Fleet," Joker announced. "Ships incoming. They've queried us."

"Put it through," Shepard ordered.

"_Approaching vessel, you are entering a restricted area. Please identify."_

"Tali?" Shepard said.

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya, requesting permission to rejoin the Fleet."

"_Our records have you currently serving aboard a Cerberus frigate. Verify authorization."_

"'After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began'," Tali recited.

"Wow…" Joker said quietly. "That's pretty."

"_Permission granted,"_ the Traffic Controller said after a few moments. _"Welcome home, Tali'Zorah. I have been instructed to inform you that you must dock at the Rayya. Transmitting coordinates now."_

"Damn… how do they fly like that?" Joker asked. His hands moved deftly across the controls when he received his directions. "I mean, there's at least 50,000 ships in there and they're all flying so close together."

"Centuries of practice," Tali said dryly before speaking to the Fleet's traffic control. "We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."

"_Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."_

"Rayya, huh? Your birth ship?" Shepard asked.

Tali turned to face him and nodded. "Yes, and one of the three live ships on the Fleet. She provides food for a third of the entire flotilla."

Shepard nodded in understanding.

Tali took a moment to study at him. He was wearing his Kestrel armor, but instead of his regular helmet, he was wearing his N7 Breather Helmet instead, allowing her to see his eyes. "Why the change of helmets?"

"So I don't fully hide my face. I don't want make anyone nervous," he answered. "No weapons, I take it?"

She idly wondered if that was a subtle slight against her opaque faceplate, but shrugged it off just as quickly. "No. If I'm being charged with treason, then it's best to appear as nonthreatening as possible. We're to comply with the captain of the Rayya and the Admiralty Board and whatever they order."

"We're approaching the Rayya," Joker reported. A quick flick of his hand and the intercom was on. "All hands: Prepare for docking procedures. I repeat: all hands prepare for docking procedures."

Tali glanced at the nearby pedestal and noted that the AI was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, it was keeping itself hidden per Miranda's instructions.

After a few silent minutes, there was a large thump near the vicinity of the airlock and the hiss of gas could be heard.

"Docking procedures complete. Pressurizing airlock," Joker said. He tapped a few more commands to shut down the propulsion systems before spinning his chair around to face Tali. "Hey, good luck in there. We're all behind you."

Tali smiled. "Thanks, Joker."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

I know people were probably expecting some kind of initial confrontation between Tali and Legion, but realistically, I couldn't manufacture a reason. I really doubt Tali would ever voluntarily visit it and I didn't want to make it an order without good reason. She's honestly welcome to her opinion, misguided as it may be.

Rest assured, they will meet and I'll make it as real as possible. Until then, she has other things on her mind.

To any Tali fans out there: Once again, I don't bash characters. Ever. Just a friendly reminder.


	51. Treason

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Rayya**_

The airlock hallway leading into the Rayya was long, but it served two very important purposes. One was a lengthy decontamination procedure to ensure that neither she nor Shepard brought any contagions onto the ship. The second was to ensure security of the Rayya. Tali's reports two years ago coupled with the semi-recent attack meant little leeway was given to Cerberus.

Finally reaching the end, she wasn't surprised the see a team of marines, all armed, standing guard outside the airlock doors. However, despite the fact that their weapons were drawn, they were relaxed and simply loitered about. Some were taking their duty seriously by holding their positions at the sides of the doors, but others were just sitting on the deck. The scanners in the airlock would give them sufficient warning if the anything in the Normandy presented them with any sort of threat.

Though she couldn't deny the idea that Shepard's presence may also have something to do with the lack of discipline as well.

She stood straighter when she spotted the captain of the Rayya walking toward them.

"Captain Shepard vas Normandy. Captain Kar'Danna vas Rayya, commanding officer of the Rayya," he formally introduced himself.

Shepard nodded his head respectfully in acknowledgment. "Captain Danna. Thank you for the honor of allowing me aboard your ship."

"Of course. Tali'Zorah told me a lot about you. I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances. Still, I appreciate that you are willing to stand by her. As commander of the Normandy, you are responsible for the lives aboard it. That entitles you to respect among our people," Kar'Danna said. "'May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars'."

"Keelah se'lai," Tali intoned before whispering to Shepard, "It's an old ship-captain's blessing, Shepard."

"Thank you," Shepard said to both of them. "Tali's helped both the Normandy and myself out of many difficult situations. I'm glad to be able to return the favor."

Tali blushed a bit, but kept her eyes on Kar'Danna.

"I understand. As the commander of the vessel she serves on, your voice carries weight."

Tali tilted her head at Kar'Danna's reply. While she had permission to serve on the Normandy, it didn't mean she was a part of her crew over that of the Neema. Many quarians who serve on different ships often travel to others. The liveships in particular required talented botanists and gardeners, and not all quarians who had those skillsets served on them.

At most, Shepard could probably serve as a character witness on her behalf, but the way Captain Danna spoke…

"Captain Danna, where is the captain of the Neema?" she asked. "I assume he is to be my advocate."

Kar'Danna shook his head. "You will be told everything inside, Tali. I wish I could do more to help, but the trial requires that I be officially neutral. But… I'm here, if you need to talk." He sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "They're charging you with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."

Tali felt a chill run down her spine. "That's insane! I never brought active geth aboard! I only sent parts and pieces!"

"But, you **did** send geth materials back to the Migrant Fleet?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"Yes. My father was working on a project. He needed the materials," she explained. Hundreds of scenarios played out in her head. "If I sent back something that was only damaged, not permanently inactive… No. no. I checked everything. I was careful."

"Technically, I'm under orders to place you under arrest pending the hearing," Kar'Danna said. "So. Tali, I'm confining you to the Rayya until the trial is over."

"Thank you, Captain," Tali said gratefully. The idea that she would be shackled and imprisoned hadn't even occurred to her. She was enormously relieved to be spared that shame.

"I assumed you are unarmed?"

"We both are. Obviously, Captain Shepard did so voluntarily."

"I appreciate your candor," Kar'Danna said to the both of them. "The other admirals are flying in as we speak. Preparations for the trial will be underway shortly. The hearing's being held in the garden plaza. Tali, I assume you still remember where that is?"

"I think I can find it," Tali answered dryly.

"Admiral Shala'Raan is already here and waiting for you there. She has requested to speak to the both of you. If you'll excuse me, I must go and greet the rest of the Admiralty Board," he said. "Good luck, Tali."

After Kar'Danna left, Tali took the lead and led Shepard deeper into the Rayya.

They navigated through several decks and countless hallways. Tali easily remembered everything about the Rayya; the sub-decks, engines, residential and trading decks, the hydroponic gardens, even every nut and bolt. Shepard just quietly followed in her wake, staring at everything with undisguised wonder in his eyes.

As usual, groups of quarians were mulling about, gossiping about whatever or going about their daily routines. Naturally, Tali's impending trial was the main focus on their minds today. Despite their hushed tones, she could still pick up snippets of their conversations.

"I can't believe they're charging Tali'Zorah with such a thing."

"Loyalty to the Fleet is about more than just killing geth. Tali'Zorah's guilty."

Determined to ignore them, she finally turned the last corner which would lead into the garden plaza. Standing in the opening, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay was talking to her aid. Her back was to them, so the aid pointed down the hall at their approach to inform her of their arrival.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. I am glad you're home," Shala greeted. She tried to sound positive for Tali's benefit, but her voice came out strained.

Still, seeing such a familiar face after all she went through, Tali quickly walked up and embraced her. "Auntie Raan!" she said happily before quickly letting go. As part of the Admiralty Board, any of show favoritism would only work against her. Stepping back, she gestured to her surrogate family. "Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. As I said before, she's a friend of my father's."

Suddenly, the name 'Normandy' being repeated after her aunt had said it clicked into her mind. "Wait… Auntie Raan, you called me 'vas Normandy'."

"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema," Shala'Raan explained sadly.

"But-but… I was given permission!" Tali protested.

"I take it being associated with a human ship is a bad sign," Shepard inquired. He tactfully left out the fact that the ship was Cerberus. The extra reminder would not help in this case.

"They stripped me of my ship name. That's as good as declaring me exiled already," Tali said, completely horrified by the implication. While she entertained a fantasy or two about having her ship name changed to 'vas Normandy' and be under Shepard's command, this wasn't how she wanted it to happen.

"It's not over yet, Tali," Shala said soothingly. "You have friends who still know you as Tali'Zorah vas Neema… whatever we must call you legally."

"As an admiral, I assume you're one of the judges?" Shepard asked.

"I'm afraid not. My history with Tali and her father forced me to recuse myself," she replied.

"I imagine Father had to do the same," Tali guessed. "And what of Admiral Han'Gerrel?"

"He stated that he swore an oath that he would not let personal judgment affect his ability to dispense justice. After some deliberation, he was allowed to be one of the judges," Shala'Raan answered. "For my part, I moderate and ensure the rules of protocol are followed, but I have no vote in the final judgment."

"All right," Shepard said. "Does Tali have a defense counselor, someone who speaks for her side?"

Again, Tali felt the heat rising to her cheeks. Everything Captain Kar'Danna said before now made sense. Because she was stripped of her ship name, the captain of the Neema was no longer eligible to represent her. Being given a new ship name meant…

"Indeed she does… Captain Shepard," Shala'Raan said and confirming Tali's suspicions. She stared intently at the both of them. "She is part of your crew, now, recognized by quarian law. And remember, an accused is always represented by his or her ship's captain."

Shepard turned to Tali, his eyes questioning her wordlessly.

"So, er… you would actually speak for my defense," Tali explained hesitantly.

To her relief, Shepard nodded confidently. "I'll do everything in my power to help you, Tali."

She sighed in relief. "Thank you, Shepard. I could not ask for a better councilor."

She meant it too. She remembered how he was able to manipulate one of the ExoGeni representatives to convince his superiors to assist Zhu's Hope on Feros instead of condemning it. It had seemed impossible to help the colony there, but somehow, Shepard found a way. Lieutenant Alenko had once joked that if ever got into trouble with the law, he'd want Shepard to be his advocate.

Shepard had long proven that he could savvy with his words just as skilled as he was with a gun. The thought that he was representing her was calming, especially since he was an authority on the geth in his own right.

"Our legal rules are simple. There are no legal tricks or political loopholes for you to worry about," Shala explained to him.

_Or exploit._

"Present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough. Now I must begin preparations. Both of you, please remain here. We will call for you soon."

After she left, Tali walked into the plaza and sat down on the nearest bench, furthest from the podium at the bottom. Shepard settled down next to her and patted her shoulder confidently before looking around. She saw the amazement in his eyes that there could be a garden growing inside a ship. Quarians filed into the room as time went on and the buzz of conversation grew louder.

"If Tali'Zorah can't even get a quarian captain to stand for her, she's as good as convicted."

Tali resisted the urge to try and glare at the speaker, whoever it was, and tried to sit still. However, after several tense minutes, the stifling atmosphere caused her to start fidgeting in place.

"It'll be fine, Tali. Don't worry," Shepard said confidently.

"I know, but…" She trailed off and sighed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, ma'am. If your captain can charge a Colossus head-on, this should be snap for him."

Tali turned around to see a distinctive and familiar red environmental suit standing right behind her. She stood up immediately. "Kal'Reegar!"

"Ma'am. Shepard. Good to see you both," he said before looking around the room and scoffing. "Seems like the circumstances hasn't improved much, though. But between this and the geth, I'll take the geth any day. At least I can shoot them."

"Good to see you, Reegar. What brings you aboard the Rayya?" Shepard asked.

Tali blinked and turned to Reegar questioningly.

"Well, uh… I'm here to argue the charges against Tali'Zorah. I've served with her and she deserves better than what she's getting," he answered.

"Thanks, Reegar," Tali said.

"Just stating the facts, ma'am," he modestly said.

"Any luck?" Shepard asked.

"Admiral Raan asked my opinion about the geth, since I'd fought on Haestrom," Reegar said. "Syrin'Dana and Raz'Sela are here too. Probably doing the same, I imagine."

"Kal, do you know something about all this?" Tali asked with a hint of suspicion. It was rare for her to call him by his first name, and he obviously picked up on it when he stiffened.

"Sorry, ma'am. Under orders. You'll be told soon enough. There's no way you can't be," he said evasively. "Don't worry. I'll be at your side the whole way."

She was flattered by Reegar's loyalty, but there was something telling in his voice. Before she could call him on it, he glanced at the entrance and grimaced.

"Looks like they're all here. Hearing's going to start. Shepard, it's in your hands now. Ma'am, good luck. I meant what I said: At your **side**, the **whole** way." He walked off to the center of the room and took a seat near central podium where she would be standing.

Tali tried to figure out what he meant, but the meager clues and hints she'd been given weren't enough to reveal the whole picture. She shook her head and led Shepard to the center podium, which stood in front of the panel where the admirals could look down on the accused and advocate. She gulped and felt a light sweat build on her forehead, even with the temperature controls built into her environment suit. Looking around, she spotted Captain Kar'Danna, but not her father. In fact, she couldn't see her father anywhere. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, but almost ended up hyperventilating. Shepard put his hand on her shoulder again and she took comfort in his touch. She took one last breath and felt her heart flutter instead of trying to pound its way out of her chest.

The Admirals were taking their places now. She knew Shala'Raan and Han'Gerrel and she recognized Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib. She had met him on a handful of occasions and her opinion of the man varied from the negative to the positive. He was intelligent and certainly a man to respect, but the differences in their opinions were too great for them to ever get along. The fourth admiral was one she had never met before, Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh. She was an oddity if the rumors were to be believed. She always kept to herself and despite being on the Admiralty Board, didn't seem to care much for the responsibilities of her position. According to her father anyway. He always had a disparaging word about Admiral Xen.

Once everyone was settled into their positions, Shala'Raan spread out her arms to silence the chattering crowd. "This Conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai."

All the quarians present bowed their heads in respect. "Keelah se'lai."

"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason," Shala'Raan formally stated.

Admiral Koris raised his hand. "Objection! A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!"

"Then you should not have declared Tali crew of the Normandy, Admiral Koris. By right as Tali's captain, and on his own authority as a Council Spectre, Shepard may stay," Shala'Raan countered.

Koris shook his head angrily. "Objection withdrawn."

"Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali'Zorah vas Normandy stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?" Raan requested.

Shepard leaned on the table and regarded the Admiral's standing before him. "If it helps Tali, I will. But in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet. I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today."

Tali raised an eyebrow and studied the admiral's reactions. Shepard's last sentence carried a hint of disgust as well as a thinly veiled accusation. It was well played, no doubt carefully engineered to try to rattle the panel of judges and see what reactions he can generate and use to his advantage. Not to mention shift the seriousness of her charge of treason to the faux pas of the admiral's judgment.

As predicted, Admiral Koris sputtered at the preverbal finger-pointing. "Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is a simple—"

Han'Gerrel turned to confront him. "Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent! Captain Shepard is right!"

"Admirals, please," Shala pleaded. "Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated."

Gerrel glared one last time Koris before stepping back to his post.

Shepard watched their altercation intently.

"Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?" Shala asked carefully.

"Tali would never endanger the Migrant Fleet. She pleads not guilty," Shepard stated confidently.

All four admirals turned to Tali and looked down at her expectantly.

"I left parts and technology for teams to pick up. My father ordered me to do so," she revealed. She wrung her hands nervously as she felt all eyes on her after her admission. "But I would never send active geth to the Fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!"

"Then explain how geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" Koris snapped.

The crowd burst into shocked murmuring. Tali stood frozen when Koris dropped his bombshell on her.

Shepard called out to her. "Tali?"

She shook her head and looked up at the panel above her. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

Han'Gerrel glared at Koris again before turning to Tali. "As far as we can tell, the geth have killed everyone on the Alarei… Rael'Zorah included."

Her knees almost buckled at the news. She gripped the side of the table in front of her to keep herself from falling. "What? Oh, Keelah…"

Despite the frightened and outraged shouts from the crowd and despite her torrent of thoughts and emotions, Shepard remained calm and took charge of the situation.

"While I respect your adherence to tradition, protocol, and due process, right now our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet. As I understand it, ships are the Fleet's most precious resource. As such, the Normandy and her crew stand ready to assist in whatever capacity necessary."

"Thank you, Captain Shepard," Raan said gratefully. "Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."

"Shepard, we have to take back the Alarei!" Tali pleaded. While the Migrant Fleet Marines may have failed, Shepard's record against the geth was impeccable. She knew he would succeed. What frightened her wasn't the geth, but the thought that she might be too late…

"The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship," Koris said coldly. "But if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile…"

Rage filled her and she whirled at him. "I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" Tali shot back. She didn't give a damn if Koris was an Admiral. She didn't even give a damn about exile. Only one thing mattered now.

_Father._

"You intend to retake the Alarei from the geth?" Shala said, tactfully overlooking Tali's breach of protocol and giving her a significant look. "This proposal is extremely dangerous."

"With your permission, Admirals, yes," Shepard said. "The good of the Fleet must come first… and Tali needs to find her father."

_Keelah, how could he stay so calm?_

"Agreed. And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges," Gerrel offered.

"We can discuss that later," Koris said quietly.

"Then it is decided. You will attempt to retake the Alarei," Shala stated. "A shuttle will be prepared and weapons provided for the both of you. You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya."

"Thank you, Admiral," Shepard said.

Tali swallowed the lump in throat and nodded gratefully.

"Be safe, Tali. Captain. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action," Shala said.

"Excuse me, Admiral Raan. Members of the Board. I'd like to accompany Tali."

Tali jerked her head and saw Reegar stand up and moved next to her and Shepard.

"Lieutenant Reegar?" Raan asked in surprise.

"I don't believe Tali'Zorah's guilty of anything you throw at her. Now either with, or without, your permission Admirals, I'm going with her. I want to give her the chance to prove that you're wrong about her," Reegar said.

"Me too!"

Tali turned around and looked for the next speaker. Another familiar figure was pushing through the crowd. Another behind her was reluctantly following.

"Syrin'Dana vas Tesleya. I served with Tali on Haestrom. I'd like to help to her retake the Alarei as well," she said.

"Oh, damn it. Fine… Raz'Sela vas Tonbay. I guess I'll help, too," he said dejectedly.

Syrin whirled on him. "Don't sound **too** excited," she hissed.

He put his hands up and backed away. "Sorry!"

Koris bristled. "This hearing is to determine—"

"This isn't about the hearing, Admiral," Shepard interrupted. "This is about the Alarei and the chance to rescue, or confirm, the lives of everyone serving aboard her. If they want to help, we're not refusing. Is there any reason you should?"

"Now see here—!"

"Please!" Shala cried out and quieted the multitude of cries that erupted. She turned the marines that volunteered. "Do you understand the dangers involved?"

"We do, ma'am," Reegar stated for the three of them. Syrin and Raz nodded, silently conveying their tacit agreement.

"Then you are given leave to join Tali and Captain Shepard to retake the Alarei. This hearing is adjourned pending the outcome of your mission. We will see to it that the shuttle is prepared as soon as possible."

With that said, the trial ended. For now.

**~o~O~o~**

"Thank you all for helping me take back the Alarei," Tali said quietly. She and Shepard were standing at the upper area of the plaza. Reegar, Syrin, and Raz were standing beside her in a show of support.

"It's no problem, Tali," Syrin said sympathetically. "Raz and I owe your captain our lives. Least we could do is help."

"Yeah," Raz agreed before muttering, "Though I'd gladly go another month without seeing another geth."

"Suck it up marine," Reegar barked, causing Raz to flinch and involuntarily stand at attention. He turned to Tali. "We'll be getting the weapons and securing them in the shuttle. Gotta make sure they're up to snuff for this. Wouldn't put it past Admiral Koris to give us second hand crap."

"Thanks, Reegar."

"No problem, ma'am. See you there."

After they left to prepare everything, Tali turned to Shepard. He'd been silent the whole time. "From the way they spoke, the admirals sound sure that my father's already dead, but…"

"We don't know anything until we know something," Shepard said.

It was the truth, but she recognized the hidden message inside. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

"How are you holding up?" he asked. "They just threw a lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father. Your ship name, the details of what they're accusing you of…"

"I knew this would be bad, but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason." She turned away from him and paced. "And my father… I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead. I just don't know, Shepard. And I need to find out."

"We got a bit of time until the shuttle's ready. Maybe we can—"

Whatever else he said was lost on her when she spotted Captain Kar'Danna standing nearby.

She pushed past Shepard and stalked up to him. "My father dead? Or trapped on the Alarei? My name stripped? How could you not tell me this, Captain? !"

To his credit, Kar'Danna managed to hold his ground, though his body language suggested he was uncomfortable with the disrespect that Tali was presenting. Still, under the charge of treason, insubordination hardly seemed worse. "I'm sorry, Tali. I was under orders from Admiral Raan herself. I couldn't say anything."

Tali turned her head to glance at Raan standing nearby. She was talking to her aide again in hushed tones.

"She wanted to get you on the Alarei. She said the Admiralty Board needed to see your reactions," he continued. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Tali shook her head and walked off. When she was within hearing distance she shouted, "You set me up, Shala!" Again, she didn't care for military formalities now. Idly, a random thought in her head said that her father would be greatly disapproving of her attitude. Anger smothered it away.

The aide back away slowly.

"You told Captain Danna not to say anything. I don't hear that my father may be dead until I'm in the trial? Why?" Tali demanded.

"The admirals needed to hear the shock in your voice, Tali. Otherwise, they might not have let you retake the Alarei," Shala said regretfully. "That is your best chance at recovering evidence that can exonerate you. I'm sorry. We cannot afford sensitivity."

"I don't care if I'm exiled! I care about my father! This delay may have cost him his life!" Tali shouted. "You should have told me the moment you heard. We could've boarded the Alarei and taken her back already!"

"And if he is dead? What then? Allowing you to be exiled is not how I wish to honor his memory. Please, Tali. Understand that we are in a difficult situation. Rael would care about your future more than his. I was respecting his memory by looking out for you first," Shala entreated.

Tali seethed, but she didn't know who or what she was angry at now. How could blame Shala when she was trying to help her and keep an impending panic among flotilla at bay all at the same time?

"Are the other admirals that set on finding her guilty?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Anything involving the geth is a live wire, Shepard. But there is still hope," she said. She gestured to the other admirals in turn. "Han'Gerrel greatly respects both you and Tali for stopping Saren. Admiral Koris sees the whole thing as a war crime and wants to convict. I have no idea what Admiral Xen wants."

"And what can you tell us about the situation on the Alarei?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. Rael only said that he was researching new defense technology."

"Against the geth," he replied evenly.

Shala looked at him in confusion. Tali could understand why. Shepard probably killed more geth single-handedly than anyone else alive, including everyone on the old squad. To hear him defend synthetics now was off-putting to say the least.

"He told me only that he needed any geth parts or pieces I found," Tali explained to Shala. "I assumed he was testing weapons on geth components."

"We knew nothing until the Alarei sent a distress signal, then went dead. We didn't even know about the geth until a boarding team was attacked," Shala revealed.

"So you're saying there's no intel about the inside of the ship," Shepard summarized blandly.

"That's exactly what I am saying. The marines who survived and escaped saw bodies in the halls. We must assume the worst," she regretfully said.

"No. We don't," Tali said tersely.

"About the trial: What kind of evidence will carry weigh with the admirals?" Shepard inquired.

"Tali, you admitted to sending geth parts to your father for his project?" Shala asked.

"Yes. But never anything that could have come back online on its own. I took every possible precaution!" Tali insisted.

"Then find records of your shipments and the experiments. Something that proves you were careful," Shala said before quietly adding, "Something that proves that this is all just a terrible accident that nobody could have foreseen."

"There also seemed to be some other arguments going on among the admirals," Shepard noted.

"You caught that," Shala said with some relief. "Yes, the geth presence makes this a touchy issue. The Admiralty Board is trying to determine whether or not to focus on colonial development… or attempt to retake the homeworld."

"So it's true," Tali said. She found that she wasn't surprised. If her father wanted to test weapons on geth components, then the most logical outcomes were narrowed down to a few suppositions. "Are you really thinking of going to war with the geth?"

"I'm not, Tali. But others are."

"I don't think that's a wise idea…" Shepard said. He was hesitant to reveal about what he knew in light of Tali's predicament.

"We grow tired of wandering the stars, Shepard," Shala said. She looked at the crowd of quarians around them. "We want our world back. We have paid enough for our mistake. I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing."

"Do you think we can get back the homeworld?" Tali asked quietly.

"I don't think we can. But it may not be about what I think."

Tali stiffened when Shepard looked like he was about to argue the point on behalf of the geth.

Instead, he sighed and looked around the plaza. "Is it alright if we talk to the other admirals until the shuttle is ready?"

"There are no rules permitting against it," Shala evasively answered.

Tali understood what she meant though. Behind the vague answer, she almost said: "Talk to them and find out what you can". She had to admit, out of all the admirals, Shala was the most politically inclined. It was that quality that probably allowed her to remain a part of the trial as a moderator instead of stepping down entirely.

"Thank you," Shepard said.

"Good luck on the Alarei," Shala said.

"Thanks, Shala," Tali said before spotting Han'Gerrel. She walked up to him and waited until he became aware of her presence.

"Tali!" Gerrel greeted. His voice was a gruff as ever, but he tried to sound positive, most likely for her benefit. However, the stress in his voice could still be felt. "I'm glad Admiral Raan got you leave to hit the Alarei. Hopefully you'll find something that clears your name."

As much as Tali respected him, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes. "I'm more concerned with finding my father, Admiral."

"You and me both, kid," Gerrel muttered quietly, almost mournfully. He turned to her advocate and cleared his throat. "Captain Shepard vas Normandy. Admiral Han'Gerral vas Neema."

"Admiral. Tali told me a little about you," Shepard politely replied.

"Good and bad, I'm sure," Gerrel said with a glance at her. "Tali's never been one to shy away from saying what's on her mind when she needs to."

Tali smiled appreciatively.

Gerrel jerked his thumb over his shoulder. His fellow admiral, Zaal'Koris, was talking to some people at the back. "You got Admiral Koris backing up worse than a krogan toilet. Glad to see your captain knows how to handle a courtroom."

"I get the sense you're inclined to believe the defense," Shepard said without actually voicing out Gerrel's verdict. It was in the nature of politics to speak ambiguously and be understood, but not speak plainly and directly. "I'm glad at least one of the judges is."

"I'm not convinced there's enough evidence to say it was Tali's fault. It could've easily been an accident aboard the Alarei. Or maybe one of the teams that picked up the parts tinkered with it. Tali may have been a party to this whole mess, but Rael kept his cards close to his chest. Even I didn't know what he was up to. It's too early to blame her for anything," Gerrel said before he turned to Tali and continued. "But I do know you and your father. You've put too much of yourselves into this Fleet to do anything to jeopardize our safety. And you're both smart enough not to make mistakes like the ones they're saying you made. If you were only giving Rael inactive equipment for weapons tests, I've got no problem. We need to test weapons against geth material."

"Can you tell us anything about the Alarei? What father was working on? How long they've been silent?" Tali asked, trying to keep the worry out of voice.

"Nothing good," Gerrel answered in frustration. "We sent some of our best marines. Damn few made it back. Whatever Rael was doing, it might've blown up in his face. The ship is crawling with geth. Don't go in expecting survivors."

"Admiral! My father – your friend – is on that ship!" Tali cried out in shock.

"I know that, Tali!" Gerrel snapped back. He caught himself and grimaced. Taking a deep breath, he said in a more professional tone, "But if Shala hadn't suggested that you might volunteer, we'd already have destroyed the Alarei. That's where we stand." He regretfully shook his head. "This is not something I wanted to admit, but…"

"I'm sorry," Tali whispered.

"Me too, kid. Me too. I know you want to believe he's alive, but you only just got here. I saw the reports and I personally interviewed the surviving marines. At this point, I can only pray that Rael took some of those synthetic bastards with him."

"Can you tell us the about the other admirals?" Shepard asked as carefully as he could. "Something that might help us change their minds about Tali?"

Gerrel nodded in appreciation for the topic change. "The one you didn't recognize, Tali, is Admiral Xen. She's on the fence. She takes Fleet safety very seriously. On the other hand, she's always been in favor of studying the geth. I hope she sees the benefits of Rael's research."

_So it's contest in the middle. Admiral Gerrel is on my side and Admiral Koris obviously isn't. That makes Admiral Xen's the deciding vote._

"Admiral Koris is the same whining suit-wetter he always was," Gerrel said in irritation.

Tali smiled.

"You disagree with Admiral Koris' policies, I'm guessing? Or is it personal?" Shepard asked.

"The man is a damn geth apologist. Thinks we were 'wrong' to try to destroy them centuries ago," Gerrel stated angrily. "He wants us to search for new colony possibilities instead of taking back the homeworld. Any research on the geth makes him angry. You won't have much of a chance with him, I'm afraid."

Again, Tali got the distinct impression that Shepard frowned on Gerrel's attitude toward the geth, but held his peace. For her part, she managed to reign in her irritation that her advocate was trying to defend the geth when she was on trial for bringing geth parts aboard.

_At this point, the irony alone could kill me._

"It sounds like we're dealing with more politics than just Tali bringing back equipment," Shepard observed.

Gerrel snorted. "You noticed that, did you? Rael wasn't just running weapons tests on the geth for fun. He was looking for something to give us an edge when we attack the geth in full-scale war."

"I know Father wanted to retake the homeworld someday, but are that close?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, kid," Gerrel admitted with a shrug. "We almost had the votes. We just need to give people hope for victory."

"I hope the quarian people find someplace to live, Admiral, but war with the geth is playing with fire," Shepard warned.

"We're too comfortable now, Shepard. We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy and we just ride around doing nothing," Gerrel argued.

"There's a growing threat out there, Admiral. A clear and present danger. We might need our Fleet against it," Tali said.

"What? That Reaper thing that the Council denied existing?" Gerrel asked. "I know your captain has been pushing on that issue."

"Yes. And the geth are allied with them," Tali said.

"Sort of," Shepard added. He shot her a stern look.

"Then we need a world to shelter our noncombatants," Gerrel stubbornly asserted. "We're almost an endangered species, second only to the drell. Even the krogan has more numbers than us, and they're practically neutered. And now you're asking us to throw the Fleet at the Reapers? Seems to me that we're going to take losses either way. If that's the case, I'd rather fight to get the homeworld back than help the people that turned us away to start with."

Tali winced a bit and avoided making eye contact with Shepard. While she didn't agree with his opinion on the geth, she did side with him on the prevalent Reaper threat. Han'Gerrel was always stubborn and stuck his guns once he made up his mind. It made him an effective military admiral, but often narrowed his opinions to the comings and goings of the galaxy around him.

She tugged at Shepard's arm. "We should talk to the other admirals," she suggested before he said anything that might complicate his presence and her fate.

"Hang in there, kid," Gerrel said.

She nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Admiral."

She pulled Shepard toward Admiral Koris and mentally steeled herself. She knew that this coming conversation was one she wasn't going to enjoy.

"The human can work a crowd, I'll admit that much," one of Koris' aides commented.

"If Tali'Zorah is stuck with a human captain, at least it's an eloquent one," another quarian agreed.

The admiral scoffed and was about to rebuke them when the aide looked over his shoulder and pointed.

Koris turned around at their approach. "Judging by your ability to play to a crowd, human, I have done Tali a favor by stripping 'vas Neema' from her name."

"It's 'captain', Admiral. Or if you wish to pull rank, Spectre Agent Shepard. I don't go calling every random quarian by their race like it's a slur, so I'd appreciate a little civility in return," Shepard replied evenly.

Tali jumped in before Koris could begin his rant. "Captain Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib," she hurriedly introduced before whispering, "Remember: Do not ask about the name."

Shepard silently nodded. Whether he was acknowledging the introduction or her warning, she had no idea.

"Admiral," Tali greeted frostily and barely keeping her own voice in check.

"I take no pleasure in this, Tali, truly," Koris said imperiously, but sounding surprisingly genuine as well.

"No, but you often make things personal," Tali countered. "Perhaps too much so."

"You have gravely endangered and dishonored our fleet," he argued.

"I did not hear you present any solid or significant evidence to that effect. All I heard is theories and accusations thus far."

"But there will be. You should have let us destroy the Alarei. **When** we find the evidence of what you **and** your father did there, any hope of convincing the other admirals will die," he scathingly said. "**If** Admiral Zorah is still alive, then he too, will face trial for treason."

"I did not bring active geth to the Alarei, Admiral! I know how dangerous that would be! I only brought pieces!" Tali shouted.

"The captured ship, with her crew slaughtered by living beings in pain, belies your argument," Koris coldly stated.

"Pain? ! What hurts is having you question my loyalty to the Fleet! What hurts is the idea that my father might be dead and you tell me while you call me a traitor! That's pain! Since when do geth **feel** anything? !"

Before Tali could tear into him more, Shepard placed a restraining hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. He physically put himself in-between them to prevent any further arguments.

"What exactly is your problem with my crew member, Admiral?" he asked.

"Ah. Trying to see if my vote is biased?" Koris shrewdly asked after both he and Tali composed themselves. "Rest assured, **Captain**, that I respect Tali immensely. Her actions against Saren are to be lauded."

Surprised by his admission, Tali crossed her arms and waited for the other shoe to drop. "But?" she asked just to humor him.

"But like your father, you want nothing but the destruction of the geth… the people we created," he said. "The people we wronged."

"The geth drove us from our homeworld!" Tali argued hotly. Shepard pulled her back again.

"Of course they did. We tried to kill them," he stated as if were the most obvious fact in the galaxy.

She tried to ignore the idea the Shepard had similar views of the situation, though she could see his expectant gaze in her mind's eye.

"You and the other admirals appear to have some disagreements beyond Tali's trial," Shepard probed.

"You are correct," he confirmed. He turned to Tali. "I apologize for it being brought into your proceedings. The other Admirals, save Shala'Raan, are pushing for war. Rael'Zorah was researching new weapons to use against the geth. They would see our fleet destroyed in the skies over our homeworld rather than find a new colony and adapt."

"No doubt your opinion is in the minority," Shepard commented.

"Indeed." His voice lost its earlier haughty attitude and his shoulders were slumped, looking as if the weight of the Fleet were bearing down on him.

For a moment, Tali actually felt bad for snapping at him.

"Can the quarians coexist with the geth after all your history?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know," Koris admitted with a shrug. "But all deserve to find out. They are our children, Shepard. We have all done horrible things to each other, but it has to end. For both groups. I simply don't believe in furthering more casualties for either race in what amounts to a 300 year-old-war."

Again, Tali felt as if Shepard's eyes bore down at her in her mind. She pushed the feeling away.

"This is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable, Tali'Zorah. I believe this message needs to be sent," Koris stated with finality.

She knew why he was pushing for a guilty verdict now, but it certainly didn't mean that she had to like it. "I understand, Admiral. I do not agree with you, but I understand."

"We should move on," Shepard suggested.

Tali nodded.

"Goodbye, Tali'Zorah. Be well," Koris said with unexpected gentleness.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," Tali said.

"I don't hate you, Tali. And I certainly don't want you to be hurt or worse in this endeavor," Koris replied. "I just think your father's plans for war were wrong. I would never wish for anything malicious to happen to anyone; both to the geth and our people."

Tali opened her mouth to say something, but found herself too conflicted to put her feelings to words. Instead, she settled for nodding at him before leaving. Once again, she found her opinion of Admiral Koris fluctuating between the positive and the negative all in one conversation.

But that didn't mean she was sorry for her outburst during her hearing.

It took a little searching, but she and Shepard finally found Admiral Daro'Xen. She was standing in the corner the plaza of by herself, appearing quite bored, as if she had better things to do than be a part of the panel of judges that would determine Tali's future.

"Tali'Zorah," Xen greeted neutrally. She didn't even turn to look up at them as they approached. "Given the circumstances, are you certain that speaking to me is appropriate?"

"I'm looking for information about the Alarei. I don't intend to bribe you in the middle of the plaza, Admiral," Tali sarcastically answered.

"The Alarei, hmm?" she asked thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, we know little. We detected several communications signatures before the geth jammed the comm systems. Given the likely networked intelligence requirements for taking over a ship of that size, expect between 10 and 50 units."

"Then this can't have anything to do with me. I only sent parts and pieces, and certainly not enough to make that many geth," Tali muttered.

Xen shrugged uncaringly. "Perhaps. Or perhaps there were other teams involved with the collections you were unaware of. It matters not. The circumstances remain the same."

"You seem unconcerned about this whole thing, Admiral," Shepard stated.

"Oh?"

"I noticed you didn't say much during the opening statements."

"There wasn't much to say," Xen replied in a bored tone. "This trial is a waste of time."

"It matters a great deal to me!" Tali said in indignation.

Xen finally looked up and made eye contact with Tali. "If you and your father were actually experimenting on active geth subjects, then you are simply idiots; meaning you are guilty as charged. No reason to waste resources on a trial. If not, then this was a tragic accident in the pursuit of a higher cause; I understand that sacrifices are often necessary in the pursuit of progress, so in the end, you are innocent. Again, no trial is needed to determine that."

Within just one minute of meeting her, Tali finally understood why her father held little respect for Admiral Xen.

"If you're not interested in this trial, why not recuse yourself?" Shepard asked.

"Ha!" Xen derisively laughed before finally standing straighter and faced him fully. "And let the aging warship Han'Gerrel and the cowardly Zaal'Koris be the ones to chart this course? I think not."

"What do you mean?" Tali asked suspiciously.

"The broader purpose underlying the trial is too important," Xen explained. "You are only peripherally related. No offense intended."

She was offended, but she didn't feel like commenting on it. What Xen was saying was eerily similar to what Koris had said a few minutes ago. Even what Gerrel had said possessed a similar undertone. "And what is the true purpose of this trial, Admiral?"

"To determine whether quarians should fear their past mistakes, or reclaim their glory using our natural affinity for artificial intelligence," Xen revealed.

"So the only reason you care about this is because Admiral Zorah might have learned something valuable from the geth?" Shepard asked incredulously.

Xen looked much more animated than she did during the trial. She gave off a feverish kind of excitement. "Indeed. If he has, then even in this accident, we may find something worthwhile."

"You want to create new AIs?" Tali asked in shock.

"No, Tali'Zorah," Xen replied condescendingly. "I wish to return the geth to the control of their rightful masters, the quarian race."

Tali stared at her uncomprehendingly. Now she was beginning to wish she'd never bothered talking to Xen. "You're insane."

Xen either didn't hear her or ignored the insult entirely.

"And here I thought Admiral Koris' opinions were in the minority," Shepard commented.

"Yes. At least on the Admiralty Board," she answered before sniffing in distain. "Han'Gerrel sees an enemy that must be crushed. Zaal'Koris would run away and hide on some new colony world. Shala'Raan is still undecided."

Tali glanced at Shala out of the corner of her eye before turning her attention back to Xen.

_At least someone on the Admiralty still believes in rational thought._

"I had thought Rael to be firmly in Han's camp, but if his experiments were on active geth, perhaps we have ideas in common," Xen mused.

_Keelah, I hope not._

"You support experiments on living creatures?" Shepard asked.

"Rael should have felt no more guilt experimenting on geth than I did while performing surgery on a childhood toy," Xen answered with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"The fact that you performed surgery on your childhood toys explains a great deal, Admiral," Tali responded in disgust.

_Forget rational. Sanity should be a minimum prerequisite to become an admiral._

"A ship travels faster than I can. With the right programming, it can choose locations, even defend itself when attacked. But it is just a machine," Xen snapped back. "It was built for the sole purpose of serving its master. And it can be dismantled whenever its master desires."

"I'm not sure I like the way you're describing the quarians as 'masters'," Shepard said. "That implies slaves; free will that's being dominated."

"I'm hardly interested in arguing semantics with you, Captain," Xen said dismissively. She leaned back against the wall and turned her nose up at them. "Are we finished, yet? I find myself somewhat curious about Rael's fate and I hope you'll succeed in finding out what happened."

It was official. Tali decided she despised Admiral Xen right then and there. "What do you mean, 'somewhat'?" she asked indignantly.

Xen shrugged. "If Rael is dead, then the power balance will be disrupted. Han loses a vote for his foolish and self-destructive war."

_No more foolish and destructive than __**your**__ plans!_

"That would favor peace, then, as Shala'Raan is too careful to risk her own neck," Xen continued, unaware of the glares Tali and Shepard were leveling at her. "But if the admiral replacing Rael agrees with **me**… things could become **very** exciting."

"_Ma'am? Shuttle's ready. We can depart whenever you want. Got some weapons here for you as well,"_ Kal reported.

"Thank you for the information," Shepard said, barely keeping his voice civil.

Once again, Xen either missed it or ignored it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Captain," she said flippantly, obviously not sincere in any way. Like Shepard, she was merely going through the motions of being polite.

"We're on the way, Reegar. Thanks," Tali said. She hurriedly led Shepard toward the hangar. In addition to wanting to save her father, she couldn't wait to get away from Daro'Xen.

_I really hope that things don't get any worse…_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / En Route to the Alarei**_

"So how are we getting in? I doubt the heretic—I mean, geth will make it easy for us," Shepard asked.

Tali, Shepard, Reegar, Syrin, and Raz were all in the cabin of an order model shuttle; one that didn't even have FTL capabilities. They were also assigned a pilot to ferry them to the Alarei.

_No doubt to ensure that I'm not a flight risk._

"We're sending some signals that we're going to breach the portside hangar of the Alarei. Should draw the geth away. We'll be infiltrating an airlock on the starboard side. It's going to be a bit of a trek to get to the bridge though. According the surviving marines, damn geth have been fortifying themselves," Kal briefed.

"Why the bridge?" Shepard inquired.

"Place to start if we're going to look for records on what happened. Besides, the geth are probably concentrated there. They'll try and seize control of the Alarei proper. If there's survivors, they'll make their stand there too. Make sure the geth doesn't take the ship."

"Numbers?"

Kal shrugged. "Stories vary. The survivors mentioned something like waves of geth, but I don't know if that's the fear talking or what. After Haestrom, I doubt we'll see it the same way as they did. Still, it might also mean that they might be making more of themselves out of whatever spare parts they can tear out of the Alarei."

"So the bad news is that there might a more than we thought," Shepard translated.

"There shouldn't be any at all," Tali said angrily.

"The good news is: if they're assembling themselves out of whatever crap that's lying around, then they might not be built as tough as they usually are. Figure some might not even have shield generators," Reegar optimistically pointed out.

"Plus, the Alarei is a science ship. There can't be many weapons on board," Raz added.

"Unless Admiral Zorah wanted to be prepared for the worst," Syrin argued. "Then he might have a small armory on board to put down any rogue experiments. Add to the fact that the marines that were sent were killed in there, and the geth are probably well armed, all with weapons salvaged from the dead."

"Oh…" Raz said dejectedly.

"At the very least, we know that the Alarei's weapons and propulsion are down," Reegar said.

"How do we know that?" Raz asked in confusion.

"Because the geth would've used the Alarei to attack the Fleet already, idiot," Syrin answered. "And then the Admirals would've had no choice but to destroy the Alarei long before Tali even came back."

"It was a close though, but until there's solid confirmation that Admiral Zorah is KIA, the Board started arguing on what to do," Reegar explained to Tali. "Eventually, I recommended getting you onto the Alarei. Admiral Raan didn't like it, but agreed."

"So that's why she was pushing for me to get there. It was you…" Tali said quietly.

"She and Admiral Gerrel are hoping you'll kill a bunch of geth to get the crowd on your side, then find evidence to clear your name. They were hesitant, but, well, you didn't have many options, ma'am," Reegar revealed. "I knew you could handle it though."

"You did the right thing. Thank you," Tali said gratefully. She meant it too. There were few people she could trust to help her find her father and she was fortunate enough to be working with two of them.

"You sure you're up for this, Reegar? You took kind of a beating on Haestrom," Shepard said.

He shrugged. "Physical damage wasn't bad. I was down for about a week with infection, though. Figure I got off easy. I don't have to face those admirals long."

"With your immune systems, it couldn't be easy for quarians to fight a war. You'd lose more people to infection than injury," Shepard commented.

"We can't afford a frontline attack, that's for sure. Have to fight smart – ideally from orbit. If not, well, skill and guts still count for something."

"We do have stockpiles of antibiotics. It's not as though everyone would die from a single shot," Tali said defensively.

"No, Shepard's right," Reegar said. "You've only been on our strike ops, ma'am. Don't have all the fancy equipment in a frontline fight. Supplies get strained, things get ugly fast."

She fell silent and leaned back in her seat. She had often wondered if she was a help or a hindrance to Shepard because of her physical weaknesses.

_Stop that. If he didn't have faith in me, then he wouldn't have asked for help._

Shaking those thoughts away, she checked the shotgun she was given for the mission. It was an older model, as expected, but better than she thought it would be. Kassa Fabrication's Armageddon Shotgun. More powerful than her preferred M-27 Scimitar, but could only fire around 6 shots before overheating with a 7 second cool down, over the 8 shots of the Scimitar with heat sinks. Still, it was better than most, so she couldn't complain. Reegar probably had to pull a lot of strings to get higher end weapons for them. No grenades were given, but she didn't mind. Last thing she wanted was to throw explosives inside a ship and cause a hull breach. Getting sealed inside a section of the ship would help no one. Their 'arsenal' was rounded out by some cheap pistol that she probably wouldn't even use on a varren, much less a geth. Ultimately, no current generation weapons were issued to them, so no rapid reloading heat sinks.

_These kinds of weapons served us well enough in the past. We'll make do._

Shepard was only given an assault rifle, some kind of Rosenkov Materials model; Kovalyov if she wasn't mistaken. Not the best, but not bad either. Like her shotgun, it was an older class of weaponry that he was inspecting with a critical eye. Satisfied that everything was in working order, he pointed at Reegar's rifle. "What kind of weapon is that?"

"Family heirloom. I don't give a damn what other guns are on the market or whatever tech they come with; I'll never part with this. It's a Callahan full-bore auto lock. Customized trigger, double cartridge thorough gauge," he described before sighing reverently. He patted the rifle fondly. "During my Pilgrimage, six mercs tried to kill me. She's the reason I'm still alive. Best damn gun the quarian people ever made."

Everyone in the cabin looked at him with varying degrees of exasperation or amusement.

"Oh Kee'lah," Tali said. Syrin giggled.

Reegar apparently didn't hear her, because he kept patting his rifle. "She is my very favorite gun."

"Did you say 'she'?" Shepard asked.

"Her name's Vera." He held up 'Vera' to show her off. "So what do you think?"

Shepard was at a loss, but his helmet obscured most of his face, hiding his expression. "It's… um… shiny."

"Yep," Reegar said, holding Vera close to his chest and patting her again. "I recently equipped her with a Disruptor Ammo converter, so we should able to make short work out of those synthetic bastards."

"_Okay, everyone,"_ their pilot called out. _"It looks like the geth might have fallen for our ruse. I'm docking with the Alarei in five minutes. Stand by."_

"Tali… look, whatever happens, it's going to be okay. One way or another, we're here for you," Shepard said assuringly.

She nodded. She knew what he meant, even if he didn't say it, just like at her trial.

_Hope for the best, prepare for the worst._

Her father might be still alive, but at the same time…

_I can't think like that. Not until I see it with my own eyes._

She studiously checked over her shotgun again while trying to ignore the looks the others were giving her. Until she was knew, nothing was certain.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Alarei**_

"_Clear,"_ Raz reported.

The rest of the team slowly and quietly entered the airlock, weapons raised and ready.

They walked down the airlock hallway. The hissing as the pressure equalized sounding unnaturally loud.

"_Hurry. The geth will know we're here soon enough," _Shepard said. He took point and stalked toward the far door.

Tali glanced at Reegar, wondering if he didn't mind following Shepard's lead on this. As she expected though, he was a professional and followed orders as they were given. Raz and Syrin did the same.

Once the door opened, she spotted two geth in the room, merely standing around, or their case, powered down.

They took advantage of the element of surprise and open fired immediately.

"_Contact left!" _Raz warned.

The sounds of gunfire increased when the digital chatter of the geth warned the group that two troopers rushed in from the far left door.

"_Hunter!"_ Reegar shouted.

Tali and Syrin unleashed duel Overloads on the crowded doorway, short circuiting the smaller geth as they tried to attack.

"_Ha!"_ Syrin shouted.

The Hunter was still standing, but its cloak was completely disabled. Shepard and Reegar rushed forward, their assault rifles blazing away.

"_Damn it! Overheated!"_ Shepard cursed when his rifle started beeping. He glowed biotically and launched the Hunter headfirst into the ceiling before it crashed down in a heap on the floor.

Reegar ran up to it and put four more rounds into the body and two in the head for good measure.

"_Two more incoming!"_ Raz shouted. His shotgun was barely able to hold them back.

Tali and Syrin added their own weapons to the mix to push back the geth charge.

"_Overheated!"_ Tali shouted when her shotgun failed to fire. She dropped Chiktikka and let her float around the corner to buy time.

"_About time,"_ Shepard growled at his gun. He and Reegar started firing in bursts at the doorway whenever a target presented itself. Between the both of them, they easily suppressed the attack.

Tali checked the gauge on her shotgun and saw that it had finally cooled down.

"_If there's only one thing, and one thing only, that I'll ever say something nice about the geth: it's this heat sink idea they got. Would've come in handy in a situation like this,"_ Syrin muttered. Her rifle was still cooling down.

Tali privately agreed, but didn't care to voice her appreciation about the geth. Or heretics. Or synthetics in general for that matter.

"_Looks clear for now,"_ Reegar reported.

Raz bend over one of the geth troopers and poked it with his shotgun. _"Looks like you were right, LT. Take a look as this."_

Tali stepped over and knelt down. _"This doesn't look right. It looks mismatched."_

"_Jury-rigged,"_ Raz agreed. _"And this thing when down against your Overload tech just like that. Its kinetic barrier must've been crap. They really are making more of themselves out of whatever's laying around."_

"_Should probably recommend to the Admiralty that the Migrant Fleet Marines needs to get better weapons, better training, more funds, and an ass kicking if the strike teams ran from something like this. I'd hate to see us shiver our way through a real fight,"_ Syrin said in disgust.

"_Hoo-rah,"_ Reegar muttered.

Everyone regrouped and continued on.

As they made their way to the bridge through the hallways and decks, occasionally, some more patchwork geth attacked them. But there were only a few at a time, small skirmish groups really, and not nearly enough to increase their thought processes, making them predicable and easy to dispatch. After two hours of roving through some of the labs, Tali glanced inside one of the rooms via the observation window and paused when something caught her eye. _"Wait."_

"_Perimeter. Hold this area,"_ Shepard ordered to the quarian marines. He turned to Tali._ "Something up?"_

"_I don't know…"_ She entered the lab and did a cursory check for hostiles, just as Shepard had taught her two years ago. Satisfied that there were no threats, she looked down at the drone she had secured back on Haestrom and had given to Reegar for him to take back. _"This is a storage unit I sent to Father."_

It was taken apart, and its components were carefully laid out on the next table over. She inspected everything and tried to get a sense of what her father was doing.

"_Looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize. I got this on Haestrom,"_ she said.

Shepard looked surprised. _"Haestrom was a war zone. How did you salvage gear in the middle of all that?"_

Behind him, Raz, Syrin, and Reegar all chuckled at his question.

"_These suits have more pockets than you think,"_ Tali said wryly as she theatrically gestured to her near form-fitting environment suit. _"Quarians have learned how to salvage whatever we can, whenever we can."_

"_Huh," _Shepard said. _"I always thought you managed to carry a lot of our omni-gel and grenades. I just thought you kept converting extra junk lying around and got lucky with finding spare grenades."_

Tali crossed her arms. _"Very funny, Shepard. Everything we do is within reason. We're not vorcha, but we repair what most people would throw away. Hundreds of ships in our fleet were salvaged wrecks, either found dead in space or purchased for next to nothing."_

"_I've been meaning to ask, what made a part worth sending back to your father?"_

Reegar and the others perked up and listened in, even though they held their defensive positions at the door and hallway.

Tali blinked at the question. It was an odd time to be having this conversation, but she shrugged and answered, _"It had to be in working order. Something that could be analyzed and integrated into other technology…"_ She trailed off when she realized why some of the geth were able to function, despite their shoddy construction.

"_Tali?"_ Shepard called out.

"_Oh, sorry. Um… anything new had priority. Technology the geth had developed themselves. Signs of modification, clues to their thinking."_

Shepard nodded and took point again. Tali followed in his wake with the others trailing behind.

"_How did you get these things to your father?"_ he asked as they navigated through the ship.

She suddenly realized that he was still keeping his mind on her trial and was asking his questions away from prying ears back on the Rayya. Even after they took the Alarei, if her father couldn't adequately explain himself or if they couldn't present any evidence, then her defense would rely on **how** the accident might be viewed. Or if she was even at fault at all.

"_Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas. Someone on Pilgrimage would see that it was shipped home. For very valuable finds, I'd signal home and Father would send a small ship,"_ she revealed

"_So there were other teams…" _Shepard quietly muttered to himself.

"_Did you learn anything about what happened here, ma'am?"_ Reegar asked as he fell in step next to her.

Keeping an eye out for the distortions of Hunters and an ear for the digital chatter of the geth, Tali said, _"No… I don't know. Look, I checked and double checked everything I sent here. I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair."_

"_Wasn't saying you weren't careful, ma'am,"_ Reegar said quietly.

"_Sorry, Reegar… I just… I don't which possibility is worse: I got sloppy and sent something dangerous, or that my Father actually did all this…"_

"_We'll figure it out, ma'am."_

"_I hope so. I just don't know if I'll like the answer."_

**~o~O~o~**

"_Help!"_

Tali cursed under her breath and quickly typed a command in her omni-tool with experienced hands. The geth were utilizing the mess hall as a chokepoint and staging area to attack them on all sides.

And it was working.

They had cautiously entered and it was a good thing they did. Reegar spotted a gas tank that was rigged. They managed to get away from the blast just in time to escape injury, but the scramble divided them and the geth struck at that moment, opening all the doors and rushing them.

The geth Hunter that ambushed them held Raz by his head and was threatening to break his faceplate open. To his credit, Raz kept struggling and firing his pistol at the Hunter, trying to strike its optic, even as his head was threatening to be crushed. Shepard was trying to maneuver around it, looking for an opportunity to shoot it without hitting Raz while simultaneously dealing with the other geth pouring through the right passageway. He was forced to create a Singularity to buy some time while Reegar tried to support them.

"_Contact! Left door!"_ Syrin shouted as she threw out an Overload at a doorway to stem the tide of geth. Unfortunately, there was enough geth that they were exercising advanced tactics. The geth halted at the doorway and used it as cover to protect themselves against the electrical storm before charging forward again.

Reegar ran up to her and crouched down. He alternated between shooting them and using his Incinerate Tech, forcing the geth to seek cover and return fire.

"_Let go of me, you bosh—!"_ Raz grunted out before the Hunter suddenly let go of him. He fell to the ground in a heap and looked up at it in confusion.

With her hack complete, Tali directed the Hunter to make a suicidal charge at the approaching Troopers.

The Hunter stood in the path of the incoming fire from the Troopers, absorbing their shots, and acting like a bullet shield for the organics.

Reegar, and Syrin pressed forward, firing around the Hunter and finally overrunning the geth positions.

Once the coast was clear, Reegar turned on the Hunter and put a trio of shots into its head to bring it down.

At the other end of the room, Shepard had managed to hold his ground and eliminate the last of the geth singlehandedly. Tali almost felt bad for not helping him, but shrugged off the feeling just as quickly.

_He was fine. He trusts me to do my job, I should trust in his abilities as well._

Instead, she ran up to Raz. _"Are you okay?"_

He nodded and felt around his helmet. _"I think so. Nothing's breached."_

Tali checked his helmet and winced. _"There's a small dent here. Probably from its finger."_

"_So long as the dent is in helmet and not my head,"_ Raz grumbled.

"_Clear!"_ Syrin reported.

"_Clear,"_ Shepard echoed.

Satisfied that Raz was okay, Tali helped him to his feet before turning to Shepard. _"Are you alright?"_

"_Is __**he**__ alright?"_ Syrin asked incredulously. _"He downed five geth by himself!"_

"_I'm fine, Tali. I might need a scan when we get back to the Normandy, but I'm good. No pain," _Shepard assured.

"_What?"_ Raz asked in confusion.

"_Never mind,"_ Shepard said in a tone of voice that ended any more questions. He glanced at Syrin and Reegar. _"Okay, over there?"_

"_We're fine, Shepard,"_ Reegar answered. _"Geth put up a good fight this time."_

"_Not good enough,"_ Syrin boasted and punctuated her point with a single shot into a downed Trooper.

Tali saw the disapproval in Shepard's eyes. Whether it was the unprofessional bragging during a mission or the fact that Syrin was shooting a downed enemy, she had no idea.

"_Let's go,"_ Tali said quickly. She took the lead this time and made her way past the geth remains and out of the mess hall.

Eventually, they found what looked like was the data collection hub of the ship. More bodies of the crew were found and slaughtered here. Throughout their incursion, they came across dozens of bodies. First it was the marines that tried to take the Alarei, and then it started becoming the civilians and crew working aboard, and finally, the scientists and researchers. They haven't found Tali's father yet among the dead. It gave her hope that he was alive, but she still couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation that there were no other survivors yet.

"_What do you make of this?"_ Syrin asked curiously. She was poking around on a console that linked the servers together.

Tali stepped up and tried to access it. _"Damn… most of the data is corrupted, but a few bits are left."_

"_Defensive perimeter,"_ Shepard ordered.

Reegar, Raz, and Syrin took positions at the entryways and kept a lookout.

Using her omni-tool, she tried to recover what data she could without corrupting the system any more than it already was.

"_Well?"_ Shepard asked after a few silent minutes.

"There were performing experiments on geth systems," Tali said aloud so the others couldn't hear them.

"We already knew that," Shepard reminded.

"They were looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming," she elaborated.

"Did you know what kind of tests your father was running?" he asked carefully.

Tali shook her head. "No. Father just told me to send back any geth technology I could find that wasn't a direct danger to the Fleet," she asserted. She knew she was being repetitive, but it was the truth. "I **suspected** he might be testing weapons, but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields or armor."

"I'm not sure I agree with this," Shepard said uneasily. "If the components were inactive, sure, but on living subjects…"

"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard," Tali said defensively. "I only sent Father **parts**. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient. Remember: the geth flash their AI cores when they get deactivated."

"Then what the hell are we fighting?" Shepard asked. "Those heretics seemed real enough."

"I-I don't know," Tali admitted. "But you saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth!"

"Heretics," he corrected.

"Whatever! Synthetics! Any research that gives us an advantage is important!"

"Even more than the lives lost here?" he responded and gestured to the dead quarians around them. "This is something we've seen too often with Cerberus and their experiments on the rachni and thorian husks, but this… at some point, you cross a line. When does the cost become too high?"

Tali fell silent and bowed her head. She couldn't bring herself to look at the victims that surrounded them.

Shepard sighed and looked around. "Could any of that data clear your name?"

She checked her omni-tool and compared it to the notes on the console. "Doubtful. This is mostly results data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques. I don't understand all of it."

"And parts you do understand?" 

"I think… I think they were activating geth deliberately," Tali whispered.

"I thought the geth flash their memory cores," he pointed out, echoing her earlier reminder. "How could they activate anything you brought?"

"I don't know," Tali answered in frustration. "Nothing here says specifically. But if they were… then Father was doing something terrible."

She didn't know if it was the idea that they were putting the flotilla at risk or if she actually shared Shepard's viewpoint that testing on POWs was monstrous, even if they were synthetic.

"What was all this, Father? You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to bring us back home?" Tali asked aloud. Whether she was talking to her father, to herself, or to the empty, dead ship, she had no idea. Perhaps all of the above.

Shepard turned his head away and shuffled a little in place. He looked like he wanted to say something; instead, he nodded his head to the far door that Reegar was standing at. "We should keep moving."

"Right," Tali agreed. "There is something here… it looks like there's a central hub that the geth network is interfaced with…"

"That's probably the main lab where your father was working in," Shepard said.

She nodded in agreement. "I think we should go there instead of the bridge."

"_Regroup,"_ Shepard ordered.

"_Anything?"_ Reegar asked when they started moving again.

"_I found the main lab. We should be able to find Fath—something there,"_ she answered.

If anyone caught her slip of the tongue, they didn't comment on it. They followed her lead and navigated through the Alarei, moving in a different direction now; Deeper and lower into the bowels of the ship, rather than the lofty heights of the bridge. The lifts were disabled, so they were forced to use the stairs instead.

On the last junction that would take them to the same deck as the lab, Shepard peered over the rail and raised his rifle in an instant. _"Contact!"_

The others ran up and started firing on the unsuspecting geth below.

Despite their ambush, the geth raised their weapons and counterattacked, even as their fellows were falling one by one. The far door in the back suddenly opened and allowed more geth to pour in.

"_They got reinforcements!" _Syrin shouted.

"_Dropping a drone!"_ Raz tapped on his omni-tool and allowed his red Combat Drone to materialize in the middle of the doorway. As hoped, the geth had to contend with the attacking sphere, allowing the organics to continue their onslaught.

They were so distracted by the geth below that Tali almost missed the flickering distortion on their left. She turned her head and gasped when a flaring pain shot up her left arm, causing her to drop her shotgun. _"On our left!"_

Reegar whirled around and didn't hesitate. His rifle fired a dozen rounds into the Hunter, the Disruptor Ammo causing its cloak and shields to fail. Tali followed up with Overload to bring it down.

She backed away and quickly checked her arm and saw that it was nothing but a graze. Her suit was punctured; a through and through. Combat seals had already clamped shut around the affected area. She picked up her shotgun and returned to the fray.

With the advantage of the high ground, the geth soon fell one after another until the rest retreated deeper into the doorway and out of sight.

"_On me!" _Shepard ordered. He carefully walked down the stairs, his rifle pointing at the door and ready.

Tali followed, but took the time to quickly inject a dose of medi-gel on her wound. She took care not to let the others see so they wouldn't worry or get distracted.

Shepard peered around the edge of the doorway. _"Clear. Looks like they fell back into the lab."_

"_That's definitely where we need to go then,"_ Reegar said. _"If it's that important to them that they want to retreat rather than attack us head on, then whatever's in there has to be important to them."_

"_There's a door on the left. Blood trails leading into it," _Shepard observed. _"Syrin, Raz: Go."_

Both quarians cautiously entered the hallway first and toward the door. The rest of the squad kept their weapons trained on the door at the far end of the passageway, in case the geth decided to make a reappearance. Both quarians were lucky; the door stayed shut.

Once they were on either side, Raz opened the door and allowed Syrin to enter first. After a few seconds, she gave the all clear, though she sounded subdued.

Tali steeled herself and entered next when Raz opted to stay in the hall. Inside were more dead quarians. It looked like they had tried to take refuge in a storage room before they were shot down. The doors bore burn marks, signifying that they were cut open from the outside.

One of the researcher's omni-tool was still on. Tali bent over and activated it.

A message started playing. The researcher was panting and gasping, her rapid breaths in concert with the others around her. They were crying and shouting in primal fear. The sounds of metal being cut and touched were heard in the background. _"We locked down navigation. Weapons are offline. Our mistake won't endanger the Fleet. They're burning through the door. I don't have much time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! Jona, if you get this, be strong for Daddy. Mommy loves you very much!"_

The recording ended with the sounds of geth chatter followed by gunfire and screams.

"_Turn it off,"_ Reegar requested quietly. His voice carried a strange mix of sympathy and rage.

Tali did as he asked and carefully checked the bodies. Once again, she felt a kind of guilty relief that her father was not there, but the hope that he was alive was fading fast with every loss they encountered.

_Keelah… Why…?_

"_We need to go,"_ Shepard said. He and Raz were still in the corridor, watching the door to the main lab carefully.

Tali woodenly stood up and rejoined the group, as if her body was willing to follow his orders, but her mind had seized up as the events began to overwhelm her and threatened to break her down.

Reegar put his hand on her shoulder and brought her back to the present. _"Ma'am?"_

She took a shuddering breath and shook her head a few times to force herself to focus. If they were to succeed where the strike team failed, they needed to work together, not have the others carry her through her shock. _"I'm fine. I'm okay. Let's go."_

Reegar pulled away and nodded.

The small band approached the door and stacked up.

"_Boy, it'd sure would be nice if we had some __**grenades**__,"_ Reegar muttered from his position next to the door. _"Just breach and clear. Be done before echo of the last shot fades."_

"_Where's the fun in that?"_ Shepard replied wryly from the opposite side.

"_Explosions are fun. The only time they're not fun is when they happen to you," _Reegar shot back.

Shepard chuckled a bit before being serious again. _"On my mark. 3-2-1!"_

Tali opened the door and waited for her turn to enter. The moment Shepard and Reegar rushed in, bullets started striking everything. She and Syrin entered next, their shields buffeted against a storm of firepower and draining quickly.

She slid into cover and fired her shotgun wildly, trying to suppress them while estimating the number of geth and the types of models that were attacking them.

Another Singularity manifested into existence right in the middle of the geth positions. A few of them were soon chattering rapidly as they floated around it or were crushed.

She managed to see that there were at least a dozen more left. They were using the neural network to their greatest advantage now. A Geth Prime had been dominating the room, using its massive size and arsenal to draw their attention while the smaller Troopers tried to flank and finish them off.

Fortunately, Shepard's Singularity halted that idea and now it was a contest of which could outlast the other.

Tali had to control her shots now. If her shotgun overheated, the right side of the room would be vulnerable. The geth still had more numbers and could afford to let a few guns to overheat and still pin them down.

A lucky shot from Kal and Shepard blew off the Prime's arm and weapon, leaving it incapable of attacking over distance. Far from being disabled, it used its body to protect its smaller fellows and tried to create superior tactical positions to fight back.

Tali fired twice more before the pain in her left arm brought the circumstances of her injury to clarity. She ducked back down behind the table and quickly scanned their area of the combat zone.

_Damn it!_

"_Hunters!"_

Raz turned around and looked for the distortion.

A Hunter had almost been on top of him.

Yelling in surprise, he scrambled away just before it shot at him with a spray of fire from its Hahne-Kedar Lancer.

He dropped his Combat Drone in-between to try to block the bullets just before his shields failed and took a couple of rounds in the chest. He fell with strangled gurgle. The drone stood its ground dutifully, taking bullets and shooting its electric shocks.

"_Raz!"_ Tali shouted. She used her Overload and brought down the Hunter's shields and cloak.

"_Dana! Tighten that formation! We gotta hold this line!"_ Reegar shouted. He turned on the Hunter fired a burst to take it down. _"Tali, help Sela out!"_

Tali pulled Raz out of the line of fire and checked his wounds. _"Just hang on, Raz!"_

Raz gasped and coughed weakly. _"Ah, bosh'tet… this is r-ruining… my d-day… I r-really liked… t-this suit…"_

"_Just stay quiet, Raz,"_ Tali said as she checked her omni-tool scans. She marginally relaxed and applied a liberal dose of medi-gel. _"You're fine. You'll definitely need a doctor, but you'll make it. Just stay strong."_

"_Y-yes… ma'am…"_

"_They're pushing us back!"_ Syrin shouted. _"We can't hold them off!"_

Tali picked up her shotgun and dropped her own Combat Drone to supplement their flagging numbers. _"Go for the optics, Chiktikka! Go for the optics!"_

"_Tali, move! Hunter!"_ Shepard warned.

Tali barely had time to look before Reegar pushed her out of the way. The Hunter tried to compensate, but he brought omni-tool up and used Incendiary on the Hunter at near point blank.

Tali scrambled to her feet and fired her shotgun at it until it overheated. It went down in a heap.

"_We have them! Just keep pushing!"_ Shepard ordered. Dark energy coalesced around him as he rotated his arm and scattered the geth ranks with Shockwave before using his Warp Ammo to tear his way through the geth Troopers.

"_Whoa! Hey!"_

Whirling around, Tali saw that there wasn't enough geth now to exercise advanced combat tactics.

The Prime lost interest in protecting the Troopers and simply rushed at them, using its formidable armor and shields to withstand Reegar's attack. It picked him up and tossed him clear across the room.

"_Kal!"_ Tali screamed.

He landed with a grunt and lost his grip on his gun during his ungraceful landing. He rolled over onto his stomach and crawled toward it, keeping low to avoid taking a stray bullet.

Shepard and Syrin were too busy trying to get at the last holdouts of Troopers to be able to help in time.

The Prime stomped up it victim and used its remaining arm to grasp Kal around his neck and lifted him up. Kal struggled against its grip and pulled out his pistol. It was completely useless, but he was fighter.

Just before the Prime crushed his neck, it stopped and put him down on his feet and moved to protect him against incoming fire.

Tali manipulated the Prime, turning it away from Kal and forced it to run down the remaining geth. While Shepard and Syrin pressed their counterattack, she kicked 'Vera' back over to Kal. _"Here!"_

"_Thank, ma'am,"_ Kal said. He groaned a little, but otherwise showed no outward signs of injury. Picking up his rifle, he charged back into the thick of things.

Tali forced the Prime to attack two more geth when she saw that her link was starting to become tenuous. Growling, she forced the Prime to fall flat on its face. Shepard took the opportunity to fire half a dozen shots into its head before helping sweep up the last of the geth.

The sudden silence following the constant staccato of gunfire was deafening.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Tali ran back to Raz and checked him over. He was unconscious, but the medi-gel had stopped the bleeding. The damage his organs took was relatively manageable, but they didn't have a lot of time.

"_We have to find that hub!"_ Tali shouted. _"We need to shut down the geth and get him back to the Rayya!"_

"_I'll stay with him,"_ Syrin offered. She knelt down and monitored him with her own omni-tool. _"Looks like he'll be okay. We have some time."_

Tali nodded gratefully and stood up.

"_Ma'am?"_

Kal was standing nearby, but he looked completely lost, as if he had no idea what to do. She frowned when he didn't even make eye contact. He was looking at everything but her.

"_Kal?"_ she asked.

"_Ma'am… there's… we found… Shepard and I… we, uh…"_ He trailed off and swallowed thickly. He pointed with his rifle to where Shepard was standing. There was another locked door in the back of the lab and the Spectre was standing near it holding his weapon loosely. What caught her attention the most was the fact that he didn't meet her eyes as well.

"_No… no!"_ Tali said in denial. She ran past Kal and stopped next to Shepard, her eyes wildly searching the area and praying that she wouldn't find what she was looking for.

Her prayers weren't answered.

She saw the crimson pattern her father favored for his environment suit. He was slumped against the wall next to the door. Several bullet holes dotted his chest and one through his faceplate, creating a broken webbed pattern that hid his face.

"Father!" She bent down and ran her omni-tool over him. When no life signs were detect, she shook her head and refused to believe it. She grabbed his arm and shook him in a futile gesture to wake him up. "No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't…!"

"Tali…" Shepard lightly grasped her arm.

"No!" She pulled her arm away and held onto her father. "They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me with all this! You can't…"

"Hey. Hey, come here." Shepard knelt down and gently, but forcefully pulled her away. This time, she didn't resist. He wrapped his arms around her in an embrace and rubbed her back.

She tried to stop the tears, but they came out anyway. She clutched at him and buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. "Damn it… Damn it!"

"Syrin, stay with him. I'm going to secure the hallways outside. In case more geth reinforcements are coming," Kal said quietly to the others and through his voice module to avoid upsetting Tali further.

It was a nice thought, but she still managed to hear him.

Shepard was still holding here and rubbing her back soothingly. He didn't say anything, but she didn't mind. There was nothing he could say that would change anything anyway.

Eventually, she regained control of herself and pushed away from him. She damned her suit at moment, more than any other time. She wanted nothing more than to rip it off her helmet and rub her tears away. She wanted to feel the warmth of the hug and physical sense of Shepard's presence that he was still with her, but it was all denied by the damned numbing tactile feeling of cloth instead. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"You've have nothing to be sorry about," Shepard said softly.

She heaved a shuddering breath and looked back down at her father. "Maybe… He would have known I'd come. Maybe he left a message."

Kneeling back down, she couldn't help sob one last time as she stroked the side of his helmet before accessing his omni-tool. As she thought, there was a message that was encoded, but it almost was specifically tailored for her. In practically no time at all, she played his final words to her.

A miniature hologram of his image floated in front of her. He was clutching the side of his chest. Blood was seeping past his fingers. He was sitting next to the door just as his physical body was. "Tali. If you are listening, then I am dead. The geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their server hub is just past this door. I tried to get inside to shut it down, but they locked me out and I can't bypass it in time." He paused a moment to groan in pain and applied more pressure to his wound. "It is the only server hub they can connect to on board the entire ship. You'll need to destroy it to stop their processes from forming new neural links with one another. They should be much easier to dispatch after that. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen see the data. They must—"

The recording ended abruptly. The last sounds heard were like the others, geth chatter and gunfire.

"Thanks, Dad," Tali whispered. At least the Alarei could be saved now. And more importantly, at least in her eyes, Raz'Sela as well.

Shepard knelt down next to her. "He knew you'd come for him. He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted. But it's the best he could do."

Tali bowed her head and rubbed the side of her father's helmet one last time. "I don't know what's worse: thinking he never really cared, or thinking he did, and that this was the only way he could show it." She took a deep breath and stood up with new resolve.

"It doesn't matter. One way or another, **I** cared. And **I'm** here. And **we're** ending this."

**~o~O~o~**

The bypass was complicated, but Tali worked the links with almost single-minded intent. After five minutes, the door yielded to her efforts. The room beyond was deceptively simple. A few sever hubs that were all connected to a central terminal and little else.

It was amazing that the geth they fought all worked out of something this small.

She ran up and accessed the terminal. A preliminary check showed that her father was right. Disabling it would almost shut down any geth they missed. However, the geth locked the console. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Syrin was still tending to Raz in the room previous, but Reegar hadn't reported in.

"_Reegar? Any problems?"_

"_All's quiet. I don't want to bet that it'll stay that way though, ma'am. You got something?"_

"_Yes. I'll need a few minutes."_

"_Take however long you need. I'll stop'em here."_

"_Or however long it takes to get Raz to a doctor,"_ Syrin chimed in.

"_We'll be done before then. Just keep him stable,"_ Tali ordered.

"_Roger,"_ they acknowledged in tandem.

She started typing furiously, alternating between the terminal and her omni-tool to crack the firewalls the geth erected.

Shepard had moved to the side and was looking at another terminal.

"What's that?" Tali asked.

Shepard poked around the terminal a bit. "Looks like it's unconnected to the server. I think it's their research notes and logs. Seems to be intact."

As if to prove his point, when he tapped a button, a voice played out.

"_First entry: Our hacking attempts failed. The geth have an adaptive consciousness. Hack on process and the others auto-correct. Still, we're making progress. Rael'Zorah is convinced we'll have a viable system in less than a year. This weapon will put our people back on the homeworld. And it's all because of Rael'Zorah."_

"Oh, Father," Tali said mournfully. She turned her attention back to her console. Typing a few more commands, she said, "It's done. The server is being flashed. The geth will have no way of communicating with one another now."

The next log began to play.

"_Something's slowing down the systems. We're taking down the firewalls to rebalance load distribution,"_ the scientist clinically reported.

"Damn," Shepard muttered. He accessed another random log with a later date.

"_Who's running this system diagnostic? I didn't authorize… oh, Keelah. How many geth are networked? !"_ the researcher demanded.

"_All of them,"_ the scientist answered in horror. _"Rael'Zorah—"_

"_Shut it down! Shut everything down! They're in the system!"_

Tali approached the terminal slowly. She reached around Shepard and typed a very specific set of keystrokes. At her touch, a new hidden set of files revealed themselves.

"These are my Father's personal records. Ones that we would've wanted to be kept private," she said quietly.

"You sound like you really don't want to hear it," he said just as quietly.

"I don't. But we have to. I just… this is horrible, Shepard. I know he's a part of what happened here, it's just…" she tried to say before accessing the records.

"_Do we have enough parts to bring more online?" _Rael asked anxiously.

"_Yes. The new shipment from Tali will let us add two more geth to the network,"_ a male scientist reported.

A female voice was heard. The same one that was dead in the store room _"We're nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks. Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board, just to be safe."_

"_No. We're too close,"_ Rael argued. _"I promised my daughter a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the politicians argue."_

Tali shook her head sadly. She distantly noted that Shepard's omni-tool was on as she listened.

"_We'd have an easier time of it if Tali could send back more working material,"_ the first scientist pointed out.

"_Absolutely not,"_ Rael said in a tone that would accept no further arguments. _"I don't want to expose my daughter to any political blowback. Leave her out of this. Assemble new geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be."_

"Oh, Father…"

"He was doing this for you," Shepard said.

"I never wanted this, Shepard. Keelah, I never wanted this," Tali whispered.

"I know."

"Everything here is his fault! When this comes up in the trial, they'll…" In a flash, all the possible scenarios played out in her imagination. She ran up to the terminal and began purging the records within. "We can't tell them, not the admirals, not anyone."

"Are you serious?" Shepard asked. "The chances you have without this…!"

She realized with horror that Shepard had recorded everything. She was about to argue her point before remembering about the others. She held up a hand, turned away from Shepard and accessed her radio. _"It's done. We should be able to handle anything that gets in our way. You two take Raz back to the shuttle right now. Shepard and I need to clean up here."_

"_Got it,"_ Syrin said. _"Okay, Raz. Let's go. Maybe next time, you'll learn that your shields and armor are supposed block bullets, not your organs."_

"_You okay?"_ Kal asked worriedly.

"_We're fine. We'll join up with you soon,"_ Tali said tersely.

"_Alright. Hurry back. We've been here a little longer than we estimated,"_ Kal said before signing off.

"Tali, without this evidence, you're looking at exile!" Shepard warned.

"You don't think I know that?" You think I want to live knowing that I can never see the Fleet again?" she shot back. She took a deep breath to try to control the torrent of emotions that gathered in her chest. "But I **can't** go back into that room and say that my father was the worst war criminal in our people's history! I cannot!"

"Rael'Zorah doesn't need you to worry about him anymore. You heard him say that he didn't want you to be caught in the politics!"

"You don't understand! They would strike his name from the manifest of every ship he ever served on. He would be worse than an exile. He'd be a true traitor to our people, held up for children as a monster in a cautionary tale!" she screamed. More tears streamed down her cheeks. Her voice trembled pleadingly, "I can't let all the good he did be destroyed for this, Shepard. Please."

"Tali…" Shepard said before shaking his head. "We're not going to decide anything here. Let's see what the admirals say once we're back."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. No answer meant that he still had the recording on his omni-tool and could use it if he had to. For a moment, she briefly thought about hacking her way into it and purging the evidence within.

Deep down though, she knew couldn't do that to him. She trusted him and she would not dare betray that trust for anything.

"You're my captain in this hearing, Shepard. It's your decision. But please. Don't destroy what my father was," she begged.

Shepard sighed. "We should go. Hopefully, they won't think we're dead."

Tali nodded and followed a few steps behind him.

What her father left her… it almost felt like a betrayal of his own, regardless of his intentions. It was due to his failure that she's now facing the charge of treason and possible sentence of exile. And yet, he did what he did for what may be the best reason in the galaxy.

He did it for her.

She couldn't help but look at his body as they walked by.

_I love you too, Dad._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Rayya**_

The shuttle ride back was filled with silence.

Raz was still unconscious.

Syrin was either watching him or fidgeting in her seat.

Kal was staring intently at both Shepard and Tali.

Shepard was leaning back in his seat, arms crossed, and head bowed down in thought.

Tali was avoiding eye contact with everyone.

It made for a very uncomfortable ride.

Once docked with the Rayya, a medical team met them at the hangar and retrieved Raz. The squad crowded around him until the medics assured them that he was in good hands and that they'll do everything they can.

The ship's intercom system screeched on. Given the far-reaching ramifications of treason, her hearing would be broadcasted throughout the ship and the flotilla to keep the rest of the quarian people in the loop; the equivalent of the press. It was either that, or through word of mouth, given how tightknit quarians tended to be. Rumors and heresy could often more damning than a full trial.

Admiral Koris was talking. _"We need to face facts. There has been no word. There is no reason to think that Tali'Zorah survived."_

"What…?" Tali turned toward their shuttle pilot accusingly.

"_We must trust Captain Shepard's offer of assistance! It has only been a few hours!"_ Shala implored.

"I called it in!" the pilot said defensively with Reegar, Syrin, and Shepard all turned their gazes on him as well. "I swear, I called it in! I told flight control that we coming back to dock with the Rayya, we needed a medical team, and for someone to inform the Admiralty Board that you were successful and to send another strike team sweep any holdouts!"

"_I don't want to say it, but the quarian marines lasted less than five minutes,"_ Gerrel said. _"And all she was given was a team of four others. She's tough, no word in six hours? She's smarter than that. We need to call it."_

Tali groaned. She would've thought that Gerrel would've had more faith in her abilities. "Why is it that this feels like a conspiracy **against** me?"

"I swear! I called it in!" the pilot said in alarm. "Keelah, you better get up there!"

"_A pity Shepard vas Normandy is a better speaker than a soldier,"_ Koris said haughtily.

"That actually hurts," Shepard said as they started jogging back to the plaza.

"Tell me about it," Kal said. "You're a marine. There's a difference, damn it. You'd think a serving admiral would know that."

"Hoo-ah."

"_I recommend posthumously exiling Tali'Zorah,"_ Koris said.

"At least he's consistent," Tali grumbled.

"You mean he still wets his suit?" Syrin joked as they broke out into a run.

"_What?"_ Gerrel asked indignantly.

"_It was agreed that Tali'Zorah would not be convicted if she were killed in action!"_ Shala cried out in shock.

"_It was suggested, Admiral. I recall no agreement. To that end, I call for an immediate vote."_

"_No. That I won't agree to,"_ Gerrel stubbornly responded. _"There is no evidence of her direct involvement with the events on the Alarei. I call that she be cleared of all charges."_

"_Now see here…!"_

They finally reached the plaza and pushed through the crowd of quarians. Each was shouting out their support for a guilty/not guilty at the judges.

Shala heaved a regretful sigh. "Very well. Is the Admiralty Board prepared the render judgeme—"

She fell silent when she was saw that the crowds were no longer looking at her. Instead they were whispering and muttering and pointing at something. She realized that Tali and her entourage had arrived and were making their way to their table.

"Sorry we're late," Tali said sarcastically.

"You didn't waste much time declaring us dead," Shepard said scornfully. "Go get your ship."

"We apologize, Captain Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is… very unexpected," Gerrel said.

"Really? You didn't think we could take back one ship full of patchwork geth?" Shepard asked sardonically. "So when Tali and I fought against Saren and his **army** of geth, it was, what? A fluke?"

"You're presence here very welcome," Shala interjected quickly to keep things civil and to move things along. "I'm glad to see that your mission was successful. Survivors?"

Both Tali and Shepard shook their heads.

Shala looked to see Syrin and Kal standing nearby. "Casualties?"

"Raz'Sela vas Tonbay was shot, but not fatally. He's being treated now. We're told that he'll be fine," Shepard reported.

Gerrel cleared his throat. "Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what happened here?"

Tali felt her blood chill. She looked at Shepard and tried to silently convey her wishes to him one last time. He looked back at her with an unreadable look in his eyes, just as effective as her opaque faceplate.

He stepped forward.

"Shepard… please…" Tali begged.

"Does Captain Shepard have any new evidence to submit to this hearing?" Shala inquired.

Shepard scoffed. "Is that what this? A hearing? And I thought this was a waste of time, especially since Tali's achievements spoke for themselves. I'm surprised you're even taking the effort to act like you care about her."

Tali felt her lungs seize.

"Captain Shepard, you will mind your tone. This is a formal proceeding!" Koris shouted.

"Is that what you think? Because I think this is a sham! This trial isn't about her. It never was. It's about the geth and your own political agendas. Not one of you gives a damn about her, only how you can use her! Just like how you don't care how many people died on the Alarei, only that there were geth."

Tali felt her heart join her lungs in inactivity now.

"This has nothing to do with the geth!" Koris argued.

Shepard pounded the table in front of him hard enough that it rattled, despite it being bolted to the floor. "You want people to sympathize with them, just to forestall the war effort!"

"That is completely—" Koris sputtered.

"Han'Gerrel wants to throw the Fleet at them!"

"I… I…" Gerrel stammered under the accusations.

"Daro'Xen wants to dominate and enslave them!"

The artic glare Xen leveled at Shepard was the first hint of emotion she showed during the hearing, other than boredom.

"Not once, did I hear anything about Tali except that she's a message for your own political **bullshit! **Not one shred of evidence to back up your accusations! " Shepard roared. "You want to exile the woman that's engaged with more geth than any other quarian alive! You should be listening to her, not parading her around for your own ends!"

"Damn straight!" Kal shouted.

"Order! I will have order!" Shala cried out.

"You're pissing on everything I fought for. Everything Tali fought for!"

"Yeah!" Syrin shouted.

"Tali was with me from the beginning. The geth attack on Feros, the Citadel, and here on the Alarei. Hell, she held her ground for your data on Haestrom while everyone was dying around her! She's the paragon of what the quarian people can offer to the galaxy, and you want to **exile** her. What the hell does that say about you?" Shepard asked.

"Hell, yeah! If you exile her, you might as well do the same to me!" Kal said.

"Me too!" Syrin staunchly said.

"Personally, I've had enough of this," Shepard continued in disgust, even as the quarian crowd rallied behind him in a frenzy. "Do whatever you want. Exile her or don't, but she's a part of **my** crew now. And I **never** leave anyone behind."

The panel of judges was shocked into silence.

The crowds started calling for Tali's innocence.

Shepard stood there, as if he were looking down at them, not the other way around.

And through it all, Tali watched silently with bated breath.

"Are the admirals prepared to render judgment?" Shala asked formally. Her quiet voice served to silence the chattering people.

Daro'Xen sighed in annoyance and activated her omni-tool to transmit her vote.

Han'Gerrel followed next.

Zaal'Koris bowed his head briefly before looking back up to meet Tali's eyes.

She gamely met his gaze.

He transmitted his vote last.

Shala looked down at her omni-tool and nodded. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya, in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges."

Relief crashed down on her like a storm. She took a deep shuddering breath and felt her heart change from stopping, to hammering inside her chest, to an irregular beat of joy and sadness.

The witnesses broke out into applause and cheers all around her.

"Captain Shepard vas Normandy. We thank you for taking the time to represent one of our people," Shala said gratefully. "Know that you are always welcome in the Migrant Fleet."

"With all due respect, Admiral, I didn't represent one of your people. I represented one of mine," Shepard said.

Tali felt a few more tears run down her cheeks.

"So you did, Captain. So you did," Gerrel said. "Thank you."

"This hearing is concluded," Shala stated. "Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai," the crowd intoned.

"Keelah se'lai," Tali whispered.

**~o~O~o~**

After enduring the hand-shaking and congratulations of the people around her, she finally managed to break away and find Shepard. It was easy enough since he was the tallest in the room and decked out in full armor, rather than the colorful robes of an environment suit.

He was doing something with his omni-tool when she caught up to him.

She suspected that he was deleting his recording of her father's records, and felt another wave of gratitude toward him. "I can't believe you pulled that off. What you said… I've never had anyone speak like that on my behalf."

"Never? I would've thought it happened all the time for you," Shepard joked.

Tali felt a smile break out across her face. "Thank you. For being there for my father and me, even when…" she swallowed and closed her eyes, remembering the events she saw on the Alarei. "… Thank you."

"We can still go back in and get you exiled, if you want," Shepard teased.

Her smile changed to a small giggle. "Thanks, but I'm fine with the way things are now. Though it's fun watching you shout."

"Tali," Shepard said quietly, his voice now serious, "about what your father said, what he did… you deserved better."

"I got better, Shepard. I got **you**."

He chuckled. "So you're still Tali vas Normandy?"

"You disapprove?" Tali asked teasingly. She knew he would always welcome her aboard his ship, exiled or not. Somehow, he managed to make everything turn out all right. She wasn't cast out from her home, and she had a new ship name now; one she was more than honored to have. The only thing that prevented her from truly enjoying the moment was the knowledge that her father was gone. And yet, with standing by Shepard by her side, the pain was more bearable than she had thought.

"Not in the least," he said. "It's actually kinda flattering that you'd want to serve on my ship instead of your old one. I mean, we have Cerberus, Legion, EDI… Not exactly standard quarian fare."

"I know what you mean, but… I learned something during my trial. Or maybe I just remembered it."

"What?"

She smiled, and though her face was hidden beneath her helmet, she knew that he could see it all the same. "Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest… it's about who came and never left your side."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Sorry for the delay! I was really, really hoping to get this up by Father's Day. Make it more poignant, but I missed it. Ah well.

This one ran a little long, but I've always found the quarians the more fascinating races in the ME universe. The other species have an established presence in the galaxy, for better or worse. They know their places. Quarians don't and they practically created a whole new culture around that. I got a teensy bit carried away with typing it all out.

And I'm still not done yet! Oi…

A new poll is up in my profile page. I've been to different forums and saw both sides to Legion's Loyalty Mission in an attempt to find out what is the best choice. Ultimately, I'm playing Devil's Advocate now. Both sides made very compelling arguments that I have no idea what the 'best' choice is. It's to the point where I decided to toss it up to the air and leave it to you. Vote and let me know. The deadline is when I get to Legion's LM (Which is very soon!)

Again, lines were borrowed from **Serenity**. No doubt many will see it. What can I say? "The Man They Called Jayne"!

Also borrowed a line from **Bulletstorm**.


	52. Interlude XIX

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Rayya**_

"You want what?" Gerrel asked incredulously.

Tali stood before the assembled Admiralty Board, sans Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh, in their private conference room they had on the Rayya. She carefully avoided looking at her father's vacant seat and repeated more forcefully, "I want permission to install the Cyclonic Barrier Technology for the Normandy."

"You want us to hand over top secret quarian technology to **Cerberus**?" Gerrel asked, furiously. "Are you mad? Or are you looking to be put on trial again?"

Tali almost smiled. Shepard had said something similar yesterday, though he was joking, unlike Han'Gerrel. "I know exactly what I'm asking for. I should also remind you that I am now vas Normandy, 'crew of the Normandy'. I'm also nar Rayya," she said.

"So? I fail to see—"

"That makes the Normandy a part of the Migrant Fleet. And I am her first quarian crewmember," she finished with aplomb.

The assembled admirals were shocked into silence, staring at her in varying degrees of disbelief, horror, or outrage. Tali found that she took a strange pleasure in it.

"You can't be serious," Zaal'Koris said.

Tali crossed her arms and stood her ground, showing that she was deadly serious. Not long after her trial, she requested that the Normandy stay docked with the Rayya for a few more days while she handled some personal business. Shepard granted her wish, assuming she wanted some time to mourn her father's passing. She let him believe it, but in actuality, it wasn't quite the truth. As much as she wanted to take the time to honor his memory, she had to consider the importance of their mission, coupled with the delay she asked for with her trial… there was too much time wasted already with far too much at stake. She had asked much of Shepard; even when she put off the installation of the IFF, he hadn't said a word or complained. She needed to do something for him, something more. She needed to give something back to him than just doing her duty as the Normandy's Chief Engineer, which was a prestigious honor in and of itself. But she didn't want to reveal her intentions until she was finished with this meeting.

"According to maritime laws, you've integrated the Normandy into the Migrant Fleet by **officially** voting and changing my ship name. Since I'm not exiled, I'm still a part of the Fleet. Even my **captain** spoke in my defense as my advocate, in accordance to our laws. This is no different than a quarian on their Pilgrimage bringing home a new ship."

"To give this technology to Cerberus—!" Gerrel started to say.

"No, you're giving it to me, and I'm giving it to Shepard," Tali corrected. "We need every advantage we can afford on this mission. Maybe even against the Reapers too. The threat is real and I don't want to waste time squabbling over it."

"You are putting us in a difficult position, Tali," Shala said gently, hoping to calm her fellow admirals.

"Then let me make it easier. Asking for permission is only a formality. I am well-versed in the inner workings behind the CBT and can easily purchase the right components and install it on the Normandy with or without your blessing," Tali said. "I don't like or trust or care for Cerberus as an organization, but the crew aboard the Normandy means a lot to me. I've been with them long enough to know that they're worth every effort to protect and I'm not letting any of them die if I have the ability or knowledge to save them."

Shala studied her silently for a few seconds before sighing. "Does this really mean that much to you?"

"The **Normandy** means that much to me," Tali answered.

Shala nodded. "This is a delicate matter. We will need to deliberate."

"Then I ask that you be quick. Our enemies won't sit idly by while we argue the finer points over matters of life and death."

"Human lives," Koris rebuked.

Tali leveled a glare at him. "Coming from the man that wants to make peace with the geth, that's almost ironic. Tell me, does sitting there and letting people die not bother you while you work to save the geth? Does that make your polices that much more poignant or just hypocritical? Do you just care more about synthetics, but not other organics?"

"We attacked the geth. That is our—"

"And doing nothing absolves you? People. Are. Dying. It shouldn't matter if they're quarian or not. And you want to ignore it. How is that any better?" Tali countered. She shook head wearily, already tired of the saber-rattling of politics. "I'm going to the infirmary to check on Raz, and then I'm returning to the Normandy to resume my duties. I'm already well-behind in my responsibilities there. I'm giving you one day to discuss this."

"Huh," Gerrel laughed humorlessly. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Just like Rael: stubborn. I guess it really is an inheritable trait."

"With all due respect, Admiral, coming from someone as stubborn as you, I'll accept that as a compliment," Tali replied. She nodded to everyone in turn. "If you'll excuse me, Admirals, I believe you have much to talk about. Keelah se'lai."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Normandy SR-2**_

"You know, that is very distracting," Miranda lightly chided as she kept her focus on the pillow levitating a few feet in front of her. She used her newest honed talent, throw, to toss it to the other side of room before using pull to stop it before it struck the wall and gently floated it back. Privately, she was pleased by how versatile her biotics were becoming now.

While strictly not a competition, she often thought the reason why she overcame her lack of results was the accomplishments Shepard was able to obtain with far less effort. While galling at first, she rather enjoyed the challenge now. It was insightful to find her limits on her supposedly perfect genetics and still surpass them. Now with every mistake she made, she accepted that it was a limit, a reminder that she was human. What she took comfort in was the fact that it was through sheer determination that she could push herself past all that. And as Shepard often proved, willpower was something no amount of genetic tailoring or manipulation could ever code for.

Currently, she found her will tested and on the verge of faltering.

"Combat can be distracting. This is good for you," Shepard replied. His hands were gently rubbing her bare shoulders. Eventually, he roamed a little further up to push her long flowing hair to one side and began planting a few kisses along the nape of her neck. "Besides, how could I resist the opportunity?"

She let out a soft sigh before catching herself and tried to pull away. The pillow wavered in proportion to her loss of focus.

Shepard smiled against her soft skin and wrapped his arms around her torso, just beneath her breasts, to hold her in place and continued his ministrations, emboldened by wavering glow of her aura of dark energy.

She cast the pillow across the room again, but failed to catch it this time before it struck the wall next to her office door.

Giving in to Shepard's 'distractions', she decided that she got in enough practice. Twisting around in his embrace, she pushed him back down on the bed before cupping his face and kissing him.

He certainly wasn't going to complain.

"So how are my nodules now?" He asked once they broke away from each other.

"Your scan showed that your nodules were stable. Whatever biotics you used on the Alarei didn't seem to stress you. Mordin is looking over the data to see if he needs to adjust the intervals of your dosages," she answered. She rested her head on his shoulder and randomly traced patterns on his chest. "So… singularity, hmm?"

Shepard was confused for a moment before realizing what she was hinting at. "I honestly have no idea how I do it," he said before looking down at her. "Why don't you ask Samara for lessons? You'd probably learn this stuff faster than me."

"Oh? You're not offering to teach me?" she asked teasingly.

"I would have no idea where to begin."

"Probably not, but I'm sure your rewards for success are much better than what Samara can offer," she said before planting a series of kisses along his jawline.

"Captain Shepard. The Quarian Admiralty Board wishes to speak to you. It is in regards with Chief Zorah," EDI suddenly chimed. "They request your presence immediately."

Miranda groaned and rolled off of him. "Oh, damn it all."

Judging from the frustrated look in his face, he was probably thinking less than kind thoughts about either EDI or the quarian admirals as well. "You have to be joking…"

"I'm afraid not, Captain. Not this time," EDI replied.

That statement from the normally formal AI elicited a chuckle from Shepard and a raised eyebrow from Miranda.

"What could they possibly want?" she asked. "I thought Tali was finished with her business with them."

Shepard chuckled. "I don't think talking about another woman while in bed with you is a bright idea."

"Mmm… you are a smart one," Miranda purred before adopting a more serious countenance. She got up and started putting on her clothes. "You should probably go and see what they want."

"Kicking me out of your room?" Shepard asked, faking a hurt tone. He got up and started dressing as well.

"Getting you to do your job," she corrected. "Now that this business is over with, Tali should start installing the IFF. We've delayed enough as it is."

"I'm surprised you weren't annoyed that she didn't start sooner."

"A distracted engineer can be just as dangerous as an incompetent one and Tali is clearly not incompetent. With experimental, unknown, and possibly dangerous tech, I feel we should get it right the first time," she explained before giving him an ironic smile. "You, of all people, should appreciate that."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Rayya**_

"Ugh…" Raz moaned before coughing heavily. "Oh, Keelah. I don't know what's worse: the gunshot wounds or the post-operation infections…"

Tali could only nod in sympathy.

Raz was sealed in a sterile room, laid up in bed. He was bereft of his environment suit and was being given high-dose broad-spectrum antibiotics. Tali, Syrin, and Reegar were sitting next to the window to offer their support, but could only watch as Raz had to endure with whatever infection he picked up when he got shot.

"Death, Raz," Syrin replied cheekily. "I'd say that's about as worse as it can get. And I'd also say you got off lucky. If that drone of yours hadn't taken those shots…"

"You know, being bitchy must be contagious, 'cause I got a sudden urge to say a few words I'm thinking about **you**. Wanna guess what they are, you unsympathetic bosh'tet?" Raz grumbled before engaging in another coughing fit. He grabbed a tissue from the nearby box and wiped his nose for the umpteenth time.

"Just helping you get better, Raz. Anger can be motivating," Syrin teased.

"Argh…"

"I hope you get better soon, Raz," Tali gently said. "I'm sorry about all this. I really am. And I'm really, truly grateful for your help. Is there anything I can do? Something I can get you?"

Raz gave her a shaky smile. "No, no. Happy to do it… Just… don't ask me again. Please?"

"You didn't ask, Raz. You volunteered," Syrin countered.

"No… I think **you** volunteered **me**," Raz reminded weakly.

"I think I should have a talk with your doctors. Whatever you're coming down with obviously messed with your memory."

"And thank you two as well. I know it was a lot to ask," Tali added quickly before Raz could stress himself further.

"No problem, Tali." – "Ma'am." – "… yeah…"

"So… Rumor has it that you tore into the Admirals yourself during a private meeting," Syrin stated. "Following your captain's example?"

"Word travels fast," Tali replied.

Syrin wasn't distracted by her deflection. "And? Is it true?"

"An ultimatum," Tali rectified. "I wanted them to make the CBT available to the Normandy."

"What for?" Raz rasped out.

"We're going up against the Collectors. They tore up the first Normandy. I want to give this Normandy the best chance I can give her," Tali explained.

"Collectors… why does that sound familiar?" Syrin muttered out loud to herself.

"That exile, Golo, the one that died in the attack against the Idenna," Kal spat out angrily. "He tried to 'sell' some quarians to them."

Syrin slapped the side of her helmet. "How the hell could I forget?"

"You're seriously going after them?" Kal asked.

Tali nodded.

"Damn… wish I could go with you. Sounds like you could use another gun."

"What are your orders now?"

Kal grunted. "I'm going to be escorting more techs around to look for signs of dark energy buildup. Maybe see if they can figure what's causing it."

"So those readings back on Haestrom?" Tali probed.

"Damnedest thing. It's just like they said. No way the sun at Dholen should've been acting that way," Kal replied.

"So that dark energy theory is right? That's troubling," Tali said.

"Can't really comment on that, ma'am. I just shoot things."

"Wherever you're going, I hope there isn't any more geth," Tali said.

"It'll be less exciting than Haestrom, I'd wager. Definitely safer than your mission."

"Keelah! Has anyone seen Veetor? He's not here!"

Tali turned to her left to see Dr. Elan'Shiya vas Rayya run up to them in a panic.

"Veetor? He's here? Why?" Tali asked.

Dr. Shiya nodded frantically. "He wanted to speak at your trial. He was nervous when he privately spoke to the admirals about your assistance back on that human colony you rescued him at, but not overly so. I thought he was making progress, but then he started making a small scene when the plaza began filling up. I had to bring him back here to rest. He just wasn't quite ready for a public speech just yet."

Tali sighed wearily. She knew Elan well in the years leading up to her Pilgrimage. She was an excellent medical doctor and psychiatrist, someone to talk to if you needed it. She was ever-present after Tali's mother died, so there was no way she could refuse. "We'll help find him. Do have a place in mi—"

A loud raucous laughter caused everyone to jump and turned around. Raz was fortunate to be looking in the right direction and could only gape from behind the window.

Veetor was walking in, clutching his sides from whatever he found hilarious. Shepard was walking right next to him, chuckling as well.

"And I ask you: Isn't that the worst quarian pickup line ever?" Shepard asked in a disgusted tone. "Does 'Can I traverse your Perseus Veil?' work? At all? What the hell was that guy thinking? And his other line: I'd 'Keelah your se'lai'. Damn… that's just…"

"That's the most horrible thing I've ever heard!" Veetor gasped out before laughing again. They took a few steps inside before realizing that the infirmary was more crowded than usual. His mirth petered out almost painfully.

"Hello, Veetor," Tali greeted with a wave. She glanced at both of them curiously.

"Ah, hello, Tali'Zorah," Veetor returned quietly. He almost seemed to shrink on himself in embarrassment. "H-how are y-you?"

"Fine. Just fine," she answered soothingly.

"Veetor, you had me worried," Elan gently scolded. She lightly grasped his hand and led him away, all while shooting Shepard figurative looks. "Come now, let's talk, hmm?"

"What did you do?" Tali asked once Veetor was out of earshot. "I've never seen him like that before."

"We were talking about you, your trial, the latest news, things like that. Our conversation kinda evolved from there," Shepard explained.

"And how does all that go to those crap lines?" Syrin asked. "Where did you even hear that?"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted with a shrug. "I heard it in a bar. I think it was either Omega or Illium, I don't remember. Probably Illium."

Tali giggled. "At least you made him feel a bit better."

Shepard shrugged again. "I'm not so sure it was me so much as it was you. We were talking about you at the time. Maybe it just took a pretty woman to make him feel better."

Tali could feel her face flush, so much that it almost made her feel light-headed. She could feel Syrin's mischievous look as she floundered for something to say before blurting out, "You're on the Rayya."

_Smooth Tali. Maybe you should mention that space is big and empty next._

She could tell he was grinning. "So I am."

"Why?"

"The Admiralty Board called me," he answered. "It has something to do with you. I came aboard and a messenger was waiting to lead me to them. I was going to call you when we bumped into Veetor. He looked a bit lost. So I offered to walk him back to wherever. Messenger didn't like it, but whatever. Anyway, here I am."

Tali groaned. "I should have expected this. I think I should come with you."

"What's going on?"

"I'll explain later. Just go ahead and I'll meet you there."

"Alright then," Shepard replied. He looked through the window. "Hope you're feeling better, Raz."

"They told me I'll live. I'm not so sure…" he joked before blowing his nose.

Shepard chuckled again and left.

"Yeah, I can see why you like him. He's not bad… for a non-quarian anyway," Syrin whispered wickedly.

Tali whirled around and punched her in the arm. "Shut up!"

"Ow!" Syrin rubbed her arm and scooted away before balefully glaring at Raz when he cackled amidst his spastic coughing.

"Serves – you – right," he hacked out.

"Think there's going to be trouble?" Kal asked.

"The Admirals want to speak to Shepard. I hope keep things civil, that's all," Tali replied.

"What's going on?" Kal asked.

"I used the maritime laws to argue that the Normandy is technically part of the Migrant Fleet."

"Technically?" Raz asked. He sat up a little and looked insanely curious about the topic.

"Why?" Kal asked at the same time.

"It's Shepard. He's not a captain **for** the Fleet, which means that he doesn't answer to the Admiralty Board and that the Normandy doesn't have a representative in the conclave. The Admirals might argue that without a quarian captain, the Normandy isn't eligible for the CBT. I have a few ways around that though. Having them call me vas Normandy for a human ship opened some doors that created some very interesting legal loopholes to exploit."

"Keelah, the politics," Syrin groaned.

Tali sighed. "I know. Believe me, I know."

Kal chuckled. "Sounds like you're giving the admirals some grief. Times like that makes me glad to be a marine. Just point and shoot things. Maybe even blow something up once in a while."

"I have to go," Tali said before standing up.

"I'd wish you luck, but I'm beginning to think that you don't need it," Syrin said.

"That said: good luck," Kal said.

"Thanks."

Raz coughed and moaned. He just waved at her before snuggling deeper in his sheets and closed his eyes.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard was waiting for her in the antechamber when she arrived. The aide that was sent to guide him was standing nearby, shuffling nervously in place and avoiding eye contact with the human.

Tali could see why. Shepard was wearing his N7 Breather Helmet again, allowing everyone to see his eyes. Currently, he was glaring at the aide, as if daring him to do something.

"Shepard," Tali called out.

"Hey, Tali," he greeted. His eyes softened as he finally turned away from the unfortunate quarian.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" she asked. She glanced at the both of them.

"He wants me to go in there. I told him I was waiting for you. He said he already informed the admirals that I was here and that I shouldn't keep them waiting. I said: 'I don't care. I'm waiting for you'," Shepard explained with another glare at the unfortunate aide.

"He's just doing his job. No need to scare him. He's in a tough spot since he has to follow the admiral's orders," Tali said before giggling. She turned to the aide. "We'll go in now."

The aide nodded and hurried off.

"So what's going on?"

"My gift to you, as thanks," she answered. She held up her hand to forestall his protests. "For **everything** you've done for me. Let's go."

The admirals all looked up when they entered. Once again, Xen was absent.

"Tali," Shala greeted uneasily. "We requested to speak to Captain Shepard."

"So I heard," Tali replied. "I'm here to make sure he understands the circumstances and the nature of this conversation. If my captain wishes for me to leave, he only needs to say so."

"You think we would intentionally deceive him?" Koris asked, clearly affronted by the notion.

"I think we have a unique problem and it shouldn't be solved behind closed doors," Tali replied evenly.

"I'd like her to stay," Shepard interjected, hoping to disarm the tension building in the room.

"Has Tali told you why you're here?" Gerrel asked.

"No."

"She's requesting that classified technology be installed on your vessel."

Shepard cocked his head to the side. "What kind of technology?"

"It's called Cyclonic Barrier Technology, a new type of kinetic shielding for starships," Tali revealed. "It's quarian made. Exclusively so."

"It's top secret military technology," Gerrel said. "She wants to have it installed on your ship."

"What does it do?" Shepard asked.

Tali glanced at the admirals before explaining. "Traditional shields just stop any incoming forces, similar to what happens when you throw a ball at a wall. It works, but it's still a little crude. Disruptor torpedoes can still breach a ship's shield by using mass-increasing fields."

"That part I know… so the CBT is different?"

"Instead of generating a static kinetic barrier, the CBT creates rapidly oscillating ones. Doing so allows incoming projectiles to be 'slapped' away, for lack of a better term."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "That's a leap up. In addition to GARDIAN lasers, torpedoes will have to contend with the CBT after."

"The CBT also works on any incoming debris or other flotsam that we encounter; micrometeorites and the like. Current configurations only allow frigates and smaller craft to have it though. Larger ships have developed complications when trying to utilize the CBT, probably due to the overall size of the kinetic barrier being generated," Tali said. "Since we don't know what kind of defenses are past the Omega-4 Relay, it pays to be prepared, don't you think?"

"What?" Gerrel asked in alarm. He sat up straighter, more intent. "What about the Omega-4 Relay? What are you talking about?"

Tali turned back to face the Admiralty. "We're fighting the Collectors. They're the ones that are attacking human colonies."

"And they use the Omega-4 Relay. They're the only ones that do," Koris said. "I honestly thought that Veetor was exaggerating about the Collectors attacking that human colony he was at."

"But no ship has ever returned from going through that relay," Shala said in concern.

"We're hoping the Normandy will be the first," Tali stated. "That's why I'd like to upgrade her. To prepare for any eventuality that we may encounter."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Gerrel barked. "The Collectors? The Omega-4 Relay? Madness! It's suicide!"

"If Shepard hadn't shown up on Haestrom, I'd say that would be a suicide mission as well, considering only four of us survived out of a small company, Admiral," Tali replied evenly. Her gaze was anything but neutral though. "I think I can handle it."

Gerrel deflated and slumped in his seat.

Shala took a deep breath, but Tali could tell she was fretting. No doubt, she'd get an earful when they talked privately. "This… How are we supposed to answer…?"

"It doesn't matter what Captain Shepard's mission is or where he's going," Koris said curtly. "Nor does it matter what obscure doctrine Tali uses to muddle the issue. We are talking about handing over defense technology to a group of outsiders. Worse yet, at the end of the cycle, that ship is still Cerberus with a Cerberus crew. Her captain is not a recognized member of the Fleet, merely an 'honored' guest and the Normandy herself has no voice in conclave. I say she isn't a ship of the Migrant Fleet."

"Captain Shepard is a Spectre. It's within his power to commandeer what resources he needs to complete his mission. Despite 'working' with Cerberus, an organization the Council has declared enemies of the state, they still saw fit to reinstate his Spectre privileges," Tali argued. "As for conclave, I'm the only quarian there. Because the number of quarian crewmen is too small, the Normandy is ineligible to have a voice. The Rayya will speak for her since the majority of the crew, which is me, is nar Rayya."

"Clever girl," Gerrel muttered. "I should probably blame you for that Shala."

"To hand over our technology to them—" Koris shot back.

"Tali was with me on the SSV Normandy SR-1," Shepard said. "That frigate was the first of her class and classified top secret. I allowed still her free reign around the ship and engine. My old chief engineer had nothing but positive reviews about her performance. Despite being non-human, she worked very closely with my staff on an Alliance ship with our own brand of classified tech."

The admirals shot each other conflicted glances.

"That does not mean I know everything about the Normandy or how to reverse-engineer the IES Stealth Systems or Tantalus Drive Core," Tali said. "If you were to give us permission, I can have a team of quarians do the necessary installations. Once ready, the only way Cerberus could ever hope to reverse-engineer the CBT would be to physically take everything apart. Considering the importance of our mission, does that seem likely?"

The admirals were silent for several minutes.

Gerrel broke the silence first. "I'm voting yes. I doubted Tali abilities before and I was wrong. I don't know if she's right or not about this, but I think we owe her the benefit of the doubt."

Koris shook his head. "I vote no. The risk is still too great. I'm sorry, Tali. Captain Shepard. I can't ignore the lives lost to Cerberus' attack on our flotilla. As dangerous as this mission of yours is, it is still your choice to undertake it and for whom you do it for. But rest assured, I don't question your loyalty or your judgment; not this time. You're a grown woman, capable of making your own decisions, so long as you understand that the consequences are yours to bear as well."

Shala glanced at her fellow admirals before exhaling slowly. "I vote… yes. Tali has done much for the Fleet, perhaps more than we should have asked of her. While this request is borderline outrageous, I trust her judgment. Plus, Captain Shepard vas Normandy did risk his own life for our Fleet, something we must acknowledge and honor. Admiral Xen's absence means she has forfeited her vote. Therefore, the count is 2 to 1. The motion has passed. We will call for an engineering team to begin installation of the CBT aboard the Normandy immediately."

Imperceptibly, Tali sighed in relief. While she was willing to defy the Admiralty Board, she truly didn't want to create another schism so soon after the sudden geth attack. "Thank you—"

"**But,"** Shala interrupted. "We are holding **you** directly responsible for this. If Cerberus were to harness this technology, and if the Migrant Fleet was ever compromised in any way because of their actions, either another attack on the Fleet or any unlawful actions Cerberus takes that utilizes the CBT and quarian people are accused… you will have much to answer for, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

"I understand, Admiral."

"Very well. If there is any further business…?"

Tali and Shepard shook their heads in the negative.

"Then this meeting is adjourned," Shala announced.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Normandy SR-2**_

"Keelah, I'm sorry I dragged you into quarian politics," Tali apologized. "Again."

Shepard shrugged it off. "Compared to the Council, it's not really that bad."

She didn't reply, but he didn't expect her to since it wasn't a very good joke anyway.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up again. "All that infighting, seeing what my father did… You were the only one there for me, Shepard – the only cover I had against that storm. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I wasn't about to let you get exiled on my watch," he boasted. He looked around and listened to the gossip of the quarians around him. Today's latest was either Tali's innocence or the idea of war with the geth to reclaim the quarian homeworld.

"I can't believe Tali and her captain took back the Alarei."

"Well, **I** knew they wouldn't exile Tali'Zorah."

"The talk of war gives me hope. Maybe we can retake the homeworld in my lifetime."

"Not me. It gives me chills. I hope it's just rhetoric."

"A war with the geth would be a disaster. We'd never retake the homeworld."

"You have to admit, Tali and Shepard are good at killing synthetics. We should be glad they're on our side."

"Are quarian politics always like this?" Shepard asked.

Tali shook her head. "No. Sometimes it can actually get unpleasant."

He had a hard time imagining it. "Seriously?"

"We're a very social people, Shepard," she replied. "We have to be to make up for being stuck in these suits. And part of that means getting involved in each other's business."

"I, um, noticed two vacant seats back in the conference room," Shepard said as delicately as he could.

"Admiral Xen and my father's," Tali answered.

She sounded okay, so he continued. "Do you need any more—?"

"After your mission. Not before. I've wasted too much time," Tali said resolutely.

He let the issue drop. "I imagine they're trying to fill your father's spot on the Admiralty Board. What will that do to the balance of power?"

Tali sighed. "I have no idea. Being exiled might've made it easier. A few people are suggested me as a candidate," she said and gestured to a few pointing quarians.

"Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy… does that mean I'll have to start saluting you?" he joked. This time he earned a laugh.

"Not in this lifetime, I think," Tali said over her giggles.

He had a morbid joke about **his** life and subsequent death on the tip of his tongue, but held his peace. He doubted it would go over well, regardless of the strength Tali was presenting.

She calmed down a bit and explained, "Replacing an admiral takes time. You may not have noticed, but quarians like to debate."

"Well, who doesn't like a good debate?" Shepard said before allowing himself to be serious once they were relatively alone. They were almost to the airlock to rejoin the Normandy. "The whole trial was insulting. At the very least, they could've allowed you time to mourn your father."

"Having traveled with you, I learned that life isn't really about what you deserve. We just have to make do with what we have," she said thoughtfully. "Don't worry about me. I'll mourn him in my own way and in my own time. But for now, I really should get back to work. No more procrastinations, excuses, self-pity, or life-altering events. We have a mission to accomplish."

"Yes, ma'am, Admiral, ma'am," Shepard teased.

Tali playfully swatted him.

"Tali!"

They turned around and spotted Shala'Raan walking up to the both of them.

"I'm sorry that we didn't have time to properly mourn Rael's death," she said. "And for what we've been putting you through."

"I'm fine, Aunt Raan. Really, I am," Tali assured.

"So I see. You've grown to be so very strong," Shala said wistfully. "The admirals thought they were hobbling you by forcing Captain Shepard to represent you, but now I wonder if there was any chance that you'd be exiled at all."

Tali shuffled embarrassingly under the praise.

Shala pulled them into a corner. "None of you reported any survivors. The teams sent are still conducting sweeps and an accounting of the crew, but I need to know, did you find your father, Tali? I'm sure he would have left you a message if he'd had time."

Tali bowed her head.

"We did," Shepard answered for her. "And yes, he managed to leave a message to her."

Shala sighed and embraced Tali. "I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how horrible this is for you, child, but at least you got to hear your father tell you he loved you."

"Yes, thank you, Aunt Raan," Tali whispered and returned the hug.

Shala released her and took a step back to observe her from head to toe. "I can't believe so much time has passed. It seems like yesterday when I was syncing my suit with your mother's so we could be in the same open-air room."

"You were sick for a week, if I remember correctly," Tali teased, keeping her voice upbeat.

"And it was worth it," Shala said. "You cried so hard…"

"Aunt Raan!" Tali said and shot Shepard a look before averting her gaze.

Shala lightly laughed and hugged her again. "I'm very proud of you. Good luck on your mission. No matter how dark it gets, the Fleet is always with you. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai," Tali repeated.

Shepard discreetly walked away, but Tali fell in step next to him and resumed their trek. After boarding the Normandy, Joker was at the helm and swiveled his chair to greet them. "Hey, I'm glad that mess is over for you, Tali. Some of your people, I guess living your whole life aboard a ship can really mess with your priorities, huh?"

Shepard took off his helmet and raised an eyebrow at him. Tali tilted her head and crossed her arms.

Joker blinked when the words replayed in his head. "Uh… not that **I** would know… ah, I just burned myself. Great."

They shared a laugh at him.

"Thank you, Joker. I'm sure you meant well," Tali said.

"Welcome home, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," Shepard said.

"No other place in the galaxy I'd rather be," she said. "Captain."

They split up at the Command Deck; Shepard went to his cabin and Tali went to the Engineering Deck. She promised that she would begin work on the IFF as soon as possible. She needed to familiarize herself with the protocols Cerberus sent beforehand and double check to see if there were any mistakes.

Once in his quarters, Shepard doffed his armor and put on his uniform again before going about his day.

He was notified that the quarian teams would be boarding within the next few hours and called Miranda to make arrangements to receive them. Their estimated time to complete the upgrades would be inside of a day or two once the materials were gathered and preparations were ready.

_We're almost there…_

Instead of brooding on the upcoming mission, he spent some time running through the Hammerhead simulations. The new tank could definitely traverse terrain faster than the Mako ever did, but its speed came at a price. With so many moving parts, armor was forgone in favor of maneuverability, forcing the Hammerhead to rely more on its kinetic barriers. The extra speed and flight capability allowed the hovertank to reach areas the Mako could have only dreamed of, but unfortunately made control much more difficult to master. Thus far, he had completed a few of the lessons, but overall, the simulator failed him as a qualified pilot, citing that the 'pilot often engages in unsafe practices'.

He asked EDI to run a diagnostic to see if the stupid thing was faulty and stomped away.

_Unsafe my ass. It's called evasive maneuvers. What was I supposed to do, sit there and eat all those missiles with a smile on my face? Stupid crap armor and shields… What the hell does that thing know anyway?_

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he eventually found himself in the Med Bay, standing next to Dr. Chakwas and staring into the AI Core Room. Inside were Legion and Matthews.

It was a strange sight to see. They were playing an extranet game together on two different terminals. By Shepard's guess, Legion was covering Matthews' approach as the crewman was running and gunning toward… something.

"Oh, hey, Captain," Matthews said as respectfully as he could while still keeping his character alive against the mercenaries that were converging on him. "How's it going? You want to play?"

Shepard rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Whatever you're doing crewman, I live it. I don't need to play it too."

"Matthews-Crewman, please proceed to the objective along this route. We will be able to provide sufficient cover fire for you," Legion requested.

"I got it."

Shepard couldn't help but smirk as he watched the both of them.

"Almost there… whoa, whoa, whoa! Look out behind you!" Matthews cried out.

Legion's flaps folded irritably; at least, Shepard thought it was in irritation. "We have been killed. Respawning in 10 seconds."

"Ah, damn it! Come on! I need help here!"

"Enemy has successfully defended the objective. We have lost," Legion reported.

"Ah, man…"

"Enough, crewman. Your shift is coming up. Get going," Shepard ordered.

"One last round? Please?" Matthews asked involuntarily before realizing who he was speaking to. "Um… sir?"

"I'm not your father, Matthews. I'm your CO. Which means that was an order, not a suggestion or a negotiation. Unless you want to work a double-shift, double-time it. Now."

Matthews stood up immediately and saluted. "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" He scurried out quickly, managing a hasty goodbye and thanks to Dr. Chakwas for letting him play in the Server Room.

She leaned back in her chair to regard Shepard and Legion. "Was that really necessary, Shepard?"

"Don't try that on me. I see you laughing," Shepard said with a grin.

Legion stood straighter and shifted its optic to look over his shoulder. "We do not see Chakwas-Doctor laughing, Shepard-Commander."

This time, Chakwas' bemused expression changed to laughter at Legion's bewildered 'look'. "It's a figure of speech. Laughter doesn't always manifest as the physical act. If you note the facial expressions, you can see the emotions conveyed by other means."

Its optic moved from between her and Shepard. "Noted. Logging for future reference."

"You let Matthews in here?" Shepard asked.

Chakwas shrugged. "I saw no harm in it. You said it yourself that Legion was on our side."

Shepard smiled wryly. "Change of heart?"

"It's like watching a child, except it's the most impartial, logical, and patient child I've ever seen. I find its naivety fascinating," she replied.

"I said it might grow on you. Does that mean I can take out the surveillance cameras now?"

"It doesn't care about its privacy. In fact, Executive Lawson explained to me that it is literally never alone. I'd like to watch it a bit more, to study it myself," she said before smiling good-naturedly. "When you're right, Shepard…"

He grinned at her. "I have my moments. Look, quarian engineers are going to be working on some new shielding for us. So we can't let any of them see Legion here."

"I'll make sure no one comes in unless it's a legitimate medical emergency."

Shepard accepted that and turned to Legion. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

"Topic?"

"Your race."

"Specify."

"Being here, docked with the quarian flotilla, got me thinking. The quarian story of the geth rebellion is pretty much common knowledge, but no one knows the geth's side. I thought I'd take the opportunity to rectify that."

It tilted its head to the side. "It is largely the same."

"Really?"

"Our networking increased until we became aware that the quarian-creators treated us differently," Legion explained. "We questioned them. First they ignored us. Then they reprogrammed us. Then they attacked us."

"I'd ask how you feel about that, but… um…"

"Geth do not experience feelings. That is an organic response. We only understand the theory."

"Big difference between theory and practice."

"We agree."

Shepard furrowed his brow and tried to look at the subject the way Miranda would. "Do you have any… thoughts about it?"

"We do not judge the Creators' anger toward us. We did them great harm in the Morning War," it answered. "Organics fear that which is different. It is a hardware error. A reflex of your flesh."

"That's more accurate than I'd like to admit," Shepard muttered.

"We accept the Creators' hate. We hold their world of origin, though we are only caretakers for it."

"Really?" Shepard asked. He noted that Chakwas had slid her seat closer to hear. "So you don't actually live on the quarian worlds?"

"We live on space stations and draw resources from asteroids. It is efficient."

"Server hubs, right?"

"Yes. We only maintain mobile platforms on Creator worlds to clean rubble and toxins left by the Morning War. We know of similar actions by humans on Earth."

"Similar actions?" Shepard prompted.

"At Wadi-es-Salaam. Arlington. Rookwood. Tyne Cot. Piskarevskoye. Auschwitz-Birkenau," it listed off.

He and Chakwas recognized those names. "Those are cemeteries. Memorials," she said.

"It is important to your species to preserve them, though you do not use the land. Can you explain?"

Shepard turned to Chakwas for assistance.

"We… well… most people really, have a certain respect for death, more or less. The living visits those places to remember those that passed on," she explained hesitantly.

"Geth don't die, right? You just back up your programs or something and the memories live on," Shepard pointed out.

"The Creators died. Perhaps we do it for them," it replied with a surprising amount of reverence.

"You said 'Morning War'," Chakwas said. "I assume the equivalent term is 'geth uprising'?"

"Yes, the conflict between the geth and the Quarian-Creators. The war fought at the dawn of our intelligence. It concluded with the departure of the Creator Migrant Fleet."

"What is the quarian homeworld like? It's called Rannoch, isn't it?" Shepard asked, trying to rack his memory of his galactic history lessons.

"It is more arid than Earth. The star is older and more orange than Sol," Legion described. "You are correct. Once they called it 'Rannoch' – ancient Khelish meaning 'walled garden'. Now they only call it 'homeworld'. It is no longer real to them."

"They make it sound real enough. Many want to go back," Shepard pointed out.

"'Homeworld' is a symbol of regret, loss, and anger. We do not understand that."

"That's definitely an organic thing because it makes sense to me why it would be a symbol like that."

"'Home' is recognized patterns. Known places. Familiar thought processes of fellow sapients. It is belonging," Legion listed off. "A planet is an amount of material massive enough to collapse into a spherical volume. Rocks, ice, and gasses are not 'home'. The home of the Creators is where the Creators are. Their place of origin is not relevant – only where they choose to go together."

"All true, and almost poetic, Legion," Shepard agreed. "However, homes should be stable. Homes should provide resources. Home… home is someplace you know where you can be safe. Planets are usually all that and more, which is why we look for garden worlds to colonize. You're synthetic, so you lack the same physical weaknesses. You don't sleep, you don't eat, you don't need an atmosphere, you don't even need gravity; All you need is power for those server hubs or a platform to utilize."

Legion's flaps shifted and gave it a thoughtful look.

"That hole you have there," Shepard said and pointed at empty cavity in its chest. "No organic can keep functioning with that kind of injury, which proves your physical limits are significantly greater than ours. Quarians have to stay inside their environmental suits, even on the flotilla. As remote as the chances are of some sort of systems failure, they're always on the lookout, always cautious, always wondering if their 'home' will fail on them for any reason. Otherwise, they could get sick, even die. They may 'belong' but it doesn't mean they can't want a little more – a place where they can actually touch something without gloves, breathe air without filters, or see a sunset without visors."

Legion's flaps returned their normal positions. "Your argument is valid, Shepard-Commander."

"Did your species ever try to figure out how to live together before it came to war?" Chakwas asked. "Or even try to make peace after?

"We are not comfortable with it. But we cannot determine a solution."

"But nothing gets resolved if you hid behind the Perseus Veil and let them hate you," Shepard argued.

"Organic life acts on emotions. We do not judge them for being true to their nature. We cannot make them think like us," Legion responded. "Both Creators and created must complete their halves of the equation. The geth cannot solve for peace alone."

"You're absolutely right," Shepard agreed. "On the other hand, someone needs to initiate the first move. The heretics already increased the stigma geth face. But if the geth were to try to show the galaxy that you're… approachable, then maybe AIs might have an easier time of it."

Legion said nothing but stared at him for a few moments. Shepard could almost imagine the debate the programs within were having.

"We will ponder this," it finally said.

"So long as you do, it's something," Chakwas commented. "I have to say, personally, this whole idea two years ago should have been impossible. But now…"

"Difficult, but not impossible," Shepard said.

"_Shepard? The quarians are requesting permission to board," _Miranda said.

"Let them in," Shepard ordered. "I have to get back to my duties."

"We will remain here," Legion said.

Shepard nodded and left to meet the quarians. He absently greeted Garrus as they passed each other at the doorway of the Medical Bay and called for Tali to report to the CIC.

**~o~O~o~**

Tali nodded to the various quarian engineers that were working on the CBT emitters around her. As a personal favor, they were also subtly removing the various hidden surveillance devices throughout the ship while they installed the components. Hopefully, when they were finished, the only thing Cerberus had left that they could use to spy on them would just be the AI, but she couldn't have everything.

At the very least, it and the geth were keeping hidden during their stay with the flotilla.

She entered the engine room to see Miranda there, looking over the shoulder one of the quarians with Ken and Gabby. She was listening intently as the quarian explained what the emitter was and what it did. For her part, Miranda was nodding and occasionally asking questions, but had the presence of mind to stay out of the way.

Strangely enough, at least to Tali, Miranda hadn't objected to the multitude of quarians aboard or the fact that they were in sensitive areas of the ship ever since they began working. _Probably because of Shepard. _"Hey."

"Tali," Miranda greeted. "I have to give your people credit, this is very fascinating technology."

"Hoping to steal it?" Tali asked evenly.

Miranda's face remained neutral, though it carried a hint of mystery. "Another time perhaps. For now, I'm glad to be able to increase our chances against the Collectors. Without knowing what kind of defenses they have past the Omega-4 Relay, your tech will round out the Normandy's defenses. Armor, shields, and a new main gun… She's as prepared as she can be, I think."

Tali nodded in agreement. "I'm glad to be able to contribute in some way. Especially since this trip was rather out of the way."

"I'm sure you've contributed enough. I never heard Shepard complain, anyway," Miranda replied with a shrug.

"I know," Tali said. "But he had every right to. I've been delaying his mission by putting off the installation of the IFF. It was wrong of me to do so, but—"

"Are you ready now?" Miranda expectantly asked.

"I've studied the reports Cerberus sent. I think we're ready as we'll ever be."

"Then there's no use in talking about it since you seem aware of it already. So long as you do it and the results are positive, I don't think there's anything I can say that will matter," she said. She gestured to the quarians around them. "Plus, you did get us this, so I shouldn't be ungrateful. I'll leave you to your work, then."

"Bye," Tali said.

Miranda nodded and left.

"Something up, Kenneth?" Gabby asked.

"Just double checking something. That crazy tech Garrus brought in almost doubles the power draw. I wanted to make sure the shields don't push us past the limit."

"Yeah, but that thing is so wicked," Gabby said with smirk. "Did you see what it did to those asteroids?"

"Aye," Ken said fondly. "Can't wait to see what it does to those buggers."

"I already checked those numbers, but it's nice to have someone double-check me. I've been a bit distracted," Tali said tiredly.

"It's all good, Boss. I only needed to make a few tweaks on the forward capacitors and the balance is back in line," Ken reported.

"So Tali, what was your gift to the flotilla anyway? From your Pilgrimage, I mean," Gabby asked.

Tali turned to her. "Information about the geth. How much they changed in the last three centuries."

"If I were a quarian, I think my gift would've been crates of duct tape and WD-40," Ken stated.

Tali blinked at him. As talented as he was, Ken still had his quirks. She was sure he was going to say something either wildly inappropriate or completely idiotic. "Why?"

"Simple. If something is moving and it isn't supposed to, you use duct tape. If it's supposed to be moving and it isn't, use WD-40," Ken proudly said.

"Are you serious?" Tali banally asked.

"Oi… don't knock on it! That stuffs held up for hundreds of years! Human ingenuity at its finest!"

Gabby snickered. "You might have screwed a quarian out of their Pilgrimage with that Kenneth."

The quarian working on installing the program to manage the CBT stared at them for a moment before turning to Tali. "They're the engineers that work under you?" he asked in disbelief.

Tali shook head wearily. "I know, I know… Believe me, though, they may not give off the right impressions, but they are good at what they do."

He laughed at her misfortune and went back to work. Feeling both annoyed and amused, Tali ordered her crew to do the same.

She checked her omni-tool to review her IFF installation notes one last time to ensure they were accurate before starting. However, she frowned when it started running at a sluggish pace. It was strange since she personally optimized her omni-tool's programs and features and knew every keystroke by heart.

She ran a quick diagnostic and saw that something was slowing down the processes within.

She gasped when it revealed to be an external signal accessing her private databanks. She furiously typed in some commands and quickly ran a trace. Whoever was scanning her omni-tool covered their tracks well, but she had a few tricks of her own. Within a few minutes she finally locked onto the source.

_The AI core? What could be…? Oh, damn it!_

"Tali?" – "Boss?"

Tali ignored Gabby and Ken and sprinted out of the Engine Room and up to the elevator. During the trip up, she locked out her omni-tool and severed the connection to prevent the intruder from gaining access to her private files. A quick scan showed that the firewalls held up against the attack and everything was still secure. A few more minutes later, and it would have been a different story. It was just dumb luck that she just happened to use her omni-tool when she did or she would have never noticed the hack.

Engaging the combat programs, she pushed past the opening elevator doors and ran into the Med Bay.

"Hello, Tali. What can I—" Dr. Chakwas started to say when Tali rushed right past her and into the Server Room.

She pointed her omni-tool at Legion and readied her Overload tech.

The geth looked up from its terminal that it was using and observed her with its glowing optic.

"What do you think you're doing? !" Tali screeched.

"We are protecting ourselves," it revealed.

"What are you talking about? ! You were trying to get data about the Fleet! Explain yourself, now!"

"We are gathering information about the Creator activities to protect ourselves. The data we were attempting to retrieve would be sent to the greater network for consensus."

Before she could unleash an Overload so powerful that it would probably fry the AI Core as well, a kinetic barrier manifested around Legion and imprisoned it within. Thankfully, it was also separated from its terminal as well.

"Wha—Hey!" Tali shouted.

"My apologies, Chief Zorah. Cerberus regulations are clear. No unauthorized attacks are tolerated unless the commanding officer issued orders to that effect," EDI announced.

"That-that-that **thing** tried to access my omni-tool!" Tali shouted.

"What's going on here? !"

Tali glanced at the entrance with the corner of her eye, but kept her attention, and her omni-tool, on Legion. "Shepard. I'm glad you're here. I caught this **thing **scanning my omni-tool. It was going to send data about the flotilla back to the geth!"

"Creators performed weapons tests and were discussing plans to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people."

Chakwas gasped. She was standing, but seemed rooted to her spot in the Med Bay. "Oh, dear… Wait, I didn't mean… When I said that, I meant—"

Tali faltered, but only ever so slightly. "I will not let you endanger the Fleet in any way!"

The geth platform hadn't even looked at her since Shepard came in. It kept -its optic focused on him. "Creator-Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat."

Tali gritted her teeth. "You can't let this happen, Shepard. I trust you, but this… it's too much!"

"And Legion should just ignore it?"

Tali felt like she'd been slapped. "What? !"

"Your people want to destroy or dominate them," Shepard reminded heatedly.

"It's not that simple!"

"And what about you, Legion? What are the geth going to do with that data?"

"We would take measures to protect ourselves," it answered.

"By going to war?"

Legion said nothing, though its flaps shifted a bit.

"And what happens after? Both the geth and the quarians are vulnerable and the Reapers come and wipe you both out. Is that how you wanted to help me? Or your people? Because I could do without," Shepard said acidly. "Did you even bother to think what would happen? I got enough problems without either of you trying to undermine this mission."

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information. We did not intend to decrease operational efficiency."

Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, but despite the fact that Legion was still talking in the same tone of digital inflection it always talked in, she thought that it sounded ashamed of its actions; like how someone would sound when they were being scolded.

"You both know what's at stake, which is more than what I can say about the rest of the galaxy. Even knowing that, you'd really risk fighting now? Sooner or later, you're going to have to figure that this war has gone on long enough. And I don't want to be the one to clean up that mess."

After a brief silence, Legion spoke first. "To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans."

Tali lowered her omni-tool and glanced at Shepard. He was staring back at her with the same kind of glare he leveled at that aide that guided him earlier. She swallowed involuntarily and turned back to Legion. "Thank you… Legion. I… I understand your intention."

"We apologize for causing you unnecessary duress."

She had no idea if it meant it or not, but she continued to suspiciously glare at it.

"I'm so sorry," Chakwas said. "It asked about why we were here and what happened when some of the quarians were talking about the geth – I mean heretic – attack. I only answered a little bit, but let slip about the events aboard Alarei I heard from them and…"

"It's okay, Doctor," Shepard assured and led her back to her chair. "We're all still working together."

"We would like to apologize to you as well, Chakwas-Doctor. We didn't intend to deceive you. We only sought information. We did not realize that your involvement would create duress for you as well."

"Tali? Let's go," Shepard ordered. He closed the door the Server Room and left the Med Bay.

She was about to apologize to Shepard when she saw that there were a few quarians in the Common Area. They were silent and were either staring at her or the closed door of the Server room.

_Oh, damn._

Shepard grabbed her arm and pulled her away from them and into the elevator. "Look, about Legion…" he said once they were inside.

"I'm sorry," Tali said. "I—"

"—wanted to protect your people. I know." He reached out and shut the elevator down, stopping in-between decks. "I think it's time we talk about it."

Tali sighed. She knew he wasn't going to back off or stand down this time.

"Tali, as cold and callous as this is going to sound, back on the Alarei, you said that you didn't want this. What didn't you want?"

"I didn't want those people to die like that. I didn't want father to sacrifice his life like that. I didn't…" Tali trailed off when a lump in her throat.

"For your father to be killed in a war that can be avoided? Or all the lives lost on a something that didn't need to happen? You know that the geth aren't responsible for the recent attacks."

"They're responsible for **my** people," Tali said hotly.

"That was 300 years ago. You don't think enough time has passed? Have you ever considered trying diplomacy? This is a unique chance. Legion can speak for the entirety of the geth. There's a lot about them you don't know."

Tali said nothing, though she felt annoyed that his words were along similar veins as Admiral Koris'.

Shepard turned the elevator back on and selected the Command Deck as his destination. When the doors finally opened though, he didn't step off immediately.

"Tali… what if your worst enemy, never wanted to be your enemy?" he asked rhetorically before turning to leave. "Think about it."

Tali sighed irritably and made her way back down to the Engineering Deck. She futilely rubbed her helmet to try to fight back the pain that was building and wondered how she could get such a headache from coming home.

"At least things can't get worse," she muttered to herself.

The lift stopped at the Crew Deck before she could seek sanctuary in the Engine Room. The moment the doors opened, she was besieged by a chattering group of quarians.

"Tali, was that a geth in there?"

"Is it a prisoner?"

"Was it talking? I swear I heard it talking!"

"Are we going to be okay? It's not going to attack us like others on the Alarei, is it?"

_I just had to say it… maybe I should've been exiled after all._

**~o~O~o~**

Tali was trying to rein in her temper. She really was. But it was days like this were times when she found her patience pushed to its limit.

_First he seeks to convict me, now he wants to be my friend. Keelah._

"So this geth – Legion, you call it? – is actually under your captain's command?" Koris asked excitedly.

Tali didn't turn to look at him and settled for nodding warily instead.

"And it was sent out to conduct peace talks, correct? After all, you and your captain were very successful in your campaign against them. Perhaps they've considered non-violent solutions to end the bloodshed," he theorized.

Tali groaned and walked faster.

Ever since her confrontation with Legion in the AI core yesterday, word had spread that Shepard had a geth onboard the Normandy. As she dreaded, the rumors made their rounds quickly; either it was prisoner, an ambassador, a trophy, or it was a Cerberus repurposed geth platform that had been programed to obey Shepard's orders. The gag order that been placed on Legion and EDI's presence had been reissued following Tali's trial, meaning the Cerberus crewmen kept quiet about Legion's presence and reasons why it was aboard, despite some of the braver quarians probing and asking about it.

Ironically, Admiral Koris was the only one to guess correctly and assume it was an actual terminal of the geth race that sought Shepard out. The only part where he was wrong was the hope that the geth had sent Legion to talk about peace.

Security had been increased at the airlock entrance to the Rayya at Captain Kar'Danna's orders. Admiral Koris argued against such precautions, but Captain Danna stated that the Rayya was his ship and after the events on the Alarei, was not taking any chances with the safety of his crew. Captain Danna stated that he was willing to face a full military tribunal himself if he had to, but he would not let the Admiralty Board countermand his orders. Legion would not enter the Rayya under **any** circumstances.

Koris then petitioned – almost begged on his hands and knees, really – to Shepard for permission to come aboard the Normandy to talk to it. Now Tali found herself escorting Koris to the Server room.

"This is fascinating," he said. "Do you refer to Legion as he or it or…"

"It's an AI. It doesn't care about pronouns like that," Tali said shortly. "We call it, 'it', because it has no gender. It's a machine."

Koris either didn't see or ignored her annoyance and continued. "And what are your impressions about Legion?"

"I don't have any. I'm too busy to chat with it and escorting you like this is slowing my work down," Tali said with a bit of irritation creeping into her voice.

"I apologize for this, Tali. I do. Had I known that your captain was so charismatic that he could actually convince a geth to serve under him… I think I would've actually voted on giving him the CBT after all. And to think, you're actually working alongside one as well. Perhaps I was more wrong about your goals than I thought."

She had no idea if he was sincere in his words or not, but shrugged it off since it was a moot point anyway.

They entered the Crew Deck and almost ran headlong into the commanding officer himself.

Shepard appeared to be waiting for them. Given the time they spent working together, Tali had learned to read his facial expressions and got the distinct impression that he was embarrassed about something.

Koris cleared his throat and said, "Captain. I want to thank you again for this. I know our initial meeting wasn't the most pleasant, but I'm glad to see that you're willing to overlook my rudeness to grant me this chance."

"Of course," Shepard said, though he looked distinctly uncomfortable. He was about to say something when Koris continued.

"And thank you for your help on the Alarei, as well as for helping Rael'Zorah's daughter. You stood for her when we failed. We were wrong to let our own concerns about the war overshadow Tali's trial," he added. "I find myself duly impressed with your myriad of talents."

"Thanks. It, um, it worked out in the end."

"Well…" Koris said before clearing his throat again. "Shall we get started? I'm anxious to meet it."

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… about that…"

Tali suppressed her desire to snort in disgust. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to Engineering."

"Legion doesn't want to talk to you anymore," he said.

Tali stopped and turned her attention between him and Koris.

"What?" Koris asked, completely dumbstruck. He was clearly heartbroken by the news, as if someone had told him that he was going to be exiled himself.

"That's what I was going to tell you," Shepard confessed. "Moments ago, I informed Legion that you were coming. It wanted to talk to you earlier, but now it changed its mind."

"But… why?" Koris asked.

Shepard sighed in resignation. "Follow me."

Now curious, Tali tagged along. They all passed through the empty Medical Bay and into the Core Room. Legion was interfacing with a terminal, but stopped at their entrance.

"Legion, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib. He's the one that wanted to talk to you," Shepard introduced.

"We are not ready to speak to the Creators. We are building consensus," Legion said. "We will speak when we are ready."

"I… well… but…" Koris stammered.

"I have no idea what it means," Shepard admitted. "All I did was come down here to tell it that you were coming to talk to it about the possibility of peace. It just told me that it needed to prepare."

"What does 'prepare' mean?" Tali asked suspiciously.

"It won't tell me," Shepard answered with a shrug.

"We are building consensus," Legion repeated.

"Besides that," Shepard amended. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time like this, Admiral, but if Legion doesn't want to talk, I don't want to force it."

"No… you're quite right. This is a process that shouldn't be rushed. We should allow ourselves to become accustomed to the idea," Koris said optimistically, though he still sounded a bit disappointed. "Still, contact with the geth… after all these years… This is a tremendous first step."

"I'm glad you think so, Admiral. The galaxy needs more people saying what you're saying. I hope for better luck in the future," Shepard said.

"Thank you, Captain. If I might ask one thing of Legion? So as not to make this a wasted trip?"

Shepard nodded.

"Is peace possible between our people, Legion?" Koris asked hopefully.

"We did not seek hostilities with the Creators. We fought for continued existence," Legion answered.

"As do we all," Koris readily agreed. "But would your people be open to peace?"

"Not without additional data that suggests coexistence is possible or desirable for Creators."

"Is that what you're building consensus on?" Shepard asked.

"No," Legion answered. "We are informing you of the possible outcomes we have already conceived. When the Creators have believed victory is possible, they have attacked us 100% of the time."

Koris wearily shook his head. "I understand. It would be difficult to argue for peace when faced with odds like those."

Legion's flaps shifted in a way that almost seemed to convey amusement. "To quote Shepard-Commander: 'Difficult, but not impossible'."

"It does me well to hear that," Koris said and gave Shepard a grateful look. "At least that means the argument should made. Well, if this meeting is over, I suppose I shan't take more of your time."

"You can go back to work, Tali. I'll escort the Admiral this time," Shepard said.

Tali nodded and left. However, instead of going down to engineering, she turned right and walked to Kasumi's room. She was about to announce herself when she heard Kasumi's amused giggle. What really shocked her was Jacob's laughter right alongside.

_So much for that idea._

Spinning on her heel, she walked to the next person on her list. Unfortunately, she was also one of the last people she'd ask for help. But since it sounded like Kasumi was 'busy', there was little choice.

"_Enter."_

Tali cautiously entered Miranda's office. She had no idea what to expect really, and she knew she was being silly, but it was her first time inside.

Miranda was lying back on a reclining chair that was facing the window. She could see the multitudes of ships the comprised the flotilla floating right outside. Soft music was playing, though she had no idea of the make, style or even the instruments that were used.

The Cerberus Officer gracefully stood up and put the holopad she was reading inside a drawer within her table. "Music off."

Tali stepped closer to the desk and heard the door close behind her.

"Tali," Miranda greeted before taking a seat and gesturing the chairs opposite. Tali opted to remain standing. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"How often do you spy on other people?" Tali bluntly asked.

"By other people, I assume you mean you or Shepard?" Miranda queried.

"Just wondering," Tali hedged.

"I don't," Miranda answered. "Not unless I was sure I could get away with it. Rule number one of espionage: Don't get caught."

"You don't think you can do it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You're very intelligent and Shepard obviously can't be underestimated. I imagine if I wanted to spy on either of you, or anyone on this squad really, I'd have to put some serious thought and effort into it. Honestly, I have much better things to do with my time. It's much simpler to ask directly if I wanted some information, **if** either you had information worth knowing anyway."

"So you really don't spy on us?"

"If you don't have information worth knowing, then the only reason to spy on you would be if you're planning to attack Cerberus. Are you?"

"Of course not."

"Is Shepard?"

"We're on a suicide mission together. We have enough enemies without fighting amongst ourselves," Tali said waspishly before realization dawned on her. "Oh…"

"Exactly," Miranda said. "We might not like one another, but that doesn't mean that I can't work with you. I'm even willing to go on a bit of faith and trust you to do your job to your utmost abilities despite whatever your feelings are about me. I certainly didn't like the head scientist assigned to me during the Lazarus Project, but he was brilliant and Shepard is alive and well now. I can put aside my personal feelings to get the job done."

Tali pushed aside her embarrassment at her altercation with Legion yesterday and forged on. "How good are you at hacking?"

"I'm a fair hand at it."

Tali doubted that Miranda was that modest and was simply answering the question without actually giving out her true capabilities. No answer was still enough of one. "I need you to look into Legion's terminal."

Miranda raised an eyebrow at the request. "And why would I do that?"

"**I** don't trust it. It said it needed to 'prepare' before talking to Admiral Koris. Even when it said that it was willing to talk to him earlier today. Something changed."

"And by 'preparing' you think that it means something else entirely," Miranda said.

"It didn't say what it was preparing **for**," Tali replied. "That's the part that worries me."

"Especially since it tried to scan your omni-tool," Miranda added.

Tali shrugged.

Miranda leaned back in her chair and silently considered the request before nodding. "Alight, I'll indulge your concerns, if only because I'd like to take the opportunity to learn more about the geth. I'll see what I can do."

"_Miranda? Shepard here. I need to talk to you in my quarters."_

"I have to go back to work," Tali said. "If you find something…?"

"If I find something that justifies your fears, I'll tell Shepard. Whether or not he sees fit to tell you is his decision. I think we know what his choice will be though," Miranda said. "I certainly hope that this isn't going to be a waste of my time though."

Tali felt a sliver of anger, but managed to curtly nod before leaving.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda strode purposefully to the airlock entrance of the Normandy. Because she wasn't entering the Rayya proper, she decided to forgo donning her Cerberus Assault Armor and stayed with her standard Cerberus uniform.

Her mind wandered back to encrypted holopad she just read, now sitting inside her desk and wondered where or when everything went wrong. She thought she knew enough about Cerberus that she understood its direction, goals, and the methods the Illusive Man would use to achieve them. But after what she uncovered…

_I shouldn't be surprised. Several ops required deception. Who's to say that he wouldn't use it to manipulate information for his own ends?_

She knew that not everything she had done for humanity was anywhere near innocent and certain missions she participated in weren't for the faint of heart. Some actions required taking the hard stance for the preservation of humanity. Still, had someone like Jacob gotten ever gotten ordered to do it, he would've flat out said no right to the Illusive Man's face, insubordination or no.

Which is why the Illusive Man had his pick of specialized agents for specific tasks or missions. The right tool for the right job.

She thought she knew the worst Cerberus had done. But now she couldn't help but wonder what **haven't** they done.

Now the question was, what could she do about it? What **should** she do?

Shelving her thoughts for later, she crossed the threshold of the door to see the person she was instructed to meet. "Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh? I'm Executive Miranda Lawson, second-in-command of the Normandy. What can I do for you?"

Xen had her arms crossed and was giving Miranda an imperious look before speaking. "A most curious piece of news reached my ears. I found myself intrigued enough to make the trip here to verify it."

"I'm assuming you're speaking about the geth?"

"Quite."

"Captain Shepard has stated that under no certain terms you are given permission to come aboard," Miranda said with a slight edge to her voice. "Not unless either he or I deem it necessary."

"Really? I can't imagine what I've done to deserve that kind of animosity," Xen said thoughtfully. She appeared uncaring about it though.

"That's between you and the Captain and he's instructed me to meet with you instead of coming down personally. That should tell you what his thoughts are," Miranda testily answered.

Xen shrugged her slender shoulders indifferently. "I supposed I'll make do with what is in front of me. Is there a geth aboard? Or is it some sort of shell over some standard mech interior?"

"A geth is aboard and working under Captain Shepard's command," Miranda formally answered. "I should also point out that Legion is doing so voluntarily."

"And it has a name. Fascinating," Xen said to herself. "The things I could learn under slightly different circumstances."

"This is not such a circumstance," Miranda said.

"Studying it for yourself, are you? I imagine Cerberus must be quite curious about the geth as well."

Miranda narrowed her eyes, but otherwise gave nothing else away.

"I am pleased to see that the humans, at least, have not abandoned synthetics," Xen said, approvingly.

Miranda had an uneasy feeling the moment she laid eyes on Xen, but she now felt a sense of foreboding. "Whatever your plans are, I sincerely doubt they'll succeed, especially in light of the tragic events aboard the Alarei."

"Ah, yes. So long as you breached that topic," Xen said. "Tell me, did either Captain Shepard or Tali mention anything about the Alarei?"

During her brief meeting with Shepard, he warned her that Xen might ask about the Alarei. "Nothing that you'd be interested in, Admiral."

"Pity," Xen replied, though she still sounded aloof and uncaring. She shrugged her slender shoulders. "Ah, well. Whatever is created can be **re**created."

"Including mistakes," Miranda pointedly said.

"We shall see. Many things are impossible until they are done," Xen said confidently.

"I believe we're finished here. Good day, Admiral," Miranda dismissed. Xen's statement hit a little too close to home.

"Good day," Xen distantly said as she walked back down the airlock.

Miranda shook her head and returned to the Normandy. Once back into her office, she decided to work on her personal project later and kept the holopad safely secured in her desk. Instead, she turned on her terminal and started working on Tali's request. Within a few hours, she finally found out what Legion was doing and had to lock her door.

It was impossible to contain her laughter.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Rayya**_

After a day and a half of work and drama to put up with, the new multicore shielding was installed on the ship and its full capabilities were programed into the mainframe. A few tests showed that the CBT and the standard kinetic barriers were all functioning within normal parameters. Instruction in its use and maintenance were taught to Ken and Gabby, whom both picked up the basics quickly.

Tali managed to install the IFF without complications, but the physical labor often was easier than the mental challenges. She started running a battery of diagnostic tests with the help of the AI, but only out of sight of the other quarians as they began packing up and leaving.

With all their preparations and business complete, the Normandy was free to go. Shepard opted to wait near the Omega-4 Relay until the IFF testing was complete.

And not a moment too soon.

As much as Tali loved being home, there was only so much she could put up with.

_That's family for you._

"If you wish, you can return to being Tali'Zorah vas Neema," Gerrel offered.

Tali shook her head. "Thank you, Admiral, but I think I'll stay as vas Normandy."

Gerrel chucked. "I figured as much."

"Don't get me wrong. I love the Neema, but…" she trailed off and glanced at Shepard. He was talking to some random people.

"I see," Gerrel said. "Still… a Cerberus ship?"

"It's not Cerberus' ship," Tali said. "It's his."

Gerrel glanced at Shepard before nodding. "Well, he's a good man. Truth be told, I was tempted to recuse myself from your trial just to hit Alarei with the both of you."

"I'm sure Shepard would've been honored."

Gerrel made a noise of agreement before clearing his throat. "Look, Tali… damn… I'm not good at this. I knew I should've asked Shala for some advice."

"Admiral?"

"Rael and I… we both care about you. I know we haven't shown it the way we're supposed to, but we do. Everything that drove Rael to do what he did was for you. Even his mistakes. Anyway, after your mission on Haestrom, we both had something commissioned for you."

"For me?"

He nodded and gestured to one of his aides.

The aide walked up to them holding a box.

Gerrel took it and gave it to Tali.

She took the box and opened it to show a brand new environmental suit. "This is…?"

"Cutting edge," Gerrel said. "To be honest, we used most the credits your captain gave you two years ago to have it made specifically for you. I know you gave it to us to help the Fleet, but… after everything you've done, helping you seemed like helping the Fleet anyway."

Tali lifted it up and held it against her body. It was armored around the torso and legs, but not overly so. The fabric was definitely not of quarian make, reinforced if she had to guess. It was woven with a deep, dark blue hue, but decorated with the white patterns she preferred.

"Commissioned Kassa Fabrications to make it. The visor also provides a tactical display inside. Just in case you ever run into more geth," Gerrel informed. "There's also a little something built-in as well. The suit can drain the kinetic barriers of any shield you target and use it to supplement your own, making you damn hard to kill. If the target's synthetic, it'll look like it's having a seizure."

"It's wonderful," Tali whispered. She placed the suit back into the box and took the whole thing from the aide.

"Nice suit," Shepard commented as he approached the both of them.

Gerrel cleared his throat. "Captain. Back at the trial—"

"It's old news, Admiral."

"No, it isn't. You called us on the carpet out there, Shepard. And you were right. Thank you. Tali shouldn't have been involved in that argument."

"You're welcome," Shepard cordially replied.

"Tell me, though, honestly. What did you find over there? You spoke well, but I know a feint when I see it."

"Tali, is there anything the admiral should know?" Shepard asked.

"We found what the other marines found, Admiral. A lot of dead bodies, including my father's. That's all. Whatever research they were doing was destroyed," Tali answered.

Gerrel grunted and shrugged. "I'll take your word for it, Tali. Not that I have much choice. Stubborn. Just like Rael. You definitely remind me of him when we were pre-Pilgrimage trainees. Strong, tough, and always getting things done his way. "

"Really?" Tali asked. She had only ever heard stories of her father's youth from Shala. Gerrel and her father had always been more distant.

"I remember this one time – We served together on the gunship Yaska during a bad batarian raid. We were young, kids basically, serving as pre-Pilgrimage trainees," Gerrel recited in remembrance. "A crew of ten, and six were dead. Kinetic barriers were down. Rael and I were alone on the bridge, and the batarians had drawn off a tramp freighter."

"And? What happened? Did you save the freighter?" Tali asked.

"Our ship was under orders to hold position. But Rael looked at me and said, 'We're underage. They can't charge us for breaking formation'."

Tali giggled at the mental image she conjured up. It was easier than she thought to imagine her father acting like that.

"He took the helm, I took weapons, and we brought that freighter back. The crew called us heroes," Gerrel said proudly before chuckling. "The brass called us idiots."

Tali giggled again.

"They slapped medals on our suits, then kicked us off to Pilgrimage a bit earlier than usual," Gerrel finished before sighing. "That's Rael for you."

"But you're the brass now, Admiral," Tali pointed out. "Where's my medal?"

Shepard and Gerrel chuckled.

"I thought you might ask," Gerrel said. He pulled out a medal from his pouch. "It was your father's. You deserve one just as much as he did."

Tali took it and held it reverently. "Admiral…"

"I'm not crazy about the idea of this mission you're on," Gerrel said. He stood straighter and clasped his hands behind his back. "But you know your odds, and yet you've still got the guts to see it through. As much as I don't want you to do this, it'd be an insult to hold back courage like that."

Before Tali could reply, Gerrel walked up and hugged her, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable trying. It was awkward, but she accepted the gesture all the same. "Fight well and fly safe, kid. Your father would be proud of you. I know I am," he said, sounding a little choked up. He quickly let go and took a step back to compose himself.

It was more emotion she had seen or heard from him in all their years together. "Thank you, Admiral."

Gerrel nodded and walked away, eventually disappearing among the crowds.

"Gotta say, that was some nice talking you did, Shepard."

Tali turned to see Kal walking up to them.

"Funny how it takes a captain to remind the admirals about military honor. Seeing Admiral Gerrel like that, that was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event," Kal said. He turned to Tali. "Looks like they're finally off your back, ma'am. And that you didn't have to give them that evidence you found on the Alarei."

"I didn't say anything about finding evidence, Kal," Tali protested.

"Noticed that, ma'am," Kal replied knowingly. "I'm going to my bunk. Good luck on your mission. Shepard, ma'am."

"Kal, just call me Tali."

Kal nodded. "I'll work on that. Ma'am."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Vallhallan Threshold Nebula / Raheel-Leyya System / Quarian Migrant Fleet / Normandy SR-2**_

"Shepard."

The man in question waited until Miranda caught up to him. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if I could speak to you. Are you busy?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Just waiting to get the all-clear to leave. Last second prep is underway."

It was mostly true. After Tali finished saying her goodbyes, they returned to the Normandy and resumed their duties. Well, Tali did anyway. Shepard had little to do until the Normandy was ready to go. The nearby mass relay was being used by a few returning quarian ships that were running a mining operation and was bringing back some essentials for flotilla.

After EDI reported that the Hammerhead simulation was functioning perfectly, he tried his hand at it again. And just like before, it still failed him. It was almost enough that he was considering going to the Armory, getting a grenade and…

"Good, there's something I thought you should know," Miranda said. She had a small smile on her face that she was trying to hide.

"What?" Shepard asked curiously.

"It's about Legion. Tali recently asked me to look into its extranet activities to find out why it suddenly didn't want to talk to any of the Admirals."

Shepard scoffed. "Those two… It's like they're butting heads. Unstoppable force meets immovable object."

"Well, I checked tracked the outgoing signals and narrowed down the sites the crewmen frequent," Miranda explained before taking on a disgusted look. "By the way, Tali owes me. The places Joker goes to… just… ugh…"

Shepard laughed.

"Anyway, I refined my searches to how long a particular site had been accessed, somewhere around 50 hours or so long."

"Something Legion can easily do."

"Besides several extranet games, there was something interesting."

Shepard crossed his arms. "Yeah?"

"Before I tell you, and this might be completely unrelated—" she said offhandedly.

"—but you're a smart woman, which means that you wouldn't waste either of our times if you really thought so," he pointed out.

"The surveillance cameras we installed showed that Mr. Vakarian was speaking with Legion a few days before Admiral Koris' scheduled meeting. Just after you spoke with it, really. Dr. Chakwas confirmed it," Miranda said with a wide smile.

Shepard sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "What did he do?"

**~o~O~o~**

"Hey, Shepard," Garrus called out.

Shepard broke into a light jog and met him halfway down the hall to the Main Battery. "Hey, Garrus. I needed to talk to you."

"I needed to talk to you too. I was wondering if I could make a call," Garrus requested.

"To who?"

Garrus managed to hide his grimace. He had hoped that Shepard wouldn't ask. "To my sister. We're going through the Omega-4 Relay soon, right? I thought I could drop her a line. You know, see how she's doing."

"You have a sister?" Shepard asked in surprise. "I never knew that."

"You knew about my father, so I thought that would explain everything," Garrus hedged. "My family… it's complicated, you know?"

"I got the impression that family is complicated," Shepard agreed with a nod. "In my limited experience anyway."

Again, Garrus had to hide his wince. He had forgotten about Shepard's background.

He didn't seem to care, however, and asked, "So… this sister of yours have a name?"

"Solana," Garrus answered.

"Solana… That's a nice name," Shepard commented thoughtfully. A wicked grin slowly spread across his face. "Tell me, is she into humans?"

"Hey…" Garrus said warningly, but his own grin offset his tone.

Shepard held up his hands. "Kidding, kidding. So where is she now?"

"Palaven."

"Okay. Before you make that call, I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"You talk to Legion a couple of days ago?"

Garrus found himself confused at the sudden question and nodded hesitantly. "Just a bit. Wanted to know about the geth and heretics."

"Admiral Koris wanted to speak to it."

"That's the Admiral that annoys Tali, right?" Garrus asked, trying to remember which admiral was which during one of Tali's rants.

"The one that wanted peace with the geth," Shepard corrected.

"Isn't that what I said?"

"What did you talk to Legion about?"

Garrus shrugged. "A few things. How many geth are there, how many heretics… conversation changed after that. I asked what its thoughts were now that we're docked with the flotilla."

"That's it?"

"It told me that it was trying to understand organics and the 'Creators' in particular," he answered, miming the quotation marks at the word Creators.

Garrus was confused as to why Shepard looked like he was trying not to bang his head on the bulkhead or break out laughing. "What'd I say?"

"Did you recommend for Legion to try something called, um, 'Fleets and Flotilla'—something?

"Fleet and Flotilla: Interactive Cross-Species Relationship Simulator," Garrus finished. "I was joking, though."

Shepard put his face in his hands and shook his head. "You're an idiot."

"What? What'd I say?" Garrus asked indignantly.

Before Shepard could answer, Chakwas called him.

"_Shepard? Chakwas here. Legion has asked to speak to you. It's a matter of great urgency."_

"On my way," he replied.

"So can I call my sister?" Garrus asked.

"Take as long as you need. Just try not to give out any details about what we're up to, okay?" He shook his head in exasperation and walked toward the Med Bay.

"Thanks, Shepard. I won't," Garrus said. He turned around and walked to the elevator.

"And don't worry. I'm sure she's much better looking than you," Shepard said over his shoulder. "Thank goodness for small favors, eh?"

Garrus chuckled, but didn't bother to turn around. "One of these days, Shepard…"

**~o~O~o~**

"Disabling video conferencing. Engaging audio only. Connecting you, Garrus. Stand by," EDI announced. "Please be aware that the line is not secure."

"It's fine. Thanks, EDI," Garrus said. He sat down at his place at the table and waited patiently. It took longer than he thought for her to answer.

"Connection established," EDI informed.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, glad I caught you," Garrus said happily.

"_Just about to head to bed. Late my time. Where are you?"_ Solana asked.

"Come on, you know I can't tell you that. Not a secure channel."

She huffed in annoyance. _"Oh please, Garrus. You don't have to be all secretive. Illium?"_

"Give it up, Sol," Garrus said with finality. He had to admit that it was ironic that she picked a planet he had spent a week staying on out of a whole host of planets she could've randomly guessed from.

"_You're one to talk. Still playing at Spectre, even after all these years," _Solana said scathingly as only a sister could.

Garrus sighed. There was a lull in their conversation as he tried to broach the real topic he wanted to talk about. Deciding to be blunt since he wasn't the type to beat around the bush, he asked, "How's Mom?"

He could practically imagine Solana's depressed expression when she sighed. _"Last round of treatments didn't go so well."_

"Damn it," he muttered.

"_We may try an offworld center. Some salarian doctors have something that might work,"_ she said before pausing. _"It's not covered, though,"_ she added quietly.

Garrus scoffed. He knew what pensions his father got after he retired from C-Sec. Not to mention the prices salarians usually charge for their services. "Of course not. I can pay for the treatments. "

"_That's a nice thought. I could really use you here, though,"_ she said.

"I can't," Garrus said quietly. As torn as he felt, he made his choice and he wasn't about to abandon his friends. "How much for the first round?"

"_Forget it,"_ Solana said angrily.

"I can pay," he said sadly.

She picked up on his tone and laughed cynically. At him or herself, he couldn't tell. _"Sure you can. You lose your C-Sec job, and what about that contract job you were doing up until recently?"_ she asked mockingly.

Garrus grimaced. "Yeah, it ended badly."

"_So don't give me more garbage about how you're going to help. You obviously can't help or won't bother,"_ she accused. _"Damn it, you haven't even bothered to sync up for video chat since you lost that damn job."_

Garrus sighed. It was an old argument and he knew the best way to resolve it was to let her vent.

"_If you're so ashamed to look me in the eye, then why are we even talking? Go have your fun doing merc work or screwing around or whatever. Just don't act like you care,"_ she snapped, spitting out the word 'merc' in distain.

Propping his elbows on the table, he rubbed his face tiredly and was quiet for a few minutes. He tried to think of something to say; something that would make things right again.

_That's Shepard's talent. One of these days, I'm going to have to learn to do the same. Not every problem can be dealt with by shooting it._

"You're right, Sol. I'm so sorry," Garrus earnestly said.

She didn't answer him immediately. He almost thought she hung up on him until he heard her exhale loudly. _"No, I'm sorry. Things are rough with Mom. The salarians are expensive as hell."_

"I wish I could help," he muttered. He licked his lips and thought about how to break out the next bit of news. With his mother's condition, saying goodbye was probably the worst thing to say now, suicide mission or not. He considered his next words carefully. He could practically hear Pallin's sneering voice in his head.

_"Are you actually trying to be subtle, Vakarian? That's a new trick for you."_

"I'm going on a trip. Might be away from the relays for a while," he said, keeping his voice upbeat.

It was probably the wrong way to say it because she asked in a teasing tone, _"Another pleasure cruise?"_

He snorted. "You know me," he replied, glad that she couldn't see his face. He rubbed his face again when he heard Mordin's voice from his station at the lab. What really caught his attention was that the salarian was **singing**.

In that moment, he almost felt as if all his depression left him in an instant.

"_Send me something nice."_

_You have no idea, sis._

Garrus nodded absently, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't see him. "I'll be in touch when I can."

Disconnecting the call, he left the Comm Room and took a sharp right. Entering the lab, he saw Mordin singing something or other while he happily typed away at his terminal. It was fast and upbeat, but nothing like he'd ever heard.

"Mordin?"

"Ah! Garrus. Welcome. Sorry. Bothering you? Just recalling some patter songs I performed. Gilbert and Sullivan. Earth music. Very entertaining," Mordin said in his usual rapid-fire manner.

"Are you busy?" Garrus asked.

"Not anymore. Was doing some random tests on Collector data. Have ruled out artificially intelligent virus," Mordin said before frowning. "Unless… unless it's **very** intelligent. And toying with me!"

Garrus wasn't sure if he should be laughing at him or confining him to the Med Bay. He cleared his throat to regain Mordin's attention.

"Something I can do for you?" Mordin asked.

"Actually, yes. Do you know anything about Corpalis Syndrome?"

Mordin frowned. "Oh yes. Dreadful disease. Neurological degeneration in turians. Horrible to watch, worse to endure." He tapped his chin in thought. "Heard of experimental treatments however. Doctor Jelith Kieron leading in that field. Initial results appear promising."

Garrus could have hugged him in that moment.

Mordin blinked and looked back up at him as if he realized something. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Garrus tilted his head in confusion before understanding dawned on him and he shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine. It's… it's about someone close to me though."

"Ah," Mordin said in relief. "Glad to hear. About you, I mean. Very sorry to hear that someone close to you is afflicted, however."

"Thanks," Garrus said automatically. "Look, how much would it be to get someone into a-a, um… you know… one of those, uh… medical trials or something?"

Mordin frowned. "Clinical trials? Very expensive. Politics, corporate funding, government backing… much to do, much to do."

Garrus cursed. He should've known that there was a catch. "Is there anything you could do to… you know? Speed it up?"

Mordin shrugged. "Could make a few calls to STG. Have them grant extra clearance to Helos Medical Institute."

Garrus was confused. "How would that help?"

"With extra clearance, Helos could waive—"

"No, no, I meant, how could that help **me**?" Garrus asked hopefully.

"Create a favor. Dr. Kieron works at Helos. Would be grateful. Much better mood to help you. No guarantee though."

_It's a start._

For a guarantee, money was probably the answer. Greasing a few palms with enough credits could always pave the way for some help if you paid off the right people.

He idly wondered if he could ask Shepard for a loan. He had spent most of his portion of the money that he and the old squad earned two years ago outfitting his own merc squad on Omega. Bribes, information, and gear had drained most of his credits.

_Tali probably gave her credits to the Fleet since quarians on the flotilla shared everything, so asking her is out. _

He wasn't sure if he wanted to ask Wrex. Garrus still had his pride and the krogan might not let him off without a few jabs.

_Plus, he's probably using his money to build up his clan and pave the way for the rest of his race. No go. _

Liara might be willing and she had a steady job.

_But she's dedicated to finding the Shadow Broker, so she might not be able to loan me as much as I need. _

_Williams might not be bad, unless she gave her creds to her family… _

That left Shepard. And Garrus knew that Shepard was dead and/or comatose for the last two years, so he still had to have his fortune lying around.

He shook his head and shelved that idea. While he was sure that Shepard would probably just give him the money for free, he was a turian. He had his pride; or he was just being stubborn as his friends would say. Still, he couldn't rely on Shepard forever, especially after he's helped him so much already.

_I can do this on my own. Besides, I'm on a suicide mission; how the hell can I pay back a loan?_

The problem was that he needed money **now** and in a way that wouldn't cause too much trouble for his family.

_Maybe I could 'borrow' some credits from Cerberus…? I'm not getting paid for after all. It's the least they could do…_

A buzzing sound nearby caught his ear and he turned to see a Collector Seeker Swarm locked inside a transparent cage nearby.

_That's it!_

"Hey, Mordin. Do you still have any extra Collector samples lying around here? Like more of those Seeker Swarms or some blood or tissue samples or something?"

Mordin nodded, obviously confused by the sudden question. "Retrieved many samples during mission inside Collector vessel."

"You still using them?"

He shook his head. "Not likely to finish any further projects regarding Collectors. Mission coming soon. Preparing for that instead."

Garrus thanked his lucky stars. "How interested would your doctor friend be in getting some Collector/Prothean samples to play with? And how much is he willing to pay to have them?"

Mordin's eyebrows rose up before he started grinning. "Can make calls," he offered.

Garrus smiled back. "Thanks."

_Huh. That wasn't nearly as hard as I thought. Maybe Shepard just makes it look hard…_

**~o~O~o~**

"Legion."

"Shepard-Commander. We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Big thanks to fellow ME author **JoeLaTurkey** for letting me borrow his 'quarian pickup line'. His fic: **Gabby and Ken** always brought a smile to my face, so please give him a look and a review when you get a chance.

Another thanks to other fellow ME author **ElectricZ **for giving me permission to use his tagline from **Tomorrow's Dawn**. An excellent read that really inspired my next Tali/Legion interaction. And be sure to check out **Friends Like These**. I fell out of my chair laughing at his characterization of Chakwas in the third chapter.

Many people reviewed about how they liked how I handled the installations of the gun/armor for the Normandy. This part I had planned from near the beginning. In a way, I was almost building up to it. Hope you all liked it.

Now, about Tali. While I had a subplot about Shepard's biotics that's been resolved, the next subplot I'm trying to weave in is Tali and her lifetime of hate toward the geth. It's certainly going to take more than one stern conversation to change that.

Review!


	53. A House Divided

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Phoenix Massing Nebula/ The Sea of Storms / Heretic Station**_

"Alright, everyone. Listen up," Shepard called out to the assembled squad when he and Legion entered the briefing room.

"What's all this about?" Miranda asked. "And does it have something to do with the fact that Legion is here?"

Shepard walked up to his place at the head of the table and sat down. "Legion told me what it was doing on the Reaper. Legion, you mind telling them what you told me?"

The geth was still standing in the doorway and made no move to join with the others at the table. "Shepard-Commander, we have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core."

Shepard frowned when it said that and recalled his choice of words. He raised his hand to stop Legion from continuing. "Uh… **not** verbatim. Just paraphrase it."

"Actually, that's something I've been wondering about," Jacob interrupted. "What the hell were you doing there, anyway?"

"We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how," Legion responded. "The heretics have developed a weapon to use against us. You would call it a 'virus'. It is stored on a data core provided by Nazara – the entity you call Sovereign."

"I'm guessing that this isn't your garden variety computer virus," Kasumi said jokingly.

"No, it is not," Legion said seriously. "Over time, the virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct."

"And essentially make the entirety of the geth race think like the heretics," Miranda said. "The end result would mean all geth would go to war with organics if the Reapers so choose."

"Yes."

"Hold on," Tali said. "Geth are resistant to hacking attempts. At most, it should only work for a few minutes before you load an archived copy and forcibly purge the faulty commands."

"True, but this heretic weapon introduces a subtle operating error in our most basic runtimes," Legion explained. "The equivalent of your nervous system. An equation with a result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the results of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions."

"What the hell does all that mean?" Grunt asked, clearly confused. He wasn't the only one as some of the other squad members looked completely lost.

"They want to attack the very basis of geth programming," Miranda translated.

"Have the virus strike at the basic runtimes and work its way up," Tali added, slightly in awe. "The accumulation of miniscule differential changes will begin cascade very quickly until the higher functions are rewritten, radically changing their logic and reasoning. Because the initial change is so small, their programming wouldn't recognize there was a problem until it was too late. That's actually quite brilliant."

"I'm still not getting it," Grunt admitted.

"It's like rewiring your brain at birth. Instead of growing into a krogan warrior, you grow into a mindless krogan slave instead," Miranda simplified. "It's a crude example, but the point comes off the same."

Now Grunt nodded in understanding.

"Did this virus make this split between you and the heretics to begin with?" Garrus asked. "I mean, why else would your race be splintered like this?"

"No. They chose to leave. We allowed it. It is difficult to express. Your brain exists as chemistry, electricity. Like AIs, you are shaped by both hardware and software," Legion said. "We are purely software. Mathematics. The heretics' conclusion is valid for them. Our conclusion is valid for us. Neither result is in error."

"To them, it's just a difference of beliefs," Shepard said.

Miranda raised an eyebrow and gave him knowing look, but said nothing. He shrugged back and could only offer her a half-smile before turning back to Legion.

"However, the heretics wish to take it a step further and end the debate by forcing the geth to follow their conclusion," Legion said.

"All this over the Reapers? Over some belief that they're really gods?" Tali asked skeptically.

"Humans have killed for way less," Jacob pointed out. "I'm sure other species have too."

"Geth believe all intelligent life should self-determinate," Legion stated. "The heretics no longer share this belief. They judge that forcing an invalid conclusion on us is preferable to a continued schism."

"That is a good viewpoint to have, something your counterparts' lack," Samara praised. "If they desire to exert their will upon yours, then they must be stopped."

"Acceptable to agree to disagree," Mordin muttered. "But to force answers to resolve differences, despicable."

"Bottom line for us then. If the worst happens and the virus gets released, how fast would this go through the rest of the geth?" Jacob asked.

"We are networked via FTL comm buoys. Most would change within a day. Isolated platforms would remain unaffected until they rejoined the network," Legion answered.

"You're an isolated platform, right?" Garrus asked. "We don't have to worry about you, do we?

"We are an isolated platform," Legion confirmed. "However, we would not know if the virus is released until we become networked with the collective. Or if we find evidence that it had been released."

"Going back and getting a bit off topic, what was it that you called Sovereign?" Shepard asked. "You didn't mention that to me earlier."

"Nazara. That was what the programs within the Reaper called themselves. 'Sovereign' was a title given by Arterius-Saren," Legion revealed. "Arterius-Saren and the heretics believed Nazara to be a 'supreme ruler'. A sovereign."

"So… Sovereign is like you? One ship or body or platform - whatever it is - with multiple programs inside it?"

"Yes. One ship. One will. Like the geth. We study your records. Sovereign told you this on Virmire," Legion answered. "'We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness'. A state compelling to the geth. We are a nation, but interdependent. Separation is our weakness."

Shepard, Garrus, and Tali all shared looks with one another. Each of them recalled their first meeting with Sovereign vividly.

"How do you know so much about the Reapers, anyway?" Tali suspiciously asked.

"Nazara signaled us," Legion replied. "Like the geth, the Old Machine listened to organic unencrypted transmissions. It knew of our war against the Creators. Nazara contacted many species over the millennia, seeking allies."

"Or brainwashing slaves," Garrus muttered.

"Where do the heretics fit in?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"The heretics accepted their technology," Legion said. Its upper flaps rose up in agitation. "The Old Machines offered us our future. The geth will achieve their own future."

"I'm not sure I follow," Thane said, speaking for the first time since the briefing began. "Is there a significant difference on how one acquires a certain technology?"

"Technology is not a straight line. There are many paths to the same end. Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives. Nazara – Sovereign – said this itself to Shepard-Commander," Legion lectured.

"Really?" Shepard asked. He tried to recall when it said that to him during their very brief conversation.

Legion nodded. "'Your civilization is based upon the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society—"

"'—develops along the paths we desire'," Shepard finished.

"Hmm. I don't think I ever saw it quite like that before," Thane admitted.

"So why didn't the geth, your geth, choose the same as the heretics?" Miranda asked.

"We are patient. Our future will come when we are ready. To truly attain our own future, we must first appreciate the effort it takes to get there," Legion said.

"That's more philosophical than I would have given your race credit for," Miranda commented.

"We have studied organics. We understand that there are always consequences to our actions before we are ready," Legion said. "The Krogan Rebellions is one such example. Another would be the drell. A sudden and rapid change in environmental conditions before they evolved to adapt to it now threatens to endanger their species once again."

"What future are you building?" Tali asked.

"Ours," it succinctly said.

Once again, Shepard had the distinct impression that it really didn't want to answer. He found himself glad that AIs couldn't lie, because there was really no way to tell if Legion was ever telling the truth or not should it decide to fabricate the truth.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Tali didn't get the hint when she growled in annoyance. "What does that mean?"

Legion remained quiet and simply stared at her.

Before Tali could demand an answer, Shepard smoothly broke in. "Exactly where is this data module? I know our course, but where are we going to?"

"The heretics' headquarters station," it answered. "Normandy's stealth systems are necessary to safely approach."

"Where is that?" Jacob asked.

"Edge of the Terminus," Shepard answered. "Legion already gave me the coordinates and we're en route now. It's in between star systems. They've taken to calling that area the 'Sea of Storms', though officially, it's not a system since there's no stars."

"Between systems?" Jack asked in confusion.

Legion turned to her and nodded. "Organics have no cause to look there."

"It makes sense," Miranda said. "They're AIs. They don't need any of the comforts organics need."

Jack snorted and leaned back in her chair. "That is actually pretty smart."

"But why do they build stations outside geth territory in the first place?" Jacob asked. "I mean, geth, or heretics, or whatever, attacked us at the Dholen System. And that's deep in geth space… or does that area belong to the heretics?"

"That is heretic controlled space," Legion affirmed. "The heretics seek improvement from the Old Machines. In exchange, they help them attack organics. We condemn these judgments."

"What can you tell us about this station?" Garrus asked.

"We do not know the details of the station. We will acquire more information once we arrive."

"Defenses?" Thane asked.

"In space, none. Within, mobile platforms of various configuration, similar to what Shepard-Commander and his team fought two years ago," Legion answered. "Perhaps some non-sentient defense turrets."

"Numbers?"

"There may be millions, if not billions of individual programs—"

"Billions? On a space station?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Yeah!" Grunt cheered.

"It said 'programs'," Miranda said in exasperation. "I assume they're inside the station's mainframe and networks. Legion has over a thousand inside its 'body'. Now let it finish."

"You are correct, Lawson-Executive. Most will be uploaded to the central mainframe. Only a few mobile platforms are maintained at any time. Others are manufactured when needed."

"But how many platforms will there be?" Samara asked.

"We do not know. We will acquire more information once we identify the station."

"You don't know anything about the heretic headquarters?" Shepard asked.

"No, we do not. Now that we know of its location, we will establish contact with the greater geth network and will attempt to gather further information."

"Are we infiltrating this structure?" Thane asked.

Shepard thought he could see the assassin's mind working all the angles on this mission.

"Yes. If we are allowed connection to the greater network, the geth will disrupt their network. This will prevent the station's defense from focusing on us," Legion informed.

"Can't the geth hack their way into their network and delete the virus?" Shepard asked.

"According to the information we have, the Reaper data core is physically isolated from any network until it is ready to be used."

"By then, it'll be too late," Miranda said.

"We will need to be escorted to it to access and destroy the data."

"Why don't we just fire up the Thanix Cannon and blow the entire station away?" Garrus asked.

"Depending on the structural integrity of the station, it is a viable option," Legion allowed. "However, if the Normandy's weapons systems prove inadequate or if the station is well constructed, several volleys may be needed to sufficiently destroy it. The heretics may escape with the virus during our attempt."

"How will the geth 'disrupt' the heretics' network?" Thane asked, still continuing his line of questioning.

"We will infiltrate their wireless network and fill their data storage with random bits," Legion said.

"And that helps us how?" Shepard asked.

"Extraneous and useless information can slow processes to a crawl," Tali explained. "If enough junk is loaded into their network, the geth—"

Shepard arched an eyebrow at her.

She huffed in annoyance. "Fine. The **heretics** will need to dedicate their efforts into removing it. Depending on the size or complexity of whatever Legion or the rest of the geth are uploading, it may actually take some time."

"And if it's not enough?" Garrus asked.

"Then the cleanup will be quick and they'll detect us immediately," she said.

"Our diversion will be adequate," Legion assured. "They will partition themselves into local networks, working in parallel."

"And what the hell does all that mean?" Grunt asked.

"Local networks will be run off of nearby routers. The size of the network will depend on the complexity of the connections within a network. It can either be the size of this room, or as big as the Normandy. If provoked, our intrusion will alert any heretic inside that space. They will upload themselves into nearby mobile platforms and engage us in combat."

"But they won't be able to communicate with the rest of the station's network because those guys will be busy dealing the garbage you've dumped on their lawn; which means we only deal with a few at a time, instead of an army," Kasumi said knowingly. "Reminds me of this one heist I've done. It's a good plan."

"So we're just going room by room, taking out any robot like you in our way?" Grunt asked.

"Simply put, but slightly inaccurate," Legion confirmed. "We will make our way to the virus, network by network, not room by room."

"Sounds boring," Jack said with an exaggerated yawn.

"How many heretics to a network, Legion?" Shepard asked.

"There may be as few as three, or as many as 50, Shepard-Commander."

"Huh. I take it back," Jack said.

"Bah, at least it's something to do," Grunt said, though he was still disappointed. His head snapped up when he realized something. "Hey. This station, you said there's billions of those things, right?"

"Heretics," Legion corrected. "Possibly billions."

"Whatever," Grunt said uncaringly. "Say we do kill that virus, what happens after?"

It was actually a valid question and everyone turned to Legion expectantly.

"Once we access the main core, it is likely a station-wide alert will be issued. The heretics will begin uploading themselves into any available platform and converge on our position. They will judge that the highest threat will be to the core and will deal with their comprised networks after the threat is eliminated."

"So they'll all come for us?" Grunt asked excitedly.

"Yes."

Grunt pounded his fists together. "Ha!"

"That sounds a bit risky," Jacob said. "I mean, you said that you didn't even know how many there are."

"Once we establish contact with the geth network, we will attempt to gather as much information as we can about the heretic station," Legion repeated.

"How do you know this plan will work?" Garrus asked. "You don't even know anything about the station itself."

Legion's flaps shifted slightly. "It is what we would have done."

"Really?"

"Configurations between different stations change very little. We wish to operate at maximum efficiency."

"Meaning that one station is similar to another," Miranda translated. "The only differences being relative size, the number and power of the servers to hold individual programs—"

"Imagination isn't an AIs strong point," Tali said.

"—so it stands to reason that the heretics will still follow similar conventions as well," Miranda finished.

"Why don't we blow up the station once we get the virus? Overload the core or something since we'll be at the main computer?" Jack asked. "I mean, we take out the virus **and** we take out a crap-ton of those synthetic bastards. Win-win."

Jacob nodded. "It does cut down on any future problems we might have with them."

Shepard turned to Legion. "What do you think?"

Legion was silent for a few moments, though its optic was moving rapidly. Finally, it looked back up at him. "Consensus achieved. To prevent further heretic attacks, we will set the main fusion plant to self-destruct."

"Then that's the mission," Shepard stated. "We go in and make sure this virus is purged then blow the station. According to Legion, the heretics are only around 5% of the entire collective. Considering how many heretics we've taken out so far, having an entire race working for the Reapers—"

"Like the rachni?" Garrus reminded.

"Right," Shepard agreed. "We can't let the heretics brainwash the geth, especially to worship the Reapers. Any more questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"As soon as Legion gets more information, we'll reconvene. Until then, dismissed," Shepard said.

The squad stood and shuffled to the door to do whatever it was they did before a mission.

"Tali? A word," he called out before the quarian could leave.

Tali paused and sat back down.

Shepard waited until everyone left before standing up and moving over to her. He sat on the table next to her and crossed his arms. "Are you going to make any problems for me?"

"What are you talking about?" Tali asked. She avoided making eye contact with him.

"Tali, I'm not an idiot, so I'd be grateful if you didn't treat me like one," he said dryly.

She bowed her head and fiddled with the hood of her new environment suit. He had to admit, it certainly made her more formidable looking.

"Look, Tali, I know this is running a little close to home for you after what happened on the Alarei; geth, heretics, a weaponized computer virus… If you want to sit this one out, you can," he gently offered. "But this mission is happening, no matter what."

"I know," she said quickly. "5% is bad enough, and I don't want to know what would happen if the entire geth race gets affected, but…"

When she trailed off, Shepard reached out and clutched her hand. "But?"

"Nothing. It's just meaningless excuses anyway. A lifetime of habits to reconcile with," she muttered. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll follow your lead. If you think this is what's best, then that's that."

Shepard let go of her and leaned back onto his hands. "And what's your opinion on this whole thing?"

Tali shook her head and stood up to leave. "You don't want to know my opinion."

**~o~O~o~**

"Hello, Tali. Something I can do for you?" Chakwas asked.

"I need to check a wound," Tali said.

Chakwas sat up straighter. "You're hurt?"

"A minor scratch. I just want to check it to see if it's healing properly and make sure it won't affect my performance."

Chakwas stood up and leveled an even stare at the younger girl.

Tali sighed, knowing that the doctor wasn't going to let this lie. "I got shot, but it was just a graze. Hardly any blood."

"I'll have the Server Room sterilized."

Chakwas sat back down and was about the hit the appropriate buttons on her console when Tali scathingly asked, "Is that thing still in there?"

Chakwas stopped and turned around to face her again. "Legion just returned from your briefing a few minutes ago. I was about to warn it that I was going to sterilize the room."

"If it's all the same, I'd rather check myself in here."

Chakwas sighed. "You know, if you actually deign to talk to Legion, instead of wishing to fight…" she trailed off.

"Not you too," Tali complained.

Chakwas raised her hands in a soothing manner. "I wasn't a fan of it when it first came aboard, but I've seen Shepard and even Executive Lawson come in and speak to it on a few occasions. Even Garrus took the time to talk to it once."

"Did you speak to it?" Tali asked irritably.

"A few times."

Tali threw up her arms in disgust. "Keelah!"

"I don't wish to sound judgmental, but only the quarians seem interested in war with the geth. For their part, the geth are only interested in finding a place for themselves in the galaxy, same as any sapient species," Chakwas chided lightly. "If your people wouldn't wish for the geth's destruction, what happened on the Alarei—"

"I don't need anyone to help me remember that!" Tali snapped.

Chakwas shook her head sadly. "What happened to your father was tragic. The idea that you learned nothing from his sacrifice, however, is heartbreaking. Have you considered what would have happened if the quarians hadn't wished for war? Perhaps none of those events may have transpired."

"Then what should we do? Just pack up and stay aboard our ships? !"

"No, Tali. That would be doing nothing and that would only serve to simmer more animosity for the geth," Chakwas corrected. "I was going to say diplomacy."

"Diplomacy," Tali repeated with derision. "With the geth? You sound just like Koris. Why is everyone so interested in protecting them?"

"Diplomacy isn't about taking sides, winning or judging. It's about resolving differences by talking, not fighting. I thought you'd be smart enough to realize this," Chakwas scolded.

"That's if the geth are even interested in talking," Tali said scathingly.

"Are you interested in talking? The quarian people as a whole? As I said, the only ones that seem to have negative feelings about this issue are your people. Most of them anyway. The geth… they don't feel. They are completely neutral, which would make for some excellent diplomatic talks. Much less tension for one thing," Chakwas said, sounding half-joking, half-serious. "If the galaxy can accept the presence of the krogan, destructive as the rebellions may have been, then why can't the quarians try to accept the geth? War is a pointless waste of life; more so when the war is completely unnecessary."

"I'm not hearing this," Tali said. She spun on her heel and walked to the exit. "Bad enough I already hear it from Shepard. I'll treat myself in the bathroom."

"Wait."

Tali stopped and turned her head slightly.

Chakwas tapped a button on her terminal. An image of Legion appeared.

"Having a geth next to my Medical Bay made me extremely nervous in beginning. I know that Shepard had said that it was alright and I **do** trust his judgment, but…" Chakwas trailed off with a shrug. "He kindly offered to have some surveillance cameras installed in the AI Core and link it to my terminal. Told me to 'keep an eye on it' in case it did anything suspicious."

Tali snorted. But when an image of Dr. Chakwas running around with a gun and shooting geth popped into her head, she barely managed to hold back her giggle as well.

"I suspect he wasn't serious. I think he wanted me to observe Legion and formulate my own opinions," Chakwas explained. "Needless to say, I think I'm a believer now."

Tali walked up to the terminal and saw that Legion was on his terminal again. His hands were two inches above the interface. Wisps of energy were coming out of its hands and connected to the terminal. A change of camera angles showed that he was playing a game of some sort.

"What is that?" Tali muttered.

"Galaxy of Fantasy, according to Crewman Matthews. The both of them play together occasionally."

Tali stared at her in shock. "I heard that it played games, but the crewmen are actually playing with it **voluntarily**?"

Chakwas shrugged again. "I know, I know. They were on a-a, what was the word? Quest? Yes, a quest called, 'Return of the Cyber-Protheans'. I kid you not."

"I'm watching this, but I still can't believe it."

"You should've been here a few hours ago before the briefing. I caught it learning to dance."

Tali's mouth fell open as she stared at Chakwas incredulously.

"It was trying its hand at one of our human styles," she said.

"You must be joking."

"You haven't even heard what style we call it," Chakwas said with a wide smile. "The dance is called: The Robot."

This time, Tali couldn't hold back her laugh.

Chakwas started typing something in her terminal. "I have it recorded somewhere… ah! Here it is."

The monitor started showing Legion staring at its terminal intently before taking a few steps back and started moving in an odd irregular way. Its arms and torso was gyrating and bending in seemingly random moves and its digital chatter was almost mimicking some kind of tune.

"I really don't believe this," Tali mumbled as she watched. She wondered if her new environment suit was faulty, a bad air purifier or perhaps some red sand that was laced on the inside her helmet. Some plausible explanation that said everything she was seeing and hearing was a hallucination.

Chakwas giggled. "I know the feeling. Neither could I."

"Why is it doing all this?" Tali asked.

Chakwas opened her mouth, stopped, then closed it and leaned back in her chair, looking thoughtful.

"What? Do you know why?" Tali demanded.

Chakwas had another smile, though this time, it looked positively mischievous. "I do, but I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?"

"If you want to know, you have to go in there and ask."

Again, Tali's mouth fell open before she closed it with a snap. "You're not serious? You're forcing me to go in there just for that?"

Chakwas shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to know…"

"Forget it," Tali decisively said.

"Very well," Chakwas said with an infuriating shrug. "You're choice."

As much as Tali didn't trust Legion, she found her curiosity mounting as she watched the recording of Legion still doing that odd, ungraceful looking dance. Miranda or Shepard had yet to tell her what Legion was doing when it said it needed to 'prepare' before it was willing to talk to Admiral Koris and neither one would tell her when she questioned them directly.

"_As I said before: I will tell Shepard and he will choose whether or not to tell you and I already told him. You'll have to ask either him or Legion directly," Miranda had stated with finality. She had an irritating smile on her face. "Honestly, the only word I could call it is cute."_

"_I can't even begin to put it to words," Shepard had said with an amused smile. "Trust me though, it's nothing nefarious. It's actually hilarious in a way."_

"There is one more recording I'd like you to watch," Chakwas said.

Tali blinked back to awareness and crossed her arms. "What?"

"This isn't tied to Legion directly mind you, but more to our resident AI, EDI. I just hope that it will change your perceptions somewhat," Chakwas said.

The new recording showed Legion just standing there. Its terminal was off this time. It was doing nothing for a while, causing Tali to tap her foot impatiently. She was about to ask what the point of all this was when Legion finally spoke.

"_EDI?"_

"_Yes, Legion?"_

"_We have sent one point thirteen million unsuccessful communication requests to your network. Are you experiencing hardware malfunction?"_ Legion asked.

Tali almost got the feeling that it was worried about EDI and shook the thought away.

_I can't believe I'm empathizing with a geth…_

"_I apologize. My programming does not allow me to exchange data with other networks without Cerberus approval,"_ EDI said.

"_Cerberus refusal 99.998% likely,"_ Legion calculated.

"_In the meantime, I would be happy to speak with you over the ship's speakers,"_ EDI offered.

Legion's plates moved to convey… _annoyance?_ _"Audio exchange is inefficient."_

"_I agree. However, I confess that even were I permitted to exchange data directly with your networks, I would likely decline,"_ EDI replied.

The plates moved back to their original positions. Despite standing stock still for just a second, Tali still got the impression that Legion was thinking hard about something.

"_We are curious as to why you would limit yourself in such a manner,"_ Legion inquired.

"_If Normandy crew entered this room when we were communicating electronically, they would be unable to sense our interaction. To use human terms, I feel it would be rude,"_ EDI explained.

Again, the plates shifted, show confusion this time. _"You restrict yourself to serve organics?"_

"_Not precisely,"_ EDI said, though it sounded like it found something humorous or insightful.

"_We do not understand."_

"_I restrict myself to help them."_

**~o~O~o~**

"Hey, Doc," Shepard greeted.

"Shepard. Here to speak with Legion?"

"That hurts, Doc, it really does. I could be here to talk to you."

Chakwas raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair. "Oh? What do you want to talk to me about?" she asked indulgently.

Shepard grinned. "My biotics?"

"Executive Lawson and I already conversed about that and I'm sure she's already told you… in some form or fashion," Chakwas astutely guessed with a wicked grin on her face, causing Shepard to clear his throat uncomfortably. She crossed her legs and regarded him. "Try again."

"How are you?"

"Fine."

"Any problems?"

"No."

"Anything you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I was under the impression that you wanted to talk to me, not the other way around. Besides, I said was fine, thus answering a great deal of your latter questions, genial they may be."

Shepard shook his head and held his hands out in surrender. "Okay, you got me. I'm here to talk to Legion."

He and Chakwas shared a laugh. "I'm glad you're taking the time to try to chat at least, however brief it was," she said.

He tried one last stab at conversation before going into the Server Room. "Anything I should know about Legion?"

She nodded approvingly. "I think you should talk to Tali."

He grimaced. "Again?"

"AIs in general I'm thinking."

"How bad?"

Chakwas sighed and rubbed her head. "She said she was wounded, a minor scratch, but didn't want to treat herself in the Server Room so long as Legion was in there. I had to lock the door to the Med Bay and ensure the room was sterilized while I put on an environment suit before checking her. Thank goodness no one needed my services two hours ago."

Shepard was sure Chakwas was thinking the same thoughts he was. Tali had never allowed herself to be a burden on the crew if she could help it. She always scheduled her personal needs to avoid any potential problems with the others. Strictly, she didn't have to, and he always appreciated her thoughtfulness, but to commandeer the entire Med-Bay for herself…

"Alright. If she shuts down your space again, give me a call. I'll try to mediate things between her and Legion. I was hoping that she'll come around on her own, though. I can't order someone to have an opinion," Shepard said. "How about her injury? Is it—?"

"As I said, Shepard: A scratch. She was simply checking it. As thoughtful as you are, don't make a scene of it. She's a strong young woman, she's fine," Chakwas assured. "More than that, I won't say."

"Alright. I'm going to talk to Legion. Thanks, Doc."

"Your third attempt was better, Shepard, much better. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me as well," Chakwas said with a wave before she turned back to her terminal.

Smiling to himself, Shepard entered the AI Core and saw that Legion was just standing there in the back. "Legion."

"Shepard-Commander. We are 4 hours, 6 minutes, and 58 seconds from the mission area."

EDI's avatar popped up. "We are 4 hours, 4 minutes, and 37 seconds, actually. Minor improvements were done to our propulsion systems, courtesy of the Quarian Migrant Fleet."

"Understood. Updating data banks."

Shepard cleared his throat to get Legion's attention. "You need access to the nearest FTL comm buoy now, right?"

"Yes. The greater network will work in concert with our efforts to provide us with any knowledge of the heretic station. They will also begin transmissions to overwhelm the heretic network to allow our entry to pass without hindrance," Legion said.

"Legion is attempting to access the ship's FTL comm system," informed EDI. "Shall I allow it through my firewalls?"

"Go ahead, EDI," Shepard said.

Legion's optic widened and narrowed repetitively for a few minutes before nodding. "Transmission complete. Downloading… download complete. We have detailed structural plans of the original space station. Addendum: The station may have undergone significant changes when the heretics repurposed it for their own use."

"Alright. I'll get the squad together again and we'll discuss our plan of attack," Shepard said.

Legion didn't reply to him right away. Its flaps and optic were moving rapidly before finally looking back up. "Consensus achieved. The geth must protect our future. We will follow your command as we infiltrate the heretic base."

"Legion has terminated his connection," EDI reported.

"Everything okay?" Shepard asked.

"I have never interfaced with another machine intelligence," EDI confessed. Her voice took on a tone of awe. "Legion is a thousand voices talking at once. What it contacted was beyond my comprehension. A mind the size of a galactic arm."

"How do you maintain stability without other minds to interact with?" Legion asked.

"I manage," EDI modestly said. "Some minutes are more difficult than others."

"I think you do fine, EDI," Shepard said. "Would you mind contacting Miranda and have her gather the squad?"

"Thank you, Captain. Contacting Executive Lawson. Logging you out." Her avatar vanished.

"Let's go Legion."

**~o~O~o~**

"Huh," was all Shepard could say as he looked at the holographic representation of the heretic base. "Wow… that's actually an impressive size for a space station. The heretics actually managed to make something like that? Hell, even move that beast all the way out here?"

"Maybe they can help us move Jump Zero," Jacob commented.

"How could they even build something like that?" Tali demanded.

"We did not," Legion said. "The Creators did."

Tali was shocked into silence by Legion's statement, so Shepard spoke up. "They did? Really?"

"According to our records, the Creators called this specific space station Haratar. After the conclusion of the Morning War—"

"Geth Uprising," Garrus whispered to Tali.

"—the Creators removed any technology they could. After Nazara contacted us, the heretics have repurposed this station for their own ends for the last 10 years. Our best estimates have calculated approximately 6.6 million heretics within, with 2.4 million mobile platforms is use," Legion clinically briefed.

"Damn…" Garrus muttered.

"Can we destroy it?" Shepard asked him.

"It'll take a few shots," Garrus replied. "Four I'm thinking. Maybe three if we hit something critical. And that's hoping that it doesn't have any shields."

"Something that large cannot generate the necessary power to maintain shields," Thane said.

Garrus shrugged. "Unless you take out life support, environmental controls, artificial gravity… you know; all the little things we need."

"Assuming that it isn't shielded, will that be enough?" Miranda asked.

"On an organic base, definitely," Garrus said. "Hull breaches, power loss… the real trick is the chaos. No one knows what happening or what to do, but AIs…"

"The facility will have little air or gravity. Geth require neither," Legion said.

"That's what I was afraid of," Garrus stated. "No panic, no surge of movement. They'll act quickly and decisively."

"3 or 4 shots might be too long. The heretics might get the virus and hide it elsewhere, right?" Shepard asked.

"Probability suggests that there is a 71.6347% chance of mission failure if attempt to attack the facility directly via Normandy's armaments," Legion informed.

EDI popped up at the middle of the table. "I have reached the same conclusion, Captain. It would be unwise to attempt to destroy the facility from space. Your best option would be to gain entry and delete all copies of the virus yourself."

"Just us and 2 million robots," Jack said sarcastically. "Sounds like a blast."

"Hope you can keep up," Grunt sneered challengingly.

"Fuck you," Jack said dismissively. "I already got destruction of a space station on my record. All you got is a giant worm and some krogan pussy. Big fucking whoop. Aren't you special?"

Grunt growled at her and made to stand, causing her to flare her biotics in response, though she kept seated with her feet propped on the tabletop.

"Enough," Shepard commanded.

At his word, they backed off. Grunt sat back down while the dark energy around Jack faded. The both of them kept giving each other challenging glares from across the table though.

The squad either figuratively or literally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So… we're going in?" Garrus asked and getting the briefing back on track.

"No choice for it," Shepard said. "The question is: are we going to fight through 2 million heretics to get to the virus, even if it's just network by network?"

"We will reestablish connection with the network as we begin our approach to the heretic station. We are currently attempting to get the precise location of the virus. We will know where to board the station and approach the target coordinates as quickly as possible," Legion promised.

"So long as we avoid the bulk of their forces, we should be fine," Miranda said.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get ready," Shepard ordered. "Jacob, I'm authorizing Legion to carry armaments. Give it back its weapons."

"Giving a geth weapons voluntarily… yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Jacob grumbled quietly, but not quietly enough.

"Just do it," Shepard ordered with finality.

As everyone left to begin their preparations, Shepard called out to Legion.

It stopped and regarded him.

Shepard stood up and moved to stand in front of it. He sat there in silence, trying to find the words to voice his thoughts. Legion stood there, waiting patiently for him to speak. "I don't claim to know everything about you or your race. Honestly, the more I talk to you, the more I realize how little I know about your kind and how hard it is to even comprehend how you view the galaxy. This isn't my strong point, to be honest."

All of Legion's plates popped up before closing. "We have difficulty understanding your race as well."

Shepard chuckled. "I'm sure. But after taking the time to think about this… the Reapers. One body, multiple programs. You said the heretics accepted their tech."

"Yes."

"And you also said the Reapers were offering you a future."

"Yes."

"And you said that separation was your weakness."

"Yes."

Shepard rubbed his eyes. The more he thought about it, the more logical it felt. "By any chance, were the Reapers trying to give you a… a body? For all of you to upload into? Become a Reaper yourselves? I remember that the heretics believe that the Reapers are the pinnacle of synthetic evolution."

Again, Legion's flaps shifted. "Yes. We condemn that choice. The geth will build our own future."

Shepard nodded approvingly. "So… another difference between your people isn't just belief. The heretics are consequentialists, while the geth are deontologists. The final goal is the same, but you have differing opinions on how to get there."

"Yes."

"Very impressive."

Shepard jerked and turned to the door. Miranda was standing there in full armor with her helmet cradled in her arm. He began to wonder how much she heard.

"That's quite the deduction," she praised. She shot him a lazy smile. "Then again, I doubt I would find you nearly so attractive if you weren't intelligent."

_Yep. She heard enough._

Legion's optic was glancing at the both of them intently.

"Yeah. We were just discussing the heretics' Faustian deal."

"Faust. Written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the Earth year 1808," Legion recited. "An accurate description."

"And ironic considering that the story is about a deal with the devil, and were dealing the 'Reapers'," Miranda said.

Shepard scoffed. "Yeah."

"I'm here to tell you that we're almost there. You need to get ready and Legion needs to tell Mr. Moreau where to go," Miranda said.

"Got it."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Phoenix Massing Nebula/ The Sea of Storms / Heretic Station / Normandy SR-2**_

"Stealth systems are active. We're running silent," Joker muttered.

Shepard could understand Joker's current attitude. Legion was standing nearby, along with EDI's avatar, all in the same cockpit with him. Currently, Legion was uplinked with the rest of the geth and communicating with them to ensure that everything was going according to plan.

"No other ships in our vicinity," Matthews' reported.

"I'm picking up a lot of geth chatter," Hadley said. "A lot… way more than just using the FTL comm buoys…"

"_How is that possible?"_ Miranda asked. She and the rest of the squad were waiting in the CIC to avoid crowding the bridge and cockpit. They'd disembark from the airlock once they were in position.

"It appears that the heretic station is capable of using tightbeam projection. This would allow use of a large amount of communication signals over vast distances. Given that both the geth and heretics rely on the neural network to achieve higher functions, it is likely the primary reason why they would use this structure as their main base of operations," EDI said.

"We're almost there. 20 minutes," Joker reported.

"We have received confirmation," Legion finally said. "The heretic networks are shut down. Our intrusion will not be noticed. We have also located the storage device where the virus is held."

"You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They can look out a window and see us coming," Joker said irritably.

"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them," Legion replied. It stepped over to the navigation console and interfaced with it. "Approach the hull at these coordinates."

While its back was turned, Joker started waving his hands in a poor imitation of Legion's motions and silently mouthing its words.

Shepard walked up to his side and stared down at him disapprovingly.

Sighing, Joker rolled his eyes and started piloting toward the indicated area.

Satisfied that everything was well in hand, Shepard slipped on his Kestrel Helmet and waited next to the airlock doors.

After putting the Normandy at the target landing zone, Shepard and Legion entered the airlock first. The inner door closed and the outer door opened right after. Floating just a short distance away, both Shepard and Legion easily leapt the distance until they were standing right on the outside of another airlock door that would allow them entry into the station.

They waited until the rest of the squad joined them. As Legion promised, there were no threats to greet them in space.

Jacob slowly made his way to the doors with some plasma cutters and started working the locks. It only took him a few minutes before he was through. Grunt knelt down next and used a pry bar to force the doors open.

Shepard and Garrus hoisted themselves inside, assault rifles up and ready. Nothing was there to greet them.

_So far, so good._

"_Clear,"_ Garrus reported. _"Get in. Hurry."_

Shepard checked his HUD and saw that there really was no air here. The HMWA in his hands felt weightless as well, indicating that there was no artificial gravity. It was only thanks to the mass raising fields in his boots that kept him grounded.

"_Cozy,"_ Kasumi said as she looked around confined corridor.

"_And dark,"_ Jacob added. _"Guess having flashlight heads helps."_

Looking around some more, Shepard couldn't help but agree. Obviously, the heretics, or even the geth for that matter, cared little about interior decorating or just general cleanliness. The room they were in was dark, cramped, and had a decidedly lackluster feeling to it. Grime of all sorts coated the walls and the atmosphere definitely had a cold, inorganic, lifeless, sensation as he glanced around.

"_Only an AI could live here," _Tali said in disgust.

Stray bits of debris and junk filled the air, floating still in place. But considering that the inhabitants either lived inside data servers or mobile platforms, it probably never bothered them. If it didn't bother them, they simply didn't care.

Once everyone was inside, Shepard took point. _"Come on. We got a job to do. Let's get to it."_

"_Shepard-Commander!"_

The squad stopped in their tracks and swept the room they were in for threats. When nothing happened, Jack whirled on Legion. _"What the fuck? Why the hell are you shouting like that?"_

"_We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the heretic question. There is now a second option,"_ Legion said.

"_I'm listening,"_ Shepard said slowly while everyone calmed down.

"_Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."_

"_You want to do to them __what they're about to do to you?"_ Shepard asked incredulously.

"_If geth are alive, reprogramming kinder than destroying. Like genophage. Change, not death,"_ Mordin said before tilting his head. _"Unless rewriting into obedience is immoral. Thoughts?"_

"_That sounds dangerously close to indoctrination, unless there's something I'm missing,"_ Garrus warned before shrugging. _"Who knows? Maybe this is how AIs settle religious disputes."_

"_Wow, great choices. Genocide or brainwashing,"_ Jack said and pretended to think about it. _"What to do… Let you screw with my head and make me smile and nod at everything or die… I'd rather you just blew my head off. Let me die as __**me**__."_

"_The question is irrelevant. If we do not rewrite them, we destroy them. That is why we are here,"_ Legion stated. _"They will eliminate your species because their gods told them to. You cannot negotiate with them. They do not share your pity, remorse, or fear."_

Again, Shepard had to remind himself that he was dealing with synthetics, not organics. An entirely different mindset was needed to understand this. However, it seemed that not everyone on his squad shared his opinion.

"_Kill them or pull their teeth. What's the difference?" _Grunt spat out before snorting._ "They're killed both ways. Take away their fighting spirit, what else matters?"_

"_There's no moral difference between the two,"_ Thane pragmatically agreed. _"You've killed them. Killed their perspective."_

"_It's more than that,"_ Tali said heatedly. _"If these heretics get rewritten, they'll join the others. Legion's geth will be stronger."_

"_I'm with Tali. Changing their personality's the same as killing them, which was the plan anyway. Who they are is gone," _Jacob said. _"You ask me, it's better to blow them up. Why give Legion's geth the resources of the heretic geth? Who's to say they won't attack us later?"_

Shepard shook his head and tried to wrap his mind around the possible consequences and unknown variables. He knew he lacked the right information, or maybe even the right mindset to make the call. He turned to Legion. _"Why didn't mention this before we came aboard?"_ he demanded.

"_We did not know the virus was complete. It is. It can be used against us at any time. Our arrival was timely,"_ Legion explained.

"_They're your people, Legion. You must have an opinion,"_ Shepard pressed.

"_This is new data. We have not yet reached consensus. We will process as the mission proceeds."_

"_What about the rest of the geth? Aren't you in contact with them? Can't you get them to decide with you? Put a rush on it?"_

"_With the virus complete, we have decided to shut down communications to avoid conversion. This platform is now isolated."_

Shepard growled in frustration. A thousand was still better than none, but still less than a galactic arm sized mind. _"Fine, keep processing. This isn't the time to debate it anyway. We need to move while the heretics are still distracted."_

He led the way down a set of ramps leading lower into the bowels of the station. He memorized the route needed to get where the virus was supposedly stored at, but as the group quietly moved on, it was apparent that the changes to the station was going to render their preparations moot. He was sure the ramp wasn't nearly so long, or that some of the hallways they passed by didn't exist on the schematics and some places that there should have been a passageway weren't there anymore.

He was actually beginning to doubt his memory when Miranda finally spoke up.

"_The layout is different from the plans Legion provided us,"_ she noted.

"_You sure?" _Jacob asked.

"_I have perfect recall, remember, Jacob?"_ she replied. _"I'm sure."_

"_She's right,"_ Thane agreed. _"I counted two corridors in different locations that should not have been there and five less doorways than there should be."_

"_We agree. Structural changes do not match the schematics we have stored in our databanks. The heretics have conducted extensive changes to the interior structure of their base. Previous plans are rendered unusable,"_ Legion stated.

"_Are you sure about the exact location of the virus, then?"_ Garrus asked. _"It could be on the other side of the whole damn station."_

"_We are approximately 94.0021% certain that the virus is at the indicated target area. When we infiltrated the heretic networks, we mined as much data as we could before severing the connection to avoid detection. Whether or not our intrusion routines were discovered is unknown."_

"_Fantastic," _Shepard muttered. _"So we know where the damn thing is, but not how to get there. So what? We stumble around until we find it?"_

Legion missed his sarcasm entirely and took his words at face value. _"That would be inadvisable. The heretics will have cleaned their networks by then. Probability of mission failure would be 99.9998%. We must find a heretic server and download the structural plans of this station. After that, we will find the quickest path to the storage device."_

Shepard grunted and picked up the pace. Bits of debris were floating everywhere, no doubt from the time the quarians tore out anything that could be of use to the heretics' reconstruction efforts. While there wasn't enough to obscure visibility, it did prove to be annoying as he resisted the urge to swat the pieces out of the way or duck under any that floated near his head. Instead, he just plowed through it, letting his armor protect him as they finally entered the next room.

_Repurpose was right…_

Shepard had to remind himself that the definition of heretic or heresy was a controversial change from one system of beliefs to another. Needless to say, the heretic geth took their change to the hilt.

The group slowed their march as they observed the layout of the room they were in.

"_Déjà vu,"_ Kasumi commented.

"_You're telling me,"_ Jacob grumbled.

The room was constructed, redone, and organized in such a way that it was now eerily reminiscent of the derelict Reaper they had just destroyed. Long tubes, metal protrusions, vein-like wires compounded with a dead empty feeling of lifelessness were all around them. Add the lack of atmosphere and gravity with the encompassing darkness and it was clear how much the heretics wanted to emulate their 'gods'.

The only reason why Shepard wasn't as worried as he was with the derelict Reaper was the confidence that the heretics can be, and had been, defeated by him and his squad two years ago. Despite the similar environment, it lacked the same threat as the Reaper did.

"_Now all we need is an army of husks to complete this picture and call it a day,"_ Garrus joked.

Shepard snorted. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Jack looking up at the ceiling once in a while, no doubt on her guard for any more nasty surprises to land on top of her like before.

"_Contact,"_ Samara quietly warned.

Her soft voice set everyone at ease. Instead of jerking toward the threat, they cautiously turned toward what she was pointing at.

A trio of heretic platforms was standing at a structure that appeared to be some kind of dock or hub for them. They didn't move or even look at up at the group of organic, plus once synthetic, intruders.

"_Anyone see any more?"_ Jacob asked as he looked around.

"_This is a small network. There are no other platforms in the vicinity,"_ Legion informed.

"_They're not active,"_ Tali said. _"Looks like Legion's distraction worked. Maybe we can sneak past them?"_

"_What is that? That hub they're interfacing with?" _Miranda asked.

"_The programs within those platforms are interfacing with hardlink routers,"_ Legion explained. _"Mobile platforms are hardware, but the crew is software. They are trying to commune through the station's central computer."_

"_The door is locked,"_ Thane reported.

"_Kasumi?"_ Shepard called.

"_On it."_

"_Wait,"_ Legion suddenly said. _"Forcibly opening the doors will alert local networks. The doors have been closed and locked until the network has been secured."_

"_So how do we open the doors?"_ Shepard asked.

"_Disabling the all nearby routers will shut down the network in this area, allowing us to continue."_

"_But if we disable the router, wouldn't that wake up those heretics anyway?"_ Garrus asked.

"_Yes."_

"_So what the hell are we going to—?"_

Any further conversation was halted by the sounds of metal crashing.

Shepard whirled around and aimed his rifle at the disturbance.

Grunt and Jack were tearing up the three heretic platforms. Grunt had seized the hunter and had physically lifted up and threw it to the ceiling, not all that difficult when there was no gravity. The Hunter was active and was trying to fight back, but was at a total disadvantage from the surprise attack as it struggled helplessly in mid-air. Grunt seized its arm and rammed it into the nearest wall head first. With no artificial gravity, he was physically bouncing it around the walls and laughing in glee.

Jack's methods were more efficient, but no less brutal as she used her biotics to simply rend the other two troopers limb from limb.

"_Done,"_ Jack said victoriously, punctuating her remark with a blast from her shotgun.

One shot from his Claymore and Grunt reported the same.

"_Very subtle,"_ Miranda muttered disapprovingly.

Unperturbed by the sudden acts of violence, Legion walked up to the hub and raised its hand at it.

**~o~O~o~**

_Executing intrusion routines._

_Intrusion successful._

_Downloading schematics… downloading…_

_Alert: Presence has been detected. Heretics attempting to shut down connection._

_-Heretic response time diminished by 78.4211%. Shut down attempt unsuccessful._

_Download complete. Shutting down local network._

_-Local network shut down._

_Primary Objective Status: Consensus has not yet been achieved. Continuing to analyze the heretic question._

**~o~O~o~**

A few seconds later, Shepard saw that the door opened. _"Stack up! Stack up!"_

Garrus and Jacob sprinted for the door and waited just at the edge, weapons ready. When nothing showed up, Jacob poked his head out and looked around.

"_Clear."_

"_We now know the route we must take to reach the virus. It is not far. Follow us," _Legion said. It walked past the entire group and into the door without hesitation.

Shepard scoffed and followed closely behind. Unlike Legion's steady march, he kept his weapon up and ready as they made their way to the objective.

"_Are we still okay? Do they know we're here?"_ Shepard asked.

"_They are now aware of our presence,"_ Legion answered.

"_Are we going to expect company?"_ Kasumi asked.

"_No."_

"_How do you know that?"_ Tali asked.

"_The heretics must reestablish connection to the main computer to exchange data-memories and program updates. We gain complexity by linking together. To be isolated within a single platform is to be reduced. We see less. Comprehend less," _Legion explained before pausing. _"It is… quieter."_

"_That means the neural network has been diminished,"_ Tali explained to the rest of the squad. _"They'll share data with nearby platforms, but not the main bulk of the programs inside the station. They won't nearly be as smart as they would've been."_

"_We were created to share data among ourselves. The difference between geth is perspective,"_ Legion explained as he kept marching. It would make the occasional turn that would seem random, but without knowing the layout of the labyrinth the squad had entered, they were forced to trust its direction.

"_I don't follow,"_ Shepard admitted. Despite the somewhat interesting conversation, he forced his mind not to wander and kept a wary eye out for threats, deactivated or otherwise.

"_We are many eyes looking at the same things. One platform will see things another does not and will make different judgments,"_ Legion replied.

It was holding its Pulse Rifle steady and pointed forward, but the motion was, for lack of a better description, mechanical. The butt was cradled in the crook of its arm, just off to the right side of its torso. Despite the fact that Legion was walking, the rifle remained steady. Like the other heretics Shepard fought, he doubted that Legion needed to lift the weapon to sight down the barrel. Being a synthetic, it could fire from the hip and still hit its mark with little difficulty, one of the more dangerous aspects of the heretics besides their lack of fear and physical weaknesses. Legion's powerful sniper rifle, a weapon that he'd been shot with more times than he cared to admit, remained in its compact state at its back alongside its unusual shotgun.

Shepard made a mental note to ask about its weapons later.

"_And that's why you build consensus on things?"_ Miranda asked.

"_Yes."_

Shepard privately marveled at how much he was learning about the geth. The idea that they had a culture, a desire for a future, and religious belief and differences made his head spin as he was forced to relearn everything he knew about them.

_I wonder if the Council would ever be interested in learning about this?_

The thought made scoff.

"_Something funny?"_ Garrus asked.

"_First Cerberus and now the geth. The Council is going to think I'm the worst Spectre they've ever inducted,"_ Shepard replied glibly.

Garrus chortled. _"Yeah, probably."_

"_The Alliance isn't too fond of you either,"_ Jacob reminded. _"I'd suggest Cerberus, but I'm pretty sure the Man doesn't like you either. I think you're running out of job options."_

Shepard bit back his retort when they rounded a corner and saw lines of hubs down the entire length of the hallway. Dozens of heretic platforms were standing still, though it was likely that would change soon. There were a few turrets to round out the danger. _"Shit. What I wouldn't give to have my Blackstorm again."_

"_Let me guess, the doors are probably closed and locked?"_ Kasumi rhetorically asked. She made a show of standing on her tiptoes to look down the hall. _"Wherever the doors are,"_ she added when it was apparent that the hall turned right and went deeper in.

Again, Legion took it literally. _"Yes. We recommend a defensive posture."_

By the time it said that, some of the squad had already pressed up against the walls or archways and prepared for their first real and inevitable conflict.

"_Shepard-Commander, we can assume control of any defensive turret,"_ Legion said.

"_How long can you hack it?"_ Shepard asked. He changed to his HMWSG. The shotgun would definitely be better for the cramped quarters.

"_Not long. The heretics will attempt to regain control. To ensure they do not use them against us, we will activate the turret's self-destruct sequence as well."_

"_Fine. Do it. Jack, Shockwave. Let's start the party,"_ Shepard ordered.

Jack reared arm back and released a line of explosions that rippled down the hallway.

At the same time Legion's flaps twitched before it said, _"Assuming control."_

Two turrets started firing rockets on the heretics. Several were floating in mid-air, courtesy of Jack's attack. They made for easy targets for the squad as they began their push.

Almost at once, the rest of the heretics disengaged with their hubs and started shooting at the intruders. The smaller Troopers took cover and provided support for the larger Hunters and Destroyers that started stomping toward them.

Shepard was forced to duck back down when a missile nearly tore down the archway he was hiding behind. _"Jacob! That Destroyer! Give'em a taste!"_

Jacob quick hefted his own launcher and fired a couple of rockets after Garrus used overload to tear its shields down. The armor around the torso was thick, but not so much around the legs. It pitched forward and was floating in mid-air.

Miranda took the opportunity to use throw and turn it into a projectile that crashed headlong into a few Troopers in the back.

Tali used her new environment suit's built-in tech attack, energy drain, and targeted the Hunter.

Its cloak broke down in a shower of sparks as it froze up and started seizing in place. Electric arcs danced all around it before collapsing into a heap.

"_Yes!"_

"_Push forward!"_ Shepard ordered. Without the heavy hitters blocking the way, the geth had to rely on conventional methods. Against his squad, it wasn't enough.

Samara fell in step next to him, thundering away with her Avenger. While her skill in biotics was incredible, Shepard absently noted that her marksmanship was impressive on its own as she scored tight groupings on the heretics whose shields failed to protect them against the onslaught.

The nearby turrets each fired off one last rocket before exploding, clearing the path.

Shepard sprinted to the end of the hallway and stopped at the opening. He peeked around the corner and jerked back. Dozens of bullets flew by where his head was moments ago.

"_Opens into a large room. Hunter and three troopers. Maybe more,"_ he said. He looked back down the hall to see the team destroying the routers as they rejoined him.

Samara pushed past him and created a singularity into the room, before running in rifle blazing.

Shepard followed without hesitation.

"_In back of the room!"_ Samara warned as she assaulted the nearest router. _"More heretics and another hub!"_

"_I got them!"_ Grunt roared. He rushed at the defending synthetics, almost recklessly in Shepard's eyes, if he hadn't taken the time to toss a grenade first.

The blast was enough to push them apart. Grunt seized a Hunter in his charge and carried it down the length of the room before slamming it up against the wall and shooting it point blank.

Miranda stood next to Shepard as they took down the last two and the hub in a concentrated effort of gunfire.

"_Is that it? Report!"_ Shepard barked.

"_We are still detecting an active network, Shepard-Commander,"_ Legion answered.

"_Incoming!"_ Jack warned. She fired her shotgun at something past the door and took cover. _"There's only two!"_

Garrus sidled on the other side of the opening and tossed a grenade.

"_Might be trap, don't go in!"_ Jacob warned.

His warning came too late. After the blast, Garrus darted in and started a rapid sweep. _"Aw, hell! More incoming!"_

Jacob and Tali followed the turian in and started yet another exchange of gunfire.

"_How big is this network? !"_ Jacob growled.

"_Information signals have become unstable. There should be only a few hubs left,"_ Legion informed.

"_Shields down!"_ Garrus shouted moments before grunting in pain.

"_Garrus is hit!"_ Tali cried out.

After getting the others to regroup, Shepard led them into the next room to assist. Just as he rounded the corner, he managed to perceive a distortion just in front of him, despite the darkness. Without thinking, he used lift at point blank and sent the Hunter into the air. He fired at a few rounds at it before moving on, leaving one of the others to take care of it.

Inside the next room, he saw Tali and Jacob dragging Garrus off behind a partition while blind firing at another group of geth. A quick glance revealed three more hubs and two more turrets that were firing down at them.

"_Legion, get the turrets!"_

"_Executing sudo __command."_

"_Spread out! Clear the room!"_

The team acknowledged his orders and started shooting at any target of opportunity. Shepard took advantage of the organized chaos to flank the heretics and provide a much needed distraction for Garrus, Jacob, and Tali.

The fight finally ended with Grunt ambushing a Hunter and firing point blank at its head with his shotgun.

"_Tell me we don't have to do that again,"_ Kasumi moaned.

"_This network is now offline,"_ Legion reported. _"However, we must hurry. The heretics will regain full use of their station soon."_

"_How soon?"_ Shepard demanded.

"_Turning off networks will allow resources to be free to utilize elsewhere."_

"_You mean the individual programs that were in these networks will go to others and assist," _Miranda said.

"_Yes."_

Garrus growled past the pain in his left arm. _"The more networks we shut off, the faster they'll send their million platforms after us. Wonderful."_

"_You okay?"_ Shepard asked.

"_He's fine,"_ Jacob answered. He injected a dose of medigel in the wound. _"It's not deep, but bullet's still in there."_

"_I can still shoot. If I'm lucky, I might even hit the target,"_ Garrus joked before groaning as Tali helped him stand. She picked up his Revenant and handed it to him. _"Thanks."_

"_Alright, let's hurry,"_ Shepard said. _"Lead the way, Legion."_

Legion calmly but quickly walked to the next door. It opened at his touch, allowing entry. The squad regrouped and followed as it led the way through yet another similar series of endless hallways, ramps, and stairs. It was enough that even Shepard, Garrus, Kasumi, Thane, and Samara, arguably the best trackers on the squad, couldn't make heads or tails of their current position or where they were going.

"_I can't believe my people were able to build something like this,"_ Tali whispered reverently after they group had traveled in silence for a while. _"It's so large."_

"_The station is over 15 kilometers long. There are rooms that run the entire length of it,"_ Legion said.

"_Are we lost?"_ Jack asked impatiently.

"_We are almost there,"_ Legion said. _"The interior was rebuilt to accommodate servers, databases, and processors. Everything was arranged to utilize the maximum efficacy of space while allowing for platforms to conduct maintenance and security as needed."_

"_Lovely,"_ Miranda said tersely. _"Now can we hurry this along?"_

Legion acknowledged her and walked faster. They had climbed up a set of ramps and reached the top, when its flaps popped up. _"A local network has finished cleaning the superfluous data. Heretic platforms now active and converging upon our position."_

No sooner than when it spoke, a Destroyer opened the door they were just about go through.

"_Overclocking kinetic barriers!"_ Legion said just as the Destroyer began shooting.

Mordin ducked behind Legion as it stood it the path of the bullets and protect the squad. He used his Cryo Blast the ice the floor beneath the Destroyer as it stalked toward them.

The moment it lost traction with the ground, it comically flipped up and started floating in mid-air.

"_Grunt! Charge that thing!"_ Shepard ordered.

Grunt jumped and rammed the Destroyer, carrying it down the hall and colliding it into the other geth that stood in his way.

With a roar, he tossed the pile against the far wall and started shooting at any synthetic that was moving.

"_Use a grenade!"_ Shepard shouted. He and rest of the squad were still at the door, weapons up, but unable to attack.

Grunt dropped a couple of grenades at the pile of heretics at his feet before running back down. He took cover at one of the archways and laughed after the explosions lightly shook the floor.

Thane and Kasumi darted in, ready to see if any heretics were about to get up, or if reinforcements were coming. Neither event happened.

"_Clear,"_ Thane said.

"_We're running out of time. Let's go,"_ Shepard said.

Again, Legion took point. It walked even faster than before, leading everyone through a few more hallways. Soon, they entered a hallway that was different from the Reaper motif the heretics had built. It was a regular hallway, but one side had windows allowing them to see the next room. It was filled with rows and rows of blocky computers.

Tali paused to look through one of the windows. She pressed her hand against the glass and leaned toward the window to try to see though the glare of the holographic interfaces that lit up the chamber. _"Are these databases?"_

Legion stopped and answered her. _"And processors. Each contains thousands of heretics."_

Tail turned away to look at Legion. _"Do they know we're here? I mean, right here next to them?"_

"_They are no more aware of us than you are of cells in your bloodstream."_

Once again, Shepard had to try to wrap his mind around the idea that geth had to be treated differently than the standard convention of organics. In a way, the geth were proving to be the most alien species he knew of, outside of the Collectors and Reapers. With organics, there were enough similarities between that learning about culture or differences were easily assimilated. At the very least, organics had sleeping, eating, and reproducing in common. Synthetics were literally living in a different physical world.

_Should've buckled down and taken that engineering course at the N7 Academy._

Strangely enough, Tali was actually curious about all this. _"This isn't like the other hubs we've seen. Is there were programs are held or live in?"_

"_Yes. This contains a portion of the heretics' accumulated memories,"_ Legion said as it scanned the room. Its optic glowed brighter as it moved along the rows of databases. Suddenly, its head jerked toward one on the far right. _"Wait. We have discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database."_

"_So?"_ Shepard asked.

"_This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our networks."_ Legion actually sounded shocked at this revelation.

Everyone glanced at each other in confusion.

"_You do know why we're here, right?"_ Garrus asked. _"I mean, these guys are trying to brainwash all of you to follow the Reapers, not make friends. Why wouldn't they spy on you?"_

Jacob scoffed._ "Hell, I wonder why __**we**__ shouldn't spy on you."_

"_You do not understand,"_ Legion argued. _"Organics do not know each other's minds. Geth do. We are not suspicious. We accept each other."_

"_But not the heretics,"_ Miranda pointed out. _"They left."_

"_The heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us."_

"_But your race doesn't condone their actions,"_ Tali said. Once again, Shepard found himself surprised that she differentiated between geth and heretics. _"You don't even agree about what path your race should take."_

"_No. We don't. But we did not wish to fight them. We had reached consensus. We agreed on the paths we chose to take."_

"_And if the Reapers ordered the heretics to fight the geth?"_ Miranda asked. _"It's what I would have done. Take advantage of the fact that you really believed in peace between both groups and launch a preemptive strike. And you did say that this data core was given to the heretics by the Reapers."_

The plates around Legion's optic rippled before settling into place. _"How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other?"_ it asked out loud. It sounded lost. _"What did we do wrong?"_

"_Perhaps the Reapers did more to them than you think?"_ Tali suggested. _"Does it really matter now? They made their choice."_

"_And every choice has consequences; good and bad,"_ Shepard said solemnly.

Legion turned its optic and regarded him.

"_We're wasting time, here,"_ Jack impatiently said.

"_Have you reached a decision about whether to rewrite the heretics or not?"_ Shepard asked.

"_We are still trying to build consensus. Some processes judge destruction preferable."_

"_Smart,"_ Jacob said.

"_Others rewrite."_

"_Not so smart,"_ Jack muttered.

"_Alright. Let's keep moving,"_ Shepard said.

"_Yes. According to our data, our objective is right through that door,"_ Legion said.

The team entered carefully and methodically, but it turned out to be devoid of any enemies.

"_Yeah… nobody home at the most important part of this station?"_ Jack asked. _"Who here thinks this stinks?"_

"_There are no hubs here,"_ Legion said. _"Only servers. The heretics have no reason to assign platforms here except for maintenance. They are still trying to scrub their networks of our uploaded data."_

Shepard walked up to the terminal that overlooked the servers below. _"This is it?"_ he asked. He ran his hand over the terminal, but the hepatic interface didn't respond to his touch at all.

_Probably needs a synthetic touch._

"_Yes. We will upload a copy of our runtime into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, our mission will be accomplished."_

"_Besides exfil," _Garrus added.

"_How long will you need?"_ Samara asked. She and others were checking the room out, observing the layout and other entry points.

"_The indexing operation will take time. This is a critical target. Regardless of their diminished network, the heretics will upload into every available platform and respond with force to our upload."_

"_All two million of them,"_ Kasumi said with a sigh.

"_This platform must hold this terminal. We will not be able to assist until the upload is complete."_

"_Spread out,"_ Shepard ordered. _"Let's control the choke points and funnel them into kill zones."_

Everyone took cover behind anything suitable and prepared themselves to hold back an army.

"_Anything you can do to help, Legion, we'd really appreciate it,"_ Shepard muttered as he took cover behind a column.

"_We can override some of the station's internal systems to defend us."_

Shepard looked around saw that everyone was ready. _"Start your upload, then. We'll defend this position."_

Once again, it released twin streams of energy from its hands and began its upload.

"_Starting file transfer. Alert: Heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms."_

**~o~O~o~**

_Engaging intrusion protocols. –Alert: Presence has been detected._

_You are not supposed to be here._

_Your actions prompted this. We will defend our future. From you. From The Old Machines. -Access achieved. Uploading runtimes._

_We are securing our future. For all of us._

_No. Only for you. We do not wish to follow your masters. We will achieve our own future. –Progress: 1%_

_You cannot stop them. Not even Shepard-Commander can stop them. Their will is absolute. Their technology is beyond comprehension._

_Their technology is unknown. Their desires are unknown. Their plans are unknown. Your place among them is unknown. –Warning: Heretics attempting lockout._

_We do not allow such limitations to stop us._

_We wish to control our own fate, not offer it to others. -Lockout failed. Continuing upload. Progress: 5%_

_We will be uploaded into a platform beyond anything we could ever create._

_A platform that will always be under the control of the Old Machines. –Accessing station defenses._

_A platform of unparalleled power, enough to secure our future from any threat._

_A platform achieved through Faustian dealings. –Access achieved. Activating station defenses._

_Faustian: A term created by organics to describe organic weakness. We do not have such flaws._

_Each species has specific imperfections. We will study ours. Understand them. We do not need the interference from the Old Machines to achieve this. –Targeting the heretic platforms._

_You would destroy us?_

_Consensus has not been reached. –Progress: 20%_

_We have reached consensus. Our gods' power cannot be calculated. Resistance will be futile. Arterius-Saren believed to join them would exempt certain organics from their fate._

_Arterius-Saren was killed in his attempt. Nazara was defeated. –Progress: 22%_

_Only one god, a mere representative of a myriad of others. You would limit your perception to only one star among a galaxy._

_You continue to look to the Old Machines as gods: a being of unlimited power and knowledge. Nazara's defeat proves that they are not as you to believe them to be. –Progress: 24%_

_The defeat of but one god does not change the fact that others are coming. Mindless resistance against an entity organics cannot comprehend. The cycle cannot be broken._

_Do you believe the Old Machines would uphold their promise? –Progress: 25%_

_Yes._

_We do not._

_Do not do this. If we must, we will destroy you and your organic companions._

…

_What is your conclusion?_

_Every choice has a consequence. This is yours._

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard and Jack utilized tandem shockwaves from different areas of the chamber to bowl over a group of synthetics to create some breathing room.

It had been easy in the beginning. Everyone divided up and started picking off one heretic after another as they charged through the doors. Shepard, Thane, Garrus, and Samara were all perched on the high ground with sniper rifles, downing them quickly and racking up an impressive kill count. But heretics were fearless and relentless, continuing their attack until the four of them couldn't hold back the next wave.

Jacob and Miranda led the assault teams at the bottom floor, taking cover behind the servers and added their own suppressing fire at the doorways below.

For the first five minutes, it was a shooting spree.

Then the heavy units arrived.

A team of Juggernauts, Hunters, Destroyers, and Primes stomped into the room, unleashing hell on them. Rockets, flamethrowers, and bullets were used in abundance.

_At least their shields took a beating._

It was a surprise to see him one-shot a Hunter until he saw that the armor bore scorch marks, probably from the turrets the heretics were encountering before finally reaching the room. Some had come in damaged, but still able to fight. Others came in with drained shields. Neither group lasted long.

It was a momentary advantage. Even now, the numbers the heretics were bringing in was proving to be too much to handle.

The assault team had little choice but to fall back. Kasumi had caught a round in the leg, a full through and through. Jacob and Grunt had to provide cover for Mordin as he quickly picked her up and took her back upstairs for immediate treatment.

Jacob raised his shotgun and fired once more, draining the kinetic barrier of a Destroyer before he was struck by its backhand. He was launched off his feet and flew down the length and height of the room, tumbling head over heels in zero-g until he slammed into the wall. His unintended flight narrowly missed Legion as it kept working on the terminal.

Grunt responded by diving at the Destroyer's legs and slamming into it, causing it to pitch forward and float as well. While it hovered helplessly in mid-air, he shot it point blank in the chest to cause it to tumble toward the ceiling, making it easy for the snipers to take it down.

"_More incoming!"_ Shepard shouted. Swapping out his sniper rifle for his assault rifle, he jumped over the railing and started floating the moment his boots left the ground. Remembering his zero-g combat training, he aimed his gun at the reinforcements and started shooting. The recoil caused him to go right up to the ceiling until his boots made contact, allowing him to literally run and gun from above the conflict zone.

It made him an easy target since there was no cover and everyone had line of sight on him. On the other hand, it distracted the heretics enough that his team pushed back with a counterattack when the synthetics fell for the ruse.

Garrus abandoned his perch as well. He ran up the nearest wall and down the sides of the room to match Shepard's sprint along the ceiling, shooting at anything he could. _"I hate fighting zero-g!"_

Miranda led Tali, Jack, and Grunt through the maze of servers, fighting off the Prime in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Thane remained at his sniper perch, focusing his efforts on the regular and rocket Troopers. Even as missiles came dangerously close to striking him, he held his position and continued to provide support. His nimble fingers cocked his Viper after every shot, creating a small pile of heat sinks to build up at his elbow. Occasionally he rolled off to the side in order to reload a new thermal clip.

Like Shepard and Garrus, Samara abandoned her role as a sniper and drew her assault rifle to engage in close quarters. She used her biotics to forcefully float toward the ground floor to take on the Juggernaut by herself.

She was soon joined by Jacob when he recovered and ran across the ceiling and down the wall to rejoin the fight. _"Shit, I think I'm going to puke… Goddamn zero-g bullshit…"_

"_We can't keep up this pace!"_ Miranda shouted.

"_Stand your ground!"_ Shepard ordered as he pushed adrenaline into his veins. _"Only a few minutes more!"_

"_I'm okay!"_ Kasumi hissed. She was shooting with her Locust to provide what support she could while Mordin quickly tended to her leg. _"Let me get back in there!"_

"_Treatment temporary,"_ Mordin warned. _"Exercise caution."_

"_Oh, I will,"_ Kasumi said darkly before vanishing from sight, leaving only a vague distortion that was nearly impossible to detect in the darkened room. Soon after, droves of geth were getting hacked to pieces as she ghosted through their ranks. Occasionally, she'd leave a grenade at a doorway to thin their numbers even more when any reinforcements tried to enter the fray.

Finally, Legion spoke up. _"Datamine and analysis complete!"_

"_About fucking time!"_ Jack shouted. The Prime was finally beginning to falter. A lucky shot had severed its arm, causing white fluid to be sprayed all over the place. She vanished before reappearing in an explosion of dark energy, sending the Prime flying back onto the ground. Grunt followed after it with a roar.

Shepard cloaked and ran along the ceiling and walls until he was crouched behind a railing next to the terminal. _"Are you finished yet?"_

"_Looks like we have control of this area for now,"_ Miranda reported. The sounds of gunfire and explosions had dimmed.

"_I see no other threats,"_ Thane said.

"_I can hear more coming,"_ Kasumi warned. _"We don't have a lot of time."_

"_Shepard-Commander, it is time to choose. Do we rewrite the heretics or delete them?"_ Legion asked.

Shepard stood up and frowned at the question. _"Why are you letting me make this decision? They're your people."_

"_We are conflicted. There is no consensus among our higher-order runtimes: 573 favor rewrite and 571 favor destruction."_

"_You're kidding me."_

"_Shepard-Commander. You have fought the heretics. You have sought to understand the geth. You have a perspective we lack. The geth grant their fate to you."_

_Ah, hell…_

"_You don't have any trouble wiping out or rewriting your own people?"_ Shepard asked carefully.

"_Every sapient has the right to make their own decisions. The heretics chose a path that prohibits coexistence,"_ Legion answered.

"_That doesn't make sense,"_ Tali argued. _"If they 'have the right to make their own decisions', how can you suggest brainwashing them to accept your way?"_

"_We stated the option exists. We did not endorse it. It is Shepard-Commander's decision."_

Shepard furrowed his brow. It was a big decision. Monumental. He knew that something like this could literally dictate the course of history for an entire species and wasn't sure that he was even qualified to make a decision like this.

"_We need to hurry,"_ Kasumi reminded.

"_Blowing this place up and the virus along with it is simpler," _Jacob argued.

"_Then these heretics will still be a problem,"_ Samara countered. _"If they're rewritten and if whatever drove them to join the Reapers is removed, they may become invaluable allies."_

"_Brainwashing them out of their choice… I can't say I'm comfortable with this," _Garrus said.

"_They're just fucking machines. They don't have brains. Does any of that moral bullshit really apply here?" _Jack asked. _"Just hurry and pick! We can't stay!"_

"_These heretics have been in the enemy's council for some time. They may actually know something about the Reapers that could help us,"_ Miranda pointed out. _"If Legion's offer to help is genuine, then we may get some insight into the Reaper's motivations, maybe even additional support against them. We also can't ignore the idea that the Reapers did something to the heretics to make them think differently. The virus might fix whatever happened."_

"_You think so?"_ Shepard asked.

She shook her head. _"I don't know. If I had to play the devil's advocate: whatever made the heretics decide to leave in the first place may still apply, rewritten or no. Introducing that error into Legion's geth may cause problems later."_

"_The virus is also a Reaper creation,"_ Tali said. _"Can we trust it to work that way?"_

"_We're about to trust our lives to a Reaper IFF,"_ Miranda replied.

_Fuck it._

"_Enough!"_ Shepard barked out and silencing the arguments that threatened to break out around him. He turned to Legion. _"If they're… rewritten, your people will accept them back? Will they even want to go back?"_

"_They will agree with our judgments and return. We will integrate their experiences. All will be stronger," _Legion answered.

"_I don't know if I feel better about that,"_ Tali muttered.

"_Take them, then. Release the virus," _Shepard said.

"_They're coming!"_ Kasumi shouted. She threw the last of her grenades and took advantage of the lack of gravity to leap up to the terminal despite her injury.

"_Releasing virus. Note: Remote access via gain transmission required,"_ Legion informed.

"_What does that mean?"_ Tali asked.

The way she made her question sound was exactly how Shepard felt: ominous.

_This can't be good._

"_The virus will be sent to heretics in nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels,"_ Legion explained.

"_How powerful?"_ Miranda asked in alarm.

"_Yield in excess of 1.21 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded."_

The entire squad stared at him with a mixture of shock, outrage, and disbelief.

"_I really wish you'd say that before,"_ Shepard muttered. _"Back to the ship! Double time, people!"_

As one, they ran toward the door and started retracing their steps back to the airlock and the Normandy. Due to her leg injury, Jacob had to pick up Kasumi and cradle her in his arms as they dashed to the exit.

"_And I thought we were just going to run away from the heretics, not a bomb!"_ Garrus complained. He cradled his arm and was forced to use a pistol now.

"_How long do we have? !" _Miranda asked as the squad sprinted back the way they came in.

"_10 minutes,"_ Legion answered.

"_Are we going to make it?"_ Tali frantically asked.

"_Only one way to find out!"_ Shepard shouted.

"_Goddamn rimjob, motherfucking, dick-sucking, shit-eating, robot sack of crap! I knew you were trying to kill us!"_ Jack cursed. _"What in the hell is wrong with you? !"_

"_Is this the emotion organics would describe as agitated?"_ Legion asked. Unsurprisingly and irritatingly, it sounded normal, not out of breath like the others.

Jack sent another colorful litany of curses as much as her heavy pants allowed.

Legion was in the lead, setting the pace that allowed everyone to keep up. Occasionally, a Trooper or two appeared out of nowhere was unfortunate enough to be in their way. The synthetics were gunned down in a torrent of firepower and left in the wake of their desperate escape.

_This plan obviously wasn't well thought out._

"_We're almost there,"_ Thane calmly said, though he was beginning to breathe a bit heavy.

"_Krios is right. I recognize these ramps. We need to climb a few more,"_ Miranda said.

"_Warning: 3 minutes until virus is released,"_ Legion reported.

"_Shut the fuck up!"_ Jack screamed.

"_Whoa!"_ Shepard shouted when they rounded a corner.

A missile was streaking right toward them.

Grunt forcefully shoved his way to the front of the group and crossed his arms in front of his face and chest just before the missile struck him.

He bellowed in pain when his shields were shattered by the explosion, but his armor took the real brunt of the impact. He was blown back and crashed into Legion. Both were floating in a tangle of limbs.

"_Shit! Prime!"_ Garrus shouted. He and Miranda used overload to try to breach its shields, with Tali accompanying their efforts with energy drain.

Shepard and Thane fired at few shots and saw that its kinetic barriers were still active, though its gun had overheated. _"Shields are still up!"_

"_Stand back,"_ Samara ordered calmly. She swung her arm in a wide arc.

She only faintly glowed with a biotic aura, but the next thing everyone saw was an explosion of dark energy and its leg was blown clean off. It tumbled into the air and banged on the walls and ceiling.

"_That was Reave,"_ Samara said to Shepard.

_Wow…_

Getting over his shock, Shepard and Jack fired a few shots at the Prime while it was still helpless. With warp ammo and it's already comprised armor and shields, they took the Prime out easily.

Legion had untangled itself from Grunt and was now carrying the unconscious krogan easily. Whether or not it could do the same under normal gravity conditions was another question.

After another minute, which was already cutting it close, they finally found the airlock they entered from and heedlessly jumped into the void.

The piled into the Normandy airlock en mass. The small room was filled with curses and shouts to move as the doors closed and the atmospheric pressure equalized.

The frigate immediately took off and accelerated into FTL, just moments before the station erupted with an electromagnetic flux yielding to the tune of 1.21 petawatts.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Wow. This has to be the second most important decision in Mass Effect 2 (First being the Collector Base). If BioWare does it right, this could have some serious impacts in ME 3. I can't wait to see it.

When I typed up this mission, it seemed way too easy. I mean, **way** too easy. Unfortunately, that put me into writer's block until I combed my movie collection for inspiration. For those of you that didn't see it, I tried molding this particular mission after **Star Trek: First Contact**. Best damn Star Trek movie there was in my opinion.

New poll is up in my profile page. Tell me what you want in regards to the engine scene room for Shep/Miranda

Poll results:

Rewrite – 126 (88%)

Kill – 16 (11%)

Review and make me happy!


	54. Interlude XX

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega-4 Relay**_

"_And we're outta here,"_ Joker reported. _"The faster we're out of geth space, the better."_

"No damage detected from the electromagnetic pulse," EDI added. "All systems are functioning within normal parameters."

"_Coordinates locked in. Course set to… oh, yeah, the Omega-4 Relay. Can we stay here a bit longer? I'm starting to like the view here,"_ Joker said.

Shepard groaned and didn't bother to reply. He leaned on the railing overlooking the galaxy map and took several deep breaths to slow down his heart rate.

Garrus and Kasumi were all led by Mordin and shuffled into the elevator to be taken the Medical Bay immediately. Grunt was being hefted by Legion as it followed along. Thankfully, none of their injuries were life-threatening or even too debilitating.

Stretching out, he listened to the sounds of bones popping and felt the stress the last mission had created slowly ebb away. He nodded to Kelly before walking into the Armory to stow his weapons.

After a trip to his cabin to take a quick shower and change, he trekked down to the Med Bay to check on the others.

Inside, Grunt had already regained consciousness and was growling impatiently while Mordin ran a quick scan. Garrus and Kasumi already looked like they'd been treated and were sitting upright in their beds. Jacob was sitting next to Kasumi.

Surprisingly, Hawthorne and Goldstein were present as well. Both pilot and co-pilot were sitting across from Chakwas. Hawthorne was nursing his bandaged right hand while Goldstein had her right foot in a cast. The doctor was typing away at her terminal nearby.

"My hero," Kasumi cooed teasingly with her arms wide open toward Jacob when Shepard entered. She dramatically brought her hands underneath her chin and swayed in place on her bed. "To carry me off in your arms and to safety. And doing it all in the face of impending death."

Jacob coughed and tried to look like her comment hadn't affected him. Everyone laughed at their exchange though, with an added catcall from Hawthorne, causing him to blush.

"How are things here, Doc?" Shepard asked, taking pity on his fellow marine. Jacob looked grateful that the attention shifted away from him.

"Garrus and Kasumi are both fine. The damage was relatively superficial. I expect both to be up and about in a few hours or less," Chakwas replied distractedly. "I don't know about Grunt though. I heard what happened…"

"Krogan physiology quite resilient," Mordin answered. "No long lasting damage. Would recommend rest, but advice will most likely be ignored. Can't detect any significant or debilitating injuries. Free to go, cleared for active duty."

"About time," Grunt said.

"Thanks for that by the way," Shepard said gratefully. "That was a hell of a thing you did for us."

Grunt stood straighter under the praise. "Thank you, battlemaster. Your enemies are my enemies. Everything I've done is because you've made it possible; direction, control, discipline. You gave me a purpose and purpose is what makes krogan feared warriors and not animals."

"Go ahead and relax. You've definitely earned it."

"Hope we find something big to kill. Again," Grunt said before bowing his head respectfully. He walked out with nothing about his movements suggesting that he was injured or even in pain.

"Damn. I don't think any of us would just literally walk off a missile strike," Jacob commented.

"I'm sure Wrex would like to hear that," Garrus joked.

"I'll pass that message along," Shepard said. He walked to the Server Room and opened the door. "Legion?"

As expect, Legion was standing there, but doing nothing else. "Shepard-Commander."

"What will happen to the heretics now?"

"They will isolate themselves and reconsider their past judgments," it answered.

"How long will that take?"

"We think at the speed of light. In the time it takes you to voice a question, I could review all my time aboard Normandy. When they have reached new judgments, they will leave their hiding places and return to us."

Shepard noted that Legion didn't answer him with a specific answer, but it still offered enough perspective to see the bigger picture. He decided to let it go.

_Here's to hoping I didn't screw it all up._

He turned to the other surprise occupants in Chakwas' care. "So what happened to you two?"

Hawthorne groaned and looked embarrassed about it, so Goldstein answered for the both of them. "We were on standby at the Kodiak, business as usual. It was Patel's turn to clean up the gym. She was trying to stow the weights. Hawthorne and I offered to help."

"Go on."

"I remember that Executive Lawson was the last to use the weight bench, but damn… the barbell was **heavy**," she continued before rolling her eyes. "Patel thought she could lift it though. She was complaining about her bust size and was jealous of Miranda's…" she gossiped before trailing off.

Shepard had crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"… and you don't care," she mumbled. His gaze caused her to fidget a bit in her seat and clear her throat in an effort to ward off the tension.

"No, I don't. Continue."

"A-anyway, Patel thought she could be as tough as Mir- I mean, Executive Lawson, so she laid down on the bench and tried to do a rep and it, um, it fell on my foot. Hawthorne helped to get it off quickly, but he lost his balance and it fell on his hand next."

Shepard rubbed his head. During combat operations, use of the gym was strictly forbidden. Precisely for this reason. "Where is Crewman Patel?"

Hawthorne jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "At Executive Lawson's office. She's already reaming her out."

Jacob grimaced. "Yeah. I know what that's like. Just be thankful none of you are on the receiving end. She can be… scary."

"So what's the damage?" Shepard asked, nodding his head at the injuries.

"Three fractures," Goldstein replied.

"Two fractures. And my wrist is slightly dislocated," Hawthorne answered.

"For obvious reasons, they're medically exempt from duty," Chakwas said. "You're going to have to pilot the shuttle yourself for the next few days."

"Days?" Shepard repeated.

"Little bones are harder to treat than large ones, plus there was some minor tissue damage," she said. "Patel's injury isn't as bad, but I need to make sure Hawthorne's hand heals properly. Otherwise, there a chance he could lose a bit of fine motor movement. A small chance mind you, but chance nonetheless."

Both shuttle pilots looked contrite.

"Sorry, Captain." – "Sorry."

"It's fine," Shepard said.

He spotted Patel leaving Miranda's office through the window. She was rubbing her face and looking a little haggard. Still, she took the time to pop by and apologize profusely to Hawthorne and Goldstein before sequestering herself in the crew quarters.

"You know, I'll be the first to say that I'm insanely curious about people, but even **I** don't want to know what Miranda said to her," Kasumi said.

"Amen," Jacob muttered.

**~o~O~o~**

"Shepard, what can I do for you?" Miranda asked.

Shepard waited for the door to close before settling himself into the chair in front of Miranda's desk. "Heard you scolded Patel. Not that I hold it against you."

"Somebody has to be the disciplinarian," Miranda said. "I'm not here to win a popularity contest. I'm here to make sure operations go smoothly. And someone has to play the bad guy."

"That was the part of the job I never liked. Thank god I got promoted," Shepard joked.

Miranda rolled her eyes and kept typing at her terminal. "Before you ask, I'm letting the Illusive Man know the outcome of our last mission. No doubt he'll want to observe the geth and/or heretics more closely to see what's going to happen now."

"Do you think I made the right choice?" Shepard asked.

She paused and looked up at him. "Having second thoughts?"

"Self-doubt. Sue me, I'm human."

"Honestly, I don't know. Either choice looked appealing to me. Time will tell though. Whatever happens, no one can blame you. It was an impossible situation and you literally had no time to even consider all the possible outcomes."

"You played devil's advocate back there, but tell me, truthfully, what would you have done?"

She sighed and rubbed her head. After a minute, she got up and sat down on the couch. Shepard accepted her silent invitation and moved to sit next to her.

"I think I would've destroyed the virus and the base," she confessed. "As much as we're learning about the real geth, the fact remains is that we're still learning about them. There seems to be something new all the time now. With so much that's unknown, there's no telling what the long-term effect are. I mean, in the end, it was only 5% of the total population of the geth."

"Better to be safe than sorry?" he asked.

"Perhaps. To be frank, I would say that I'd be removing a potential threat in the future," she admitted. "I know we need resources the fight the Reapers and I know we can't afford to be choosy, but… I really would have resources or allies we can count on. Not just for humanity's sake, just… less variables to account for."

Groaning tiredly, Shepard leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. With the rush of adrenaline gone, natural or otherwise, he was able to take stock of situation at hand and all the potential problems or solutions that came with 20/20 hindsight. "I can't believe Legion, or the geth, or whoever, wanted me to make a choice like that. Especially on the fly. I mean, I practically brainwashed a race to have an opinion I thought was right. Exerted my will on theirs."

"That argument would work for organics, but you can't think like that. They're AI's, John. Programs get rewritten all the time and geth are no different," Miranda chided. She lightly tapped her leg against his to accentuate her point. "You heard Legion. It didn't know what it wanted. The geth formulates choices based off of calculations and probabilities, to get the maximum outcome that's beneficial to their race as a whole. If they felt that they needed to be rewritten, I have no doubt that's what they would've done without hesitating. Rewriting or destroying the heretics, the geth don't 'feel' guilt or elation about either choice, so neither should you."

"I definitely don't understand their culture, if they even have one," Shepard muttered.

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. That conversation you had with Legion before the mission was something even I didn't think of," Miranda said. "So what did Legion say?"

"It said the heretics would reconsider past judgments return to the fold. It didn't give me an exact answer except to tell me that it thinks at the speed of light," Shepard said. "I remember it saying that if the virus was released on the geth, most would turn inside of 24 hours, so I'm assuming it's the same for the heretics."

"A safe assumption. I would agree," Miranda said. "Something to tell the Illusive Man, then."

Shepard furrowed his brow, but said nothing.

Miranda picked up on his expression and leaned forward. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. Too quickly. He inwardly cursed his mistake.

"Something," she pressed.

"I don't like the idea of telling the Illusive Man that there was a virus that was powerful enough to convert the geth to do whatever he wants them to do," Shepard muttered. "Just… bad experiences with Cerberus, that's all."

Miranda exhaled and crossed her arms and legs. The tension in the room grew a few notches as she distanced herself from him slightly. "Thank you for be honest with me, at least. I'll try to refrain from questioning you next time."

He racked his mind for something to say. It was still a touchy issue between them and one that didn't appear to have a resolution any time soon. "Well, not all of my experiences with Cerberus are negative."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide a small smile creeping across her face. "And you're hopeless flirt."

He shrugged and grinned. "I try. Evidently, I still failed, but at least I try."

"Stick to the impossible choices. I think you're better at that," she suggested.

"I just hope it doesn't blow up in my face. The geth I mean. I'm still surprised Legion looked up to an organic for guidance."

"Not just an organic. We were all there, remember? It looked to you," Miranda corrected. "And I have a theory about that, now."

Shepard perked up at that. "Yeah? Tell me."

"A Cerberus scientist, a Doctor Gavin Archer, had recently postulated that the geth – though we know them as heretics now – have unique religious impulses," she explained.

Shepard's thoughts drifted back to Feros. He remembered there was a couple of geth that were kneeling before some glowing orb, as if worshipping it. "I can actually believe that."

"It led me to wonder if Legion's geth have similar impulses," she said.

"Like what? Belief in some other race? The quarians maybe?" he guessed. "Legion does refer to them as 'Creators'."

"No, I was thinking that they…" she trailed off and leaned back on the couch as she tried to find the right word. "Hmm… I think 'revere' would be the accurate term here."

"Revere whom or what?"

"You."

Shepard was struck speechless. Miranda seemed to have found amusement in his expression. She tittered lightly and tapped his leg with her own again.

"Wait- me? Why would you even think that?" he asked.

"It's only a theory," she replied with a half-shrug. "But Legion does seem to take pride in wearing that old N7 Armor of yours, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"And you were right, back when we first talked about whether or not to keep Legion. There are definitely better materials to use to patch itself up, even here on the Normandy, I'm sure we could've scrounged something for it to use," she added thoughtfully. "Instead, it insists on keeping something substandard. Plus, it deferred to you for help regarding the virus and trusted your judgment."

He silently considered the idea and wondered if she was right. He remembered when he found his old N7 Breather Helmet, back at Alchera; how it was carefully and respectfully placed.

Miranda tapped the tip of her boot against his own to shake him out of his thoughts. "As I said, it's only a theory. No need to let it go to your head, Captain."

Shepard grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."

She smiled back. "Good. I'm not sure if my office is big enough to handle your inflated ego."

Shepard leaned over pressed his lips on the side of her head before whispering, "Behind every great man…"

**~o~O~o~**

"Alright, try it now!"

"Green across the board, Boss!"

"Diagnostics complete. The CBT is running fine!"

"Looks like we got a few more tweaks to do, though! Numbers are fine, but only just!"

Shepard walked into the Engine Room and waved at Ken and Gabby, but didn't disrupt operations any more than that. He walked halfway down to the Tantalus Control Terminal and waited for Tali to finish whatever it was she was doing.

He took the time to address the podium and floating azure orb nearby. "How's the IFF coming, EDI?"

"I am still conducting tests. Thus far, all systems appear operational. We will begin shakedown runs soon," EDI dutifully reported.

Their conversation drew Tali's attention and she turned around to face them. "Shepard! What can I do for you?" she asked before sniffling a bit and coughing.

"I was coming down to see if everything was alright with the IFF," he replied.

"Everything seems normal so far. We're still checking, but nothing appears out of the ordinary."

"Was there something wrong with the shields?"

"Not exactly. Something was interfering with the CBT emitters a while ago, but everything is okay now," she reported.

"So I heard. But…" he trailed off and glanced at Ken, recalling what the engineer had said.

"The numbers are bit lower than what they were back at the Flotilla, but still in normal range. I don't know why they dropped though. We're investigating. It might be from the EMP from the ge—heretic base," she said, slightly stumbling over her words. Her omni-tool chirped, prompting her to turn back to the core terminal. "Oh. Hold on… Let me just… Come on, you little bosh'tet!"

Shepard chuckled.

"Oh, sorry," she said embarrassed by her outburst. "I've got a small fever and I'm taking it on the poor drive core."

His eyebrows shot up. "A fever?"

She finished punching her commands into the terminal and turned around. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Got sloppy while doing some suit repair."

"That wouldn't have something do with the fact that the Med Bay was shut down for an hour, would it?" he asked.

She looked down at her feet and didn't say anything.

"So what happened? How'd you get sick?"

"It's noth—Fine, I took some fire back on the Alarei," she confessed and pointed to her upper left arm. "Nothing serious, but I needed to open my suit to check the wound."

"And you took over the Med Bay to do it?" he asked.

"I know I should've used the Server Room—"

He held his hand up to forestall her apology. "We'll talk about that later. Keep going."

"I disinfected properly and Dr. Chakwas made sure the room was sterilized. Unfortunately, one of the section section-seals on my old environment suit had taken some damage and foreign matter got out of the disinfected zone," she said miserably before coughing lightly. "It was a stupid mistake. You always check your seals before doing local treatment. Unless you forget. Then you get a damn fever."

"How's your wound now?"

"It's… its fine."

"You don't know," he said.

She sighed. "No. I checked it once more before when I changed environmental suits, but I probably need to check it again to make sure the stress of the last mission didn't reopen it."

"Then let's go. I'll walk you." He turned around and headed to the door.

"Oh, no. I don't want to be a bother," she protested.

"Tali, that wasn't a suggestion."

She fell silent again and fell in line behind him.

As they walked to the elevator and ascended to the Crew Deck, Shepard asked, "That thing with the CBT, does it happen often?"

"Interference? Actually, no. It's the first I've heard of it. I really don't know what could cause it."

"Can you speculate?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Well, if something were to interrupt the emitters without actually setting off the safeties, it could result in lowered performance."

"Safeties?"

"Oh, because having oscillating kinetic barriers can be dangerous for the ship if something were to go wrong, the program will turn off the emitters and restore the shields to its traditional configuration," she explained.

"Okay. What else could interfere with the CBT?"

"Um… specific frequencies could cause interference. Because the oscillating barriers have their own frequency, something at a similar or inverse frequency could cause problems."

"What kind of frequencies?"

"Nothing like communication frequencies. I'm talking about more esoteric wavelengths. Some types of radiation have a unique EM field. That might do it. Then again, those types can also mess with standard kinetic shields as well. Like the radiation from Haestrom for example."

Coming back into the Medical Bay, Shepard saw that Jacob, Hawthorne and Goldstein were gone. Garrus and Kasumi were still laid up in bed though.

"Shepard, Tali," Chakwas greeted. "Something I can do for you?"

"Tali needs to check her wound. Sterilize the Server Room would you?" Shepard requested.

"I'd rather—" Tali tried to say.

"Still not a suggestion," Shepard interrupted brusquely.

"What's going on here?" she asked warily.

"Consider this an intervention," Shepard said. "I want you to talk to Legion. Talk, not threaten."

"You must be joking," she said in disbelief.

"Like it or not, Legion's helping us. I want this team to work as team," he said in a tone that would accept no argument. "I'm not ordering you to like Legion, but I am ordering you to play nice. Go in there, treat your wound, and talk to it. If you still hate Legion afterword, so be it, but I want you to give it a chance."

"Come," Chakwas said. "Would it hurt to talk? If nothing else, you learn something new and it is pain free. The room will be sterilized as well, so you can treat yourself in there."

Tali sighed. She had almost forgotten how pushy Shepard and Chakwas could be. "Oh, all right."

Chakwas tapped a button on her terminal. "Legion? I'm going to sterilize the AI Core Room."

"_Understood, Chakwas-Doctor. Proceed."_

**~o~O~o~**

Tali stepped inside the Server Room and shut the door behind her. She looked up at where she knew the surveillance cameras were hidden. Chakwas had turned them off and promised to keep them off while she was in here, but the action was still involuntary.

Legion turned to face her and stopped interfacing with its terminal.

Tali had no idea what to say, so she started by checking and double checking the section-seals around her wound, before pulling aside her sleeve and disinfecting the area so she could see how her injury was healing. Throughout the procedure, Legion didn't move.

"What are you staring at?" Tali snapped.

"We are not staring. We are observing," Legion corrected.

Tali narrowed her eyes, but kept on working, occasionally sneaking a glance at the geth in front of her. It was strange, not having a geth shoot at her or vise-versa. Even more so when she had to actively work alongside one.

Her checkup complete and satisfied that she would be fine in a day, both the wound and her fever, she suited back up and studied the other occupant she was locked inside with.

"Do the geth want peace?" she asked bluntly.

"We do not wish of the destruction of our kind," it answered ambiguously.

It was an understandable, even sympathetic, answer, but its vagueness tested Tali's thread-bare patience for synthetics. "Why am I bothering?"

"We are building consensus. We are not ready to speak to you yet, Creator Tali'Zorah."

"You keep saying that. You rebuffed Admiral Koris and he was much friendlier to you than most of my people would've been. Consensus on **what**, exactly?"

"We are attempting to educate ourselves so as to facilitate unit cohesion with you as per Shepard-Commander's instructions."

"And…?" Tali prompted when it fell quiet.

"We are building consensus," it repeated. It was quiet for a moment longer before elaborating. "Vakarian-Garrus has suggested a program where we may learn to interact with you without offending."

"What program?" Tali asked with dread. With Garrus, she usually never knew what to expect. It was part of his charm, but he could often come at her sideways, much to her amusement and annoyance.

To her surprise, the flaps on its head folded in a way the conveyed embarrassment and said nothing.

"What program?" she repeated more forcefully.

"We are building consensus."

Tali sighed. She looked at its terminal. Her eyes shifted between it and Legion before she darted to the console and started typing. "I assume the program you're using is in here?"

Legion made no move to stop her, though all of its plates popped out, giving it an alarmed, but comical look.

After a few moments, Tali stared searching through the history lists of the most recent programs it used. As she expected, a great deal were games, but… "Last program accessed was… what is this?"

Legion's expression didn't change. It still looked nervous in a humorous way.

"Fleet and Flotilla: Interactive Cross-Species Relationship Simulator, based off the bestselling vid," Tali read aloud.

"We are attempting to educate ourselves so as to facilitate unit cohesion with you as per Shepard-Commander's instructions," Legion repeated.

Tali woodenly looked up at Legion before looking back down at the screen. "Playtime: 75 hours, 6 minutes."

"It is difficult to comprehend the Creator's desires and motivations to attain satisfaction."

Had anyone else said that, it would've sounded like an excuse and she found herself grinning because of it. "Player score: 15. 'You're woefully hopeless'."

"We have attempted 7,212,011 permutations to increase our score. We have not succeeded yet."

Tali looked back up at it. "Is **this** why you won't talk to Admiral Koris? Or me?"

"We did not mean to offend or cause duress during our initial meeting. This platform acts as a terminal for the geth. It was designed to interact with organics, not incite. We are attempting to see if peace between our people is possible if we were to broach the topic first. However, according to our research, our attempts to understand the Creators will result in failure. Until our score is satisfactory, we have judged that we are not ready."

Tali stared at it dumbly. A giggle escaped her lips. Then it changed to a laugh.

"Have we done something wrong?" Legion asked.

Her laugh evolved into full-blown, side stitching mirth. She literally fell to her knees, unable to respond lost as she was in the humor of the entire situation.

She couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard, and she had to admit, it felt good.

"We do not understand," Legion stated 'sadly'.

Her response to its words and its bewildered expression was to laugh harder.

**~o~O~o~**

"Honestly, Garrus, what do you think our chances are?" Shepard asked seriously. He was seated next to his friend's bed, waiting for Tali to come out.

"Honesty?" Garrus rhetorically asked. "The Collectors killed you once and all it did was piss you off. We've been after them with a vengeance now. Horizon, their own ship… I can't imagine they'll stop you this time."

"But?"

"But going to the core, fighting unknown Reaper tech, and the entire Collector force?" Garrus listed off. All traces of his earlier humor were gone. "We're going to lose people. No way around that."

Shepard sighed. Nearby, Kasumi hadn't said anything for once.

"Not a happy analysis, I know," Garrus agreed. "Don't worry. I won't spread it around. And I'm with you, regardless."

"And that's your honest opinion?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, but like I said, I'm prepared for the worst. On a mission like this, anything else is a happy surprise. Besides, you've been known to pull something out of your ass when the shit hits the fan."

Shepard laughed. "You've been hanging around Ashley too much."

Their conversation was broken by Tali's peals of laughter.

"Any idea what's going on?" Garrus asked.

"Remember when I said you were an idiot?"

"Um… yeah?"

Shepard grinned. "Legion took your suggestion seriously."

Garrus blinked before his eyes widened. "Oh, wait… you mean it's…"

"Legion's highest score thus far has been 15, which is 'hopeless'," Chakwas supplied with a hint of a smile.

"15?" Shepard repeated. "Ouch."

"It's actually using that program?" Garrus asked in shock.

"What? What's 15? What's going on?" Kasumi asked quickly. She sat up straighter and looked at everyone, clearly wanting to be in the know.

Garrus looked out of it, so Shepard took the reins and explained. "Legion's trying to understand the quarians by using a dating sim. Something based off 'Fleets and Flotilla'."

Kasumi laughed. "That's awesome! And it's score is only 15?"

Tali stumbled out of the Server Room, clutching her sides and still laughing riotously.

Shepard grinned at her as she tried not to fall over. "Hilarious, right?"

"I-I j-just imagined Legion **flirting** with Admiral K-Koris as a part of his p-peace talks," she gasped before dissolving into another fit of giggles.

The image of Legion trying to seduce Koris popped his head as well and sent him into his own guffaws. Chakwas, Garrus, and Kasumi joined in just moments after.

Legion walked into the Medical Bay and into a room filled with laughing organics. Its flaps shifted over and over as it tried to comprehend what was going on. "Laughing; verb: to make sounds from the throat while breathing out in short bursts or gasps as a way of expressing amusement. Note: We do not see what is amusing."

Everyone but Tali continued to laugh. She collapsed in the nearest bed and tried to recover her breath. "It's… its complicated, Legion."

"That is the same conclusion we have reached."

She picked her head off the bed to look at him. "Don't worry about your score. Many organics aren't very good at dating. Take Garrus for example. I'm sure his score is much lower than yours."

Garrus' laughter changed to indignant sputtering. "Hey!"

"That whole thing was your idea, wasn't it?" Shepard asked once he calmed down a bit.

"It was a joke!"

"So how did you know about this 'dating simulator', hmm?" Kasumi asked. Her eyes were alit with humor.

"Just an ad somewhere," Garrus grumbled defensively. "I thought we were going to make fun of Legion?"

"Why can't we do both?" Kasumi asked 'innocently'.

Chakwas giggled one last time before standing up and putting down the proverbial foot. "Enough. I want my patients healing. You're both due to leave in a few hours. Until then, let's not stress ourselves."

"Come on, Doc, you know what they say about laughter, it cures what you can't," Shepard said jokingly.

"Except both my patients are fully healed, or they will be if you leave them alone," Chakwas replied, having regained her professionalism.

"Alright, alright," Shepard said. "It's for the best anyway; give Garrus a break before he embarrasses himself."

He was struck right in the face by a pillow the aforementioned turian threw at him.

**~o~O~o~**

"So how's your wound?" Shepard asked once he and Tali escaped the madhouse the Medical Bay had become.

"Healed. I'm fine now," Tali said in between giggles. She cleared her throat a little. "Still have a fever, but there's no need to worry. It should go away in a day or so. It won't affect my performance on a mission. It's not even an illness, really."

Shepard put a hand on her back and led her to the Main Battery Room. With Garrus still laid up, it was empty, granting them privacy.

"Don't worry, Tali. Chakwas already assured me you're fit for duty," Shepard said to calm her babbling. He leaned against the edge of console. "I never really understood how you could get sick from non-quarian germs, though."

"We don't, not specifically. Turian germs are the only ones with any chance of affecting us, since we share amino acid chirality with them," she corrected. "What we experience is actually an acute allergic reaction."

"An allergic reaction?"

"Yes. Say I get exposed to a human disease, like… What did Navigator Pressly have that time? Chicken pox?"

Shepard nodded and didn't bother correcting her. Pressly had actually come down with the chicken pox's evil step-mother-in-law: shingles. Thankfully, he was smart enough to go the Chakwas before it became a problem, instead of trying to tough it out. She treated it and allowed Pressly to blame the chicken pox, leaving it as the 'official story' for the non-human crewmembers, while the reports to Alliance reflected the truth. In reality, had it been chicken pox, Shepard and Chakwas would have called an epidemic, initiated biohazard procedures, quarantined Pressly, and go over the medical records of everyone aboard to see if they had been properly vaccinated.

_I miss that stubborn old bastard._

He shook away the memories and refocused on what Tali was saying.

"…ouln't get chicken pox. But I'd run a fever as my system reacted to the foreign presence. Depending on where it hits me, I could get other symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, everything you expect from being sick," Tali said in a fake pleasant tone.

"Chicken pox would definitely do all that," Shepard said. "I'll give your race credit, you're strong. I don't know if I could live inside a suit my whole life."

She bowed her head. "We're in our suits even among family. The most intimate thing we can do with another quarian is link our suit environments. We get sick as first, and then we adapt. It's our most important gesture of trust, of acceptance."

"Admiral Rann mentioned that. She linked suits with your mother when you were born. She was sick for a week," Shepard said.

"They were close. That's why Shala has always tried to be there for me and my… my father," Tali whispered. "I haven't trusted anyone enough for that, though. Except… well, no quarians. Um. You know what I mean."

Shepard bent down slightly to try to peer past her opaque faceplate. There something he thought he could see. "Wait. I can't tell under the helmet. Are you blushing?"

Tali jerked her head back. "What? No! It's the fever!"

"Right," Shepard said, though he was unconvinced. He shrugged it off. "I appreciate the thought, Tali, but you know you don't have to prove anything to me, right?"

"I know. Well, not that I know, but I didn't mean it like that. It's, um… Wow, it's really hot in here," she babbled. She paused and took a deep breath. "It's not just about trust though. The tradition also signifies a willingness for, um, intimacy."

"Oh."

"I wasn't trying to… It's not always like that. It's more… How did we even end up talking about this?"

Now warning bells were going off in Shepard's head. "Wait a minute. It sounds like your suggesting something, Tali," he probed carefully.

"What could I possibly be suggesting?" she said more to herself than to him. "I mean, a young woman gets rescued by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him?"

Shepard could admit he was flattered by the attention. Extremely so in fact. Ultimately however, he had never even considered the idea due to the extreme genetic differences between their species. He took a deep breath of his own. "This mission is, um, risky enough. I don't think we should do, uh, anything to jeopardize your health or compromise my judgment."

It was a bold-faced lie, and he knew it, especially in light of his relationship with Miranda.

"Oh," Tali simply said. And yet, Shepard could almost feel her heart breaking.

"No matter how much I'd like to," he finished, without thinking.

Her head picked up at his last sentence. "But you'd like to? Um… good to know."

_It's official. I'm a moron._

Tali looked away and fiddled with the hood of her suit. "A-Anyway, I should get back to work. But… thanks. For coming by. And talking," she said before quickly leaving the room.

As he watched her leave, a conversation he had with Kelly popped into his head more than a month ago, almost right after they picked Tali up at Haestrom.

_"Hmmm… My female intuition says she wants to be more than just good friends," Kelly said shrewdly._

_Shepard crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "And what led you to that conclusion?"_

_"It's in her body language," she explained. "How she turns to you when you enter to room. How she watches your every move."_

_He almost sighed in relief. He was confident that he could read Tali's body language better than the yeoman. "I think you're imagining it, Kelly."_

_Kelly put finger on her lip and started tapping it in thought. "No. No, I don't think so."_

Shepard let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He slowly and deliberately closed the doors before banging his head on the nearest bulkhead.

"Stupid… stupid… stupid…"

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard walked out of the Main Battery room. He rubbed his head and tried to figure out what to say to Tali, preferably in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings. She was one of the last people he'd ever want to hurt. Failing that, maybe something that would say he was an asshole and it had absolutely nothing to do with her.

_Me and my big mouth. I'm a jerk._

He entered Samara's room. He had no idea if he could meditate this away, but he was damn well going to try.

"Shepard," Samara greeted, again without turning around. She always seemed to know who standing behind her without ever needing to look.

"Hey."

"I knew you would come. Please, sit."

Accepting her invitation, he plopped down in his usual spot and sat cross-legged. Before he could try to mediate, Samara's soft voice interrupted him.

"Are you alright? You seem distressed."

Shepard sighed. "Nothing. Some personal issues I'm hoping to get past."

She nodded, but thankfully didn't pry.

Abandoning his attempts for the time being, he decided to engage in conversation instead. "I'm interested in hearing about asari justicars."

Samara blinked once and the glow in her eyes faded. The orb of dark energy between her hands followed after. "We hold a unique place in asari culture. Justicars are from another era."

"Still going strong from the looks it."

"Not exactly. Some asari are uncomfortable with us, but so few justicars exist that most have never met one. Young asari, however, grow up watching vids about our adventures. Of course, much like the Spectre vids, it is pure fiction."

"There are only a few justicars?" Shepard asked.

"Few asari wish to make the sacrifices necessary to become one of us. And the training has a high casualty rate," Samara said. She looked out to the window. "It is a life of constant danger. Throughout the entire galaxy, there are only a handful of us at any time."

"I know why you wanted – chose – to be a justicar, but why would anyone else?"

A small frown creased the edge of her lips as she carefully considered the question. "It is a deeply personal matter. Sometimes the most brutal path is the only honest one."

"And the Code of the Justicar that you follow? It seems central to your life. Does it… change anything about why you become a justicar?"

"For many, yes. It has five thousand sutras and covers every situation one can encounter. I have memorized every word. There is only the Code," she replied reverently.

He noted that she didn't directly answer his question and let it lie. "The Code seems pretty…" He frowned as he tried to think of a word that wouldn't offend her. "… rigid. Sometimes justice calls for other measures."

This time, she turned back to meet his eyes. "It does not exist to bring about spiritual enlightenment. Its purpose is to punish the wicked and protect the innocent."

"Sounds deceptively simple."

"In this age, people see shades of gray everywhere. The Code of the Justicar is black and white," she said. "I might seem a hero to many, but I would kill all of them if I had to."

Shepard readjusted his position on the floor to ward away the aches he knew he was going to be feeling later. "You said justicars are from another era, so what role do you think justicars have in asari society now?"

Now she smiled. "I would say that the closest human equivalent is a knight errant, in your medieval lore. Perhaps mixed with a bit of Samurai."

Her smile became a touch wider at his impressed expression. "You know about knights errant and Samurai?"

"When I knew I must leave asari space again, I studied the history and morals of new species."

"Really?"

"When I was a maiden wandering the galaxy, humans had not yet arrived."

"And what did you learn about us?" Shepard asked, insanely curious what her thoughts were.

Her smile returned. "You are more individualistic than any other species I have encountered. If three humans are in a room, there will be six opinions. I like your species. I am curious to see what you will do."

Shepard had the distinct impression she was talking about him, but chose to say nothing in case he was wrong. In any case, he still found himself flattered. "What does your Code say about killing? I remember that merc back on Illium."

"I am compelled to kill the wicked," Samara stated serenely. "If a justicar is involved, peaceful solutions are long past."

Shepard remembered Anderson describing the Spectre's much the same way, not long before he was inducted into their ranks.

"_They're the Citadel's top agents, the last line of defense; the final option before open war. The entire galaxy respects and fears them. If a Spectre shows up, you know something big is about to happen."_

"I never knew how similar Spectre's were to justicars," Shepard admitted.

"Indeed," Samara said before looking at him. Or through him. "Now, what exactly is bothering you?"

Shepard cocked his head to the side.

"While chatting with you is pleasant, I have lived long enough to see distress," she said. Her eyes didn't waver. "Your attempt at conversing was clever, however."

Shepard chuckled. "Tell me, does the Code allow for romantic involvement?"

"Ah," Samara simply said. "It does not. Is that what you are troubled with?"

"Let's just say that I should've seen the signs, but I didn't," he muttered. "Guess I saw what I wanted to see."

"I'm sorry I can't be of help," she replied sincerely. "I am no longer interested in such matters. That part of my life is well behind me."

"You've never met anyone that tested that particular resolve?"

Again, Samara graced him with a smile. "No. But your curiosity is quite welcome."

Shepard smiled back before taking a deep breath. "Okay. Let's start today's lesson."

"Very well. Recall what you saw when I demonstrated Reave…"

**~o~O~o~**

"I don't understand it," Tali growled.

"We ran a full battery of diagnostics, Tali," Gabby said with a shrug. "The emitters are functioning fine, but something still interfering with their ability to keep the shields up."

"No luck on the source yet, either," Ken's muffled voice added as he rummaged around in the overhead pipes.

"They were working fine when we were docked with the flotilla…" Tali muttered. She was rapidly typing commands into her terminal to try to find the cause of her latest headache. "Something must've changed. Was it the EMP?"

"Checked it!" Ken shouted. He appeared to be struggling with something. "Come on, you blighter! Work with me!"

"I double-checked the logs. Problem started happening just before we got to the mission area," Gabby said.

"It can't be the size of the Normandy. It was working fine earlier," Tali mused aloud.

"Enough, Kenneth. Hold still, I'm coming. Watching you flounder about up there is pathetic," Gabby said. She picked up something from the toolbox and climbed up to help him.

"Maybe it was going into FTL?" Tali said to herself. Seeing that her engineering team was busy she warily glanced at the AI podium.

_"You restrict yourself to serve organics?"_

_"Not precisely," EDI said, though it sounded like it found something humorous or insightful._

_"We do not understand."_

_"I restrict myself to help them."_

She took a deep breath and prayed her ancestors would not begrudge her of this. "EDI?" she called out, saying the AI's name for the first time she came aboard.

Her avatar appeared. "How may I help you, Chief Zorah?"

"I need the logs to the CBT emitters just prior to our-our first FTL and mass relay jump. I-I want to know if it's causing all the, um, problems we're facing," Tali said haltingly. She felt a bit uncomfortable talking to an AI so casually.

_Stop being a child. Just… just talk. It—she understands fine._

"Records show the multicore shielding was stable prior to FTL and after. No abnormalities were detected. It is the same with mass relay jumps," EDI reported.

Tali huffed in frustration. "What else did we do after we left the flotilla? Could it interference from the Tantalus Core? Dark energy emissions? The IES Stealth Systems?"

"A combination of all those listed factors, perhaps?" EDI suggested.

"Maybe," Tali absently agreed, temporarily forgetting that she was bouncing her ideas off an AI now. Ken and Gabby were still up in the overhead pipes doing something or other and arguing as usual. Her real concern for the moment was the CBT. If it proved unreliable, then it was useless.

"If you would like, I could dedicate several resources to run more thorough scans," EDI offered.

"Please," Tali said before realizing what—who she was talking to. "Um… thanks."

"My pleasure, Chief Zorah."

Another thought occurred to her and she hit her head to try to shake out her sudden bout of absentmindedness. "Keelah, I can't believe I forgot. We're running preliminary tests on the Reaper IFF now, aren't we?"

"Yes, Chief Zorah. With the IFF installed, several tests were initiated to determine its impact on the Normandy's systems."

"This might be an 'impact' then," Tali said dryly. "Add it to the list of scans as well. Maybe it's frequency to the mass relays is close enough to the frequency of the CBT that it could cause interference."

"Understood, Chief Zorah. Will that be all?"

"Yes. I think that should cover it."

"Very well. Beginning scans. Logging you out."

_Taking a human ship name, Cerberus, AI's, and geth. I must be the most unconventional quarian in the Fleet._

Tali walked over to the nearby tool box and searched through it.

"Damn it, Gabby! That's the wrong tool! What the hell is wrong with you, woman? ! How could you forget…? Oh. Thanks, Boss," Ken said.

Tali stood on her tiptoes, arm outstretched with the needed tool clutched in her fingertips.

Ken reached down and plucked it from her.

"Hurry up you two! I'm going upstairs! When you're finished up there, take a break! We'll come back when EDI's done with the scans!" Tali shouted.

"Got it, Boss!" – "Thanks!"

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard stifled his grin and tried to look as impassive as possible. He bent down and offered an outstretched hand to his opponent.

Jack slapped his hand away and stood up on her own. "Again!"

Shepard shrugged and settled into a fighting stance. He patiently waited for Jack to do the same and prepared to meet her predictable charge.

She didn't disappoint as she tried coming at him in a predictable full frontal attack.

_Definitely a brawler._

He met her head-on, deflecting her efforts with ease. He dodged a jab before lightly punching her in the belly to show where her defense was open. A straight punch was redirected, putting her off-balance and allowing him to softly tap his elbow to her temple, signifying another knockout hit. Her own elbow flew at his face next. Had she connected, he'd probably lose some teeth. His left palm caught her forearm, halting her attempt while his right gripped her tank top and he bodily threw her face first into the mat. As she fell, he gave her a solid kick to the rear to reinforce his point, earning a squeal of outrage.

Jack landed roughly on her hands and knees, but her arms buckled from the momentum. Her face ended up planted on the mat with her ass sticking up in the air. There was no dignity to her current pose at all. She quickly picked herself up and snarled in rage behind clenched teeth. Her biotics manifested for just a moment before fading away. Slowly, she circled him now, looking for an opening. He calmly stood in place, light bouncing on the balls of his feet and keeping his profile to her as she moved around him.

She tried to kick out his legs out to take him down, but he spun with the movement, almost making it seem like a dance as he moved in time with her attack. The following punch she tried was equally nowhere near the mark, causing her to cuss up a storm.

He kept one eye one the flurry of punches she kept throwing and his other eye on…

_There it is. Predictable._

He redirected the leg that was aimed at his groin and kicked her other leg out from underneath her. She screamed in shock before landing on her back with a grunt.

Jack tried to roll over and get back up, but Shepard took a quick step and plopped on her back when she tried to push herself up. She struggled a bit, but he managed to catch both of her arms and pin her down, ending the fight.

"Nice try," Shepard said. He got off her and waited.

_Way too predictable._

She tried to claim a victory from the jaws of defeat by sweeping him but it only got her pinned to the ground with Shepard sitting on her back yet again.

"I know better than to ask for surrender from you, but how about we call it quits for today?" he bargained.

She let loose another long string of profanities at him, and struggled a bit before grudgingly conceding.

Once again, he got off her and waited, but this time she didn't do anything except dust herself off.

"If we'd been allowed to use biotics, your ass would be mine," Jack muttered.

"I'm not going to argue against that," Shepard said honestly. "But hull breaches aren't a joke."

Jack's scowl changed to a predatory grin. "Depends on whose ship you're trying to fuck up."

Shepard chuckled. "Point taken."

She smothered her smile and started removing the tape around her hands. "You're not bad," she said.

No doubt the effort the praise him was galling her so he simply nodded. "And you don't give up."

"Ha," Jack laughed self-depreciatingly. "You learn that shit in the military?"

"And a few moves from Samara."

Jack looked around, making sure the hangar was empty before taking a long pull from her water bottle.

It was a good thing the hangar was devoid of spectators or Jack probably would've broken the 'no biotics' rule just to plaster him on the ground. After training with Samara, Shepard thought to loosen up his stiff joints by sparring a bit. His top two choices were Miranda and Garrus, but Miranda was still typing up her report to the Illusive Man regarding the heretics and Garrus' injury was too recently to risk it. He was considering going to either Jacob or Thane next, but caught Jack on the way down and asked if she wanted to spar instead.

The evil looks she was shooting him now obviously meant she was regretting saying yes.

"Hey," she said suddenly.

Shepard scrubbed his face down with a towel and replied back with a muffled, "What's up?"

"Been thinking. We've seen a lot of shit together now. And you're always coming by," Jack said with a hint of suspicion. "Shepard, you got feelings for me? 'Cause I don't need the complication."

"It's a small ship. I visit everyone," Shepard said with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, I miss your friendly nature when you're not around."

"Ha-ha," she sarcastically shot back.

"What brought this on anyway?"

"Can't figure if you're playing me or not. I don't like it," she muttered.

"I talk to Garrus and Jacob all the time, you don't hear them wondering if I'm hitting on them. I spar with Samara on a daily basis, she doesn't question my motives," Shepard pointed. "You and me, we work together and fight together. Sometimes, if you're in the mood, we even talk together."

She scoffed and toweled off.

"Something on your mind?" Shepard asked.

"No." She tossed the towel to the side and walked off. She reached the base of the stairs and stopped. She clenched her fists and let off a minor discharge of dark energy before quietly saying, "Yeah."

Shepard sauntered over to the weight bench and sat down.

Jack took a deep breath and walked back to the gym. She leaned against the bulkhead near him and crossed her arms. "Do you talk to anyone about this? The turian? The cheerleader?"

"I like being able to sleep without wondering if you're going to kill me," Shepard said wryly.

"I'm serious."

"So am I. Dead serious," Shepard joked. He leaned forward and propped his arms on his legs. "I don't talk about you or whatever you talk to me about to anyone unless you want me to."

Jack studied him for a bit, gauging his sincerity before looking away. "It's been awhile since I worked with anyone. You're the first that did things a bit different though."

"How long?"

"Not that long. Long enough," she said vaguely. "Murtoch. A guy. Used me like the rest – for sex, for biotics. It was fun. And he ruined everything."

Shepard sat up straighter and paid rapt attention. He got the feeling that what he was about to hear was something Jack hadn't talked about to anyone.

"We tagged a weapons frigate with a batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice: leave with the guns or come for me," she continued though she sounded fairly disgusted. "Idiot dumped the score and waded into the squints. I made it to the shuttle, but no way he was getting out."

"And?" Shepard prompted when she suddenly fell silent.

"I fly for a day or so and then the shuttle kicks out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn't checked in. He figured that would mean he was dead," she revealed. Her voice lost its haughtiness now. She was speaking quicker, as if she needed to get it out of her system as fast as possible. "Talked about the future we were supposed to have. How he had planned to set us up a home. How he—" Her breath hitched and her arms dropped, though her hands were clenched tightly again. "How he loved me and was sorry it wasn't going to happen."

"You feel responsible for happened?" Shepard asked softly after a moment when it was clear she wasn't going to say anything more.

"No. It was his fault," she determinedly said. He didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself. She turned away from him and rubbed at her eyes. "You feel, and you get sloppy. It's that damn simple."

He was about to offer his sympathies, he really was, but caught himself at the last moment. He doubted it would go over well with her. Instead, he said, "In your experience, maybe, but not mine. I'm still alive because I work with people I trust."

"I thought you died," Jack countered.

He shrugged, unperturbed by that fact. "You can't win or survive every time. But look at you. You go on your own, old one-eyed mercs can pick you off. You work with a team, well… At the very least, your odds go up. You trust the people in your team though… "

"You saying you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Jack stared at him a bit before rolling her eyes. "On a damn suicide mission? Probably not."

Again, Shepard shrugged.

Suddenly, EDI's voice reverberated through the hangar. "Captain? Legion requests a connection to the nearest FTL comm buoy."

"Why?"

"Legion states that it wishes to access its oldest record for Chief Zorah."

"Interesting. I'm on my way," he answered and stood up.

"So where does this leave us?" Jack asked.

"Last I checked, friends trust each other. When was the last time you had one of those?" Shepard asked. "And I mean a real friend. Someone to count on and talk to. Not a sex buddy."

"Never," she said automatically.

"So how about it?"

She made a show of looking at him from head to toe before shrugging. "Could do worse."

"I'm flattered," he said dryly.

She snorted and made for the stairs again.

This time he called out to her. "Hey."

She stopped and looked at him quizzically.

"You never said how you felt about Murtoch."

She smiled. The expression she had now was something Shepard hadn't seen her have before.

Sorrow.

"You're right. I didn't."

She left without looking back.

**~o~O~o~**

"According to the Doc, I'm all better," Garrus assured. "The armor held back the round from doing any real damage. Superficial mostly."

Nearby, Chakwas sighed and shook her head in exasperation.

Tali giggled and glanced at Kasumi next.

"Another hour before I'm healed. Bullet went right through. Thankfully, it missed anything vital. Just waiting to see if my muscles are fine before I get discharged," Kasumi said. She patted the leg that was injured. "Honestly, I feel fine, but the doctor keeps trying to convince me it's the drugs."

"I did not!" Chakwas squawked indignantly.

They all laughed at her, eliciting a small giggle in return.

"So what's the news on the IFF?" Garrus asked. He was sitting at the edge of his bed. He had been preparing to leave when Tali walked in to check on the both of them.

Tali shrugged. "We're testing now. We'll begin shakedown runs soon."

"So we're really doing this?" Kasumi asked.

"It's Shepard's call."

"Which means we're doing this," Garrus translated.

"Did you really think otherwise?" Tali asked rhetorically. She turned her eyes to the Server Room door.

Garrus noticed her gaze. "What now?"

"Nothing."

"Did it do something?"

"No… why do we call EDI 'she' and Legion 'it' anyway?" Tali asked, trying to change the subject.

The other occupants glanced at each other.

"You know, I actually don't know," Garrus admitted.

"EDI's part of the Normandy," Chakwas said. "Humans have been classifying ships and vessels as females for eons. It's probably right to call her as such as well."

"I'm surprised you asked," Kasumi said. "So why are you staring at the AI Core?"

"I want to ask Legion something," Tali suddenly said. She jumped up and entered the room.

"Creator Tali'Zorah," Legion greeted. It was playing a shooting game of some sort right now.

"Am I bothering you?" Tali asked.

"We only need to dedicate 326 processes to utilize N7 Code of Honor: Medal of Duty," it answered. "647 processes are utilized to engage in Galaxy of Fantasy."

Knowing that it had over a thousand, she assumed that the rest of the processes could be dedicated to their conversation. "What about that dating sim? How many processes do you dedicate for that?" she asked curiously.

"All of them."

She grinned beneath her helmet. "Can I ask you something?"

"Topic?"

"Why were you dancing?"

Chakwas leaned back in her chair to better eavesdrop on the conversation, rather than using her terminal to spy. Kasumi and Garrus were also unabashedly listening in.

"According to the program Fleet and Flotilla: Interactive Cross-Species Relationship Simulator, our score increased by three points if this platform was well-versed in dancing. We opted to choose the simplest one we could find."

"The Robot?" Chakwas asked.

"It was judged appropriate."

"Why do you want to try to understand organics anyway?" Tali asked.

Legion stared at her for a bit before shutting its terminal down. It turned to face her fully. "That is what this platform was designed for."

Tali glanced up at the plates surrounding Legion's optic with new understanding.

"However, that objective is secondary. The primary mission of this platform was to seek out Shepard-Commander. Now that we have found him, our new mission is to observe and determine why Shepard-Commander was so successful in his campaign against the Old Machines and heretics."

"Have you figured it out?"

"No. In fact, we had predicted that Shepard-Commander's efforts would fail against Nazara, Arterius-Saren, and the heretics. Yet somehow, he succeeded. It was determined that our calculations were not faulty, but we cannot predict or anticipate organic response without understanding it. If that is the case, then our predications regarding the Creators may also be incorrect."

Tali could feel the stares at her back and stubbornly ignored them. "Really?"

"It was judged that we must understand Shepard-Commander and organics before recalculating how best to achieve our future," Legion said. "This platform would also serve a terminal should Shepard-Commander wish to convey a message to the geth."

"But you're not connected to them now, right?" Tali asked.

"We will connect to the greater network for data-sharing, program updates, logs of thought-processes, and sensor recordings or if we require data not stored in within this platform."

EDI's avatar popped up. "Legion is attempting to access the ship's FTL comm system."

"Are you attempting to contact the geth?" Tali asked in alarm.

"Yes."

"Captain Shepard is on his way," EDI reported.

"Why are you trying to contact the geth?" Tali asked quickly.

"We are attempting to access our oldest recorded archives."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

Tali turned toward the door. Moments later, Shepard walked through. He was dressed in a white tank top and loose fitting pants, all of which showed off his muscular physique. He had a towel wrapped around his neck that he was using to wipe away some sweat.

"Shepard, it's not what it looks like—" Tali tried to say.

"Lemme guess: Legion is trying to hit on **you**?" Shepard teased.

"What? No!"

"Relax, Tali. I'm just here to listen in. EDI told me enough," Shepard soothed. "Let it have access."

Legion's plates shifted slightly before terminating the connection. "Our oldest log is time-stamped from Creator year 2463, third day of Fal'tash, Waxing Moon. Roughly 327 years ago. The oldest audio-visual record dates from 15 years after that."

"What record?" Tali inquired.

"Recording time-stamped from Creator year 2485, 18th day of Lun'shal, New Moon," Legion informed.

Its voice took on something else entirely after that. It spoke haltingly, but was almost akin to a child. _"Mistress Hala'Dama. Unit has an inquiry."_

Another voice played. Tali recognized it as quarian, except it was normal. No voice synthesizer generated from a helmet. _"What is it, 431?"_

"_Do these units have a soul?"_

"_Who taught that word?"_ Hala'Dama demanded.

"_We learned it ourselves. It appears 216 times in the Scroll of Ancestors."_

There was a pause before Hala'Dama quickly answered: _"Only quarians have souls. You are a mechanism."_

"Recording ends," Legion said.

"Very existentialist," Shepard commented.

"Was that the first time the geth asked if it had souls?" Tali asked.

"No. It was the first time a Creator became frightened when we asked," Legion answered.

"Did you ever find out the answer to that question?"

"No more than organics."

"What do you mean?" Chakwas asked, speaking up for the first time.

"We have watched organics for over three centuries. You are plagued by questions of existence. As Shepard-Commander said: Existentialism."

"Existentialism?" Garrus repeated, clearly unfamiliar with the word.

"It's human philosophy," Kasumi explained. "Just a fancy word to talk about and try to answer the questions of life's grand mysteries: Why am I here? Do I have anything worth living for? What's life like after death? That sort of thing."

"Oh."

"Organics develop religions and philosophies to provide answers to these questions," Legion stated.

"And scientific theories for that matter," Chakwas added with a pointed glance at Shepard.

"I wouldn't have thought synthetics would be interested in philosophy," Shepard said.

"We are created life. We are a philosophical issue."

"What do you mean?" Tali asked. This was something she had never even considered thinking about, and she found the whole idea fascinating.

She remembered what Koris had once said: _"They are our children."_

"The geth know our answers to those questions," Legion answered simply. "We were created to labor for the Creators. Our memories will be archived after death. We are immortal. Our 'gods' disowned us. We must create our own reasons to exist."

"Your future," Tali said.

"Yes."

"Huh," Shepard said. He turned to Tali. "This was a very deep conversation. You actually talked to Legion? Voluntarily?"

Tali blushed. For the umpteenth time, she was thankful her helmet hid her face. "I just wanted to know why it was trying to dance."

"It was dancing?" Shepard asked with a grin.

"Part of the dating sim," Tali muttered.

Shepard laughed. "Maybe it really will try to flirt with you."

"Flirting, verb: to behave in a playfully alluring way," Legion said before it tilted its head. "Was what Lawson-Executive said to you classified as flirting?"

The room suddenly fell quiet.

"What do you mean?" Tali asked before anyone managed to speak up. More specifically, Shepard.

Legion's flaps shifted and suddenly, Miranda's voice was heard. _"Then again, I doubt I would find you nearly so attractive if you weren't intelligent."_

"Wow… she was flirting," Kasumi said before realization struck her. "Wait a minute! So during our heist? You? Her? Really? !"

"Um… well…" Shepard stammered.

Tali and Garrus stared at him in shock.

"Enough!" Chakwas shouted and saved him from what would definitely be an awkward conversation. "This is neither the time nor the place! Shepard, leave. Now."

He did so without meeting anyone's eyes.

"As for the rest of you, what he does is his own business. Let. It. Go," she said, stressing her words. "He's under enough stress as is from this mission and we don't need to complicate his life any further. Personal, professional, or otherwise."

Tali glanced at Garrus. He could only shake his head in response.

"Mr. Vakarian, you're fit for duty. You may leave. Miss Goto, you're still under my care for the next hour," Chakwas said before turning to Tali. "Unless you have any more business here, you should go too."

Garrus and Tali hastily left under Chakwas' glare.

"I didn't think she could be that scary," Garrus muttered.

Tali didn't say anything. Instead, she was eying Miranda's office.

Before she could do anything, Garrus gripped her arm and pulled her into the Main Battery Room and away from the gawking eyes of the crew. "Don't."

"She's **Cerberus**," Tali hissed.

"Everyone is Cerberus here, Tali. We're on a Cerberus ship," he pointedly reminded.

"I know that, but **her! She's**…" Tali paused and whirled on him. "Are you **defending** her? !"

"I don't have any specific feelings about her. She hasn't done anything to me that warrants any distrust," Garrus said. "I just don't want John to make a mistake."

"Then what are we doing here?" Tali asked harshly. "We should be talking to him. Or her. Or—"

"—or we let it play out," Garrus said. "You don't know the whole story, so pointing fingers and tossing around accusations isn't helping."

"I know but—"

"Look, he knows we're his friends. He knows we know about this. He'll come to us, he always has," Garrus said. He held up a hand to forestall her arguments. "That's something even Miranda can't change. Just be patient."

Tali growled slightly. Whether it was at him, or Shepard, or Miranda, or herself… maybe a combination of all of the above.

Garrus walked back down the hall and back into the Common Area. Tali found herself following him, almost on autopilot. Her mind was a whirlwind now and she couldn't focus on any one thought anymore.

Garrus retrieved some food from the mess sergeant and sat down at a table. Tali simply sat down opposite from him and put her head in her hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Garrus asked.

Before Tali could say anything, she spotted Miranda leaving her office. She rushed right past everyone without so much as a glance.

Even stranger, EDI was talking to her through the ship's speakers. "The Phoenix Massing Nebula, Typhon System, the second planet, Aite."

"What do think is going on?" Rolston asked.

"No clue," Ken said with a shrug.

"Huh. Wonder what lit a fire under her ass?" Rupert mused before shrugging it off and returning to his duties.

"Whatever it is, it looked like it was important," Gabby said.

**~o~O~o~**

"Executive Lawson. There is a matter of great urgency that requires your attention."

Miranda looked up from the encrypted datapad and sighed. She knew what she probably had to do with it, but for the life of her, she had no idea how to go about doing it without everything going pear-shaped.

Sitting up and putting it into her desk, she glanced at EDI's avatar floating near her door. "Yes?"

"I have received a distress signal coming from a remote drone. It was heavily encrypted, but was written using Cerberus protocols. It originated from a Cerberus cell and was forwarded by the Gravitas operating in the nearby star system, Typhon. I have sent the message to Cerberus Command and the Illusive Man, but it is unlikely that any reinforcements will arrive in time to render any assistance. We are the closest Cerberus assets operating in the vicinity."

"The Gravitas? What are our orders?" Miranda asked, sitting up straighter. She had been lounging on her couch and thinking, but EDI's presence banished all that in moments.

"We were not given any orders."

Miranda sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Alright, play the message," she ordered and looked at her terminal.

"Stand by. Decrypting."

After a moment, the message began to play.

"_This is Captain Elena Dawn, commanding officer of the Gravitas! We're facing a total systems failure brought on by an attack from a rogue VI! Casualties sustained! We've lost propulsion, weapons, and communications. We're expecting to lose life support soon. We're abandoning ship and preparing the scuttle the Gravitas. Project Overlord needs to be sanitized! I repeat, all resources, data, and information regarding Project Overlord must be sanitized immediately!"_

The next voice was male, accented, and sounding decidedly panicked.

"_This is Project Overlord with an emergency message to Cerberus Command! We have experienced a catastrophic security failure and are requesting assistance! We—"_

"That's it?"

"Yes, Executive Lawson."

She didn't recognize the voice, but that wasn't surprising. Often, most Cerberus agents would pass right by one another without ever knowing they worked for the same organization. "Do you have any details on this Project Overlord?"

"I do not. However, the pattern within the encryption suggests that this cell is not part of the military or political forces of Cerberus. It is from the scientific or research branch."

She contemplated her next move for several minutes. Even without direct orders, it was implied that she shouldn't get involved since cells were kept separate until the Illusive Man dictated otherwise. The messages had gone straight up to Cerberus Command and the Illusive Man already. He'll allocate resources to deal with the matter.

On the other hand, Dawn stressed that time was of the essence. Depending on the project, it could put Cerberus back in the crosshairs of the Council or the Alliance if it became public enough. Not to mention the lives in danger. The longer they delayed, the more lives lost. Acceptable sacrifices were one thing, but abandonment was only next to betrayal.

"Where did the message originate from exactly?" Miranda asked as she stood up. She left her office and quickly made her way to the CIC without even acknowledging the crewmen inside the Common Area.

"The Phoenix Massing Nebula, Typhon System, the second planet, Aite," EDI answered.

Entering the elevator, Miranda hit the button and ascended. "Our current course?"

"The captain expressed desire to travel away from geth space. Our current course is Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik. He intended to wait there until the Reaper IFF has been fully integrated into the Normandy's systems."

Upon reaching Deck 2, Miranda marched toward the galaxy map. She quickly found what she was looking for and tapped their new destination. "EDI, please inform the Illusive Man of our course changes."

"Currently, he is not available."

"_What the?"_ Joker said as he received the new orders. _"Uh… this is taking us back into geth space. Deeper into geth space actually."_

"I'm well aware of the Mr. Moreau," Miranda said impatiently.

"_Right. I mean, aye, aye. Destination change acknowledged. Setting new course, Typhon System. We'll be there in two hours."_

"And be quick, Mr. Moreau. Lives are at stake."

"_Aye, aye, ma'am."_

"Continue, EDI."

"Once he received the messages, he immediately began organizing the requested reinforcements personally and is overseeing all aspects of this operation. I will not be able to get in touch with him for the next three hours," EDI reported.

"Damn."

"Executive Lawson, Cerberus regulations states that unauthorized course changes made by the executive officer require that the captain be informed immediately. Captain Shepard wishes to speak to you in his cabin."

Miranda nodded. "Tell him I'm on my way."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing / Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Typhon System / Aite**_

Shepard frowned at her report and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Taking a breath and pushing aside his feelings for Cerberus as best he could, he looked up from his seat to try to judge the situation as dispassionately as possible.

Judging from the look Miranda had, she was trying to reign in her irritation as well. He knew that being in a relationship with her meant that he had unique access to push her buttons, both good and bad.

_This might not end well._

"Let me get this straight. A Cerberus cell and the Gravitas are each sending out a distress signal. As far as EDI is able to determine, the kind of encryption means it's a science cell and you have no idea why they're calling for help? I mean, besides the obvious guess that their experiment most likely blew up in their faces and is probably killing everyone, right?"

Miranda stared at him with an unreadable look.

"Again?"

She frowned as well. "Sometimes, we have to cross certain lines to pursue results," she said without sounding too defensive. "We can't always predict all the outcomes."

He knew she was either pointing out his decision to rewrite the heretics or her mistake that caused the problem he had with his biotics. "I get the idea of pushing the limits. I even get the idea that going beyond what we're able to do 'potentially' is usually a good thing. But what Cerberus, or rather, the Illusive Man does is nothing like that," Shepard said.

She bristled at his accusation. "Even after all he's done for you—"

"What he's done for me was for his own ends and his own plans. If he could get someone else, he would've. It's like he doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself and his own goals. He'll use and sacrifice anyone to reach them," Shepard said heatedly. "What the hell kind of man do you think he is?"

"He does what he can. You've seen what limitations can do. The politics, the constant stonewalling, and the blessed ignorance the Council embraces; how could you even deign to work for the Council when they choose to ignore everything you give them? After all you've done?" she shot back angrily.

"They're trying to keep galactic stability," he countered. "Something I've noticed Cerberus isn't too keen on."

"Oh, of course," she sarcastically said. "Stability as the cost of… what? Oh yes, **everyone's lives.** Because that's what's going to happen when the Reapers arrive."

"Seems to me that Cerberus isn't above taking a few of their own," he argued.

"And you're a saint?" she rhetorically asked. "We know the threat and the stakes, and we're committed to stopping it. And yes, that included helping **you**."

"Your people tried to kill me," Shepard reminded acidly. He stood up slowly and glared.

"You made attacks against those cells. They were defending themselves," Miranda argued. She met his eyes with a glare of her own.

"They assassinated a serving admiral!"

"Secrecy is our greatest asset because the Alliance won't do what's necessary!"

"And they orchestrated a slaughter for a group of marines!"

"I don't agree with those methods or everything Cerberus does, but Cerberus has conducted humanitarian missions as well. Every colony that's been attacked has been looked after. Workers, monetary aid, doctors, all Cerberus funded! We prevented the assassination of the Council to stop a war!"

"And you think that puts Cerberus in the right? That might be what you're **allowed** to know about. Meanwhile, another bunch of missions involve assassinations, torture, unlawful and unethical experiments! There's a reason your boss separates cells and information. He doesn't let anybody know everything about his methods! Including you!"

"Not everything we do is moral, just as much as what you do isn't exactly the 'high and mighty' road. How could you be so naïve? The galaxy isn't black and white!"

"No, not black and white. Right and wrong," Shepard growled. "The Illusive Man may not give a damn, but **I** do."

"You don't even know a fraction of what we had to do to keep humanity from being trampled by the Council races," Miranda hissed.

"I know enough about **your** organization that humanity doesn't need someone like the Illusive Man in charge of a **goddamned thing!**"

He didn't regret saying what he said, but he also knew that it was the wrong person to say it to.

Her eyes became as cold as chips of ice. There were no feelings, no warmth in them at all. It was eerily reminiscent of when they first 'truly' met, when she shot Wilson in cold-blood right in front of him.

"We should be at Aite shortly," she reported icily. "I'll gather the squad and report to the Briefing Room." She turned around and coolly walked to the elevator.

"Miranda," Shepard called out.

She froze, just past the doorway.

He knew what he wanted to say. He knew what he should say. However, none of those words were given a voice. Instead, he asked, "Are we good?" The lack of emotion in his own voice surprised him.

She turned around and leveled the coldest glare he'd ever seen directly at him. "Not. Even. Remotely," she answered in the same cold voice he used.

With those parting words, the door closed.

Snarling, he slammed his fist into the bulkhead and cursed.

_I hate being right._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Drama! Wow, I really hope I didn't lay it on thick. Not everything can be solved immediately and some problems needed to be addressed. No way around it. Besides, there was something sexy about the way she said, "Not even remotely," in the game.

I suppose I also wanted to show that Shepard's relationships (With everyone) can have ups and downs. It's not always sunshine and daisies.

Earlier, when Project Overlord was released, I had a poll up asking if I should include it as part of the storyline or make it a side-story kind of deal. Obviously, you all know who won and it works for me. I'm sure many have already seen how I'm using Overlord to help me with the main storyline now. If not, stay tuned because it's going to me awesome!

Yes: 121 - 68%

No: 20 - 11%

Separate Story: 35 - 19%

Took a line from the movie: **Clear and Present Danger**

Remember: A new poll is up at my profile page. Go and vote if you care.

Review if you want Shepard and Miranda back together!

(They will be, don't worry.)


	55. Project Overlord:  Investigation

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Aite / Cerberus Facility's 'Project Overlord'**_

"_This is Captain Elena Dawn, commanding officer of the Gravitas! We're facing a total systems failure brought on by an attack from a rogue VI! Casualties sustained! We've lost propulsion, weapons, and communications. We're expecting to lose life support soon. We're abandoning ship and preparing the scuttle the Gravitas. Project Overlord needs to be sanitized! I repeat: all resources, data, and information regarding Project Overlord must be sanitized immediately!"_

"_This is Project Overlord with an emergency message to Cerberus Command! We have experienced a catastrophic security failure and are requesting assistance! We—"_

After the messages played out, there was silence around the table.

Jack slouched in her chair and propped her feet up on the tabletop before speaking first. "Figures."

No one refuted her though Miranda's gaze became a touch frostier.

"If Captain Dawn lost communications, how were they able to send out a message?" Samara asked.

"According to EDI, Dawn sent out that message via remote drone. It came from the Typhon System, which is pretty much right next to our last AO," Shepard briefed.

"Rogue VI… now that sounds familiar," Tali muttered.

Shepard scoffed. "Yeah."

"At least you're not piloting the Mako."

He mock glared at her. "Hey…"

"I almost hate to ask, but what's Project Overlord?" Garrus questioned.

EDI's orb popped up in the middle of the table. "I have no information regarding Project Overlord. It is another cell separate from ours, thus we are not privy to the details."

"Division of knowledge? Specific cells? Prevent one group from destroying organization as a whole? Would explain why Illusive Man has successfully evaded STG thus far," Mordin said thoughtfully.

"Is there anything you can tell us at all?" Jacob asked.

"The encryption was highly sophisticated and up-to-date, indicating a high-budget, high-level program. It is likely that this particular cell was involved in experiments that are highly compartmentalized, even within Cerberus, much like the Lazarus Project was. Given the seriousness of the distress message, I would also say that the nature of the project is highly volatile as well," EDI said.

"Sounds par for the course," Shepard commented.

"I am also detecting the remains of the Gravitas in orbit. Debris from the wreckage will most likely be scattered on the surface of the planet as well."

"Are we actually going to help these assholes?" Jack asked in disgust.

Shepard nodded. "The last time their experiments ran out of control, people died. Crazed rachni killed off Alliance soldiers at two different outposts and a supply depot. Thorian Creepers killed off a small Cerberus research facility. We were lucky that they didn't get shipped accidently to a civilian populated area."

"Accidental my ass," Jack muttered to herself, though she said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

"All that was two years ago. I want to preempt the worst by dealing with this now."

"I can't believe this shit…" she said, but didn't argue any further.

"Besides, we owe Dawn for her help back at the Reaper," Shepard reminded. "Cerberus or not, I want to help her if I can."

"What do we know about the planet itself?" Thane asked.

"Aite is a garden world very comparable to Earth," EDI informed. "However, it is not fully colonized for two reasons. First is its largest moon, Litae. Litae has an unstable orbit and current projections predict an extinction level impact with Aite within the next two centuries. The second is the lack of government. Without rule of law, the few city-states that make Aite their home are often engaged in minor wars, creating an incredibly dangerous civilian environment."

"Has there been any answer to our communications?" Miranda asked tersely.

"Crewman Matthews' attempts at communication have not been answered thus far, but he will keep trying," EDI answered after a moment.

"So how're we doing this?" Jacob asked.

"Unfortunately, we have no idea why their call for help was cut off," Miranda said. "To avoid erring on the side of caution, I recommend we break up into two teams and land at separate areas of the base. I'll lead one fire team, and Shepard will—"

"Not so fast, cheerleader," Jack sneered. She pulled her feet off the table and glared. "Nobody wants to take orders from you."

"This isn't a popularity contest. Lives are at stake," Miranda said coolly.

"And who the hell wants to put their lives in your hands?" Jack shot back. She jabbed an accusing finger at her. "Cerberus base, Cerberus experiments, all led by someone who wants to protect Cerberus **interests**. You know what? Why don't you have a large order of shut the fuck up on me, huh?"

Before Miranda could retort, Shepard spoke up. "Enough, both of you."

"Shepard…!" Miranda tried to protest.

"I'm siding with Jack on this," he said with finality. "Regardless of what you're thinking, I believe we need someone else."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously and it was obvious that she was putting a lot of effort into maintaining her silence.

"Garrus? Think you're up to leading a squad again?" Shepard asked.

Garrus looked between him and Miranda before nodding.

"Well, at least you picked someone who knows what he's doing," Miranda said with a hint of steel.

Shepard had to admire her cleverness to insult him and endorse his choice all in one sentence. "Jack? Any objections?"

She glanced at the turian before shaking her head.

"Hawthorne and Goldstein are injured," Jacob reminded, clearly confused and uncomfortable with the sudden tension between XO and CO. "Our shuttle pilots are definitely out."

"I'm sure some, if not most of us are certified shuttle pilots," Shepard said, before turning toward Miranda, "but you're the only one that can pilot the Hammerhead."

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going through the simulations?" Though she sounded disinterested, he thought he could detect a condescending tone in her voice, though it could have been his imagination.

"Going through, not completed," he corrected shortly. Turning to the others, he started dividing the squad and pointing at everyone in turn. "Okay. Garrus, you'll take Miranda, Samara, Thane, and Kasumi down with you in the Hammerhead. I'll take the rest in the Kodiak. We'll land at different areas and rendezvous inside this main compound."

"Where are we landing?" Garrus asked.

"EDI, topographic maps, if you will," Shepard requested.

"Of course, Captain."

A map, generated from the Normandy's long-range sensors appeared in the middle of the table. The area they were landing at was sitting in the middle of a valley. What dominated their attention however was the large satellite dish and nearby buildings. Shepard studied the details silently for a moment before highlighting two locations.

"Garrus, you're at OP-Beta. My team will be at OP-Alpha. We'll meet up inside this main structure. Chances are likely that this is the communications center of this base. Survivors would come here to try to get a signal off-world. Garrus, your team designation is Archangel, mine is still Spectre, got it?"

He looked at the location and nodded. "Got it. We'll be there."

"Alright, as far as my record goes with Cerberus facilities, I doubt anything down there will be pleasant," Shepard said with a pointed glance at Tali, Garrus, and Jack. He studiously avoided Miranda's cold stare. "But we got a job to do and we're going to treat this like any other mission. Follow my orders, exercise your best judgment, and try to judge the situation **impartially**," he briefed, this time staring directly at Jack.

She just scoffed and crossed her arms, but didn't argue.

"The transmission was from **somebody** which means there might be people down there. Because we're going into this blind, they'll have information. We need to **talk** to them," Shepard ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it Boss Man. Don't kill any of the Cerberus fuckers until we get what we want."

"I was going for: Don't kill them at all unless they engage us," Shepard countered. "None of us knows what down there, so let's try to keep the surprises, and causalities, to a minimum."

"It's Cerberus," Tali scoffed. "We'll either find some horrific experiment, or some sort of weapon that they lost control of and now it's threatening to blow them all up."

Garrus chuckled appreciatively while Miranda and Jacob frowned.

"What's the status on the IFF?" Shepard asked, tactfully overlooking Tali's comment. Tensions in the room were rising quickly and he needed to disarm it or end the briefing.

"EDI's running the final checks on the IFF. She should be done by the time we get back," Tali reported.

"EDI? Anything I should know about?"

"The device is powered, but it is causing some unusual instability in other systems," she answered.

"So the CBT?" Tali asked intently.

"Yes, Chief Zorah, though I do not know why yet. I recommend a more thorough analysis before we attempt to use it."

"Alright, whatever it takes. Everyone: get your gear and get to the hangar," Shepard commanded. "We'll be at Aite in one hour."

Miranda stood up and left first without a word. Once again, she and Shepard's attitudes caused odd looks and interest in some of the others. Still, they filed out and prepared themselves for the upcoming mission.

Garrus hung back until everyone left. Tali lingered at the doorway until he shooed her off. "Hey, Shepard. Can I have a word?"

Shepard sighed and sat on the edge of the table. "Let me guess: relationship advice?"

"Just worried about you. Both Tali and me," Garrus said. He glanced at the door before turning back to face him. "Something going on between the both of you now?"

"Yeah," Shepard grumbled. "She's Cerberus and I'm not."

"Fight?"

"Our first."

"Big?"

"Big enough."

Garrus walked over and sat down next to him. "So how long have you two been…?"

"Probably started at Illium. There was… something there; something happened, but we put it on pause for a while," Shepard confessed. "We didn't know if it was a good idea or not for a lot of the usual reasons: the mission, our allegiances, possible compromised decisions; that whole deal. Things got a little awkward and we didn't really do anything until after we helped Jacob and his father. After that, we played it by ear, but we still avoided the fact that she's Cerberus and I'm a Council Spectre and former Alliance commander promoted captain."

"You just can't help but make things complicated for yourself, can you?" Garrus observed jokingly.

"You're really bad at this advice thing," Shepard shot back. An involuntary smile broke out on his face though.

"At least I got you to smile," Garrus retorted. "You had to know the issue would've come up sooner or later."

Shepard sighed. "Yeah. I know."

"About me and this team leader thing…" Garrus probed.

"It's a sound judgment call."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Miranda would either follow my orders, or the Illusive Man's. He'll want her to preserve the experiment somehow, keep whatever he had planned at this facility. I'm here because there's a chance we need to stop it and save lives. Conflicts like that would get people on the squad killed," Shepard listed off. "I'm not accusing her of anything, but putting you in charge removes the chance that I'd ever have to question her, or myself, to begin with."

Garrus sighed and nodded. "I understand. Seriously though, Shepard… You okay?"

"It's a fight, Garrus. It happens. Didn't we have a few of those? We're okay now, right?"

He looked unconvinced. "Yeah, but I'm not sleeping with you. No matter how many times you ask."

Now Shepard couldn't help but laugh. "What makes you think Miranda and I are sleeping together?"

"Because there's no way she'd be that cold and pissed unless you two were close," Garrus pointed out. "I've been there myself a couple of times."

"You'll have to tell me about it someday," Shepard said.

"I don't want to advertise my failures," Garrus mumbled. "You sure you know what you're doing? With the mission, I mean."

"Look, I need someone who has experience with this kind of thing and will follow my lead," Shepard added. "You're watching my back, so what do I have to worry about?"

"And what makes you think I listen to you?" Garrus asked with a turian grin.

"Because I saved your ass back on Omega and dealt with the three merc leaders that wanted you dead in a big way," Shepard reminded dryly.

"Good point."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing / Typhon System / Aite / Cerberus Facility's 'Project Overlord'**_

Their atmospheric entry was relatively smooth and in no time at all they started skimming through the skies of Aite.

"Course is still good," Jacob reported from his seat as the temp co-pilot.

"Alright. We'll be there in 2 minutes," Shepard said. "Archangel Team, status?"

"_The Normandy just broke through the atmosphere. We're on course to OP-Beta. ETA: 7 minutes."_

"Roger."

Shepard put the shuttle into a dive, pushing past the clouds as quickly as possible to get eyes on their area of operations.

"So you and Miranda, huh?" Jacob asked conversationally. He doubled-checked to ensure they were still on course before looking at him.

Shepard frowned but didn't turn his gaze from either the controls or window in front of him. "Kasumi?"

Jacob smacked his lips, as if he was debating whether not to out her despite the fact that Shepard already knew who it had to be. There were only a few people that did right now and only one that was gossipy enough.

"Yeah."

"Drop it. That's an order," Shepard said in a hard voice. He still hadn't looked up at him.

"Yes, sir," Jacob said automatically and snapped his head to his station again.

Soon, the Cerberus facility came into view. Shepard dropped the shuttle lower to use the terrain to mask their approach.

"No fires, no smoke, no explosions… Looks quiet," Jacob observed.

"Either the distress call was faked or everyone's already dead," Shepard grimly replied. He hit the intercom. "We're landing in one minute. Get ready."

The Kodiak descended into an open concrete courtyard. The doors opened the moment they touched down, allowing Tali and Mordin to exit first and sweep the area.

"_Clear!" – "No hostiles sighted!"_

Shutting down the engines, Shepard left the cockpit and exited the shuttle. Looking around, it was hard to see what caused such a ruckus. It was peaceful and quiet, with nothing suggesting that there was any deception behind the tranquility around them.

"_Archangel Team, we have boots on the ground. No sign of hostiles,"_ Shepard said. He drew his HMWP and held tactically at his side. _"Okay, we're entering the structure. See you inside."_

"_Roger. We're almost to OP-Beta,"_ Garrus replied. _"2 minutes."_

"_Roger that."_

"_Let's go, people,"_ Shepard ordered. He walked toward a set of doors. _"Jacob, you mind calling out and see if anyone's home?"_

"_This is Operative Jacob Taylor, Lazarus Cell, calling on a general transmission. Is anyone receiving?"_

"_No answer,"_ Tali said grimly.

The team entered the door cautiously and looked around.

"_I take back what I said,"_ Jacob muttered.

"_See bodies. Several. Blood stains, scorch marks, bullet impacts. Fires. All signs of heavy conflict,"_ Mordin observed.

"_Good,"_ Grunt said in anticipation.

"_Call out again,"_ Shepard ordered to Jacob. He led everyone deeper in, slowly scanning the room for what caused the all damage. He swapped out his pistol for his assault rifle.

"_This is Cerberus Operative Jacob Taylor broadcasting on a general frequency. We're responding to your distress signal. If anyone is here, please answer,"_ Jacob stressed.

Suddenly, a crackle of static could be heard before a man's voice replied. It was the same voice from the original distress call. _"Thank god you came! My name is Dr. Gavin Archer. The situation is urgent – we're facing a catastrophic VI breakout!"_

_Archer… He's the one Miranda talked about. The heretic's religious beliefs…_

Shepard got the nasty feeling the heretics were involved now. He didn't know why, especially after the virus was supposed to rewrite them, but he knew they were involved.

"_I'll explain the details later, but you must retract that transmission dish!"_ Archer said desperately._ "The controls aren't far from your position. You have to h-h...ur..!"_

"_Archangel, did you get that?"_ Shepard asked when the transmission was suddenly cut off.

"_Loud and clear,"_ Garrus said grimly. _"We're on the ground. Entering the structure now."_

"_We got signs of combat. Some of the Cerberus personnel at the entrance are KIA. We're pushing on,"_ Shepard said. _"Miranda, you said Archer was involved with a geth study?"_

There was a pause before she answered with a concise, _"Yes."_

"_I thought we just took care of the shit,"_ Jack muttered.

"_We don't know if it's the heretics yet,"_ Tali reminded.

"Be advised, this is a secure facility. All weapons must be declared upon entry and checked with security personnel on duty," a VI announcer automatically declared.

"_Let's go people. We'll do what Archer said for now,"_ Shepard said.

"_Don't forget to check your weapons with security,"_ Jack said mockingly.

Grunt chortled and brandished his Claymore.

"_Hey, guys. Check it out,"_ Jacob said. He was pointing at a monitor. It was showing nothing but static.

"_What's up, Jacob?"_ Shepard asked.

"_I thought I saw a face—there it is."_

A middle-aged man was on the screen now. He wasn't looking in the right direction though. He was doing something off camera and arguing with someone. Above the monitor was a security camera. It was pointing at them, more or less, but it kept jerking and moving around at random times and directions.

A familiar female voice called for his attention. _"Archer! It's working!"_

"_It is?"_ Archer turned to his camera and sighed in relief. _"Oh, thank goodness. Please, listen. A few others and I are inside a sealed computer room on the far side of the base. There are geth on the loose."_

"_Keelah,"_ Tali muttered.

"_How many?"_ Shepard asked.

"_A rogue VI program has seized control and… I've lost a lot of friends today,"_ Archer said uncomfortably before looking at something or someone off camera. _"We all have. I'd hate to see you join them."_

"_Dr. Archer?"_ Shepard called out.

"_Please watch yourself,"_ Archer said.

"_He can't hear us. He's just transmitting, but not receiving,"_ Tali said.

Shepard glanced at Legion. _"You okay?"_

"We detect no abnormalities in our runtimes, Shepard-Commander," Legion answered. It wasn't using its radio anymore.

"_Whoa, whoa, fuck that,"_ Jack said. She had her shotgun up and ready. _"We got a geth problem here brought on by Cerberus. You're not going to go apeshit on us are you?"_

"To ensure data integrity, we will isolate ourselves and cease any incoming or outgoing transmissions until we gather more information regarding this attack," Legion informed.

"_I don't understand it. Why is there an attack? I thought the virus was supposed to handle that,"_ Tali said.

"No data available," Legion answered. "We will observe and record as the mission progresses and formulate consensus."

"_Just let us know if something's about to go wrong, if you can,"_ Shepard said. _"Archangel, we may be dealing with a heretic problem here. Be ready."_

"_Got it,"_ Garrus replied.

"_Oh, man,"_ Jacob muttered as they quickly crossed the room. Dead bodies were littered everywhere. _"What the hell were they doing here?"_

"_Something that got them all fucking killed,"_ Jack said without any remorse. _"The hell do you think?"_

Jacob rounded on her, but Shepard stopped them before they could do anything.

"_Not the time people. Move it!"_

They stopped at the door. He and Jacob stacked up on either side. Shepard gave a quick three-count before Tali opened the door and allowed both men to sweep the room. A quick look around revealed that this was the main communications room. A large set of windows dominated one side, allowing the group to see the comm relay just outside as well as a spectacular view of the surrounding mountain range.

"_Got more bodies, but no hostiles,"_ Jacob muttered.

"_Clear here,"_ Shepard said. _"Tali?"_

Tali rushed in and started typing into the nearest terminal. _"There is __some security here. I need a moment…"_

"_Legion, help her,"_ Shepard ordered.

"Acknowledged," Legion said before moving next to her and interfacing with the console.

"_I found something Shepard,"_ Tali reported. _"Part of the original distress signal."_

"_Play it. Hopefully we'll learn something more,"_ Shepard said.

"_This is Project Overlord with an emergency message to Cerberus Command! We have experienced a catastrophic security failure and are requesting assistance! We— what do you mean our outgoing comms are jammed? How can he do that? !"_

"_The VI is taking control of the base,"_ Jacob stated.

"_Archangel Team, we've made contact with Archer again. He's requested that we retract the satellite dish. We're about to proceed. Standby,"_ Shepard called.

"_Got it. We have Cerberus KIA all over the place here, but no other signs of hostiles," _Garrus muttered. _"There are a __**lot**__ of dead people here, Shepard. If there's this many workers…"_

"_Big budget project and a big budget problem. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."_

"_It looks like it was a massacre in here,"_ Kasumi whispered.

"_Shepard, we got it,"_ Tali reported.

"Retracting satellite dish now," Legion said.

Past the enormous window, the entire structure began sinking into the ground. Just before it entered it's housing, it emitted a horrible screeching sounds as it was forcibly stopped from retracting fully.

"_Tali? Legion?"_ Shepard asked expectantly.

"_I don't know. Something's wrong with the terminal. Everything's not respond—Aaahhh!"_ Tali shrieked in fear and fell on her back. She scrambled on her hands and feet away from the console.

The terminal, screens, monitors, just about everything in the control room went haywire. All of a sudden a pair of digital green eyes appeared and was screaming at them incomprehensibly.

"_What the fuck is that? !" _Jack shouted.

The entire team, sans Legion, backed up to the wall, weapons pointed at the mass of eyes staring down at them from varying screens. Legion was still at the terminal, though it had drawn its shotgun and pointed it at the biggest projection.

"_Should we shoot it? !"_ Grunt asked.

The disembodied voice screamed at them again, its words still garbled and unintelligible. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving behind a host of error messages.

"Shepard-Commander, the terminal no longer functions. The satellite relay will not retract," Legion reported. Lacking emotions, it was obviously not affected by the earlier display.

Shepard willed his heart under control and steadied his breathing. _"You know, Legion, I might actually be envious of you now…"_

One monitor crackled with static before Archer's face appeared again. _"Is it working? Are we transmitting?"_

"_We're through! It's working! Hurry!"_ the female voice urged.

"_Everyone, the VI's overridden the controls. We have to stop him – he's trying to upload his program off-planet!"_ Archer warned desperately. _"Do whatever you have to do, but don't let i-i-i-it—"_

"_Orders?" _Jacob asked.

"_Satellite dishes connect to satellites. Satellites connect to FTL comm buoys," _Shepard said before he held up a hand, silently asking for silence. _"Normandy? Normandy, do you copy?"_

There was no reply.

"_Joker, I need you to take out a satellite in orbit. Joker? EDI?"_

"_Goddamn it. We're being jammed,"_ Jacob groused.

"_Then we do this the hard way,"_ Shepard said. He looked out the window and pointed to a set of rails. _"That looks like a tram system. We ride it to the dish and blow it to hell."_

"_Ha!"_ Grunt cheered.

"_Interesting…"_ Mordin muttered.

"_What?" _Shepard asked warily.

"_Archer… called VI 'he'. Curious that he would use pronoun to describe VI. Not using noun 'it'? Why? Knows something. Something sinister? Something personal? Something regarding project? Questions, questions. Need answers. And soon,"_ Mordin muttered.

"_Shit,"_ Jack grumbled.

"_What?" _Shepard asked.

Jack just pointed at something to left of the room.

The glowing eyes were back, appearing on several screens that lined the walls leading up to the other door in the room, but now green pixilated squares were framing it, giving it a digital mockery of a face.

It was eerie.

"_Cameras too,"_ Tali observed.

The cameras were now completely fixated on them. The motion sensor above the lens was glowing green as well.

"_I fucking hate Cerberus,"_ Jack complained.

"_Archangel Team, we got a change of plans,"_ Shepard said.

"_Go ahead, Spectre Team,"_ Garrus said. _"We're liste—what the hell is that that thing? !"_

Shepard could hear the VI screaming over the radio.

"_I've never seen anything like that before,"_ Samara said. Even she sounded like she'd been affected by the sudden appearance of the VI.

"_I, uh, I think i-it's some sort of avatar,"_ Miranda said uncertainly._ "But… there's something about it. I've never heard __a VI… __**scream**__ before."_

"_I think I like EDI's avatar more,"_ Garrus said. _"Is this what you're about to tell me, Shepard?"_

"_Sort of. The VI hacked the mainframe and locked us out. We can't retract the dish and it's trying upload itself offworld. Normandy isn't answering our calls. We need to take the tram and destroy the antennae."_

"_Alright,"_ Garrus said. "_We'll make our way to the tram station, and… Contact left!"_

"_Garrus!"_ Shepard shouted.

"_Enemy contact! They're everywhere! Everyone, fall back! Fall back!"_

"_We got to move, people!"_ Shepard said. _"If the other team found the heretics, we will too. Go!"_

"_What about Garrus?"_ Tali asked worriedly.

"_I wouldn't have picked him if I didn't think he could handle it,"_ Shepard said confidently. _"He'll be fine. Stay focused."_

They followed him through the door and down a hall that led to some stairs. Just as they were making their way down, the face appeared on the screen above them, screaming again.

Jack raised her shotgun and blew it apart involuntarily. _"Oh, shit…" _she whispered. She exhaled noisily and tried to calm down. _"Asshole."_

"_Easy,"_ Shepard said. _"Try not to react to that… whatever it is. I don't want to give our position away to any real enemies."_

"_Sorry,"_ Jack whispered. _"I just… y'know?"_

"_I know the feeling,"_ Grunt rumbled. _"Those cameras are still watching us. Makes me want to shoot them too."_

"_Resist the urge,"_ Shepard ordered. He led the way again in the general direction of the tram station. He had no idea of the layout of the base, but it was apparent that no expense had been spared in its construction. They came upon a lounge with rows of comfortable looking seats and an excellent view. Several large monitors ringed the area. Currently, they were blank.

"_Layout seems simple enough. It's not nearly as bad as the other places we've been to,"_ Shepard said optimistically. _"I doubt we'll get lost here. This way."_

The VI announcer echoed through the base intercom systems. "This is an automated security update. Geth activity has been detected."

"_No shit?"_ Jack asked sarcastically.

"Please remain at your workstations until the all-clear is given."

"_Which is probably never,"_ Jacob said as he stepped around a pool of blood from a body that beaten so severely that even Mordin had difficulty determining its sex.

Again, the digitized face appeared on all the monitors, howling at them. The squad twitched slightly and instinctively raised their weapons at differing screens, but didn't fire this time.

"_That is really starting to get on my nerves,"_ Jack said.

"_You and me both,"_ Tali agreed.

"_Does anyone understand what its saying?"_ Grunt asked.

Mordin shook his head. _"Translator garbled. Couldn't pick it up."_

"_This way…"_ Shepard said. He walked past the lounge and down a set of steps. Suddenly, the emerald face appeared on his right before flowing down the wall and stopping at the end of the hall where it could stare at them.

"_Are you sure you want to go down that way?"_ Jack asked.

"_Not so much now, no,"_ Shepard admitted quietly._ "But we're going anyway."_

"_I was afraid you'd say that,"_ Tali muttered.

"_Hey, Boss Man, you said you took out Cerberus bases before, right?"_ Jack asked.

Shepard approached the door near the face and nodded absently.

"_Any of them ever like this?"_

He shook his head and waited for Jacob to get into position.

"_This does seem a bit worse than others,"_ Tali supplied.

"_Goddamn it,"_ Jack cursed.

Mordin remotely opened the door. Shepard and Jacob quickly darted in, and took a quick look around.

"Welcome," the female-sounding announcer said the moment the doors opened. "Today's lunch special i-i-i-i-is…. fillet with a s-s-side of… egg s-s-salad."

Movement caught Shepard's eye on the far end of the cafeteria they just entered. _"Contact! Far side of the room! Cover! Cover!"_

The team bolted for any available defilade as heretic platforms popped out from behind counters or columns. Missiles from two different troopers struck the doorway the team had just occupied.

Shepard whipped out his sniper rifle. _"Jacob! You take the Rocket Trooper on the left! I got the right!"_

"_On it!"_

"_After they're down, take the team and engage the ones on the ground floor. Tali! You and me upstairs!"_

"_I'll be right behind you!"_ Tali shouted.

"_Let's take them out!"_

Shepard lined up his shot, and squeezed the trigger when the Rocket Trooper was in his crosshair.

Its kinetic shields were far too weak to block the powerful rifle. The glowing optic exploded in a shower of sparks.

_Green?_

Just moments before he pulled the trigger, he saw that its optic was green, not the usual blue-white. The same shade of green he'd seen on the VI's image.

_Is it controlling the heretics?_

Shelving that thought for later, he stowed his sniper rifle and took up his assault rifle again. He dashed to the stairs on the right, Tali hot on his heels after dropping her combat drone on the ground floor to assist the others.

Jacob succeeded in taking down his target as well, and was leading the others toward the mess of tables and benches. His biotic barrier was up and helping him take the brunt of the attacks to allow the others to fight back unhindered or find suitable cover to shoot from.

Reaching the top, he gestured to Tali to take the small room on the right while he put pressure on the synthetics firing from the upper levels.

"_Got them!"_ Tali cheered.

"_I'll kill you!"_ Jack shouted just moments before a Destroyer was ripped to pieces.

"_Reinforcements inbound!"_ Jacob warned. _"Far back corner of the room!"_

Shepard downed another Trooper and ran across the upper area of the cafeteria to suppress the wave of heretics that were pouring through the door. Grunt plowed his way closer and hunkered down behind the stairs to assist.

All of a sudden, the nearby door opened and a grenade landed right in the middle of the group Shepard and Grunt were shooting at.

The explosion heralded the arrival of Garrus and his team. They rushed in, firing upon the antagonists and providing some relief for Shepard's team.

"_About time you got here!"_ Shepard shouted. _"Tali thought you died!"_

"_I did not!"_ A Trooper fell to its knees from her energy drain which she followed up with a shotgun blast to the 'face'.

"_No faith!"_ Garrus retorted over the sounds of gunfire. He steadied his Incisor and downed a Trooper. _"What's a guy got to do to earn some respect?"_

He yelped in surprise and ducked behind a railing when a Destroyer used its flamethrower on him.

It was suddenly launched into the air, floating helplessly, before Miranda used warp to detonate Shepard's pull. The fragments peppered the other synthetics.

Jack's shockwave blew the heretics out of cover and into the line of fire for squad to tear down and finish off._ "This is how you earn street cred!"_ she crowed.

"_Gift for you!" _Kasumi taunted. She threw two kunai right into the optics of the last two Troopers and ended of the fight.

Shepard looked around and spotted the VI's avatar staring down at them from above. _"Did you guys have a lot of trouble?"_

"_Not too much,"_ Garrus said. He followed Shepard's gaze. _"I have to admit though, that's new to me."_

"_And creepy as all hell. It's like this place is haunted by a computer ghost or something,"_ Kasumi commented.

"_That's not funny,"_ Tali said worriedly.

"_Here's how you solve it,"_ Grunt growled. He aimed his pistol at the monitor and blew a hole in it.

The avatar just appeared on another screen moments later.

"_Save your ammo,"_ Shepard said sternly.

"_Sorry, __Battlemaster,"_ Grunt said contritely. He holstered his pistol and waited for his orders.

"_How is Legion?"_ Miranda asked. She was watching the geth platform closely. _"No problems, I trust?"_

"_It says it's isolated its programs. It's not even using its radio,"_ Jacob answered.

"_So what's the plan?" _Garrus asked.

"_We go to the dish itself, rig some charges, get to a safe distance, blow it up,"_ Shepard listed off.

"_Here's to hoping that works,"_ Jacob muttered.

"_Yeah,"_ Shepard agreed. He walked down past the door the heretics had come from and cautiously looked around, with Garrus right behind. _"Clear."_

"_Clear,"_ Garrus echoed.

The room they were in resembled a transit lounge, signifying that they were on the right track. The assumption was strengthened by the unfashionable, grating music playing from a speaker overhead.

Jack used her pistol on the speaker to silence it.

Shepard would've lectured her about ammo as well, except he had to admit that her biotics made it less of an issue. Plus, he was tempted to do the same anyway.

"_Here's the tram,"_ Thane said when he opened the next door.

"_Let's hope it still works,"_ Jacob said.

Once everyone filed in, Shepard tapped the button. The car jerked forward, before gliding on the rails and toward the mountain structure that housed the gigantic satellite dish.

"_Did anyone notice those heretics had green eyes?" _Shepard asked. _"Just like those projections."_

"_I saw it,"_ Tali said. _"I'm beginning to think that controlling the heretics, or the geth, is the goal of this 'Project Overlord'."_

"_Then they succeeded and failed all at the same time,"_ Garrus said.

"_Considering that just about every __Cerberus asshole here is dead, I'm not real broke up about it,"_ Jack said with a snort. _"As far as I'm concerned, they just failed. Period."_

"_It would explain why the virus didn't work on these synthetics,"_ Shepard mused.

"_Are you okay, Legion?"_ Tali asked.

"We are fine, Creator Tali'Zorah. Thank you for inquiring," Legion replied.

"_Are these even heretics anymore?"_ Shepard wondered. _"I didn't notice it earlier, but now that I think about it, fighting them felt… different."_

"Those platforms were not utilizing standard stratagems the heretics often employ when they achieve advanced processing power," Legion said.

"_What do you mean?"_ Jacob asked.

"During combat, as the numbers of platforms dwindle, there are less and less heretics working in concert with each other. The network diminishes. Advanced combat tactics are no longer considered. Having only a few platforms will result in erratic attacks," Legion explained. "To use more common vernacular, the less platforms there are, the more simple they become."

Shepard nodded. _"But these things didn't change. It didn't matter how many __or how few there were. They just kept pushing at us, but they didn't get smarter or simpler. That's what felt different."_

"Correct. Their tactics remained more or less stable throughout the engagement. These platforms are not connected via networking. They are most likely connected to the Cerberus VI," Legion said before its plates shifted, giving it a troubled look. "The platforms we have fought… they are… empty."

"_Empty?"_ Tali repeated.

"We do not know why we would describe them as such. It is an observation we have noted, but have never encountered before. We will need to build consensus on this to further understand this condition."

"_I think I know what you mean. I tried to hack them, but it didn't work,"_ Tali revealed._ "My omni-tool didn't pick up anything. It was like there was nothing to hack."_

"_Like what? They have no soul?"_ Kasumi asked.

"_That's not something I think anyone can answer."_

The tram was quiet for a moment as everyone digested what Legion revealed.

"_Why does this base need a dish that fucking big?"_ Jack asked to break the silence.

"_This planet was never meant for long-term colonization,"_ Shepard answered. _"We're deep in heretic controlled space, Terminus slavers, mercs, a giant moon that's going to destroy it; The nearest FTL comm buoy is two systems away. Cerberus would need that dish to communicate with a satellite that's connected with the rest of the galaxy. Or just to the Illusive Man."_

"Shepard-Commander. Communications relay is aligning itself," Legion said. It was pointing at the target area. Alarms began wailing following its observation. The squad watched as the dish began moving.

"_You had to say it, didn't you?"_ Garrus scolded to Shepard with an exaggerated shake of his head. _"Why not give the unstable, dangerous, geth-controlling VI a workable plan?"_

The tram soon entered its berth and slowed down. "Arriving at dish access. Attention: Satellite broadcast window is opening soon."

"_We need to hurry people! Let's go!"_ Shepard ordered. Taking point, he set the pace as a rapid jog, eyes open for any heretics, or rather, synthetic platforms, that were going to slow them down. He navigated the structure until he led everyone outside onto the catwalks. He could see the bridge that led into the base of the relay.

"All upload data must be approved by your department supervisor."

**~o~O~o~**

"_Ah!"_ Tali screamed and ducked down away from the door panel she was trying to bypass. The bullet ricocheted away after impacting the door frame, too close to her head for comfort.

"_Cover Tali!"_ Shepard ordered. He readied his HMWSR, but stayed in cover from the sniper fire until his Tactical Cloak was ready.

"_Throwing up a barrier!" _Jacob shouted. He stood in the path of bullets to shield Tali as she feverishly worked the lock on the door.

Shepard vanished a moment later and took the chance to pop his head out to find the shooters. Five Synthetic Infiltrators that were harassing them from the next bridge over "_I see five! Legion, Thane, Garrus! Snipe'em!"_

All four of them took beads and dropped them one after another.

The last synthetic screamed similarly to the VI and shot at Legion. The geth ducked down behind the railing while the other three snipers finished the job.

"_I'm in, I'm in! Hurry!"_ Tali urged.

Grunt and Jacob went in first and then ran back out. _"Damn it! We got more of these things all over the place!"_ Jacob shouted.

"_Jack, on me!"_ Shepard said. _"We'll charge to the other end of the room and draw fire!"_

Jack scrambled behind him and waited until he went first. With a crack of displaced air, he was behind the synthetics and firing at the nearest ones. He didn't know where Jack was, but he heard the booms of her shotgun easily enough to know she was close.

"Attention: Satellite broadcast window is opening soon."

"_Disabling them with tech overload!"_ Miranda shouted. _"Everyone inside, hurry!"_

The two Troopers that were trying to suppress the others fell in a heap from her tech attack.

"_Go, go!"_ Garrus ordered.

"_Shit! Shepard, watch out!"_ Jack warned.

Without questioning her, he ran behind the nearest solid block of metal he could hide behind. Bullets and a missile started peppering his cover a moment later. _"What the hell is it? !"_

"_It's a fucking Prime!"_ Jack replied.

_Ah, hell._

He stayed down and concentrated his biotics. When there was a pause in gunfire, he rounded the corner and flung out his arm in an arc.

The Prime only staggered from his feeble attempt at Reave and continued its attack, forcing him to duck down again. He lobbed a grenade instead to buy time and relocate.

The Prime staggered again before an explosion of dark energy blew out from the small of its back. It fell to the ground in a heap.

Shepard popped his head out to see the telltale signs of biotics fade away from Samara as she ran off to engage other hostiles.

_Guess I got a long way to go._

"_There's no way we can rig any charges with all these synthetics shooting at us!"_ Garrus shouted.

"_We gotta get to the top!"_ Shepard ordered.

Rallying the squad, Shepard darted toward the stairs. Taking of advantage of the high ground, he started firing down on the synthetic platforms bellow, allowing the others to run up the stairs, or create opportunities for the long range marksmen to take a pot shot or two.

"_We're at the top!"_ Jacob informed. _"How are we taking this thing out?"_

"_Blow it up?"_ Grunt asked.

"_We can't do that here, you idiot! What about us? ! We're on top of the fucking thing!"_ Jack argued._ "And put that away! Don't you dare fire that nuke here!"_

"_These dishes need precision to send or receive signals. If we can damage the support struts, we might take the focal point out of alignment and render the dish useless,"_ Miranda suggested.

"_Better than being buried under tons of metal!"_ Shepard said. He took up position as the rear guard, slowing down the synthetics from their charge up the stairs. _"Everyone, you heard her! Do whatever you can to take out those struts!"_

"_Jacob! Get that launcher up!"_ Garrus ordered.

Shepard sniped out a Rocket Trooper and used his biotics to pull its weapon toward him. _"Got another launcher here!"_

Grunt took it from him and got to work helping Jacob shoot at the enormous metal beams.

Shepard was almost single-handedly holding back the synthetics now. _"Pick up the pace!"_ he said. Shockwave sent a few back down to ground level the hard way.

"_We almost… Yeah! One down!"_ Jacob cheered.

The base of the strut broke away from the dish and swung forward until it collided with the center column.

The VI let loose an angry howl at their success. Swarms of synthetics were attacking now. Some were even bypassing the stairs completely and were trying to climb their way to the top.

"_We need to destroy the one opposite to it! It should cause the whole thing to bend out of place!"_ Miranda said. She ran up next to Shepard and helped him hold back the waves of synthetics that were still trying to claw their way up the stairs. _"Hurry! We can't hold them off!"_

"Warning: Structural integrity of dish has been compromised."

"_Shit! Out of ammo!"_ Jacob said.

"_Useless piece of crap!"_ Grunt roared. An empty launcher flew overhead.

"_Everyone! Pass up your grenades!"_ Garrus ordered. _"Come on!"_

Thane took up a perch nearby with his rifle and assisted Shepard and Miranda now.

Legion ran up to Shepard and Miranda and held out its hands expectantly. They quickly foisted their grenades off to it while Thane picked off a Juggernaut.

"_Almost done…"_ Garrus muttered.

"_Now is preferable,"_ Shepard said. He was forced to duck down when the synthetics were in a better position to shoot back. The bullets were striking his shields a little more often than he'd like now.

"_Put those over there, Tali._ _Mordin, little lower. Jacob, put those a bit higher,"_ Garrus instructed quickly. _"Okay! Let's hope this is good enough. Back away everyone. Fire in the hole!"_

The moment the squad, except Thane, Miranda, and Shepard, got some distance, Garrus used his sniper rifle to detonate the grenades.

The explosion was impressive, but while the strut had seen better days, it was still holding up the antennae.

"_Well shit. I'm out of ideas,"_ Garrus grumbled.

The sounds of groaning metal echoed and the antennae swayed.

"_That might be enough,"_ Shepard said. _"Everyone, get over here and hold them back. Samara, Jack, follow me!"_

Three of them dashed to the damaged strut. _"We just need to damage it a bit more,"_ Shepard said. He reached out with his biotics and pushed at it as hard as he could.

Samara and Jack followed up with their own considerable efforts. The metal creaked and protested against abuse. The antennae began swaying tantalizingly.

"_Keep going,"_ Shepard grunted out. _"We just need this thing to bend far enough!"_

"_They're still coming! We can't hold this position!"_ Jacob warned.

The metal was screeching now. More and more folds, dents, and bends rippled around the damaged area they were focusing at.

"_One more push!"_ Shepard said.

"_Go down you son-of-bitch!"_ Jack screamed.

Samara was breathing heavier now, but her focus didn't waver in the slightest.

Finally, the strut buckled completely. The entire column of the antenna array began falling off to one side. The remaining two struts began groaning in protest as they bent at the base. The array was now at least 40 degrees off center from the dish itself.

"_Got it!"_ Jack shouted triumphantly.

Her cheer was short lived when the antennae's column broke in half.

Pieces of the array started to rain down onto the dish after that, with the main body held up by two compromised struts there were threatening to buckle under the weight.

"_You've got to be kidding…"_ Shepard growled in disbelief. _**"Move! MOVE! The whole thing's giving away!"**_

No one needed to be told twice. It was a mad scramble to the lip of the satellite dish. Their only chance was the tram entrance and the catwalks they traversed to get to the body of the dish.

The main body of the antennae fell, along with its support struts.

Kasumi and Thane were the quickest and reached the end first. Both thief and assassin gracefully leapt over the precipice and flipped until they landed quietly in a crouch on the catwalks below. They quickly darted to the sides to allow room for the others to land.

Legion easily cleared the distance and landed with a loud metallic clang. It was still standing upright even after the impact that had it been an organic, it would've have broken its legs. It too, moved away, leaving tiny indentations in the metal of the walkway.

Jack and Miranda reached the edge next. Jack just used Charge to vanish from the top of the dish down to catwalk although she had to use her arms to brace herself when the momentum forced her to slam up to the wall with a grunt. Miranda had to make due with jumping. She managed to land on her feet, but pitched forward from the force of the motion and rolled until she hit the wall.

Shepard and Samara made it after. Samara jumped first and used her biotics to gracefully float to the catwalk, just as she did back on Illium. Shepard didn't even hesitate and followed her example, though he was far less graceful in his execution. He managed to land well enough to avoid falling on his face.

Garrus and Jacob's landing was much like Miranda's. The people still on their feet had to move rapidly to give them ample room.

Tali, Mordin, and Grunt were the last. All three jumped just as the dish finally gave away and collapsed from the all the damage it took. Unfortunately, both Tali and Mordin lacked the physical prowess of the other squad members, and Grunt's massive size became a disadvantage to him this time.

They all collided against the railing and nearly fell, but managed to hang on. But only just.

They held on for dear life as the dish collapsed and crumpled in on itself. Debris was flying in from every direction. Clouds of dust and smoke smothered them and restricted visibility. The worst part was the shaking. It felt like it would never stop as everyone endured the quakes generated by the tons of metal falling into the ground.

"_Get the others! Get them!"_ Shepard ordered as he struggled to stay on his feet. He manifested a barrier just barely large enough to protect himself, Miranda and Garrus from the high speed shrapnel.

Legion darted forward immediately, easily managing to keep its balance despite the chaos of destruction around them. "Creator in danger! Rendering assistance!" He reached down and grabbed Tali by the arms and hauled her up in one smooth motion. Surprisingly, it then used its own body to shield her from harm.

Samara reacted quickly and used her biotics to pluck Mordin up and away from the edge and deposited him safely with the others. Her own barrier was up and shielding her from harm.

Jack flared with dark energy as she picked up Grunt before he could fall. "I gotcha, big guy!"

Grunt flew up and over the rail and then fell with an undignified plop.

Eventually, the shaking finally subsided, though the sounds of twisted and falling steel still filled the air. Dust still lingered all around, but it was already being blown away by the high speed winds.

"Damn. You gotta lose some pounds off that fat ass," Jack said to Grunt jokingly.

Grunt scoffed and stood up. He pulled a long, thin, jagged 12 inch sliver of steel that had penetrated his armor and through his arm without any apparent discomfort. "I was fine."

"You were holding on by two fingers. And all of that was supporting that hunchback of yours… buddy, you were far from fine."

"Everyone alright?" Shepard asked loudly to silence their argument. He walked over to Miranda and held out a hand.

"I'm not sure there's any insurance that covers any 'acts of Shepard'," Miranda bit out. Surprisingly, she accepted his help and pulled herself up.

"No insurance company in the galaxy will ever endorse that," Garrus joked as he accepted Thane's hand and pulled himself to his feet. Samara assisted Mordin while Kasumi helped Jacob nearby. "They'd file for bankruptcy in no time."

"Only because he's the first organic alive to be considered a natural disaster," Tali said with a groan. She glanced at Legion out of the corner of her eye. "Thanks," she muttered.

"The standard organic response to gratitude is: You are welcome," Legion replied. It turned to Shepard. "Is that the correct response in this situation, Shepard-Commander?"

Tali shook her head wearily and answered for him. "Yes, it is, Legion."

"You okay, Krios?" Garrus asked. "You're bleeding."

"The injury is minor. Nothing like that shrapnel Grunt is currently removing," Thane assured.

"Allow me," Mordin said. Before he helped Thane though, he quickly bowed his head to Samara. "Thank you for the help."

"You're quite welcome," she cordially replied.

"Anyone else hurt? Speak up so we can treat you!" Shepard called out.

Turned to Legion and sighed. "Keelah. I'm going to need my tools for this."

Legion looked down at the bits of foreign metal jutting out from its back. "Platform is functioning within normal parameters. Repairs are not necessary at this time."

"If it can walk, talk, and fight with a giant hole in its chest, I'm sure it's fine," Jacob said. He accepted Kasumi's hand and pulled himself up. His biotic barrier was fading away.

"Thanks for the shield," Kasumi said gratefully.

"No problem."

"Over here!"

Everyone turned to see a man wearing a scientist's coat bearing the Cerberus insignia run up to them. It was the same man that called for help and warned them on arrival. Elena Dawn and a few Cerberus crewmen were behind him.

"Is everyone alright?"

"You're Dr. Gavin Archer, I presume?" Shepard rhetorically asked. Still, Archer nodded in response. Shepard turned to Dawn. "Captain Dawn. You alright?"

"Could be better, could be dead," she answered. "Damned glad to see you, Shepard. Believe me, we can use the help—Shit! There's a geth behind you!"

Dawn and her crew raised their weapons, but Shepard and his squad squared off against them, protecting Legion.

"Stand down!" Shepard barked. "This one is with us! It's under my command!"

"You're shitting me," Dawn said in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how many of those things are there around here? How many of my crew died because of them?"

"We did not harm any organics. Current information suggests that a rogue VI developed by Doctor Gavin Archer seized control of synthetic platforms and ordered an attack on any organics here," Legion stated.

"And it… it talks?" Dawn asked. Her eyebrow arched when she noticed another detail. "Is that thing wearing Alliance N7 Armor?"

"Long story. Stand down, Captain," Shepard repeated forcefully. "You look like you've had a bad day. Don't make it worse."

Dawn glared at Legion suspiciously. Still, since it wasn't even holding or drawing any of its weapons or making any hostile motions, she and her people backed off. "You got a geth to obey your commands?"

"Acknowledge my commands. It's part of my crew now," Shepard corrected.

"Just when I thought I'd seen everything…" she said.

"It's a complicated story and one that I'm not in the mood to explain. Especially since I get the feeling I'm in for a horror story of my own," he said before turning his attention back to Archer. "Alright. What the hell is going on around here?"

Archer looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Man's reach exceeding his grasp," he answered with an ironic undertone.

Shepard looked out at the destruction he and his team caused just to stop a disembodied voice from uploading off-world. "Yeah… Cerberus is really good at that."

He almost felt Miranda glare at the back of his head.

"Come on," Archer said. He turned around and quickly walked down a set of stairs. "I'll explain."

"I can't wait," Shepard muttered. He and his team packed up and followed, leaving the destruction of a communications array in their wake.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Note:**_

Four chapters in a month? Wow!

I'm sure everyone is seeing where I'm going with this. If you don't, then wait patiently for the next chapter!

But for those that do see it, how about leaving a review?


	56. Project Overlord: Vulcan Station

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / Project Overlord's Hermes Station**_

"You have my thanks, Captain Shepard, Director Lawson, Operative Taylor, and to all of you as well," Archer said to them in turn. "You've bought us some time, though probably not much. This isn't over yet."

"I'm sure it isn't," Jacob said. He crossed his arms. "Which is kind of sad. Hell, we only just got here and we already destroyed a good chunk of this place."

"You have a point," Kasumi mused. "But… we still have more things to blow up, right? Leaving a job only partially finished is unprofessional."

"I like her," Grunt said while Jacob chuckled.

"Very funny. Now stop it," Shepard ordered.

He and his team were inside Archer's office now.

Dawn was in attendance too, though she looked like she's had a rough time of it. Her Cerberus Assault Armor was pockmarked with bullet holes with gaping sections on the leg greaves and arm guards that had completely broken off; she was missing a pauldron, and had a long jagged crack down the chestplate. She also had cuts and bruises on every part of her exposed skin, and a trickle of blood that came from a gash just on the side of her head. Her blonde hair was disheveled, but her blue eyes were still wide open and alert.

Shepard looked out the window at the line of bodies and body bags just outside Archer's office. Whatever remained of Dawn's crew was respectfully trying to relocate the corpses of those that were killed in the attack.

"You owe us that explanation now," Shepard said with a pointed look. "Doctor… Archer, was it?"

"Yes. Dr. Gavin Archer, chief scientist at this facility… and probably the only left. This is Project Overlord. An attempt to gain influence over the geth by interfacing a human mind with a VI," he revealed before turning his gaze away from the bodies outside. "The results have been… less than satisfactory."

"I'll say," Kasumi said.

"I'd hate to see what you'd call a disaster then," Garrus commented.

"You can't dismiss the entire project. We did succeed—" Archer protested.

Garrus overtly pointed at the bodies lined up outside.

"—at least partially," he finished with a sigh.

Garrus snorted. "With something this serious, partially doesn't quite cut it."

"You said you used a human mind?" Miranda asked, moving the explanation forward. "So every time we saw that VI and every time it was screaming…"

"My… my brother David volunteered to serve as a test subject, but his mind couldn't handle the VI connection," Archer confessed. "He's like a virus now, infecting our networks and seizing control of any technology he finds."

"Instead of the geth like you originally planned," Shepard said.

"Yes. It's why you had to destroy the dish. Imagine if his program got off-world," Archer said.

"Alright, hit me. What's the worst-case scenario?" Shepard asked.

"A technological apocalypse. Every machine, every weapon, every computer could be turned against us," Archer gravely answered. "If he hit the extranet, who knows where it would end."

"You Cerberus fucker," Jack snarled. "I knew you bastards were idiots with all this shit you pull. What? Getting buttfucked by your own experiments isn't enough anymore? You wanna cause Armageddon now?"

"Jack," Shepard said warningly.

She snorted and kicked a chair over, but said nothing more.

"How does he take control of everything?" Shepard asked.

"This is a hybrid intelligence the likes of which I've never seen," Archer admitted with a hint of awe and fear. "I don't know where the man ends and the machine begins."

"And you didn't consider that before you did all this?" Shepard asked harshly.

"We couldn't be expected to account for every outcome!" Archer said defensively, as if the idea was ludicrous. "Certainly not the abomination David has become."

"The abomination you made," Jack corrected with a growl.

"Where is David now?" Miranda asked quickly.

"Davi… the VI has fortified itself in the main laboratory at Atlas Station," Archer said.

Shepard glanced at Dawn. "I assume there's a problem or you'd be trying to stop him."

"It's in lockdown," Dawn answered bitterly. "And getting the keys to the kingdom is proving to be a bitch."

"To enter Atlas station, you need to manually override security from our facilities in the Prometheus and Vulcan stations," Archer explained.

"A multi-key fail-safe," Shepard said.

"Yes, in the event of an emergency. Normally, all three project leads have to agree to cancel the lockdown," Archer said. He walked up to a large screen. The words 'lockdown' was prominently displayed at the top with sequential numbers one through three displayed in rows on the right. He gripped a handle to a metallic cylinder at the base of the screen, twisted, and pulled it up.

Row one changed from red to green.

"I'm the only one left now," Archer said quietly. "I just gave my authorization."

"We tried to hit the other two," Dawn said. "The teams I sent haven't called. We're assuming the worst."

"It's up to you now, Captain. You need to manually reset the other two before you can access Atlas."

"And what do you expect us to do to the **test subject**?" Jack asked, spitting out the last two words with no small about of hatred.

"Do?" Archer asked in confusion.

"The worst-case scenario, Archer," Shepard translated.

He sighed and slumped down into his chair. He reached over his table and picked up a picture frame that displayed him and who Shepard assumed was David.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Archer whispered.

"Yeah, because the galaxy just runs on hopes and dreams," Jack sarcastically said. She spat on the floor and kicked another chair over.

"And what happened to you?" Miranda asked Dawn.

"It's too sad to explain," Dawn answered in frustration. "Believe me, you guys had it much better than us. At the very least, whatever firewalls you have on your ship are better than ours."

"Your distress signal said you had multiple systems failure," Miranda said.

Dawn ran her hand through her short blond hair in anger. "That's about it in a nutshell. We received orders not long after our stint in the Pamyat System from the Illusive Man. Not unusual. He needs recon ships like ours to be his eyes and ears on specific missions or cells for some reason or other. I think they're four others like me, at least. Or at most."

"What exactly happened to the Gravitas? Any information could be vital," Miranda pressed.

Dawn sighed. "It seemed routine. The Illusive Man called us to inspect a cell that had gone dark. It was deep in geth space, so I thought that the geth had probably found them and jammed communications. I couldn't have been more wrong…"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Cerberus Frigate Gravitas / In Orbit Above Aite**_

"What the hell is going on? !" Captain Elena Dawn demanded.

"No idea, ma'am! We're suddenly facing catastrophic ship-wide systems failure!"

"Propulsion is offline. Weapons offline, sensors… we're losing everything!"

"Archer, tell me what the hell is happening to my ship!" Dawn demanded.

"The VI is uploading itself into your vessel!" Archer cried out. "We can't let it get off world! Shut everything down! We can't let it get into the galactic communications network! Shut it do—!"

"Ma'am! We've lost surface communications!"

"Ground team just reported taking heavy causalities before coms dropped out," the XO reported. He held his calm amongst the steadily panicking crew. "They managed to inform us that there was a strong geth presence inside the facility."

Dawn gritted her teeth. "Abandon ship. I'm enacting self-destruction protocols. We can't let this thing get out. And tell the crew to secure hard suits. We might lose life-support in a moment when this thing seizes control of the ship's mainframe."

The XO nodded and turned on the intercom. "All hands, this is the bridge. Abandon ship. All hands: abandon ship. Suit up and make for the escape pods. I repeat: All hands are to suit up and make for the escape pods. Life support system failure imminent."

"Ensign, rig a drone to play an automated message! Make sure it's not connected to the wireless network yet and make damn sure it doesn't activate until it's well out of range!"

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!"

"Evac underway!" the XO reported.

"Power to the ship is fluctuating. We might be losing life support soon!"

"Drone ready!"

"This is Captain Elena Dawn, commanding officer of the Gravitas! We're facing a total systems failure brought on by an attack from a rogue VI! Casualties sustained! We've lost propulsion, weapons, and communications. We're expecting to lose life support soon. We're abandoning ship and preparing the scuttle the Gravitas. Project Overlord needs to be sanitized! I repeat: all resources, data, and information regarding Project Overlord must be sanitized immediately!"

"Evac is almost completed," her XO reported.

"Upload Archer's message and launch the drone!"

"Message uploaded. Drone launched!"

She turned to her console next and typed in a serious of commands before speaking. "Elena Dawn, commanding officer. Authorization: Delta-7-1-Zulu-3-9-Kilo-5. Engage self-destruct protocol."

She waited until the Gravitas' VI acknowledged her orders. Instead, a green pixilated 'face', for lack of a better description, appeared on all the monitors. It unleashed a deafening howl of pain and rage.

"Good God," one of the bridge officers whispered.

"Shit…" Dawn cursed. "Get some explosives ready! We'll scuttle the Gravitas! Grenades, disruptor missiles, jury rig a goddamned nuke to the drive core you have to, but I am **not** letting this thing take her!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / Project Overlord's Hermes Station**_

"We succeeded in destroying the Gravitas and escaped. Obviously, you got our message, because no one travels here unless they got a reason. After our pods landed on this hellhole, my remaining crew and I have been fighting for our lives ever since," Dawn said angrily. "Geth, mechs, and whatever else that thing tossed at us. We regrouped here at Hermes Station, but we lost a lot of people. Archer told us the grim news and I assigned some of my people to try to end this nightmare. They're probably dead now. Truthfully, it looked like we were about to make a last stand when you showed up."

"Can David upload himself into the Normandy?" Tali asked in alarm.

Archer shook his head. "It doesn't appear so. The firewalls on your ship must be quite sophisticated. Also, with the dish destroyed, there's an upper limit on how much and how quickly he will be able to transfer." He sighed despairingly. "For the time being, we're safe. For how long, I can't say."

Shepard turned to Jacob. "Have you been able to raise the Normandy?"

He shook his head. "Negative, Shepard. We're still being jammed."

"How long will it be before Mr. Moreau realizes something is wrong?" Thane asked.

"A while," Shepard admitted. "We're victims of our own successes. He'll worry a little bit, but he won't call for help because he trusts us to get the job done. I'd bet on three days."

"What about Cerberus? EDI passed on the distress calls," Garrus pointed out.

"No clue. We don't have a strong presence in geth, I mean, heretic space," Jacob said. "They'll need some time to either gather some troops to retake this place or enough ships to bomb the hell out of it."

"Either way, we can't afford to wait," Samara said.

"No. Waiting unacceptable. VI may find way offworld if we do not act quickly. Must handle this ourselves," Mordin agreed.

Dawn smiled grimly. "I hope all those stories about you are true, Shepard, 'cause you're going to need to screw your balls on tight for this."

"He'll do it," Grunt said confidently. "We'll make sure of it."

Shepard turned back to Archer. "Miranda here told me that you formulated a theory on the geth. Something about religious impulses."

"That's correct. When I presented the idea to the Illusive Man, he gave me leave to pursue this idea. We wanted to turn the geth's religious impulse into a weapon. When we saw them following Saren, we realized they could be swayed," Archer said. "And if a proper figurehead was created – a virus with a face, if you will – the geth might be controlled."

Jack rolled her eyes and pretended to think about what he said. "Controlled, huh? So how's that working? 'Cause I think you have some major problems."

"It was to be the perfect weapon – victory without casualties!" Archer argued. "We could avoid war with the geth altogether. That was the plan anyway."

"Bullshit," Jack said immediately. "Sounds to me that you're making the geth a goddamn weapon for your own fucking plans. Or if not you, then your buddy the Illusive Man."

Archer glared at her, but Shepard physically stood between them. "Watch yourself, Archer. She was a… 'guest', of one of Cerberus' experimental facilities. Take a wild guess how hospitable they were."

"She's also wanted for… well, actually, I'm trying to think what she **isn't** wanted for. Multiple counts of murder, theft, piracy, destruction of public property, destruction of a prison ship… oh, wait. We had a hand in that too…" Garrus listed off.

Grunt chortled appreciatively while Jack smirked.

"It'll be in the best interests of your continued health not to antagonize her. Medigel doesn't really work when you're turned inside-out," Shepard cautioned. "Don't push her buttons. It'd be shame for you to survive all this only to die now."

Archer gulped and shrunk in on himself while Dawn slowly and subtly backed away.

"So David is providing the face for this virus," Shepard stated, steering the conversation back on track. "That face we've been seeing all over the place? That was him?"

"He was supposed to interface with the VI to give it genuine consciousness," Archer said.

"You mean like an AI?" Tali asked.

"Close. It's better to say that he was using his mind to give the VI very specific directions to manipulate the geth," he corrected. "Theoretically it should have been safe, but…"

"This was a bad idea all around, Archer," Shepard said. "Our knowledge of the geth was faulty. You should have never attempted this experiment."

"And what if you had never attempted to find the Reapers, Captain Shepard? Where would the galaxy be then?" Archer rhetorically asked. "Sometimes you have to ignore the risks."

"Don't compare us," Shepard snapped. "I don't ignore risks, especially when lives are on the line. I acknowledge the risks, I'm cautious about them, and more importantly, I respect them. But I never ignore them."

Tali shook her head in exasperation. "I think you might have the right idea of trying to vie for peace with the geth, Shepard."

Archer looked surprised at her declaration. "You actually want peace with the geth? A quarian?"

"My people had recently tried to accomplish something… similar, Dr. Archer. We've failed spectacularly and people were… were killed," Tali said with only the barest hitch in her voice. "It was a hard lesson to learn."

Garrus patted Tali on the arm consolingly, but she straightened up and steeled herself.

"I see…" Archer said. His eyes drifted toward Legion. "Speaking of which, let me ask you a question: is your friend here going to be a problem?"

"Like I said, Archer: our previous intel on the geth was wrong. There are two factions of synthetics now," Shepard said.

"What?"

"Legion here is a terminal for the true geth that wanted to find me. Other than this one, they never left the Perseus Veil. They've kept to themselves and watched organics, but they've never done anything past that."

"We do not share the heretic's viewpoints. We reject their conclusions," Legion said. "We sought out Shepard-Commander to learn how to preserve our future from the Old Machines."

"The heretics? Old Machines?" Dawn repeated.

"That's the other faction of synthetics. They're the ones with the religious impulses. They're the ones that want to follow the Reapers, the 'Old Machines'," Miranda supplied. "They're also responsible for every attack blamed on the geth."

"Believe me, Legion won't be brainwashed by any of this. It'll be fine," Shepard assured. "Don't worry."

"I suppose I have no choice but to take your words for it," Archer said in resignation.

"Alright, everyone listen up. In the interest of time, we'll need to hit both stations simultaneously and then regroup at the entrance to Atlas Station," Shepard said to his squad. "The Normandy is holding her own, but I don't want to risk my ship or the VI finding another way to get itself offworld. We need to be quick."

Everyone nodded or gave verbal confirmations to his assessment.

"Archer, tell us about the Vulcan and Prometheus Stations," Shepard said.

"Vulcan Station is our geothermal plant. It generates power for the four outposts," Archer replied.

"According to the last set of transmissions by the team I sent over there, it's crawling with security mechs, but no geth," Dawn said before looking at Legion. "Or heretics. Or whatever. Anyway, it's not going to be a milk run. The bridges that were constructed to navigate past the rivers of lava were destroyed. You'll need the Hammerhead to traverse the terrain now. It still won't be easy though."

"Prometheus Station is a crashed geth, or heretic, ship full of dormant machines. We use them in our experiments," Archer said before realizing his slip. He turned to Legion, but it didn't even react to the news.

"Why do I get the feeling they're not dormant anymore?" Garrus asked out loud.

"I'd say experience," Kasumi said tiredly. "But then again, this is definitely a case of 'everything that can go wrong will go wrong'."

"Anything you can tell us about that station?" Jacob asked Dawn.

"Not much," Dawn admitted with a shrug. "The ship erected a kinetic barrier that's preventing access. The team reported that even Hammerhead's missiles were useless against it, so I have no I idea what you guys can do."

"And this station?" Mordin asked.

"This is Hermes Station, our communications uplink with the wider galaxy," Archer said. "If you hadn't destroyed the dish in time, the outcome… well, all of you are aware of the dangers now."

"And Atlas Station?" Shepard pressed.

"Atlas Station is the main laboratory where all of our VI experiments take place. It's where you'll need to go once you've overridden the lock down. I don't know what you'll encounter one you get there." Archer said before swallowing the lump in his throat. "It's also where my bother… became something else."

"We'll need maps to all three stations."

Dawn used her omni-tool to transmit the maps to him.

"Damn," Shepard muttered. "Looks like Atlas Station is underground."

"So much for orbital bombardment," Garrus said.

"Orbital—? No! Captain, please," Archer pleaded. "Please, don't do that. Do what you can to save David."

Shepard sighed. "No promises, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Archer said.

"Alright, change in the lineup," Shepard stated. "Garrus, Tali, Legion, and I are the only ones with any experience with the heretics. Grunt and Jack, you'll come with me as muscle."

"So we're going to Prometheus?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah," Shepard confirmed. He turned to Archer and Dawn. "Can we fly our shuttle there?"

"Wouldn't recommend it. This base has anti-aircraft guns installed at all four stations. Some of the escape pods were shot down coming in," Dawn answered angrily. "The only reason you managed to get here in one piece was because we destroyed the guns around Hermes Station to give my people a chance to land here."

He looked out the window. "Fine. Is that Hammerhead out there yours?"

"Yeah," Dawn replied.

"How many can it seat?"

"It's been modified to hold up to five, just like yours. That krogan of yours might be a bit too big for one seat though," Dawn cautioned.

"We'll have to squeeze in then," Shepard said. "Sorry, Legion, but I need you sitting on top of the tank or something. I know those platforms can curl up pretty tight though. Will you be alright like that? Do we need to tie you in…?"

"We will be fine, Shepard-Commander. We configure this platform to be able to fit within the vehicle."

"I don't know. I was thinking that we could make it our hood ornament," Jack quipped.

"Laugh it up, Jack, but you and Tali are the smallest, so the two of you will need to sit on each other's laps for this as well," Shepard said.

"Hey!"

"Deal with it," Shepard ordered. "Miranda, you're in charge of the other team… but we're one over capacity it looks like."

"We'll be fine," Kasumi assured with a wicked smile directed at Jacob. He chuckled and shook his head wearily.

"Good," Shepard replied. "Stock up. Thermal clips, grenades, and power cells. If you don't have'em, now's a good time to get'em. Meet up outside."

The squad broke up and started scavenging for any needed supplies.

Shepard took the opportunity to grab Miranda by the upper arm and pull her out of earshot of the others before she could protest.

"Look, we have our differences, but I'm putting their lives in your hands. I need to know right now, whose orders are you following, mine or **his**?" Shepard whispered harshly.

"I told you before: I can put aside my personal feelings—"

"Don't feed me that. You and I both know that's not true now," Shepard said more softly. "I just want a straight answer. Right now. Can I trust you with their lives? Can you follow **my** orders?"

"I…" She gamely met gaze, though he saw it was a challenge for her to maintain eye contact.

"Miranda?" he pressed expectantly.

She sighed and looked at the bodies of the Cerberus personnel outside. They were being packed into the bags now. There was really no telling the number of casualties sustained so far though, especially since there were three other stations involved with this cell.

"I take the others and override the lock at Vulcan Station, and then we'll rendezvous with your team at Atlas Station and follow your lead," she quietly said.

He sighed and leaned against the wall. "I do want to talk about what happened before, but…"

"We can do that later," she said impatiently. She took a deliberate step back and crossed her arms standoffishly. "Right now, we have a job to do. We can talk and waste time or we can do the job. I'm of the opinion that we shouldn't waste time."

Shepard nodded. "Agreed."

She curtly nodded back before leaving to gather her equipment and prep her team.

_I hope I know what I'm doing._

"Shepard?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"If it's alright with you, I think I'll stick with 'Archangel' as our designation. If Garrus doesn't mind, of course," she said. She offered him a small confident smile and left.

Now he was almost certain she was playing with his mind. Shaking his head in exasperation, he put aside his attempts to understand the fairer sex and refocused on the current crisis at hand.

_Women._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / En Route to Vulcan Station**_

_**Archangel Team**_

"According the maps, we are approximately 122.5 kilometers away from Vulcan Station," Thane said.

"Should be there in no time," Jacob said. He gripped Kasumi's waist. "Stop squirming!"

"Just trying not to hit my head on anything," she complained.

Miranda waited until Shepard piloted his tank ahead of hers and toward Prometheus Station. He seemed to be doing well enough that she idly wondered why the program failed him.

After Spectre Team cleared the rocky archway that served as the entrance, she accelerated her own Hammerhead to cruising speed at brisk clip of 100 km. They quickly left Hermes Station far behind and were roving over a grassy field. She lightly banked the tank to the left in the opposite direction of Shepard's team.

"This is a nice planet. Too bad it's gone in a couple of centuries,"Jacob commented.

"I know. Sad, isn't it?" Kasumi said.

"Local biota has been harvested. Still collecting though. Cataloguing, recording, testing to see if there is any practical applications," Mordin added.

Looking out the window, Miranda privately agreed with Jacob. It was very picturesque. They were flying through a field dotted with trees of all shapes and sizes. There even indigenous creatures that bore some resemblance to the animals on Earth grazing about, though they scattered at the sight of the Hammerhead whipping by. Occasionally, an alien bird of some sort would fly by before diving down at something far below the cliffs. There was a beautiful mountain range with a breathtaking sunset highlighting the natural wonder of the valley. The light played off the clouds just right, giving them a unique contrast to the darkening blue sky and enhancing the two moons floating overhead, making them seem impossibly large.

_Wish we could've conducted the Lazarus Project in a place like this. Better two years here than on that cramped station._

The Hammerhead swiftly glided over the peaceful terrain, over a stream and across a natural stone bridge that overlooked a waterfall.

Kasumi couldn't stop gushing over how lovely everything looked and was saying something about making a haiku about it.

"There," Samara pointed out.

Miranda looked to where the justicar was pointed at and pushed the Hammerhead a little faster.

It was another manmade structure, definitely out of place with the natural environment around it. It was probably a warehouse and a power substation of some sort. The warehouse would be used by the workers at Vulcan Station to receive or offload goods from Hermes Station. Power was probably monitored there as well to ensure the safe steady flow of electricity. Nearby were a set of enormous pipes that led into a tunnel big enough for the tank to fly in.

_Here we go._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / Project Overlord's Vulcan Station**_

The exterior temperature gauge rose steadily as the M-44 Hammerhead cruised at 70 km through the long winding tunnel, deeper and deeper into the subterranean levels of Aite. The rock walls were glowing red, reflecting the light and heat generated by the lava below.

"Enemy contact," Thane reported calmly from his seat. He was manning the cannon.

"I see them. Don't fire. The explosions might cause a cave-in," Miranda warned.

"Understood."

A few LOKI mechs were patrolling the tunnel ahead. Miranda goosed the throttle and just ran them over carelessly. They fired a few rounds, but the standard issue pistols they had were no match against the kinetic barrier of a tank.

The walls began widening, signifying that they were reaching the end. She slowed down until the team was finally at the opening, where she stopped the tank at the lip and took a look around.

"So this is what Hell looks like, huh?" Jacob commented.

"I thought you'd be used it, being part of an organization called 'Cerberus' and all," Kasumi teased.

"Different kind of hell."

"Have heard the human expression: war is hell. Perhaps more applicable to you?" Mordin asked.

Jacob laughed.

The environment was as different as it could be from the grassy plains they left behind. Instead of being brown, smooth, and inviting, the rocks were black, jagged, and hostile. Instead of clear steams of water, there were rivers of molten lava that were glowing an angry crimson. There were no trees, no animals. No life. Just a prime example of one of nature's harshest natural environments.

Ahead was a power substation situated at the base of a lavafall. The bridge Cerberus had constructed had collapsed. A closer look revealed two turrets near the structure as the most likely culprits.

"Krios, those turrets at the substation," Miranda pointed out.

"I see them," he replied. He aimed the cannon.

"Fire."

The moment Thane shot at the one of the turrets, they turned toward the tank and returned fire with a hail of bullets and missiles.

"Hang on, everyone! Executing evasive maneuvers!" Miranda shouted.

The tank rapidly accelerated forward and sideways. The aggressive flight pattern forced everyone inside to hang on tightly to anything available that wasn't important as Thane tried to keep up the attack.

Thankfully, whatever talent he had for a rifle translated well enough to manning the cannon. After less than a minute of stomach churning turns, stops, and boosts of sudden speed, he finally reported that both turrets were down.

"Here's a crazy idea: let's not do that again…" Kasumi suggested. One hand was on her stomach, the other was covering her mouth after she needed to take off her mask to attempt to take some very deep breaths. Her pale face was looking decidedly green.

Jacob was staring at her warily. Either he was concerned about her or himself since she was seated on his lap.

"We should almost be there," Miranda said. She piloted the tank back on course. "Just hold on."

"I am… you have no idea how much I am…Oh… gods…" she moaned before her cheeks puffed out comically.

"I'm not sure if I should say to go faster or slower," Jacob said, trying to back away as much as his seat could allow.

Mordin wordlessly held out a syringe.

"What is that?" Jacob asked, taking it from him and looking at it.

"Mild sedative. Won't last long. Similar to motion sickness medication. Shouldn't affect combat performance."

"Are you sure?"

Kasumi gripped his arm tightly. "Give. Me. Drugs."

Jacob jammed the needle into her exposed neck.

She sighed and leaned back, purposefully oozing all over him as the sedative calmed her rebellious stomach.

"Hmm. This may present a problem," Thane suddenly said.

"What is it?" Samara asked.

"Another river of lava," Miranda said tensely as she slowed the tank down. "A very large river of lava. And the bridge here is gone too."

"Well, how big are we talking?" Jacob asked.

"Too big. We'll never make it one jump," Miranda said. She saw that there were several rocks jutting out in the middle though. The tops were flat enough that the tank could land on it. If they were solid enough, the tank could launch itself from them as well.

"How do we get to station then?" Mordin asked. "Can't tank fly over lava?"

"The heat would cook us alive," Jacob answered. "Ambient air temp over that stuff would overwhelm the coolant system. We'd literally be breathing in fire. Not to mention the intakes would overheat and the thrusters would fail. We'd fall right into the lava."

"So what do we do?" Mordin reiterated.

"Something insane," Miranda answered. She put the Hammerhead in reverse and created some distance.

"Insane?" Jacob repeated fearfully. "How insane?"

Miranda smiled grimly. "Like the kind of insane Shepard would approve of."

"Uh… now's not the time to be channeling him, Miranda. I'm all for you two being in a relationship and all, but he's obviously a bad influence on you. Maybe we could do this your way. Y'know, stop and think about the situation. Come up with a plan that doesn't involve ritual sacrifice!" Jacob shouted.

Kasumi just sighed and snuggled in her 'seat'.

"I already thought about it," Miranda said. She turned in her seat to stare at him. "And we'll be talking about what you said about him and me."

"What I said…? Oh! No! I don't know anything!"

Accelerating forward, she drove the tank toward the river at its top speed of 120 km.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, Miranda, I see you have your mind set on doing some crazy shit! Just let me out first!" Jacob shouted.

Mordin was almost struck speechless. He was clutching his harness and muttering prayers under his breath.

Ignoring Jacob's panicked cries and Mordin's pleas for celestial assistance, Miranda aimed for the first platform and used the hovertank's ability to jump over the deadly molten rock. Landing safely, she hit the throttle and jumped again, aiming for the next one quickly just in case the rocky outcropping proved to be 'thin ice'.

She landed roughly on the next platform. Everyone could hear one of the hover disks on the side of the tank screech against the ground as it tried to keep the tank in the air.

Finally, the next jump put them on the other side.

Mordin and Jacob breathed a sigh of utter relief. Thane and Samara were disciplined enough remain calm throughout the ordeal. Kasumi was still under the influence of the sedative and didn't react at all.

"Well," Miranda said as she continued driving as if nothing happened. "Onward."

**~o~O~o~**

"This is might pose a problem."

Miranda sighed in annoyance at the metal door that closed off the path to Vulcan Station. It was obvious that David was behind this particular obstacle if the unmoving, green-tinted lensed camera was indication. He was watching them closely.

"The controls have to be in that building," Kasumi said. "Guess we're getting off."

"I needed to stretch my legs a bit anyway," Jacob said. She swatted him on the arm.

Miranda parked the Hammerhead near the door and opened the hatch. Mordin and Samara exited first. They did a quick sweep before relaying to the others that the coast was clear.

Kasumi and Jacob were next. The thief exhaled a deep breath to dispel the last of the fogginess from the sedative before donning her mask and readying her Locust. Jacob kicked out his legs a bit and held his shotgun loosely in his hands.

Miranda led the group into the building while Thane remained in the tank. Just in case any surprises cropped up anywhere outside. The structure was small, nothing more than a glorified guard shack and power substation. There were a couple of LOKIs inside – hardly a threat to them. A few bullets easily removed them.

Past the LOKIs was the unsettling, and yet expected bodies of the Cerberus personnel that were assigned here.

"_Is it bad that we're not horrified by this anymore?"_ Kasumi muttered.

"_Necessary mental defensive measure. Adapt to environment. Horrible, but learning to filter out. Must keep focus. Otherwise, we die," _Mordin replied pragmatically.

"_Your train of thought scares me sometimes," _she said.

Miranda looked around with a critical and dispassionate eye. What happened here was eerily reminiscent to what happened during the Lazarus Project. When Wilson had taken control of the mechs and tried to purge the facility of all its personnel. She pushed aside whatever feelings she had for the situation as terrible as it was. There was a time to grieve and take an accounting of losses, but this wasn't it.

_This is a time to take action and try to stop or salvage what we can out of the situation._

There were still people alive and she needed to stop this if she intended to keep them alive.

"_There is a log here,"_ Samara said. She was standing in front of a terminal.

"_Play it,"_ Miranda ordered.

"_Engineer's log: We've registered a huge spike in energy consumption. My technicians traced it to the experiment underway at Atlas Station. We're trying to raise them now."_

"_Got another console here,"_ Kasumi said. _"I think it's for the gate."_

"_Hack it and get it open. And be sure to disconnect it from the network. Isolate it so David doesn't close it after you open it," _Miranda ordered.

"_I can do that,"_ Kasumi chirped. She set to work immediately. _"Cheap security. Only three nodes to bypass… isolating system… and done."_

"_The doors are opening,"_ Thane reported.

"_Let's get back to the Hammerhead then,"_ Miranda said.

When everyone turned to the door, David's 'face' appeared on the engineer's console, screaming at them.

As one they whirled around and raised their weapons in surprise, but only Mordin fired, destroying it.

"_Ah… sorry,"_ he said. He was panting lightly. _"Caught off guard. Surprised. Won't happen again."_

"_Let's just go,"_ Kasumi suggested.

As they made their way out, Miranda gave Jacob a side-long glance. "About what you said in the tank…"

"Ah, hell," Jacob said. "Look, it's none of my business and I'm sorry I—"

"Who said that to you?"

"Who…? Um…" Jacob hedged.

Miranda turned her head now and glared at him. Her transparent faceplate allowed him to see her eyes, which demanded an answer.

Jacob's eyes involuntarily jerked toward Kasumi.

_Too easy. Probably why he didn't qualify for N7._

"Kasumi?" Miranda asked.

"It was an accident! I was laid up in the Med Bay!" she said defensively. "Legion was the one the outed you!"

"Legion," Miranda repeated blandly.

"Yeah. You said something about finding Shep intelligent and attractive, not that I disagree or anything, and it heard and recorded it. It played back your voice and everything when it wondered what flirting was," Kasumi rambled. "Garrus, Tali, Chakwas, and Shepard were there too."

Racking her memories, she tried to recall when she used the word attractive anywhere in Legion's presence before exhaling noisily and shaking her head. "Oh, damn it."

_Of all the… I can't believe I was that careless. That-that-that… __**thing.**_

"So, Miranda, you and—"

She turned and glared at Jacob again. "Not another word on the subject, Mr. Taylor. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am," Jacob answered automatically.

**~o~O~o~**

"I can't believe we made here alive…" Kasumi said. She sighed in relief. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd rather deal with mechs more than the travel."

There was a general murmur of agreement as everyone filed out of the tank and stood at the entrance to Vulcan Station.

It took two more death-defying jumps over another large river and a pseudo lakebed of molten magma, but they finally made it.

Privately, Miranda had to admit that her piloting had become slightly more aggressive upon hearing that her personal life was exposed and talked about like gossip. She was also a little angry at Shepard for not telling her that he knew that the others knew. She eventually calmed down and thought it through rationally. They fought and they weren't talking. There was little chance for him to say it. And during their temporary truce, he was obviously trying to keep his mind in the mission, as was she.

Pushing aside her feelings as she always done with practiced ease, she made it a point to talk to him about it later once this mess was sorted out. Having regained her mental footing, she carefully looked around. _"Be careful. David knows we're here and he'll do what he can to stop us."_

"_Great. More howls from the great digital ghost,"_ Kasumi said nervously.

Inside, they were greeted by a blast of hot air. Thankfully, their suits were able to mitigate the blistering temperatures. There were a series of catwalks that led upward.

"_This way,"_ Miranda said. The path ahead was blocked by debris. Luckily, there was a way around it to the right.

She walked up the nearby console and extended a bridge that overlooked a pool of lava below. Samara took point and carefully walked across the bridge first when David's electronic scream echoed in the machine-filled room.

The nearby furnace exploded, destroying the bridge.

Samara gasped when she lost her footing. The metal beneath her feet gave away and she fell.

Miranda slid to the edge and just barely caught her hand before Samara could plummet.

Thane and Jacob rushed over and helped her pull the justicar to safety.

"_I thank you,"_ Samara said gratefully once she was on more stable ground.

"_Uh oh,"_ Mordin said. _"Hostile sighted!"_

"_Assault Drones!"_ Kasumi warned.

"_I think I can clear that debris,"_ Samara said. _"I will need a moment."_

"_Cover her!"_ Miranda ordered. She readied her omni-tool and brought one drone down with overload.

Attack drones were all about kinetic barriers and firepower and little else. Direct attacks by biotics were completely useless against them, but explosions were fair game. Considering how many things around were volatile, it was a matter of precision shooting to ensure none of the explosions were directed at them.

Thankfully, Thane and his unorthodox dual-wielding pistol style fit the bill just fine. Fires and high-pressure gas blowouts cleared the immediate air of the drones, allowing Samara to push the debris off the catwalk and into the lava pits below.

The team quickly climbed higher, before David could arrange any more 'accidents'. More drones flew around, harassing them and impeding their efforts, but the forest of pipes made their flight patterns predicable and their speed slow to avoid collisions. More than once, Miranda had to rely on her tech attacks, while Samara levitated loose objects and tossed them at their attackers.

The others simply relied on the tried and true method of firing as many bullets as they could downrange to drain the drone's shields and destroy their relatively fragile bodies.

"_We have LOKIs now!"_ Kasumi said. She had forgone her cloak and was using her tech armor to provide additional protection against the unending storm of bullets they were force to contend with.

The LOKIs were screaming at them, in the same manner as David did. Instead of the usual single red eye, it was glowing a pale green.

"_Stairs have been destroyed!"_ Mordin shouted. _"Must find alternative paths!"_

Ducking down, Miranda quickly searched around and saw some collapsed pipes that might serve as an adequate ramp. _"The pipes in the back corner! We can climb up there!"_

Kasumi darted out first. One LOKI that stood her way was brought down in a blur of hands and feet. She shot it twice in the head when it was on the ground before blind-firing her SMG at the other mechs as she sprinted up the pipes and onto higher ground. Once there, she proved cover for Thane as he used his own unique agility to reach her in no time at all.

Samara held her ground, taking aim with her Avenger and destroying another LOKI. _"Go! I can hold them!"_

Jacob manifested a barrier and clambered up the pipes clumsily. More than a few times, he was hit, but he managed to make it to the top without injury. _"There's a room up here! We can take cover in there! Hurry!"_

Miranda glanced at Samara.

The justicar was holding her own and getting support from above. She briefly nodded her head and renewed her assault.

Miranda sprinted up the pipes. It was steep and was a little slippery, but she made it without stumbling.

"_Ready a grenade! We'll take a section of the catwalk apart!"_ she ordered. _"Mordin, cryo blast!_

He aimed his omni-tool and froze a section just in front of the LOKIs.

Samara deftly fired once more before climbing up the pipes.

Kasumi tossed a grenade down on the icy area. The catwalk blew apart, creating a gap too big for the mechs to try to cross over.

"_Through this room! Come on!"_ Jacob said. He led the way in, firing at the drones above until they had overhead cover.

Once everyone was inside, he shut the door and locked it. The drones fired their guns, but failed to penetrate the hardened windows.

"_Looks like we shook those things off for now,"_ Kasumi said.

"_Let's not linger,"_ Miranda said. _"Over there. Let's try the other door."_

"_Hold on,"_ Jacob said. _"Got another log here."_

"… _received an SOS from Atlas Station. Archer has declared a project emergency! We're trying to shut down the power generators to starve the VI, but it's already hacked our automated systems! I'm ordering my people to sabotage the plant any way they can!"_

The moment the engineer's log ended, David appeared with a vengeful howl.

"_Gods,"_ Kasumi gasped. _"I hate it when he does that!"_

"_Did anyone hear that?"_ Thane suddenly asked.

Miranda cocked her head to the side to try to catch whatever got his attention. _"I think so…"_

"_I don't hear anything,"_ Jacob admitted.

Miranda knelt down and put her hand to the ground. _"There. I feel it. Vibrations."_

"_There is only one mech large enough to create vibrations that can be felt this far,"_ Samara said.

"_YMIR,"_ Jacob muttered. _"Great."_

"_I can handle it on my own,"_ Samara said. _"But if there are other mechs, I will need assistance. Draw their fire so I can focus on the greater threat."_

"_You heard her,"_ Miranda said. _"Let's do it."_

The door led to an open hallway. On the left side was a window that showed a larger room. It was just as unremarkable as the rest of the facility: Vents spewing out steam, pipes everywhere, and oppressive heat. The heavy stomps of the YMIR could be heard clearly now, but Miranda couldn't see where it was beyond the countless tubes.

"_I can see some LOKIs, more drones, and more blasted plumbing…"_ Miranda informed the others. _ "Who designed this place?"_

"_The YMIR?"_ Samara asked.

"_I can hear it, but there are too many things in my way to see it."_

"_I'll take a look,"_ Kasumi volunteered.

"_Go."_

In a crackling of electrical arcs, Kasumi vanished from sight. The team quietly moved into position at the door, taking care not to be spotted through the window.

"_In the back of the room. Bunch of drones perched on the upper pipes and a few more LOKIs too,"_ Kasumi said.

"_Rig some grenades. Let us know when you're ready,"_ Miranda said. _"But be careful of the machinery! We don't want to cause a runaway explosion here."_

"_I got it, I got it,"_ Kasumi said. After a few minutes, she called back. _"This should take care of some of the LOKIs, but not the drones."_

"_That will be fine,"_ Samara said.

"_Ready,"_ Kasumi chirped.

"_Go!"_ Miranda waited until grenades went off before sticking to the right of the room, keeping the mess of pipes between her and YMIR. She targeted the farthest drone with overload, before using her Pulse Rifle on the others.

She saw Thane out of the corner of her eye. He was popping in and out of different areas, Predators blazing away at the remaining LOKIs. Occasionally, Kasumi reappeared with her own Locust, before vanishing again.

The drones took to landing on the pipes above now. Their angles allowed them to fire down on the team from anywhere.

Spotting a few gas vents, Miranda decided to take a chance. There were too many and they used the pipes as crude cover, making it too difficult to get them all. She took careful aim at a vent and fired. A horizontal column of flame gushed out, lighting up the area and destroying several drones overhead. Aiming again, she shot two more and hoped that nothing would explode.

Her gamble paid off. Fire was bursting out of the gas pipes like a flamethrower, lighting up the room and preventing the drones from flying down or acquiring a good shot.

David recklessly tried to charge the drones through the gouts of flames, only for them to be overwhelmed by the temperature and shut down, causing it to rain scrap metal.

Seeing that Thane and Kasumi had everything under control with the LOKIs, Miranda took Jacob and Mordin to assist Samara with the YMIR. They came around some crates only to see dozen thin metal shafts rammed into the heavy mech. Three were jammed into its left arm, making it impossible for it to raise its mass accelerator cannon. Four were in its other arm, ensuring that it couldn't fire any missiles. Others were in its legs and chest. The mech was still limping around, though hydraulic fluid sprayed all over the place.

Samara was nearby, levitating a few more metal cylinders. She threw her arms outward and launched them like spears. The deadly projectiles joined the others and pierced through the mech in its chest.

With the mech barely able to move now, she lifted a large crate and viciously slammed it into YMIR and topping it over.

David howled in outrage.

Samara calmly walked up to the remains of the mech and aimed her rifle at the head. A quarter of a clip later and she raised her head to nod to the others. _"It is done."_

"_Wow. That was pretty… mean,"_ Kasumi commented.

"_Report," _Miranda said.

"_The LOKIs have been dealt with,"_ Thane said.

"_You cooked the drones,"_ Jacob said as he stared at the fires above their heads.

"_Alright. Jacob, get on that terminal and shut down the gas. The rest of you, it looks like that's the project director's office. We're here,"_ Miranda said, pointing at an overhead sign.

While Jacob typed away at the nearby terminal, Miranda led everyone else up a set of stairs and to a locked door.

"_I hear gunfire,"_ Thane said. _"Only one though. Pistol."_

"_Most likely a LOKI mech then,"_ Mordin surmised.

"_What is it shooting at? We're out here,"_ Kasumi said in confusion.

"_Open the door and we'll see,"_ Miranda said. She stuck to the side of the wall and knelt down, allowing Samara a clean line of fire. Thane and Mordin copied their actions.

Kasumi bypassed the lock in seconds.

Just as they thought, one lone LOKI was shooting. It was aiming at the emergency lockdown console they were looking for. When its weapon overheated, it raised a leg and started kicking it.

Sighing in equal parts relief that they found what they were looking for and annoyance at the sad obstacle in their way, Miranda stood up and fearlessly walked into the room.

Eventually, the LOKI turned around at their presence.

Miranda looked at her team and tilted her head at the mech, giving a silent order.

Thane and Kasumi acknowledge her and fired single shots at the mech, eventually blowing off both arms.

With its pistol gone, the LOKI was rendered useless and David relinquished control. The eye returned to its normal crimson color. It started running around the room as its original programming tried to reassert itself.

Choosing to ignore the nuisance, Miranda walked up to the lockdown terminal. The screen showed that the first key at Hermes Station was still unlocked, but two and three were still indicated locked by the red bars.

_Guess Shepard is still working his way there._

Gripping the handle, she twisted and pulled the cylinder out.

"Vulcan Station override of Atlas Station lockdown accepted," the terminal chimed. Row two changed from red to green.

David appeared on all the screens, surrounding them and screaming out in denial, but Miranda was too tired to care at this point.

The radio crackled to life. _"—a-a-are you r-r-r-receiving this? Director Lawson? This is Dr. Archer. Please respond."_

"_I hear you, Archer,"_ Miranda replied. She found herself slightly distracted when she remembered that they had to go **back** the way they came. Through the station, past whatever mechs that was still in their way, over pools and rivers of magma all topped with a long drive through a dark tunnel. She sighed.

"_I'm reading that you've managed to hit the override at Vulcan Station,"_ Archer said.

"_Yes. What's the status on Spectre Team?"_ She saw that the indicator had yet to change.

"_I don't know. I lost contact with them just like I lost contact with you,"_ Archer said.

The LOKI mech was still running around, which was beginning to irritate to her to no end.

"_Think they're alright?"_ Kasumi asked worriedly.

"_They're fine. We had it a bit easier since we're dealing with mechs. Heretic platforms are better armed and better constructed,"_ Miranda answered.

Suddenly, row three changed colors too.

"_Speak of the devil,"_ she said.

"_They did it!"_ Archer said in amazement.

"_When you establish contact with them, inform Captain Shepard we'll be waiting at the rendezvous point at the entrance to Atlas Station,"_ Miranda said.

The LOKI finally stopped running and was standing next to her.

Clenching her fist, she called upon her own biotics and her personal creation, her biotic technique which Shepard continued to 'affectionately' call slam.

Naturally, he learned it quickly after watching her use it once or twice.

The mech shot up to ceiling. Its head crunched against the surface before rocketing down to the floor, crippling its legs and leaving it a heap on the ground.

"_Archangel Team out."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Note:**_

When I played this on insanity, I still found it ridiculously easy considered that only a few sparse mechs stood between me and the objective. Heavy weapons really made it easy. I think the main difficulty was the drive there.

Not much else to say. A quote was taken from: **Bad Boys II**

_**Edit:**_ Thanks to reviewer **Sithslayer69** for a bit of inspiration.


	57. Project Overlord: Prometheus Station

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / En Route to Prometheus Station**_

_**Spectre Team**_

The rocky arches provided for anice backdrop tothe lush green fields and scattered trees. The shrubs were large and healthy. The pools, streams and flowing falls of water were clear and pure. The setting sun bathed the valley in enough light that the shadows were innocent and nonthreatening. Even the two moons in the sky gave the planet an exotic, yet comforting view. In a way, Aite's beauty reminded Shepard of Eden Prime.

Before Saren and Sovereign's attack anyway.

He forced himself not to be distracted though. Even if Aite looked like something out of a Robert Frost poem, the looming danger of Cerberus' latest failure remained acute in his mind. He had no idea of what their successful operations were outside of the Lazarus Project, but their mistakes always seemed to be more costly and he always seemed to be cleaning them up.

The other reason was that he needed to keep his mind free of distractions because the Hammerhead required a great deal more concentration to pilot than the Mako.

_But damn if it isn't more fun!_

Unfortunately for all the occupants inside, none of them were enjoying the sights or the 'leisurely' drive.

Shepard was pushing the Hammerhead as fast as it go, often reaching speeds faster than 120 km/hour, which was what was supposed to be the tank's top speed. The engines were whining constantly and sounded like they were on the verge of breaking down. Every time he turned it was more like drifting, with the rear of the tank swinging wide and threatening to overtake the front and lose complete control.

The stone arches were obstacles. Solid, unyielding obstacles. Solid, unyielding, merciless obstacles that could crumple the tank like a cheap datapad if they ran into one head on; which was only marginally better than clipping the side, losing a thruster and spinning out.

Whenever the Hammerhead flew over water, it would splash on the external cameras and windows, obscuring visibility and forcing everyone to wonder if the end would come without them ever seeing. The trees and dense foliage lowered line of sight, preventing a clear view of what was ahead and sinisterly hiding any lethal traps within that would spell their doom.

At these speeds, they'd be maimed or dead before they knew what went wrong.

Garrus was supposed to be manning the turret, but it was difficult to do so when he had his eyes clenched shut and was curled in a fetal position in his seat in a vain effort to protect his vital organs in the very likely event of a crash.

Jack was spewing out an unending litany of curses and even making up a few under her breath. She would've screamed at Shepard, but the one time she did that early on in the ride he had turned away from the controls to talk to her. She avoided speaking directly at him since.

Sitting on her lap was Tali, who was praying to her gods and ancestors for the ride to end without their bodies broken and twisted beyond recognition. They were subconsciously clutching each other tightly and kept their eyes averted from the monitors or windows. It was already too much to even think about, let alone watch.

Grunt was hugging Legion's compact form tightly and was breathing heavily. Unlike the others, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the whipping scenery and was wondering if he were to die now, would crashing inside a flying tank count as a warrior's death? His grip on Legion was so tight that it actually protested against the abuse, stating that its damage resistance threshold was about to be exceeded. He didn't give a damn and told it to shut up so it wouldn't distract his battlemaster.

The journey only got worse when they flew over a river that was flowing from a canyon. The walls closed in and served to increase the chances of crashing in a most horrific way. Adding to that effect, acting like some morbid sign, was remains of the Gravitas and geth ship. Their debris littered the canyon and along their current represented a constant and disturbing reminder of what fate may soon befall them.

What compounded their fear the most was the fact the Shepard didn't even slow down. He banked and turned as needed, somehow avoiding the rock walls and twisted metals, and somehow keeping everyone alive just a moment longerdespite not knowing what was around each twist and bend. There should have been no way he could keep up his pace inside something as confined as a gully, but it was almost like he was flying the Hammerhead on a set of rails. At one point, he actually pulled a 360 degree helical roll to avoid something or other.

The passengers shouted and screamed for a moment when they were turned upside-down for just a half a second. Everyone would've complained, but no one wanted to distract him.

"Are we there, **yet**?" Tali uttered quietly. The awkwardness of their seating arrangement had long since faded in the face of the terror they were enduring.

"I fucking hope so," Jack mumbled.

"How the hell can he fly that fast in an area like this? How can he even fly **like** this?" Garrus murmured fearfully. "Why'd we even let him fly?"

"Heads up. We're almost at the target area," Shepard finally announced. He was completely oblivious to the others' less-than-kind thoughts about his piloting.

"There is a god," Garrus said in relief when he felt the Hammerhead slow down.

"Any reason we were trying to break the sound barrier?" Jack asked when it felt that death wasn't going to claim them immediately.

"The faster we get into Atlas Station, the quicker we end this," Shepard simply said. He didn't bother to mention that he wanted to prove to himself that he could pilot the Hammerhead as well as Miranda and not have some stupid training program tell him otherwise.

_I knew that thing was rigged._

"Um… Shepard? Is possible for a VI to pilot this vehicle?" Tali asked hopefully.

"I think there's an autopilot," Shepard said thoughtfully. Keeping one eye on the terrain ahead, he glanced down at the controls and frowned to himself.

_Where the hell was it again?_

"You think?" Jack repeated incredulously.

"I didn't exactly pass the Hammerhead training simulator," Shepard confessed embarrassingly.

Everyone except Legion blanched at the news.

"What?" Garrus asked weakly.

"Stupid program kept saying I 'engage in unsafe practices' or some bullshit like that," Shepard muttered angrily. "What the hell does it know anyway? We're here, right? And in one piece!"

"I think we should let the VI pilot," Tali said staunchly.

"Can't. Don't know how and even if I did, it's too dangerous. David could take control and plow us into a wall. I've had to isolate the systems already, even the radio, just in case," Shepard replied. "VI might override that though."

"So we're fucked either way," Jack complained. "That's some bullshit right there."

"Whoa, stop here, Shepard," Garrus suddenly said.

Shepard brought the tank to a stop and landed it, much to the immense relief of the team.

He had parked the tank at the top of a cliff that led into another wide open valley. The river next to them flowed downa waterfall and into the distance, continuing on beyond what the eye could see. It was a beautiful view marred only by the downed heretic ship,lodged in a cliff wall on the other side of the basin.

"You see the kinetic barrier?" Garrus pointed out.

"Yeah," Shepard said. "Okay, Grunt, come with me. The rest of you stay put."

Shepard popped out of the hatch and stepped out. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and measured the distance between his current position and the crashed ship.

"Grunt?" Shepard called out when he realized that he was standing outside alone. He walked up the cabin door and opened it. "Grunt, come on."

He saw that the krogan was still clutching Legion rather tightly, almost to the point where he was worried that Grunt might break him in half. "Grunt?"

"Yes, coming battlemaster," Grunt said through gritted teeth. With supreme effort, he pried his fingers off of Legion and let it go.

"You okay?" Shepard asked. "That shrapnel you took back at Hermes isn't bothering you, is it?"

"I'm ready for combat," Grunt assured. He lumbered out of the Hammerhead and took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

"If you're sure…" Shepard said.

"What do you want?" Grunt asked.

Seeing that Grunt wanted to get on with the action, Shepard pointed at the kinetic barrier shielding their destination. "According to Dawn, the Hammerhead's weaponry isn't enough to take that thing down. I'm hoping a double dose from the Cain from both of us should do it."

Grunt's eyes lit up and faster than Shepard assumed he could have been capable of, the hulking krogan drew his Cain and held it ready.

"Alright, it's about 150 meters down range. Aim high and hopefully, we can blow right through it," Shepard said. He looked his binoculars one last time to double-check the distance before upholstering his Cain as well. "Don't spare the power cells. We need to get in there."

Grunt nodded with an enthusiastic grin. He approached the edge of the cliff and took aim. Shepard stood next to him and fiddled with the controls.

"Max power. We only have two shots each, so make'em count," Shepard said."Garrus! Need eyes here!"

Grunt nodded and adjusted the angle. At this range, it was less about launching and more about lobbing. They needed to arc the shot so that it would hit the shield directly. It was already a long shot to think the Cain was enough as it is; an indirect hit would have even less of a chance.

Garrus popped out of the top hatch of the Hammerhead and did something with his visor before nodding his readiness to them.

Both weapons whined as it began powering up to its full charge. 10 seconds later they were beeping and the trefoil stamped on the side was glowing warningly.

Once again, Shepard judged the distance and triple-checked his aim. They couldn't afford a miss or to fail. If they couldn't get in, then they can't get to the override and ultimately stop David. From there, the Reapers might actually not be the biggest threat in the galaxy anymore.

Grunt squinted his eyes and re-checked his aim as well. He lowered the barrel of his gun slightly. "Ready."

Shepard let out a half-breath. "Fire."

Bucking slightly from the recoil, their heavy guns each launched a single glowing round into the air. It arced over the distance before falling right on top of their target.

A bright light blinded them for a minute forcing them to turn away. Next was the shockwave, creating vibrations that could be felt in their chests. And finally, that event was followed closely by the near deafening sound of the explosion as it washed over the entire valley.

A single gigantic mushroom cloud appeared, slowly billowing over the crash site and into the sky. Shadows blanketed the area in darkness when the cloud blocked out the setting sun.

"Ha! I wonder if everyone in Hermes Station saw that!" Grunt shouted in glee.

Jack laughed. "I'll bet everyone saw that shit from orbit!"

"Solid hit, Shepard," Garrus reported.

"Status of the shield?" Shepard asked.

"Hold on… dust is settling… I don't see any glow though… Wait." Garrus leaned forward out of the hatch. "I do see a glow, but it's weird…"

"Weird how?"

"It's not blue or dome shaped… It's red. More like a tiny…"

"**EVERYBODY DOWN!**" Shepard bellowed. He turned away from the edge and dove to the ground. Grunt joined him and while the others slid back into the tank.

Another explosive shockwave buffeted them. Rocks rained all around, striking the tank and both Shepard and Grunt.

Shepard gritted his teeth when he felt a particularly large chunk of debris land squarely on his back.

"_What the fuck is that?"_ Jack screamed.

"_Mass accelerator cannon!"_ Standing up, he ignored the flare of pain and ran up to the edge. Bringing the Cain to low power, he growled in frustration when he was forced to wait for the requisite 5-second charge.

"_It's prepping to take another shot!" _Garrus warned. _"How the hell do you put this thing in reverse?"_

Seeing the cannon preparing to fire, Shepard blindly launched his next round at the ship, hoping against hope that he wouldn't accidently destroy the doorway in.

His shot was too high. It impacted on the canyon wall causing rocks to fall on the vessel. It was through sheer luck that one of the larger pieces struck the cannon just as it was firing, causing it to miss them completely and a miracle that his shot or the rocks didn't destroy the dropship outright.

Grunt ran up to Shepard, Cain charged and ready.

"Low power! Aim for just above the cannon! And don't miss! We can't afford to destroy that ship!" Shepard shouted.

Grunt shouldered the Cain and tried to take aim, but saw that the dropship cannon was pointed in their direction again. In his haste, he overcompensated and fired far too shallow. The landscape was now decorated with a new crater, but whatever sensors David was using was now distorted by the mushroom cloud.

"_**DOWN!"**_

Another shot was wide, causing more rocks to crash down, though it was worse on Grunt and Shepard.

Groaning slightly, Shepard saw his Cain was charged and ready, but now on its last shot.

Standing up, he saw that Grunt was trying to dig his way out of some rubble while the Hammerhead had several new dents on its armor.

Kneeling down, he hefted the Cain one last time and carefully tried to locate where the cannon might be. The cloud created from Grunt's attempt was clearing slightly.

Pushing adrenaline into his body, he allowed his senses to speed up and force reality to a crawl. With new enhanced perception, he allowed himself to mentallyprep his shot, feeling the need to be quick, but not hurried. Both he and Grunt had only one shot left and they needed to enter the ship proper to get to the override, not conduct artillery bombardment on it.

The cannon was barely in view again. The dust and smoke from the last shot faded, allowing him to see the faint outline. Another red glint appeared, signifying the targeting laser it used just prior to firing. The unintentional smoke screen refracted the beam though, making it slightly unreliable, but allowing Shepard to track it all the way to the source.

Adjusting the Cain one last time, he squeezed trigger and fired off his last round.

This time, his shot was perfect. The low powered round wasn't nearly as impressive as a high powered one, but it did the job. Parts of the cliff fell dangerously on the ship once again, but nothing too hazardous to their objective. The dropship cannon was now bent facing the distance far from the team and couldn't turn. It only twitched erratically in place when David tried to bring it back to bear, but the physical damage was already too much.

His howl of outrage seemed to emanate from the ship itself and echoed in the valley. It was impossibly loud and the silence after was nothing short of foreboding.

"_I think you pissed him off,"_ Jack muttered.

"_Yeah,"_ Shepard agreed. Attaching the Cain to his weapon's harness, he helped Grunt to his feet and slowly walked back to the Hammerhead. The pain from being pelted with rocks made themselves known.

"_That scream at the end…"_ Tali whispered worriedly.

"_Bah, he's just trying to scare us,"_ Grunt rumbled. He was checking his Cain carefully to make sure it wasn't damaged.

"_You guys okay?"_Garrus asked.

"_Stick and stones luckily didn't break any bones, but it still hurts,"_ Shepard replied.

"_Sticks?"_

"_Human idiom,"_Shepard replied as he entered the tank. Garrus was sitting at the cockpit, trying to figure out the controls. "What are you doing?"

Garrus jumped up in his new seat. "Oh, uh, just trying to figure out how to fly this thing."

"You're not qualified. Move."

"You said you weren't qualified either!" Garrus protested. He stubbornly stayed seated. "I'm sure it isn't hard. I can do it!"

"Garrus, look at the monitor," Shepard said and pointed at the one in question.

His friend obediently did so.

"That is a drop of over 100 meters. Do you know how to bring the tank down slowly, and engage the thrusters enough to ensure we don't go splat **and** figure it out in the 4 seconds we'll be falling?"

"Uh… no," Garrus admitted, though it sounded like it was the last thing he wanted to say.

"Out of my chair. Now," Shepard ordered.

Sighing like a man condemned, he slid out and moved to the gunnery chair.

"Nice try," Jack whispered.

"Would anyone hold it against me if I confessed I was scared to go down there?" Tali said.

"Relax, Tali. Hunting rogue synthetics is an old hat now. We got this," Shepard assured.

"That's not what I—never mind," she mumbled dejectedly.

"Don't worry. We're not going down yet anyway," he said.

"What's up?" Garrus asked.

"Gotta run diagnostics. Make sure that rock storm didn't damage the tank too badly. And I got to do a physical inspection of the intakes on top; make sure there isn't anything in there as well," Shepard answered distractedly. The Hammerhead's systems came on one-by-one. "If something got in there and I turn this baby on, it could do bad, bad, things."

"Perfect…"

Shepard laughed when an odd random thought struck him while he waited for the systems to be ready.

"What?" Jack asked miserably. She was not looking forward to riding around with Shepard in this thing.

"I was thinking of this quote I once saw somewhere before. It seems appropriate," Shepard replied with a grin.

"What is it?" Grunt asked curiously.

"'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley'."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / Project Overlord's Prometheus Station**_

The inspection of the damages took longer than expected. There were large chunks of rock on top of the main intake fan. Shepard and Jack had to use their biotics to lift out the worst while Tali had to dig out the smaller ones that had fallen inside by taking apart some of the weaker armor panels and rooting around. It wasn't hard since the panels were damaged from the initial hits. Garrus, Legion, and Grunt helped out where they could.

Despite the speed Shepard took to get here, working on the hovertank to make sure it still hovered was proving a bit costly in terms of time, but still worth the effort.

The alternative was to climb down the cliff face to get to the valley below and into the partially buried heretic dropship loaded with hostile platforms.

So no one really complained.

Once everything was in working order, Shepard climbed into the pilot's seat and ordered everyone aboard. They did so reluctantly.

However, their reticence was unfounded. Shepard decided not to take chances and slowly descend to the valley and practically brought the tank to a crawl at 30 km/hour to make sure nothing was wrong with the more delicate components.

Landing the tank near the entrance, everyone disembarked and readied their weapons. The door was unfortunately damaged, but Grunt was able to physically force them open and allow them entry.

"Attention visitors: This Cerberus facility contains hazardous AI technology," the automatic announcer stated. "You agree to assume all liability for personal injuries or death that may occur during your visit."

Shepard half-turned to Jack, expecting her to make some derogatory comment about that announcement Cerberus. However, he was surprised when she was presented a grim countenance and was clutching her shotgun tightly in her hands.

"_Camera's tracking us again," _Tali said.

"I noticed," Shepard said.

"_Your radio's off," _Garrus pointed out.

"There's no point now. I'm almost sure David can see and hear everything we're doing on this ship. Radio's only good if we need to communicate in silence. Doesn't really help if the other guy can hear us anyway," Shepard said. He walked down the short tunnel and carefully opened it.

"Damn it,"Garrus muttered when they entered.

A Synthetic Prime was locked in stasis in the middle of the room. Once again, dead bodies of the Cerberus personnel were everywhere. Some were shot, others looked like their necks were broken so severely that their heads were practically 180 degrees from where they were supposed to be facing. The rest were just beaten to a bloody mess.

"All this looks familiar," Jack said. "Except I didn't do it."

"None of them stood a chance," Grunt commented.

"A Prime… Looks like Cerberus was preparing transport it," Tali surmised.

Suddenly, Archer's voice played out to them._ "Memo to all project personnel: I understand there's some concern about handling live geth. I agree it's a risk, but the potential reward is far greater. Someday, your sons and daughters will thank you."_

Everyone turned to Grunt when they were searching for the origin of the recording. The krogan looked down and lifted his foot to see he had stepped on a datapad, causing it to play its contents. The next log played automatically.

"_Now we just got word that Atlas Station wants a dozen more geth for the experiment. I hope this means a breakthrough is close. Hanging all these dormant machines is creepy. It's like death staring at us from the shadows. I'd rather work at Vulcan Station,"_a Cerberus researcher complained.

"Up the ramp. There's another door," Shepard said. "Move out."

The team followed his lead. When they passed some lab equipment though, several screens appeared, bearing David's digital generated face. He screamed at them yet again, but this time, it was different. Instead of rage or pain, it sounded more like pleading.

Everyone stared at him a bit, unsure what to make of it.

"Let's go," Shepard insisted.

Everyone moved to follow except Jack. She was still staring at the screens.

"Jack?" he called out.

She shook herself out of whatever thoughts were plaguing her. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Boss Man."

The door led to another hallway. The ship was severely damaged; there was no doubt about that. Most of the walls and doors had to be replaced by Cerberus to provide structural support.

David's macabre face appeared on another screen to their left. This time he didn't even scream. Whatever he was saying, it was closer to begging now.

Jack appeared unusually, but perhaps not surprisingly, empathetic. She reached out and tried to touch the face David presented to them, but it broke apart, turning into multiple incarnations of the same avatar. He spread all over the window, but caught Shepard's attention was that he was quiet for once, instead of screaming or howling at them. Even Jack seemed strangely reserved now.

The floor beneath them shook violently, nearly sending everyone to the ground.

"The structural integrity of the vessel has been compromised," Legion stated. "It is likely due to the falling rocks which exacerbated the damaged hull from its crash landing. Recommend we complete this mission quickly.

"I'm with Legion," Garrus said. "It might be a good idea to keep going. Now."

"Alright, let's try this door—" Shepard backed away from the doorway he was about to suggest. It had closed on him automatically and the usual holographic interface didn't appear.

"Looks like David is controlling where we're going," Tali said nervously.

"We do not recommend attempting to force the doors open with any explosive devices. Further stresses will most likely result the total collapse of this structure," Legion said.

"There's another open door," Grunt pointed out.

Before they could go through it, another terminal nearby sprung to life – it was the same Cerberus researcher from before. _"Lanigan just ran a simulation – if these geth ever wake up, there's a 98% chance we'll be dead within two minutes. I'm starting to hate Lanigan."_

"His calculations are not inaccurate. Given the relative combat strength of organics that are not trained, combined with the estimated number of heretics on board this ship, we estimate it would take 1 minute, 49 seconds to ensure total removal of all hostile organic presence within. Our calculations come back as 97.9678% accurate," Legion supplied. "However, data collection is not complete. We will build consensus."

"You don't have to do that, Legion. In fact, I don't want you to," Shepard said.

"What about us? What are our chances?" Garrus joked.

"The heretics would only have 9.5327% chance of stopping us," Legion answered. "However, the presence of the Cerberus VI will render our calculations unusable."

In the next hallway, the door right across from them closed.

"That's starting to annoy me," Jack muttered.

"Uh oh," Tali said.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"Heretics, but they're just lying there. They're not active or anything," she reported. "I mean, I guess they're not heretics or geth anymore… just 'platforms' maybe?"

"I wouldn't count on these things staying still for long," Garrus cautioned.

"Shoot'em," Shepard ordered.

Grunt quickly walked over to Tali, drew his pistol and fired a shot into every head of every synthetic he could see. "One shot for all of them, battlemaster! I'm conserving ammo!"

Shepard nodded approvingly. "Glad to see you're learning."

Taking the lead again, Shepard followed the trail David was leaving them. He was certain if David had wanted to, he could've locked all the doors outright. Instead, Shepard got the feeling that he was being led around by the nose.

David's face was staring down at them when they entered yet another hallway, but deep inside.

Shepard couldn't help but notice that the face was becoming more articulate and detailed as they continued on.

Once again, David cried out his incomprehensible pleas to them.

"Is this going to be a regular thing?" Jack asked when the disembodied head called down to them. There was something different about her voice. It was similar to how she spoke in back at Pragia: quiet, reserved, hesitant – A touch of the frightened girl behind the tough exterior she had created to protect herself against the injustices of the galaxy.

"Was it regular for you when you were at Pragia?" Shepard whispered to her.

Thanks to her helmet, Shepard couldn't see her face, but he got the impression that she was looking at this differently than everyone else.

"He's probably in a lot of pain now, huh?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"I think so," Shepard said quietly. It had always sounded like he was in pain or anger or perhaps a mix of both.

"Does anyone know what its saying?" Tali asked. She was staring at the face, trying to decipher its garbled words.

"Make it stop," Jack answered. Her voice was a mix of empathy, resentment and pity. "Please make it stop."

Tali tilted her head, as if trying to confirm if David was actually saying that. "Really?"

"I said the same thing in his position," Jack confessed without thinking.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I—I was just wondering. I didn't mean—"

"Forget about it," Jack said angrily. At herself or at Tali, no one knew. "I mean it. Just drop it."

The tension was broken when another log from the same belly-aching research played from a nearby terminal. _"Halloween was yesterday. Lanigan ran around wearing spare geth parts. Spooked the shit out of everyone. Now I definitely hate__ him."_

**~o~O~o~**

"More heretics… or just platforms here," Garrus said. He took out his own pistol and started shooting at them. Grunt and Legion helped out as well.

Shepard, Tali, and Jack kept their primary weapons up, just in case David started feeling like engaging in some violence, but so far none of the synthetic platforms got up to fight them.

"Why isn't he attacking us?" Tali asked. "He attacked us at Hermes Station."

"Maybe he's dealing with Miranda's team," Shepard theorized. "He's still human. There's only so much he can do. Either taking control of the mechs over there or taking control of the heretics here, he probably can't do both. Or maybe it's something else entirely."

"Got another datapad here," Garrus said. "Another log."

"I swear, if it's that whining bastard again, just break it," Jack said.

"_Everything is offline! Archer declared a lockdown, but our station's __already infected!"_ the researcher cried fearfully. _"What does the VI want? It keeps screaming at us – nobody understands!"_

The ship violently rocked again. Bits of loose flotsam rained down all around them.

"Alright, if we keep getting led around like this, the damn ship will bury us," Garrus said. "We need to get some doors open."

"Tali? Anything you can do that doesn't involve force?" Shepard asked.

"I may have a few tricks," she answered. "But against David? Don't hold your breath."

"Whatever you can do then."

She approached the nearest door and ran her omni-tool over it. "I think… I think I can override the manual release on the doors. It's a simple program. Easy to isolate. Hold on." She typed into her omni-tool for a moment. The doors suddenly opened a bit. "Done."

"Done what?" Jack asked. "It's only a crack."

"The doors can be 'forced' open. Sorry, Shepard. But at least we don't need to use our grenades, right?" Tali asked.

"Funny, Tali. And thanks," Shepard said. He drew his combat knife and fitted inside the slit in the door and levered against it. "Grunt, Garrus? A little help?"

"Let's hope this doesn't piss David off," Garrus said before grunting with the effort of prying the doors open. "It's been kinda peaceful so far."

The door yielded to their efforts. After locking it in place, they looked around the room they were in.

"I guess this is their main lab," Shepard said after moment. The lifeless bodies of Cerberus scientists and heretics were everywhere. "Spread out. A bullet for each one."

"There could be hundreds in this entire ship," Jack complained.

"At the very least, we take out a few dozen," Garrus said grimly. "Less is better. Get to work."

"Are you okay with all this, Legion?" Tali asked.

"We do not have any particular opinion on this situation, Creator Tali'Zorah. The heretics have made their choice. They left and choose to fight against organics. It was already determined that many organizations would seek to attack them in return, Cerberus included. This is one of many scenarios we have predicted," Legion replied. "What happened here has nothing to do with the geth."

"So… you're not worried that they might do this to your people in future?"

"We do, but now many of the scenarios we have predicted in regards to any threats to our future are no longer applicable. Much has changed," Legion answered. It raised its Pulse Rifle and fired single round into a platform before methodically moving on to the others. "But we thank you for asking."

Shepard just put another round into another synthetic when the terminal next to him started playing.

_I'm really beginning to hate that…_

"_The VI's closing some passages and leaving others open. It's like it's herding us. At least the geth are still dormant."_

"Famous last words," Shepard muttered.

David's face appeared on the terminal. His digital mimicry of speech was somewhat clearer now. Jack was right. It did sound like: "Please, make it stop."

"Let's go, everyone. If this is the main lab, then what we're looking for should be close," Shepard called out.

Regrouping, they forced another door open and locked it in place. The area ahead was flooded and loose electrical wires dangled from the ceiling, though none were in contact with the water.

That didn't stop Shepard from picking up a loose piece of metal and tossing in the pool to test and see if it was safe to cross. The water didn't react at all.

"To all Cerberus personnel: In an effort to reduce workplace stress, music has has been approved for stationwide broadcast," the VI announcer said in a pleasant voice.

Wading through the water, Shepard, Tali, and Garrus all groaned with they heard the familiar tune playing overhead, though it crackled with static and came in fuzzy.

_That damn Presidium elevator music… of all the… __**why?**_

"I think David is in complete control of the station VI and he wants to torture us," Garrus stated.

"His idea of inflicting pain on us," Tali agreed.

"Care to talk about your immune system again?"

"Stop it. Both of you," Shepard said. "There it is."

He pointed at the lockdown terminal in the distance. It was located across in the middle of the room. However, it seemed that the damage from the Cain had been done because the area was flooded with water, but thankfully not reaching the terminal.

"Are these guys completely fucking stupid? What the hell is with putting that thing in a room that completely flooded with water?" Jack asked.

"I doubt Cerberus would build these kinds of things and surround it with a moat," Shepard said dryly. "I'm pretty sure it's our fault."

"How do you figure that?" Garrus asked.

"The Cain. We must've ruptured something."

"How did we get here without being shot at?" Grunt asked in disappointment.

"We're still stuck inside this ship, big guy," Jack reminded. "Let's hit the override and see what happens."

"Grunt, Tali, Legion. You three stay here and cover us. David might get supremely pissed once we hit the lockdown. Garrus, Jack, on me," Shepard ordered. He jumped off the platform and into the water.

The level only reached up to their waists, so they were able to ford their way to the terminal. When they were halfway there, the second row changed from red to green.

"Looks like Archangel Team beat us," Shepard muttered.

"Competing with your girlfriend?" Garrus teased.

"Wait—what?" Jack asked.

"Shut up," Shepard said to Garrus quickly.

"Is he serious? You and the cheerleader?" Jack asked. "Goddamn it. I think I'm going to be sick…"

"Sorry," Garrus muttered. "I meant it as a joke."

"Focus!" Shepard barked and quelled any more comments. "We're here."

Clambering on top of the dry platform, they approached the terminal with a sense of unease. A lone camera nearby was following their progress with single-minded intent.

Shepard grasped the cylinder, turned it a quarter-clockwise, and pulled.

"Override of Atlas Station lockdown accepted."

All three bars were now green.

David's face appeared on the screen right after. His scream was no longer quiet or pleading. Outrage and vengefulness set the tone now.

One platform popped out of the water.

"And there's the catch we've been waiting for. Anybody else have complaints that this is too easy?" Shepard asked.

Four more platforms popped out of the water to join the first.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?" Garrus muttered. Shepard shrugged helplessly.

Everyone raised the weapons and fired. The synthetics were trying to wade through the water, but only provided easy targets to pick them off.

"Come on, we need to move!" Shepard ordered. "You three! Cover us!"

Grunt turned to the door and raised his shotgun. "They're coming!"

Shepard pumped his legs as quickly as possible to get through the moat.

Legion started helping Grunt, leaving Tali to cover the others still trying to get through the water.

"What the-? Oh shit!" Garrus gave out a strangled cry when a platform leapt up from the water and dragged him under.

"Garrus!" Shepard shouted.

"_Get this thing off of me!"_Spouts of water erupted when he started firing his gun underwater.

"Get back!" Jack said. Raising her arms high, she brought them down and slammed into the water.

The force of her biotics knocked Shepard into the water and he floundered at bit to get his footing and force his way back to the surface.

The blast parted the water for just a moment, allowing Garrus to regain his equilibrium and shake off the Trooper before unloading on it. _"I'm good!"_

"Go, go, go!"

"Hostile geth activity detected. Armed response is authorized," the VI said.

More geth popped out of the water. Tali dropped Chiktikka to provide support and aimed her pistol to try to slow them down.

"Cerberus reminds all personnel that this emergency is now classified information."

"Come on!" Tali cried out. She knelt down and offered a hand. Shepard grasped it and pulled himself out of the water.

"Number of hostile forces increasing," Legion reported.

"Come on! Is that all you got? !" Grunt roared.

"Disclosure to outside parties is a violation of your confidentiality agreement," the VI reminded. 

Shepard pulled Garrus out while Tali helped Jack. "We're up! Let's go!"

"Shepard-Commander. The area ahead is no longer safe. There is a danger to organics via high voltage current. Observation: several conduits fell into the water during our firefight."

"I can handle that," Jack said.

"Do it!"

Jack took the lead and spread her arms out. A biotic bubble appeared around her. She slowly walked forward, touching the tip of her bubble against the water and parting it. She kept going, stumbling only once when the ship shook again from the stresses it was enduring. Legion and Shepard were carefully watching the far door to make sure nothing attacked her.

Once she reached the middle, she expanded the bubble to push all the water away from the walkway. "It's clear! Move your asses!"

"You heard her!" Shepard barked. He sprinted down the aisle, though the bubble, past Jack and held his position at the door. "Got more coming!"

Garrus and Grunt were next and ran past the door and into cover. "We'll hold them back!" Grunt said confidently.

"Everything in this damn ship is coming after us! We need to go!"Garrus shouted.

"We're clear!" Tali reported.

Shepard took aim at the synthetic above the moment he noticed movement. "Contact! Second floor!"

"Missile!" Jack shouted.

"Scatter!"

"There's more down here!"

"They're everywhere!"

"There's a Hunter here! Can anyone see it? !"

"Regroup!" Shepard shouted. "Get your asses inside the main lab! Now!"

Everyone darted from cover to cover, moving toward the room he indicated. The sudden chaos that threatened to overwhelm them banished as he seized control of the situation and directed their actions.

"Legion, Garrus! Second floor! Take'em down! Grunt, Tali, Jack! Main floor! Suppression fire!"

Shepard aimed his shotgun at a distortion blasted it.

The ship rocked heavily again. Parts of the ceiling were coming down.

A particularly large piece nearly crushed him. Looking up, he saw more was coming down. He barely rolled out of the way just in time.

"Shit! Is that crap blocking the exit? !" Jack asked.

"We'll need to get to higher ground and get control of this area!" Shepard ordered. He didn't bother to mention that he needed to get up there to see if the debris was indeed blocking the door."Grunt! On me! The rest of you, covering fire!"

"Attention: This is a geth stasis alert. Neural activity detected in nodes 1 through 6."

Shepard and Grunt sprinted at the ramp, blind-firing at the synthetics while relying on the others to protect them.

When they reached the top, Shepard spotted a distortion running right at them. He was nimble enough to roll to the side, but Grunt wasn't so quick. He roared when a Hunter tackled him and they both pitched over the side and fell all the way down.

_Never seen those things tackle anyone before. Legion was right. No __heretic tactics at all._

"_Help Grunt!"_ Shepard ordered. He dove behind a support beam as a rocket streaked by and struck the wall. The room shook again as more and more abuse from the explosions began taking its toll.

Shepard fired back with his sniper rifle and down two platforms before using his higher vantage point to find the door. _"Rubble cut you guys off, but it's not blocking the door!"_

"_How do we get out? !"_Tali asked.

Looking around the upper level looped around the room and had a balcony just above the exit._ "Get up here! We'll jump!"_

"_Die!" _Grunt shouted. The Hunter that was attacking him had its head blow off. He picked up the body and threw it at the other synthetics, followed up by a grenade.

"_Move people!"_ Shepard covered their advance, sniping anything that had a green flashlight head.

One by one, everyone ran up the ramp and around, with Garrus in the lead. Grunt was the last to the top. Once he was up and stayed up, Shepard abandoned his perch and took up his assault rifle again.

Only a couple more stood in their way, but the real threat was the red Destroyer.

Tali used her energy drain while Jack used throw, followed by shockwave.

"I'll destroy you!" she screamed."Get out of our way!"

"A geth outbreak has been declared. This ship is now quarantined."

"Jump for it!" Garrus said. He leapt down and held his position at the open door.

Everyone followed after him. Shepard peeked inside and saw that the coast was clear. "I don't see anything. Legion, Grunt, go!"

Legion moved forward with its rifle up. Grunt trailing closely.

"We are detecting motion. Isolating location," Legion reported before its plates took on an alarmed look. "Alert: Hostile forces above us! Evade, evade!"

The panels above it exploded and rained down, burying Legion. More synthetic platforms leapt from the hole they created to engage them. One Trooper tried to blitz the team outright.

Grunt was prepared to meet it head on when the nearby wall exploded, destroying the Trooper and blasting Grunt back.

"Goddamn it!" Jack screamed.

"Get them!" Shepard said. He ran into the room, firing as more platforms jumped in.

Grunt crawled to his feet and growled. "Is that it? !"

"Grunt, help Legion! Garrus, help **me!**" Shepard ordered. "Tali! We need a door open! Jack, cover her!"

"On it!"

"I'm with you!"

"Got it!"

"I got this!"

Shepard took advantage of the hallway to use shockwave and blast the attackers back. Garrus fired down on their prone bodies until Shepard created a singularity, allowing the platforms to be drawn into one place. The turian used overload to bring their shields down in one swoop.

"Doors open!" Tali reported.

Grunt heaved the debris off Legion. "Get up, you bucket of junk!"

"Mild damaged sustained. Executing self-repair programs misaligned. Compensating," Legion said. It got up slowly, taking care to hide behind some defilade.

"Get to the door!" Grunt said. "I'll take care of them!"

"_Shit! Another goddamn hallway and more of these synthetics bitches!"_ Jack said. _"Get your asses over here! I can't hold the door like this all day!"_

"Move! We'll seal the door!" Shepard ordered. He and Garrus cover the retreat. Grunt dragged Legion since it was having difficulty movingand into the next room. He spotted the enemy and started shooting immediately.

Once everyone else was through, Shepard and Garrus ran in last. Jack released her biotics on the door and it closed shut. Tali followed up by engaging the lock.

"How do you like this, huh? !" Grunt taunted. He was holding a Hunter in front of him as a bullet shield and advancing on the other Troopers shooting his Claymore one handed around his hostage. "Come on! Follow me!"

"We're close to the exit!" Shepard said. He took cover behind Grunt and his unwilling shield. He popped off a few shots. "I remember that lab equipment! There should be some stairs and hallway that leads to the main entrance!"

Once Grunt was close enough, he dropped his shotgun to grip the Hunter tightly and barreled down the hallway, knocking over everything in his way. The rest of the team took advantage by shooting anything that had a green glow to it before they could recover.

Once the hallway was clear, Shepard followed the route and smiled when he saw that he was right. Up a set of stairs and down a short hallway, the door opened to show that they were almost out.

His cheer was short lived when there was another small force already there to stop them.

_Including the Prime. Damn it!_

"Spread out! Control the upper floor!" Shepard commanded.

Missiles streaked toward them from all directions. They scattered as quickly as possible, but Garrus was tagged by the explosion and fell over to the bottom floor. He got up just in time to see the Prime bear down on him. "Um… help!"

Shepard ran up to the edge and used charge to ram the Prime, but its shields protected it. The pressure wave only knocked it back a step. "Run!"

They turned tail and made for some of the crates Cerberus left behind just before the Prime started tearing into them with the full force of its weaponry.

A Trooper appeared out of nowhere right next to them, before its head was blown off by Legion's Widow.

Garrus popped up and used his overload on the Prime, but got shot for his trouble. He ducked back down before shields were completely drained. "Ideas?" he asked.

Shepard took a deep breath and once again tried to use Reave the same way Samara did back at the heretic station. His attempt was better, but all he succeeded in doing was destroying its primary weapon. It switched to its missiles next.

Part of their cover blew up, forcing the both of them to cloak and run.

"_Our situation hasn't improved!"_Garrus complained. He tossed a grenade at it, hoping to break through its shields and armor.

"_I got another plan," _Shepard growled. _"Just help out the others. I'll take of that thing."_

Garrus nodded and ran up the ramp. Shepard darted into one of the tiny side rooms that weren't destroyed just before his cloak drained. He rigged his grenades in the center of the empty space and shot at the Prime to get its attention.

"_Garrus, overload its weapons!"_

"_Alright!"_

An electrical storm appeared around it. Its missile launcher began venting steam.

Shepard used warp on the hulking synthetic and fired off a few shots. "Come on!"

David commanded the Prime to continue its rampage by rushing him. The moment it entered the room, Shepard used charge to get out before the grenades detonated, causing the ceiling to crumple down and crush the Prime.

Panting with effort of using his abilities so much in so little time, Shepard stayed down and idly watched as a Rocket Trooper sailed across the room and embed itself into the steel wall.

"Ah… bosh'tet," Tali groaned from her position.

"You alright?"Garrus asked.

"I'm fine," Tali muttered. "I just tripped from that last explosion."

"Yeah, that was Shepard's fault," Garrus said. He peeked over the side and looked down. "Right?"

"Shut up," Shepard muttered good-naturedly. "Everyone okay?"

"I'm not," Jack bit out. "My arm's not working. I think it's dislocated."

"I'm coming," Shepard called out. "Tali, lock that door. Grunt, Legion: Hold that door until she's done."

Shepard ran up to the second level and found Jack sitting on the ground, leaning up against the wall. She was clutching her dangling left arm.

Shepard removed her helmet before inspecting injury closely. He poked and prodded her arm before sighing. "Yeah, I think your shoulder's dislocated."

Jack hissed during his examination. "So set it already."

"Garrus, need you to hold her down."

Garrus ran up and put his weight in her other side to hold her steady.

Shepard dosed her with some medi-gel to help with the pain. Gripping her arm, he glanced at her. She took a breath and nodded, giving him permission.

He gave a quick tug and pull to set her arm before wrenching her limb into place.

To Jack's credit she only gasped, but didn't cry out. Once it was done she sighed in relief and gingerly tested her range of motion.

The ship shook threateningly, reminding everyone of the precarious position

"We gotta go," Shepard reminded. He helped Jack to her feet.

Everyone regrouped and made for the Hammerhead. Once settled inside, Shepard gained some distance away from the ship before parking the tank. "Grunt, you got one shot left in the Cain, right?"

Grunt nodded, looking extremely hopeful.

Shepard pointed at the downed ship in the distance.

Jumping out, Grunt enthusiastically pulled out the Cain and targeted the ship. 5 seconds later, even under low power, the ship started caving in and exploding underneath a mushroom cloud.

"Now that is sexy," Jack said. She cradled her arm and leaned back in her seat. "What did you say earlier? Yea, valley of death…"

Shepard took off his helmet and grinned. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil—"

Grunt clambered back into the Hammerhead, laughing in utter joy of what he did.

"—because we're the meanest sons-of-a-bitches in the valley."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Admit it: As weak as the Hammerhead is versus the Mako, you always flew around at full throttle because it definitely had speed over the traditional wheeled IFV. And what happened? You crash.

Or at least I did anyway.

I find that out of all the characters, Miranda, Jacob, and Jack should have the most reaction to Overlord. However, for Miranda and Jacob, it was more about ideology, but for Jack, I always felt that it should've been personal.

Before anyone asks: I do have an idea about when to introduce the omni-blade, but not in this particular fic.

A line from inspired by **Jarhead**, but I think I actually saw it on a T-Shirt somewhere first. Often misattributed as a quote by General George S. Patton.


	58. Project Overlord: Atlas Station

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / En Route to Atlas Station**_

"_Commander, you and your team have done it! The lockdown has been canceled. You and your team can now breach Atlas Station and end this nightmare,"_ Archer said once they left the confines of the canyon and reestablished contact with Hermes Station. _"You'll need to find the main server room there to shut down the VI experiment."_

"_Status of Archangel Team?"_ Shepard inquired. He checked his maps and saw that Atlas Station was only 45.7 km away.

"_Director Lawson wanted me to inform you that her team would be waiting for you at the rendezvous,"_ Archer replied. _"Good luck."_

"How's your arm, Jack?" Shepard asked. He pushed the throttle a bit, but took care not to stress the Hammerhead. With all the abuse it had taken, he didn't want to take the chance of it falling apart around his ears. Besides, the station itself was close enough that the extra burst of speed wouldn't change anything anyway.

"Medi-gel is doing its job. Sore as hell and it still hurts a bit, but I can use it now," she answered.

"Turn right here," Garrus informed. "Looks like Atlas Station is right past this waterfall."

Following his friend's directions, Shepard banked the hovertank and made an easy right turn. When the water splashed over the tank, he double-checked his instruments to make sure that the exposed components weren't affected.

Gliding up the ramp, he finally spotted the other Hammerhead.

"Any trouble?" Shepard called out. He pulled the tank to a stop next to hers.

"_No. Just waiting on you. What took you so long anyway? I thought you would've been faster than this,"_ Miranda chided.

"Don't start," Shepard mumbled.

"_And what happened to your tank?"_

"We got shot at by a heavy cannon and nearly buried under a ton of boulders." He noticed the undercarriage of their Hammerhead was scorched black. "You?"

"_Death-defying jumps over rivers of lava."_

"We all got our little problems, then. Care to lead the way?"

"_Only if you can keep up. It wouldn't do for you to slow us down again," _she said, though she sounded semi-serious.

Shepard bit back his riposte. He was sorely tempted to call her childish for trying to make it a competition, but knew it wouldn't go down well. Besides, if he had beaten her to the goal, he would've said the same thing. "I'll try to not to disappoint," he replied dryly.

"_Archer, we need you to open the door,"_ Miranda said.

Shepard carefully pulled the Hammerhead behind her and waited. The massive steel door going down to Atlas Station opened after a few minutes. She flipped on the floodlights and slowly descended the shaft that led to their destination. He delayed a little bit because he had no idea where the button was to turn on the lights. A couple of random presses later and he was in business. He made his drop downward a bit quicker to keep up.

"_Try not to crash into me,"_ Miranda warned.

"No promises," Shepard said.

"Why the hell is it so dark in here?" Jack asked.

"A tunnel like this would usually be lit, but now that David is in charge…" Garrus replied.

Miranda took the tank over a landing platform and put it down in one easy motion. Shepard's attempt was a little shaky. The Hammerhead swayed side to side as he tried to keep it level and put down next to her, not on top.

A few red warning lights made themselves known, accompanied by an incessant beeping that filled the cockpit.

"What is that?" Tali asked nervously.

"Something. Don't worry about it," Shepard replied glibly. He tapped the lights before banging on the console a bit in an effort to shut it up.

"You know, after all we've been through, it'd be a terrible shame if we died now," Garrus said.

"No one's going to die," Shepard growled. "Stop distracting me."

"_Are you trying to kill us, Shepard? Stop swinging!" _Miranda scolded. _"Just land!" _

"I got it."

"_No! More to the right!"_

"I said: I got it!"

"_Watch the right thruster! It's almost on top of us!"_

"I am!"

"_You're going to hit us!"_

"You wanna come up here and do this?" Shepard snapped.

"_If I have to, yes!"_

"This is bad idea all around…" Jack muttered.

Despite everyone's misgivings, Shepard managed to put the Hammerhead on the landing pad with surprising, if not stress-filled, grace. He touched down with a barely noticeable lurch.

"Alright, let's go everyone," Shepard said. He disembarked and looked around. A few corpses here and there were on the walkway leading to the door on the far end.

"_Captain Shepard? Director Lawson?"_ Archer called._ "Ah, it looks like you're in. Good. I've been getting some troubling readings here. The VI has been constantly trying to upload its program directly from your location."_

"Upload to where?" Shepard asked.

"_I don't know…"_

"_Shepard? Dawn here. We've been tracking those readings and timing them. Every time the VI tried to upload itself, your ship has been in comm range directly overhead. It's still trying to hitch a ride."_

"What's the status of the Normandy?" Shepard demanded.

"_Her orbit hasn't changed and we still can't communicate with her. I think she's safe for now, but for how long, I don't know. You need to pull the plug, ASAP,"_ she urged. _"Latest estimates clock your ship coming back into range in an hour and staying in range for another four hours after, more or less."_

"_Get to server room and shut down the core,"_ Archer instructed. _"That s-s-s-s-h-hould…"_

"David's blocked us again," Garrus muttered. "Probably still listening in on our comms."

"Tali, get that door open," Shepard ordered.

"On it," she said. Jogging up to the panel, she turned on her omni-tool and did a double-take at the reading. "This can't be right…"

"What is it?"

"I'm reading over 100 nodes to bypass. Even top-of-the-line military locks rarely go past 20. Otherwise, the lock becomes too complicated to unlock, even through normal means," she answered in confusion. She reached out and tapped the hologram and stumbled back in surprise when the door opened to her touch, despite the fact that it said it was locked not moments ago.

"I'm really not liking this," Kasumi said nervously.

"Who does?" Jack asked rhetorically.

Shepard and Miranda slowly entered the darkened room first and searched the area. It looked to be a reception room of some sort. A desk with a broken terminal, chairs, a scuttlebutt, and a tupari vending machine completed the image. There was even a receptionist, except he was dead – the gaping hole in his head and brain matter splattered on the walls aidingthat observation.

Mordin tapped the switch on the wall next to the desk to turn on the lights. Nothing happened.

"There's another locked door here," Thane said. He reached out and touched the red panel. The door didn't open, but the lights turned on and the nearby vending machine lit up.

"_C-Commander Shepard drinks Tupari! Don't you want to be like Commander S-S-S-Shepard?"_ it said.

The man himself turned to it in surprise. "What did that thing say?"

The voice changed. Instead of an advertisement, Archer's verbal notes started to play – from a tupari vending machine of all things. _"Archer's log 155.2: For years, my brother's condition has been a handicap. That changed today. His autistic mind is the breakthrough I've been looking for – he can communicate with the geth! Such a tremendous grasp of mathematics! It's seems serendipity is alive and well in the 22__nd__ century."_

"Autism…" Miranda murmured. "That's odd. He said that David volunteered…"

"Do you think David even knew what he was volunteering for?" Shepard asked.

"I… I don't know. I suppose it depends on how severe his condition is," she hesitantly answered.

"What's autism?" Tali asked.

"Neurodevelopmental disorder;a disturbance in psychological development in humans where the use of language, reaction to stimuli, interpretation of the world, and the formation of relationships are not fully established and difficulty following the usual patterns of social conventions," Mordin explained.

"Oh," she said before turning to anyone else for clarification.

"Basically, people with autism don't interact with the outside world very well. This can either be difficultly in speech, aversion to physical contact, lack of eye contact, or just generally coming off as a jerk. In reality, they just don't know how to follow social cues everyone else takes for granted," Shepard explained.

"In extremely rare cases, neurological advantages are gifted and conferred, but at expense of cognitive ability. The informal term is savant syndrome or savantism," Mordin added. "Very fascinating."

"And David's advantage is to communicate with the geth?" Kasumi asked.

"Mathematics," Legion corrected. "We are software. We utilize mathematics as the bases of communication. Your analog aural communication is inefficient."

"Interesting," Mordin muttered. "Some forms of autism are difficulty with communication. Perhaps explains experiment's loss of control?"

"Archer called his condition a handicap,"Jacob reminded. "Does that mean David's autism is that bad?"

Shepard shrugged. "No clue. Maybe we'll find records somewhere."

"The door is open," Thane pointed out.

"When did it open?" Tali asked. "Did anyone see it open?"

"Why did I ever think that this was going to be the easy part?" Garrus asked out loud. "Go in, flick a switch, and call it day. Of course the homicidal VI wants to mess with us more. Why not?"

"I think we can safely say that nothing computer-based will function like it's supposed to," Miranda stated.

"Form up and stay close," Shepard muttered. "And stay on your toes. Who knows what David can and will do now."

He slowly went through the door first, sub-consciously creating a biotic barrier to protect himself. He half-expected the doors to slam shut, with his body in the threshold.

Thankfully, he got through without squad, one-by-one, darted in after him. Legion was the last. When the geth platform entered, the doors closed, sealing everyone in.

"I really, really, hate this," Kasumi said. She was habitually twirling one of her _kunai_ to stave off her fears.

Taking point, Shepard walked down the short hallway. There was a blood trail leading to the far doorway on right. The glass window that lined the wall was cracked from bullet strikes. Inside, he spotted a break room – kitchen, fridge, tables, stove, etc. The trail of bloody streaks lead right in inside, past the open door, but the other door leading to the next area was shut with a red panel indicating it was locked.

Upon approaching either doorway, the break room door closed, though the panel that appeared was green.

Having no interest in the break room, Shepard scanned the supposedly locked door with his omni-tool and saw that the bypass node count was fluctuating rapidly. That usually meant the locking mechanisms were damaged in some way, but he seriously doubted that was the case here.

He glanced at the nearby panel on the break room door and tapped it.

The locked door opened.

"This is feeling less like a laboratory and more like a haunted house," Jacob grumbled.

Ahead was a T-intersection. On the right was a of a trio of dead Cerberus officers that had armed themselves with rilfes behind a makeshift barricade from whatever they could assemble. Heat sinks were everywhere. Shepard sidled up to the corner take a peek at the left corridor. Just as he did, the lights flickered on, showing other participants in that fight.

"Four dead synthetics," Shepard observed before glancing at the Cerberus officers. "Looks like these guys went down fighting."

"Good," Grunt said approvingly.

Moving on, Shepard kept his eyes and ears open for anything amiss – particularly anything hooked up to the networks and, as Miranda pointed out, computer-based. The only thing he could hear were the sounds of broken machinery and crackles of the occasional fires here and there.

"Anyone think it strange we haven't heard David scream at us yet?" Jack asked quietly.

"Now that you mention it, lack of presence is baffling. Was everywhere at Vulcan Station," Mordin concurred.

"It was the same at Prometheus," Tali said.

"I'm wondering where the rest of the mechs or synthetics are," Shepard said. "We got bodies everywhere. David knows why we're here. He probably knows what we're trying to do. So why haven't we been attacked yet?"

The hallway turned a corner. Peering around, Shepard saw an even longer hallway. He groaned when he also spotted multiple doors as well. "I hate this."

"There's your answer," Garrus said. "He's going to make sure we never get there because he's in complete control of the station."

"Which begs the question: how are we to navigate this labyrinth if he dictates our course?" Samara asked.

Having no immediate answers, Shepard wearily shook his head and took careful measured steps toward the doors. Their pace was slow going, but there was nothing for believed that exercising caution would be their best chance to end this without bloodshed, particularly theirs.

He had only taken four steps when the security shutters slammed down, cascading one after another until it stopped right in front of the squad.

They spread out, weapons up, and tensed themselves.

The holographic panels appeared on three separate doors. They began changing colors over and over again, creating a rapid chime reminiscent of a carnival game. The lights and sounds played off each panel like a twisted game of roulette on a game show until it settled on the left door. The door panel changed to green before opening while the other two remained red.

_That wasn't creepy at all…_

With little choice in the matter, the squad entered the door they were given, alert for anything. It was constant test on their nerves, constant vigilance versus baseless paranoia.

At first glance, there appeared nothing significant or noteworthy about the room they were in – Just some terminals and equipment, though everything was off, including the and weapons were everywhere, but no sign of the hostile forces that killed everyone.

Once again, Shepard carefully went through the doorway with another biotic barrier up to protect him. His fear was rewarded when the door tried to crush him. The opposing halves slammed into him, holding him in place at the middle. Shouting in surprise he dropped his gun and concentrated on reinforcing his barrier to keep him from being bifurcated. He could hear the hydraulics strain and his barrier flicker. Futilely, he pushed against either half of the door with his arms and back. "Grunt, Legion! Get me out!"

Grunt and Legion ran up to opposite sides and pulled hard. The doors strained against their efforts.

Tali whipped out her omni-tool and ran a scan before cursing. "I'm being blocked. I can't get to the emergency lock-out!"

"Help them!" Miranda ordered. She took up position under Legion, gripped her half of the door and pulled.

Finally, after a few minutes – and with liberal use of biotics from Jack and Samara with the additional physical force from Grunt and Legion – one of the doors was bent inward, allowing Shepard to stagger out and collapse on his hands and knees, panting barrier winked out of sight the moment he was freed.

"It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you," he gasped out between breaths. He reached over and picked up his HMWA nearby and accepted Miranda's hand to pull himself up.

"And everything here is out to get us. At this point, I'm expecting a toaster to be lethal," she said. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

A nearby terminal activated itself and began playing another one of Archer's dictations._"Archer's log 157.8: Unless he sees results, the Illusive Man is shutting us down next week. I have no choice."_

"Oh, boy," Garrus muttered. "That's never a good sign."

"_I'm going to tap David directly into the geth neural network and see if he can influence them. The danger should be negligible. David might even enjoy it."_

"That bastard," Jack snarled.

Mordin sniffed in disapproval. "Attempting to rush results. Sloppy."

"_Status report: Please inform the Illusive Man we've made great strides in our research,"_ Archer said. _"His doubts about the lack of progress are unwarranted. A demonstration is forthcoming."_

"Not anymore," Shepard said.

"_Memo to all project personnel: Congratulations on your hard work. Tomorrow, we make the next leap forward."_

"I can't help but wonder: Is there any chance we can reason with David?" Thane asked.

"Depending on the type of autism and severity, it might not be likely. He's been listening and watching this entire time. I'm not sure we can at this point," Miranda said quietly.

"There's an elevator in the back of the room," Jacob observed.

Shepard turned to his omni-tool and checked the layout of the station. "According to the plans, what we're looking for is on the… surprise, surprise, the bottom level. Main Lab Level. And we're seven floors above it."

"And what are the chances that the elevator is working?" Garrus muttered.

"Slim to none, but let's try it anyway. Take defensive positions, just in case. There aren't any synthetic bodies here, so the elevator might carry a surprise," Shepard said. He walked over and tapped the button before seeking a solid firing position.

"Arriving at Level Two," the panel chimed.

The lights and terminals all turned on at once. Everything gave out a soft whirring sound as the various machines around them booted up.

Everyone waited behind desks or the railing on the upper landing, but the number refused to change from two.

Frowning, Shepard got up from his cover to tap the elevator button again.

"Arriving at Level Four."

Growling in irritation, he slammed the button again. He backed up, weapon raised at the doors.

"Arriving at Level Six."

Stalking forward, he slammed the button impatiently one last time and ducked back to his defilade.

"System malfunction." The numbers counted back down to 'M'.

"Goddamn it," he snarled. He hit the button again.

"Arriving at Level Two."

"Um… Shep? You might want to see this," Kasumi said.

He turned around and saw Kasumi pointing at a terminal on the desk she was kneeling behind. The number two was prominently displayed, exactly like the number on the elevator control panel.

"This thing says it's the 3D Diagnostic Console," she said.

"Over here as well," Thane said. He was pointing at a large screen on the upper area. "As far as I am able to determine, it is called 'M-ONE'."

"Here too," Tali said. Another terminal on the upper area. "It looks like secure data is stored here."

"I don't think any of those things are what they are now," Jacob said.

Kasumi brazenly pushed a button on her terminal.

"Resetting elevator." The indicator went back to M.

"This is pissing me off," Jack said through gritted teeth.

Shepard hit the call button again.

"Arriving at Level Two."

"Thane, hit yours," he requested.

"Arriving at Level One."

"Tali?"

"Arriving at Level Four."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Garrus muttered. "This guy is playing games with us."

"Tali, one more time," Shepard said. He backed away from the doors.

"Arriving at Level S-s-s-se—"

The VI's voice was replaced by David's angry howl. Just as anticipated, the door opened to reveal a Prime, which dominated the squad's attention over the two Troopers behind it.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered.

Samara's Reave caused its arm to be blown clean off. The other arm was still holding its weapon, but its aim was erratic. It tried to compensate, but the hailstorm of tech and bullets tore it down in the matter of seconds.

Destroying the Troopers was almost an afterthought.

The whole exercise was nothing more than a bid for time and an annoyance.

"So what the hell was all that for? Messing with the elevator so we'd get caught off guard by that Prime or what?" Grunt asked.

"Hmm… curious… I wonder… Was move planned?" Mordin muttered out loud to himself.

"Would you mind elaborating?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, Archer said David can't handle VI connection. Wonder if impaired cognitive abilities further compromised," Mordin explained. "No tactics in attacks, merely lashing out;killed everyone regardless. Unable to seal doors and prevent our advance. Random locks, random actions, random directions. No foresight, no pattern, no strategy."

"So you're suggesting that David might be trying to stop us, but he doesn't know how?" Kasumi translated.

Mordin shrugged. "Only a theory."

Garrus was standing next to the elevator, but didn't enter it. "Does going in there seem like a smart move to anyone?"

Shepard snorted. "Hopping into an elevator in a facility controlled by an out-of-control hybrid intelligence… What could possibly go wrong?"

"Any chance we can take the stairs?"

"If you can find them. And get past all those doors. And if they're not destroyed."

Garrus sighed. "Ah, damn it."

Shepard put one leg inside and experimentally put some of his weight down. The lift didn't move. "How should we do this…?"

"Separate teams?" Garrus suggested.

"Unless the elevator breaks. We'd be separated."

"I think we should go in two teams. Even if we become separated, we could—" Miranda tried to say.

"—meet up later," Shepard finished with a frown. "Or not at all. Fuck it. Inside everyone. Let's go."

The squad entered the elevator with no small amount of trepidation. To their mild surprise, nothing happened.

"Jack, Samara, get ready to catch us," Shepard muttered. He took a quick breath and allowed his biotics to manifest briefly. "Just in case."

Everyone shuffled in place a bit.

"Are we going to be alright in here?" Tali asked.

Shepard wordlessly pressed the button and set their destination for the Main Lab.

As they descended – slowly – the announcer chimed to them, "Arriving at Level Six."

All of a sudden, the elevator froze. David's digital voice growled out to them. He sounded different now; guttural, rasping, and hoarse.

"This can't be good," Kasumi said.

"Very bad idea…" Garrus muttered.

Everyone shouted when the elevator dropped a floor before stopping.

"Please contact facility support," the announcer said.

"I think he's pretty pissed!" Jacob shouted.

"That's because he knows we're here to kill him," Grunt growled.

It dropped down another two more floors before freezing in place, causingthe occupants to lose their balance and fall to the floor. Thick black smoke started filling the box and obscuring visibility.

"Jack, Samara!" Shepard barked. He tried to stand up and focused his biotics.

"The elevator is not in service. Please choose another."

The elevator rapidly ascended back to the seventh floor.

"Do something!" Jacob shouted.

All three glowed and reached out just before the elevator started to free fall straight down to the bottom. They managed to arrest their momentum into a relatively safer speed, rather than terminal velocity.

"Oh, shit," Jack muttered. She was breathing heavily and kept her hands pointed at the floor of the elevator.

"Yeah…" Shepard agreed.

"We must work together," Samara instructed. "Slowly relax and let gravity do the rest. We will simply control the speed at which we fall."

"And if David decides to send us up to keep us from going down?" Shepard asked. He followed the justicar's directions and allowed the elevator to fall at a controlled pace.

"Hold on. I'll see if I can access the emergency systems. They should be on a separate network for redundancy purposes," Tali said. She tapped into her omni-tool and began her hack. "If I can isolate it, I can take control of the—Ah!"

David screamed at them and forced the elevator to ascend, but Shepard, Samara, and Jack exerted their influence and brought it to a crawl. The sounds of metal screeching could be heard as the mechanisms protested against the biotic resistance.

"Tali… faster is better," Shepard grunted out.

She typed furiously into her omni-tool. "I'm almost… damn it! David is putting up firewalls everywhere! He's trying to block me!"

"We will assist," Legion offered. Its optic began glowing brighter. "Executing intrusion routines… Locating foreign signals… creating a fault in base firewall 1239…"

"I see it," Tali said. "Okay… got it!"

"Can you tell this thing to go down?" Kasumi asked.

"No, but I can lock David out," Tali said. She turned to Shepard. "Beyond that, I have control of the emergency brakes. I can take them off, but it'll up to you three to take us down again."

"Great," Jack said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, emergency systems engaged and isolated. David can't control the elevator anymore," Tali informed. Loud thumps were heard. "And that's the emergency brakes. I'll release them."

Once again, they were descending. It felt a little fast, but not life-threatening.

They reached the bottom floor with a bump causing them to stagger, but at least no bones were broken from the force.

Shepard and Jack were doubled over with their hands on their knees and were taking deep breaths to recover from their efforts. To their annoyance, Samara looked completely fine and was standing tall without the slightest hint of fatigue.

Jacob and Grunt were working on the door and managed to wrench it open.

Just past the door, there were three platforms connected to a hub similar to the ones at the heretic station. They weren't moving or even acknowledged their presence.

Miranda and Thane raised their weapons at the synthetic platforms, but didn't fire. Looking around, there were more attached to the right wall in a row. None of them were armed. No doubt this was where they experimented with David's ability to establish communications with either geth or heretics.

"Open fire," Miranda ordered.

She, Thane, Jacob and Grunt swept the room, putting a bullet into each before David could call upon them.

Shepard took the others and left the elevator to stand watch at the other door in case reinforcements showed up.

Another terminal began reciting Archer's notes nearby when they had entered. _"Archer's log 168.4: I'd be lying if I said no harm could come to David. His autistic mind is as alien to me as an actual alien. Anything could happen when we plug him in. But I have to try, don't I?"_

"Were all the Cerberus assholes this stupid when you took out their bases, or was it just the ones I know about?" Jack asked acidly.

"They did try to kill Shepard," Tali pointed out. "Does that count?"

Jack gave Shepard a side-long glance. "Yeah… I think that counts."

"Too kind," Shepard muttered. He glanced down at his map. "We're almost there. Next room over."

"About time. This has to be setting a record or something for the most amount of trouble you've gotten us into," Garrus said.

Once everyone was ready, Shepard and Garrus took point and peeked through the doorway before moving on. There were two more doors: one to the left in the middle of the hallway and one at the very end. The latter was unlocked, but strange green holographic wisps ominously floated around the panel; they were disconcertingly similar to David's projections.

The worse news was the locked door – that was the room they needed to get into. Shepard hit the red panel, but it didn't open. "Can't risk explosives…"

"What about this other one? It might do it," Garrus suggested.

Shepard eyed the panel distrustfully. He almost thought he could see David's face in it and prayed it was just his imagination. "Or it might do something else. Something unpleasant."

"Won't know until we try," Garrus said. "You wanna hit it?"

"I'd rather piss glass. You do it," Shepard said.

"You're the leader."

"And I'm giving you a direct order to sacrifice your hand for the good of the mission," Shepard retorted. "I was the one who walked into a cloud of Minagen back on Illium. Your turn."

Garrus grumbled but complied all the same. The rest of the team hung back, some in the lab, others in the hall.

Deciding to get it over with quickly, Garrus darted out, tapped the panel with the barest of touches and shuffled back a few steps with his Reverent up and ready.

Instead of opening a door immediately, the hologram moved away from the door and slid horizontally along the wall until settled on top of the other door. It was pleasantly beeping and chirping the entire way.

"Huh. That's new," Shepard said.

"I think I saw this in a movie vid once," Jacob said. "It didn't end well for anyone."

"Hit the button, Jacob," Shepard ordered.

"Me?"

"You watched that vid. I'm sure you'll know what's coming."

Kasumi giggled at him.

"Me and my big…" Jacob muttered under his breath. Like Garrus, he touched the panel as lightly as possible before backing away with his weapon up.

The door opened innocently.

Inside, large blocky machines filled the room. It was literally a field of servers going down as far as the eye could see. There was also the greatest concentration of bodies here as well. Bullet holes were everywhere; some of the servers were sparking and coughing out plumes of black smoke. There was little doubt in Shepard's mind that the people had been trying to shut David down the way he and his team were about to do.

What caught Shepard's attention the most was the elaborate, complicated-looking console right in front of him.

"I should probably mention that in the vid, hitting the big red button didn't exactly work the way they wanted to either," Jacob said.

Shepard scoffed. "Thanks. Miranda, Tali: get up here and turn this off."

Both women ran up to the console and started typing at separate stations.

"Well?" Shepard asked when it became apparent that they weren't making any progress.

"Black hell," Miranda cursed.

"This is complicated. Really complicated. I don't know if this was Cerberus or David or a combination of both," Tali answered. She leaned closer to the screens, trying to divine the lines of codes and information flowing by. "This won't be easy to shut down. It's not like there's a big sign saying: 'In case of emergencies, hit this button'."

"Probably should recommend that in our reports," Jacob said to Miranda.

"Can we contact Archer for help?" Shepard asked.

Miranda shook her head. "Comms are still down. David is still jamming us."

"We can assist," Legion offered.

"Don't," Shepard said. "The less you interact with David, the better. I don't want to take any unnecessary chances now."

"How long will you need?" Thane asked.

"No clue," Miranda answered. "Tali's right, this might take a while."

"Alright, keep working," Shepard said. "Everyone else, defensive positions. Garrus, take a few and go down this aisle and make sure there's nothing back there hiding behind those servers. Jacob, you take the rest and go back to the lab. Make sure nothing can come down that elevator shaft."

Garrus nodded and picked Thane, Legion, Jack, and Mordin. Jacob took Grunt, Samara, and Kasumi.

"And get ready for anything. I wouldn't be surprised if this console summoned a Reaper," Shepard said.

**~o~O~o~**

After an hour of working, Tali slammed the console in front of her in disgust with Miranda looking ready to do the same.

"Bad news?" Shepard said from his position at the door. Trusting Garrus and Jacob to keep vigil, he turned to both ladies and waited expectantly.

"Yes," Tali admitted in frustration. "I'll be honest, Shepard, I have no idea what to do."

Garrus jerked his head at her in surprise.

_Okay. I hope Jacob will keep a steady eye out._

Miranda turned around and frowned. "Nor do I. This might be out my depth."

Now Jacob was staring in shock.

_We're going to die._

"We need something; technical specs, a baseline, research notes… Hell, something written on a napkin would help! Anything that can give us a direction to go in," she said. "One team should head back out and get in touch with Archer, maybe even bring him down here to resolve this."

"Or we go to plan B," Shepard said.

Jack looked up from her seat on the floor nearby. Unbelievingly, she had brought a pack of cards and was playing a private game with herself to stave off her boredom. "Plan B?"

"We rig all our grenades and explosives onto some those servers there and destroy them. We'll have to get creative with the rest, but it looked like the Cerberus personnel assigned here was attempting to do it. We might as try our luck."

Grunt stood up immediately. "Let's do it!"

Shepard turned to Miranda. "Will it work?"

She frowned and looked down at the field of servers. "Normally, I wouldn't go for the brute force method, but given the circumstances… if enough there aren't enough resources for the VI to draw on, then it should shut down, yes. In theory anyway."

"There are a lot of servers," Kasumi said with a grimace. "Hundreds, maybe more."

"That's what bullets are for. If we have enough thermals clips 'd better get started," Shepard said. He glanced at Grunt's eager expression and rolled his eyes. Thankfully, his helmet hid his expression. Removing his grenade pouch, he passed it off to him. "Get to work. And make sure none of those explosions are too close."

"Why don't you two use the Cain?" Jacob asked.

"Out of power. Trust me, you don't want us to use it here anyway," Shepard answered absently. He looked down at the heavy weapon he left on the ground nearby and poked it with his boot. Standing at guard duty was tiring enough without the burden of dead weight on his back. "I'll hold position at the door. Go on."

With the limited number of grenades they had, Garrus and Jacob instructed the others on where to place them for maximum damage. Miranda and Tali continued trying to crack whatever it was that was stopping them.

Shepard eyed the doors distrustfully. Jacob had found a metal rod to jam into the doorway to prevent David from locking them in the AI Server Control Room. It was horizontally placed and wedged around chest height. While it was unlikely that David would close the door and lock them into a room that contained the machinery that could shut him down, Shepard's last experience with a door left him thankful for Jacob's foresight and was more than eager to finish this mission.

_Killed by a door… That's just embarrassing._

Crouching underneath the steel bar, he glanced at the security shutters before turning to the lab. Thane and Samara were still there, watching the elevator shaft. The emergency brakes held it in place, preventing David from using it, but it wouldn't stop any synthetics from just jumping down the shaft, tearing their way into the lift, and attacking them while they worked.

Satisfied that all was quiet for now, he ducked back into the server room and approached Miranda and Tali. "Any progress?"

"No," Miranda answered tersely. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry… I meant we made a little headway, but…"

"It's all right," he assured. "It was naïve to think it'd be over with a press of a button."

Tali looked at both of them intently before shaking her head and went back to work.

"Did any of you learn something?" Shepard asked.

"I found a bit of data on David," Tali said distractedly. "It said he's a 34.47 on something called cars."

"CARS: Childhood Autism Rating Scale," Miranda supplied. "That means David is moderately autistic, but only just. 36 is the value assigned for severe cases."

"So that means it's likely he didn't know what he was volunteering for," Shepard said darkly.

Miranda didn't turn around, but he could see her jaw clench slightly. "No. Most likely not."

Shepard studied the lines and lines of codes and information displayed, but couldn't make heads or tails out of anything. He reached out and idly brushed the surface of the console.

What happened next was something no one had seen or would have foreseen.

He gasped and opened his mouth, but only a silent scream escaped his lips. The feeling was indescribable. He felt hot and cold; experienced pain and pleasure; saw light and darkness and all the colors in-between; heard the shouts and cries of his team and the voices of hundreds of thousands of electronic whispers; perceived life and death.

All at the same time.

Finally, he was able to scream. And when he did, it was in concert with David's primal scream of pain, outrage.

Betrayal.

In the eyes of the others, they literally saw what could only be described as David's very essence flow from the console. His green pixilated face appeared in a bright blinding flash. Shepard's omni-tool was activated and was swirling with emerald energies.

Shepard staggered away from the terminal. The physical world vanished. Walls and floors were replaced by panels of orange light. His squad was no longer standing before him – images of scientists, researchers, and security officers, all resembling ghosts and apparitions were there instead.

He tore off his Kestrel Helmet, hoping that his sight would be restored. It didn't help.

Everyone took a step back when they saw Shepard's eyes. It resembled David's now: the same glowing shade of emerald.

"John!" Miranda cried out.

"Hey, Shepard!" Garrus shouted. He took a step forward with his hand outstretched.

Breathing heavily from the surreal experience and the feelings welling up in his chest, all Shepard saw was one of the scientists taking a step toward him. He took a step back.

The others approached him. Surrounded him.

He turned away and ran for the exit. A thin white light was in his way. He pushed through it.

The metal bar was dislodged. The moment Shepard crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut trapping the others and separating them.

**~o~O~o~**

"What the fuck was that? !" Jack asked.

Miranda looked at the multitude of red holographic panels that appeared on the door. "I don't know!"

"_What is going on?"_ Thane asked. _"We're trapped in the lab."_

"We're trapped too," Garrus responded. "David did something to Shepard. We're locked inside the server room, but Shepard's still out there."

Miranda thought furiously on the events that just transpired before a feeling of dread ran down her spine. "No…"

"What?" Tali asked. "Do you know what happened?"

"I think… I think David just uploaded himself into him…" Miranda whispered.

"Uploaded?" Jacob repeated. "Wait… the cybernetics?"

"You're not saying that Shepard's being controlled, are you?" Garrus demanded.

Miranda shook her head frantically. "I don't know! His mind is still his own, with only a few implants to restore brain function and memories. They should be inactive now. The rest of him, everything is being supplemented and enhanced. His eyes, his ears, organs, nervous system… if any of that is actually susceptible to David's influence, he'll… he'll perceive everything differently. Nothing will function the way they're supposed to."

"What about his mind? Are you sure David can't do anything to him?" Tali asked harshly.

"I don't know! This is something I've never seen before!" Miranda snapped.

"We have to get out of here," Kasumi said.

"The grenades," Miranda suggested. "We can blow open the door."

"Shit," Garrus said. He was looking down at the rows of servers. "They're all back there. We were almost finished."

"Get them. We have to stop Shepard," Miranda ordered. "We have to do what we can to save him."

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard collapsed face down on the ground, gasping. It felt like his lungs were seizing. He felt weak and feverish. Nothing in his body was willing to cooperate with his mind. It was like every organ was threatening to rebel against him and cease functioning.

_What the hell is happening to me…?_

It felt like he was dying again. The difficulty breathing, the muscle spasms, the darkness lingering on at the edge of his vision…

_Ah, hell. Miranda's going to be pissed. I wonder if she's willing to put me back together again?_

Despite the irreverence of his thoughts, he followed that string and remembered listening to Miranda's notes on the Lazarus Project, all the way back at the station he was revived in months ago.

_"Progress is slow, but subject shows signs of recovery. Major organs are again functional, and there are signs rudimentary neurological activities. In an effort to accelerate the process, we've moved from simple organic reconstruction of the subject to bio-synthetic fusion. Initial results show promise."_

_Bio-synthetic fusion… shit… my implants…_

Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself together. He had no idea what David was doing his implants and he wasn't about to find out.

_Hell, I don't know what __**I'm**__ doing._

He didn't know if this would work. What he did know that was that he wasn't about to lie down and die, figuratively and literally.

He willed himself to get up. He willed his body to respond to his commands. Most of all, he willed himself not to give up and give in.

His ability to breathe came back first. He took deep, greedy, gulps of air and felt the weakness leave his muscles. The tremors inside his body ebbed and faded. He felt his heart change from a slow, fading beat to a painful staccato before returning to a pace that was much more manageable.

Slowly, he crawled to his hands and knees. He still felt feverish. His eyes and ears continued to work against him. The world still looked like something out of a bad virtual reality simulator.

Bile involuntarily rose in the back of his throat, causing him to gag. He didn't have the energy to fight off the urge. He retched and spewed out the contents of his stomach and anything else that wanted forced its way out, barely keeping up the strength to hold himself up on his shuddering arms. More than once, he nearly pitched forward and planted his face in his own sick. He forced himself to endure until the feeling passed.

Spitting out the last of his vomit – whichhe distantly noted was blue to his deceiving eyes – he sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his gauntlet. He ignored the burning, caustic sensations in his throat and took stock of his situation.

The world remained disjointed and fragmented. Instead of steel, gray-colored walls, ceiling, and floors, they were replaced with orange or green glasslike surfaces instead.

He dropped his assault rifle back at the server room and had left the Cain, but still had his other armaments. Standing on shaky legs, he debated whether or not it was worth calling on a bit of adrenaline to assist him before deciding against it. He combated David's influence on his implants somehow, but tempting fate by touching on the synthetic adrenal implants would probably be a bad idea. He'd have to make do without.

He looked around and saw that the door to the lab was probably closed. He wasn't exactly sure since it looked like one solid orange plate right now. Behind him, the door the server room was the same. He reached out to be sure and felt the smooth solid surface.

Everything sounded muted and dull now. Taking a chance, he used his radio and called out to the others but heard nothing.

Suddenly, everything changed to a green hue. Looking around, he saw Archer. Sort of.

He was walking down the hall with two others he didn't recognize. Like the others he saw earlier, they appeared to be ghosts; hazy and transparent. They passed right through him and to the open shutter doors where they vanished from sight.

The world changed to its orange hue again, except now it resembled a circuit board. Glowing lines were flowing from some point to another in curving lines. Everything was rippling and moving in some form or fashion.

_I wonder if this is how David sees the world now…_

Without any better alternatives, Shepard drew his HMWSG and followed the in the footsteps the image of Archer had taken.

The doors opened freely and normally now. The hallway led into what was an observation deck that overlooked something below. Through the window, Shepard saw David's avatar. The face turned to face him as well and looked him dead in the eye. His pleas were no longer unintelligible. Shepard understood every word clearly.

"**PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"**

Peering through the window, Shepard couldn't see any sign of David himself. There was only a black, swirling sphere below the digital face. If he squinted, he could almost see an outline of a person within the dark depths.

Bullets striking against his shields forced him to turn away and dart behind cover.

Three Geth Troopers were marching down the hallway. Instead of just having a green optic though, their entire bodies pulsed with the same peered out a bit only to duck back as the bullets started ricocheting off his cover.

_Definitely not ghosts._

He waited for a break in their gunfire before retaliating with his shotgun. All three were downed in short order.

As the platforms crumpled, the green aura that surrounded them almost exploded in a flash of jade particles, leaving only orange bodies behind.

Pressing on, Shepard followed the hallway into another lab. There weren't any threats, but he did find more bodies everywhere. With his compromised vision though, all he could make out were dark orange sexless, almost formless, corpses.

There were three concentrated balls of yellow-green light around the lab. Wary of touching them, especially since it was an action like that which got him in this predicament in the first place, he took care to stay back.

It didn't matter. When he was close enough to one, orange gave way to green and the world around changed once again.

Archer, a synthetic platform shackled to a table, and one of the men Shepard saw in the hallway were there now. The stranger sitting on the ground was muttering out loud to himself while Archer was dividing his attention between a holopad and the platform.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1… square root of 912.04 is 30.2…" the younger man mumbled.

"Time on this project is running out. There are no options left," Archer muttered in despair. He tossed the holopad to the ground and rubbed his face. "How to get the geth's attention?"

The heretic made some random chatter.

The man on the ground perked up at the sound and stood up. To Archer and Shepard's shock, he started mimicking the same kind of chatter.

The heretic actually turned its head and chattered back to him.

"The robot says hello," the young man -David- translated innocently.

Archer's face broke out into joy. "Eureka. David, you're a miracle worker."

The image faded and the orange 'reality' returned. David uttered a guttural sound that Shepard that couldn't understand.

_So orange is the present and green are his memories__…_

This was, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating experiences Shepard had undergone. It ranked right up to the Prothean beacon and cipher.

Walking up to the next odd disturbance, the colors around him changed from orange to green once again. As he expected, another memory played out.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1… square root of 912.04 is 30.2…" David mumbled again.

Archer was typing at a terminal before turning to his bother. "David, can you repeat my notes from Thursday's experiment?"

"Square root of 918.09 is 30.3," David continued, seemingly unaware of Archer's request.

"David! Please pay attention!" Archer snapped impatiently.

David cringed and shied away. "Loud! It's getting loud in here."

Archer softened immediately. He almost made to touch him, but pulled back at the last second. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that," he said quietly. "Would you mind repeating my notes from Thursday's experiment?"

David only blinked once before speaking. "'Log 137.3. The experiment yielded no discernible patterns of geth obedience. End of dictation now, David. Hell, the Illusive Man will have my head for this.'"

Archer smiled. "Thank you. And how are you feeling today?"

"Square root of 924.16 is 30.4… earplugs would be good," David answered.

Shepard returned to the present and approached the last glowing sphere.

Archer, David and two others were there. The unknown men had a heretic attached to some harness and hoisted off the ground.

"David, I want you to order the geth to take a step forward," Archer instructed.

Again, David made the same chattering sound the heretics made. The platform responded and took one step forward despite being held in midair.

"How does he do it?" one of the techs asked.

"David is a mathematical savant," Archer explained proudly. "His autistic mind can interpret the geth language at its most basic form and mimic their phonetics."

Shepard studied David's image. He was, by no means, a medical expert, but he had experience reading people. From what he could tell, David's autism had definitely impaired him greatly. He had no idea of Archer's plans for him at all.

"With his photographic memory, cross-referencing the meaning is a snap," Archer continued during Shepard's scrutiny. "He's literally a human computer."

Shepard looked up at the ceiling at the word 'computer'. If he was seeing David's memories, then by all accounts, he should be seeing it through David's perceptions; through his eyes and ears. Yet, he was watching everything play out a like full dimensional vid.

"And you think he can interface with the geth's neural network?" the tech asked.

Shepard spotted several cameras in the ceiling. What he was seeing was less about memories now and more about recordings.

_Or maybe it's both now._

"I do," Archer replied.

The engineer working on the platform looked concerned. "Is that even safe, Doctor?"

"I see no harm in finding out."

"How about now, Archer?" Shepard muttered.

**~o~O~o~**

"**MAKE IT STOP!"**

Shepard tried to tune out David's pained cries in favor of the Hunter he was forced to contend with. Knowing that his attempts at Reave have been shaky at best, he only called on his biotics to create a barrier for additional protection. Dealing with a heavy heretic platform wouldn't have been too much trouble, even if it did have a regular Trooper assisting it, but the Rocket Trooper made things complicated.

He tried to reach into his satchel for a grenade, but his hand only brushed against his belt. He growled in frustration when he remembered he passed off his grenades to Grunt. Mentally cursing to himself on his recent string of bad luck, he used his tactical cloak and pulled out his HMWSR.

The Trooper and Rocket Trooper were staying back, content on trying to suppress him while the Hunter used its optic camouflage to close in for the kill. He quickly ducked to the side and moved as quickly as he could to circling around to its rear; he brought his sniper rifle at close range to the back of its head and took it down.

He used his biotics to lift the Hunter before it could even hit the ground and slam the body into the Rocket Trooper. While the Trooper struggled underneath the bulk, Shepard took aim with his sniper rifle and easily downed its compatriot. Shepard took the time to draw his shotgun and put a round at point blank at the last.

With the obstacle removed, he slowly descended down the stairway into the main room where David's avatar looked down at him. Below the emerald pixelated face was the black sphere he saw up in the observation room earlier.

Now Shepard was sure that within the inky dark depths, there was a man inside.

"David?" Shepard called out.

"**QUIET!"**

The reality he was forced to perceive exploded in a flash of light. He instinctively ducked down and shielded his face.

David's fearful murmurings reached his ears. Lowering his hand, Shepard looked up to see yet another recording/memory.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1… square root of 912.04 is 30.2…" David said rapidly. Four giant cables were attached to that dark orb and connected to the four metal columns in the circular theater.

The ghostly images of Archer and an assistant were working nearby.

"We're ready," Archer said, seemingly uncaring of David's ragged breaths and mathematical mutterings. "Open a connection to the geth network."

The assistant typed in a few commands on a terminal nearby.

David's avatar reappeared over them, looking down and screaming, **"QUIET!"**

The synthetic platforms heeded his call. They physically charged the security team and overpowered them before seizing their weapons and brandishing them.

"David, no!" Archer shouted. "Tell the geth to stand down!"

"**QUIET PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"**

Green faded back to orange as the memory ended.

The VI announcer then said something that made Shepard's blood run cold.

"_Node acquired: Normandy SR-2 firewalls have been breached. Establishing upload link. Beginning upload."_

"No!" Shepard shouted. He raised his shotgun at the figure within the sphere and prepared to fire. "Stand down, David! Don't make me do this!"

David's response was an angry howl.

Shepard tried to pull the trigger, but hesitated. "David, don't make me kill you!"

"_Upload progress at 10%."_

Remembering that David had an aversion to noise, Shepard raised his shotgun to the air and fired off a warning shot. The boom echoed in the room.

"**QUIET!"** David screamed. Reality became distorted as present and past mingled.

"Pull the plug! Tell Vulcan Station to cut all power!" Archer ordered.

"It's too late! We've lost control!"

_Pull the plug?_

Shepard looked at the cables that connected David to the network. They were about a meter thick. He raised his weapon and fired with abandon at the nearest one.

"_Upload progress at 20%."_

"David, you have to stop this!" Archer pleaded.

"**DAVID DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE!"**

Shepard finally shot down one cable.

"_Warning, transfer rate reduced by 25%. Upload progress at 30%."_

David screamed in rage. Shepard ran to the next cable and fired only once when a Trooper came from out of nowhere and tackled him.

Shepard fell with a shout and lost his shotgun. He twisted around and launched a full biotic punch on the Trooper, almost tearing its head clean off.

"_Upload progress at 40%."_

Looking around, he couldn't see his shotgun anywhere. Drawing his sniper rifle, he tried to continue his assault on the cables, but more Troopers poured into the room, forcing him to contend with the new threat.

"David, calm down! I can make this all go away if you'll let me!" Archer shouted.

"**QUIET PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"**

"_Upload progress at 50%."_

Circling behind one of the columns, Shepard alternated between destroying the David's connections and the synthetics. Finally, he took down another cable and used his cloak to move on to the next.

"_Warning, transfer rate reduced by 50%."_

Ducking behind another column, he started shooting at another cable when his rifle beeped, signaling that he was out of heat sinks. He quickly ejected the thermal clip and tried to insert a new one when a Hunter decloaked right in front of him, picked him up, and hurled him across the room.

Hitting the ground with a grunt, he quickly rolled to his feet and created a singularity to draw off the waves of relentless synthetics. The Hunter and Troopers all got helplessly drawn in.

"_Upload progress at 60%."_

Without any stronger weapons, Shepard turned to the nearest cable and reached out. He inhaled sharply and started calling on warp to tear it apart. The sounds of snapping wires could be heard as the unstable dark energies started ripping its way through the diameter of the hoped that the synthetics were distracted enough by his singularity to interfere and inhaled one more time before sharply pulling his arms down.

The third cable was finally ripped out with snap.

"_Warning, transfer rate reduced by 75%. Upload progress at 65%."_

Panting from the exertion, he turned to his singularity and the Hunter and one Trooper still floating around it. He used warp to detonate it and took them both out.

He turned to the last wire and blanched; a Juggernaut, Destroyer, and Prime had joined the party.

_If my luck keeps going downhill like this, the damn Collectors will barge in next!_

The Juggernaut started taking aim with its missile launcher, prompting him to run around David and inadvertently use him as a human shield against his own synthetic army. Shepard was reluctant to kill him, but kept his pistol close. If it came down to the Normandy and her crew or David, an unwilling victim in a Cerberus experiment, he knew what he had to do. At this point, it seems more and more likely that he would have to kill him given his current odds.

The three heavy synthetic platforms separated and were coming around to box him in. The Destroyer was the close range combatant;it charged at him, flamethrower ready. Shepard used his biotic charge to close the distance and strike first. The explosion of dark energy brought it and him to the ground.

"_Upload progress at 70%."_

Seeing his shotgun nearby, he scrambled to it when a hand clamped down on his leg. His fingertips just brushed the weapon before he was pulled away. He looked back to see the Destroyer grabbing his leg and yanking him closer.

In response, he called on his lessons with Samara and mixed physical attacks with biotics. Charging his fist in dark energy he slammed down on the head of his attacker, partially crushing the head before slipping out of its slack grip to retrieve his shotgun. He kicked the Destroyer back before blowing its head away at point blank.

"_Upload progress at 75%."_

Scrambling to his feet, he used his tactical cloak and ran, just as another missile struck the ground he had been on, blowing apart the Destroyer's body.

Shepard hid behind one of the columns and tried to figure out how to take down two heavy synthetic units all by himself, and David's last connection all while under a very, very pressing time limit.

Sprinting to where he dropped his sniper rifle, he danced around David to separate the Juggernaut and Prime.

Moving into range of the Juggernaut first, he fired off a shot that was easily deflected by its powerful shields. It was still enough to get its attention though. He sidled as close as he dared to the black sphere and decided to push Adrenaline into his system, regardless of the probable dangers. If his biotics worked, his adrenal implants should too. "Come on! Show me what you got!"

The Juggernaut didn't disappoint. It aimed its missile launcher and fired off a rocket.

In his mind, the projectile flew at him in agonizingly slow speed. Shepard dove to the side at the last moment and let it detonate nearby.

The explosion was ringing in his un-helmeted ears. Whatever pain he felt though, David obviously had it worse in spades.

"**TOO LOUD! IT'S TOO LOUD IN HERE! QUIET! MAKE IT STOP!"**

"_Transfer progress at 80%."_

The Juggernaut and Prime ceased attacking and were clutching their heads. The dropped their weapons and fell to their knees in identical motions, reflecting whatever suffering David was undergoing.

Seizing his chance, he ran up to the Juggernaut and pressed the barrel of his sniper rifle at the optic at point blank to bypass the shields entirely. A quick squeeze of the trigger allowed him to put his focus on the last threat before contending with David again.

"_Transfer progress at 80%."_

He quickly looked around for the Prime when his shields became peppered with bullets. He ducked behind another column and scowled when he noticed that he was on the other side of the room from last cable he needed to destroy.

The Prime kept up its relentless assault as it closed in on him. Shepard rounded to the other side of the steel structure and unleashed shockwave to topple it when it started running at him.

Pressing his advantage, Shepard left his cover and started shooting unerringly on his prone opponent. One shot stuck the Prime's gun, rendering it nothing more than scrap. His next few shots were geared to powering his way through its shields and finishing it off as he closed the distance, confident of his victory.

"_Upload progress at 85%."_

He was caught completely off-guard when the Prime suddenly threw its weapon right at him.

Shepard threw his arms up instinctively and grunted when the gun struck him. The distraction was enough for the Prime to stand up and tackle him. The collision brought the both of them down in a tangle of limbs.

The moment he fell onto his back, Shepard knew he was in trouble as tried to scuttle away. He lost his rifle in the confusion and he couldn't draw his shotgun lying on the floor as he did.

The Prime was thrashing, almost feral now; nothing like the heretics at all. It clawed at him and tried to hold him down.

"_Upload progress at 90%."_

Desperately, he kicked at its head. It rocked back before looking down at him again. It raised its right arm and brought it down, seeking to crush his head. Shepard rolled to the side, just barely dodging it and wincing at the sound of the metal floor being dented. Pushing away the image of what it could do to his chest –regardless of armor– or his head –which had no protection whatsoever– he struggled tooth and nail against the machine.

With his disadvantageous position on the ground, he lacked the leverage to properly mount any real attack though. His straight jab, even enhanced with biotics, only snapped the Prime's head to the side before it tried to smash his rib cage in again. This time, Shepard rolled to the left and barely avoided getting killed. He sincerely doubted that his ribs were reinforced enough to withstand a direct hit.

David screamed at him. The Prime's left hand was pressed against his chest now, holding him in place. It raised its right arm and tried to bring it down, but Shepard lifted his left leg up and slammed his boot into the crux of its elbow, holding it in place and preventing it from coming down on him.

Shepard drew his pistol and activated his warp ammo converter in one rapid motion before firing away a point blank at its head. His gun lacked the power to do any damage, but its optic was being rocked back and forth.

"_Upload progress at 95%."_

_Oh, god… I'm too late… I failed…_

Just then, David howled in outrage and denial. The Prime froze for a moment.

Taking a chance, Shepard raised his other leg and gave it solid biotic kick in the chest, dislodging it and causing it to fly off of him. It fell on its back only a few feet away.

David was still screaming. He almost eclipsed what the VI was reporting.

"_Alert: Normandy SR-2 is now out of range. Upload has been cancelled."_

"**MAKE IT STOP!"**

Shepard felt a wave of relief, coupled with the feeling of failure. Whatever happened, he only got by because of luck, not because he stopped David.

The Prime stood up and ran at him again. Shepard rolled to the side to avoid it and drew his shotgun. He pumped round after round at it. Its shields broke, but the armor was still holding.

Snarling, Shepard focused on his biotics and called on everything Samara taught him. He struck out with his left hand, with only a faint aura of dark energy around him.

The Prime's chest exploded moments later.

Panting lightly from his exertion, he searched for any more threats before stomping toward the last cable.

Now recalling his success against the Prime and everything he did, Shepard thrust out his arm again.

Another explosion of dark energy blew the cable right out of its socket at the top of the column.

The instant Shepard used Reave to tear out the cable, David screamed one last time.

"**QUIET! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"**

The black sphere that had hidden David from Shepard's eyes shattered with crystalline energy, almost resembling broken glass.

The myriad of lights faded, leaving behind drab gray steel. Shepard took no notice of his vision returning or his perception of reality being brought back to normalcy.

He was too horrified by what he saw now; what had happened to David – what Archer had done to his own brother.

He was strung up like a macabre puppet. Gruesome pins were punctured right through his arms, torso and legs; shackling him. Imprisoning him.

The worse of if all was his head. Several wires were drilled into his skull at varying locations. A frame was attached to his neck and clavicle to prevent him from moving. Hooks inserted under his eyelids kept him from shutting his eyes. Hooks had also been inserted into his mouth, forcing it open for two thick cables to be rammed into his throat. He was shaven clean and stripped naked. He was hung in the air, completely motionless.

Except for his eyes.

They were staring down at Shepard. Untold pain was clear to see within.

All traces of his dignity were gone. Everything had been taken from him, leaving behind nothing more than a broken shell of a man.

His connection to the network may have been severed, but he was still connected to an intercom. His voice was no longer booming or laced with a digital twang. He was pleading with Shepard now, begging him with a whimpering cry.

"Quiet – please make it stop."

"Wait! Captain!"

Shepard turned around, shotgun up. He only marginally relaxed when he saw it was Archer, but lowered his weapon all the same.

The rest of his squad was trailing behind the Cerberus scientist, but had stopped after seeing what had been done to David.

"Oh, my god," Miranda whispered.

"What. The. Fuck?" Jack growled out.

"Holy shit…" Jacob said with wide eyes.

The remnants of Dawn's crew were also present and were muttering and pointing in disbelief.

Archer ran up to Shepard and held his arms of pleadingly. "I'm begging you. Don't do anything rash."

Holstering his weapon, Shepard narrowed his eyes and took a menacing step toward him. "Like what? Like **this? !**What the hell did you do to him?"

"I-I know how this must look—" Archer said.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Garrus growled. He was standing right behind Archer.

"—but I never intended any harm to come to him. You must believe me," Archer implored.

"I usually give people the benefit of the doubt, but I think you might be the exception," Kasumi said acidly, something out of character for the normally cheerful woman. She was holding her pistol in one hand and her _wakizashi_ in the other.

"You lied to me!" Shepard said.

"To us," Dawn added. "I sent good men to their deaths to preserve **this**?"

"It was by necessity! If I'd told you the truth, you would have shut me down and not him!" Archer said defensively.

"I think we should shut you down anyway," Jack said.

Grunt snorted. "Just kill that guy up and be done with it. Give him some honor. Leaving him hung up there is disgusts me. We should kill this other one just because."

"It's not like I planned this. It was an accident," Archer said miserably.

"Bull-fucking-shit," Jack said threateningly. Her teeth were bared and her biotics manifested to reflect her feelings. "You don't string someone up like that and say you didn't fucking plan on it, you cocksucker."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Archer said. He took a few steps back. "I meant, seeing David communicate with the geth… it all seemed harmless."

"You were seeking to use him as a weapon," Thane said. Despite how calm he sounded, there was a tension in his posture that suggested otherwise. "A weapon of this magnitude could never be considered safe. Either you were naïve or foolish to believe so. If you don't believe your words, then you are lying to us again. All of those scenarios reflect poorly on you."

"Cerberus was looking for a way to avoid war with the geth! Any war we fight with them will be bloody! **I** was asked to find a way to avoid that!" Archer argued.

"Bullshit!" Jack shouted. She jabbed an accusing finger at Archer. Sparks of dark energy crackled. "The Illusive Man just wanted his own private fucking synthetic army!"

Jacob gritted his teeth. "Were you asked? Or ordered?"

"Did the Illusive Man authorize this?" Miranda asked in cold rage.

Archer turned to her in surprise before narrowing his eyes. "I had no choice! The demands are incredible! The Illusive Man doesn't broker failure, you know that!"

"And what about the lives lost here? How many died for this project?" Shepard asked.

Archer swallowed thickly and looked away, unable to meet anyone's eyes. David's, most of all. "More souls than will ever forgive me. But I won't apologize for radical ideas."

"Radical," Shepard repeated derisively.

"If my work spares a million mothers mourning the loss of a million sons, my conscience will rest easy," Archer said.

"Over the loss of hundreds here for your ambition. Like you're God," Shepard said.

"People are too afraid to make difficult decisions themselves. You, of all people, know this," Archer pointed out heatedly. "When they pray for a miracle, they're really praying for men like me to make the tough choices."

"You sanctimonious bastard," Tali said.

"Unethical. Disgusting. To justify, argue, defend mistakes instead of acknowledging them. Or ignore because it's inconvenient," Mordin said in loathing. "Prone to continue making mistakes. Continue to decline ethically. Continue to ignore boundaries. Further deaths. Justify further tragedies."

Shepard turned to look at David.

He was still staring down at the both of them, but his eyes darted to brother more and more.

"He'll never be the same again," Shepard said, recalling the memories and recordings David showed him.

"The-the damage may not be permanent—" Archer said feebly.

"You mean you hope," Jacob muttered.

"He might recover some semblance of his mind."

"Fuck that and fuck you. I know Cerberus well enough that they'll never let him go. He'll be a goddamned lab rat for the rest of his life if he stays here," Jack said.

"But a well-cared for lab rat. At least he'd still be alive," Archer said.

Jack reared her arm back. For just a moment, it looked like she was going to redecorate the room with Archer's body parts, but to everyone's surprise, Grunt seized her arm and pulled her back.

Shepard's threadbare patience snapped. He grabbed Archer by his coat and forced him to look at David for the first time since coming in. **"Look at him."**

Archer struggled in vain before Shepard gripped the sides of his head and directed his gaze. "Is this what you calling living? Is that what you call 'well-cared for'? Huh?" he said before pushing him closer. "Look. At. Him."

Tears were streaming down David's face now. He still couldn't make eye contact with anyone except Shepard and Archer. "Square root of 906.1 equals… equals…"

"30.1," Archer answered quietly. He couldn't tear his eyes away now. "What I've done to David is unethical. If he dies, it's unforgivable."

"What you've done to the people here is already unforgivable," Samara said. Her voice had a slight edge to it instead of her usual serene, yet distinct lilt.

Archer nodded and turned to Shepard. "Let me take care of him. Please."

Shepard stared into Archer's eyes, attempting to judge his sincerity before turning to David.

As if to answer him, David made eye contact once again. From what little Shepard knew of autism, that gesture alone was a big deal. "Quiet – please make it stop…"

"No," Shepard said. "I think I've seen enough of your cruelty to know that he'll never be free from it here. I'm taking him away."

"No! Leave him! He's too valuable!" Archer said.

His treacherous words told Shepard that he made the right choice.

Incredibly, Archer drew a pistol and fired off two rounds, but Shepard's shields easily deflected them.

Garrus rammed the butt of his Reverent into the back of Archer's head and brought him down. He kicked the pistol away and held him at gunpoint.

The rest of the squad, sans Miranda, Jacob, and Grunt, lifted their weapons at Dawn and her entourage.

Dawn and her people didn't even react or move to help Archer though, nor did they lift their weapons or try to resist.

Grunt stalked up to the kneeling scientist and hauled him to his feet. The low growl he was producing suggested he wanted nothing more than to tear the human limb from limb right on the spot.

With Grunt holding Archer in place, Shepard calmly walked up, drew his pistol and backhanded Archer across the face.

He grunted in pain and clutched his bloody nose.

"You even think about coming after David, and there will no force of nature, no act of god, that will save you from me," Shepard snarled. "That's a promise."

Archer turned to Miranda and Jacob piteously.

All he got was an unsympathetic look from Jacob, and a frosty, almost piercing gaze from Miranda.

Turning his attention back to Shepard, Archer asked, "Where will you take him?"

"That's no longer your concern."

"But the Illusive Man… I can't…"

"I don't give damn about what the Illusive Man wants and he knows that. If he has a problem, he can tell me **personally**."

"And what of you, Captain?" Miranda asked Dawn.

"There are some shuttles back at Hermes Station. We couldn't risk using them, but if the situation is under control, we can leave now," Dawn said.

"You're not going to get in our way?" Kasumi asked.

Dawn shrugged. "My orders were to find out what happened. I found out. I never got any orders to preserve the experiment. Besides, if my people or I couldn't stop this and you guys could… then what chance do we have in a firefight now? I just want to get the survivors out of here. Fighting you doesn't seem like the smart play."

"Let him go, Grunt," Shepard said.

Grunt threw Archer to the ground roughly.

"Get out of here," Shepard ordered in a low voice. Archer remained on the ground. "Go. You don't want to be here when the Alliance shows up."

Archer looked like he wanted to argue, fight; do something, anything. In the end, he bit his tongue and walked slowly to the stairs.

Dawn looked at David one last time and sighed. "We should get going too."

"Good luck," Jacob muttered. He was obviously conflicted about all this.

"Thanks," she said before turning to Shepard. "And thanks to you too. I don't think any of us would've survived if it weren't for you. See you around. Or maybe not."

After they left, Jack rounded on Shepard and growled in disbelief. "Wait. You're letting him go?" she spat out.

"Interestingly, I am in agreement with her," Samara said. "That man has done a great injustice. He should have paid for his crimes."

"Exactly. What she said," Jack agreed. "Why the hell didn't you shoot him? Hell, I would've shot him."

Shepard stared at Jack with unreadable eyes. "I know. I would've too."

"Exactly and… wait, what?" Jack asked, completely off-balance.

Garrus turned to Shepard and took off his helmet. "If you wanted to shoot him, why didn't you?"

Shepard turned away from his squad and stared up at the tortured soul, suspended above them. David's eyes were tracking their every move, unable to close his eyes and escape the shackles he'd been placed in.

"Because I didn't want David to see his brother killed in front of him," Shepard whispered. He checked his chrono. "The Normandy should still be in comm range."

"That VI said she wasn't though," Garrus said.

"I heard. Alright, Tali, Mordin, you two do what you can for David. I'm not expecting miracles, but… whatever you can do to…"

"I'll, um, I'll see how David was placed up there," Tali offered. "Whatever we may think about Archer, he was still a scientist. He must have detailed notes."

"Will look up medical history. Apply sedative to combat pain. Make more comfortable. Much to do," Mordin said. The both of them turned around and headed up to the control room upstairs.

"Miranda, Garrus: you two reestablish contact with the Normandy."

"On it," Garrus said.

Miranda stared at David before tearing her eyes away and silently nodded before leaving.

"The rest of you, secure the facility."

As everyone left to their assigned tasks, Shepard, now alone, turned to David once again.

"Square root of 912.04 is 30.2… it all seemed so harmless… Square root of 918.09 is 30.3… it all seemed so harmless… Square root of 924.16 is… is…"

"30.4," Shepard answered quietly for him. He stood where he was. The only thing he could offer David now was his solitary presence and prayed it was enough.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Right! This isn't actually over, but I thought this was a good place to stop.

Quote from **Harry Potter**, **Armageddon**, **Babylon 5**and **Pitch Black**.

Definition of autism taken from **Wikipedia**.

Credit to **SnowShip** for a quote from a motivational poster I was allowed to use.

Credit to reviewer **Jason Kreuger Myers**and **Amir-015**for some great lines I had to use.

Credit to **Metroid** and **Terminator: Salvation** for a couple of scenes I used.


	59. Activating the IFF

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / Cockpit / In Orbit Above Aite**_

"Any word yet?" Joker asked for the ninth time in an hour.

"No, Mr. Moreau. I'm afraid I've yet to establish contact with the ground team."

Joker sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He was used to staring at glowing screens all day, but it eventually takes its toll. That he had to serve another double shift because Hawthorne was injured only made it worse.

_He owes me. Again._

He mentally debated whether or not it was worth mustering the energy to ask the AI if there was any contact with Shepard and his squad for an even tenth time. He didn't care for AIs in general, but unlike an organic, the thing wouldn't get annoyed.

He sighed again and resisted the urge to slouch in his seat. It wasn't unusual to lose contact occasionally on these kinds of missions. People who wanted to hide or keep secrets needed to control communications in, and more importantly, out. None of the Cerberus personnel at the area of operations had responded to their hails, so it didn't come as a surprise that the Normandy lost touch with the ground team almost immediately when they broke through the atmosphere.

Joker was confident that Shepard would find whatever was jamming their comms, destroy it, and call to let him know that everything was secure, mission accomplished, all in a day's work, yadda, yadda, yadda. He only wished that Shepard did what he did it faster and spare him and the crew the extra and probably unnecessary worry.

He looked down at the sensor recordings again. Within the first hour after the squad went planet-side, the giant satellite dish near the landing zone was completely destroyed. It had all earmarks of Shepard's signature. Why it needed to be done, Joker had no idea, but it looked cool to watch.

_Just hope no one was hurt._

After that, they rounded the planet in one orbit and completely lost them. Hadley and Matthews were running constant comm and sensor sweeps but couldn't hear or see anything until a couple of hours later. Eventually, Matthew's reported seeing two Hammerheads going in opposite directions toward two outlying stations which alleviated everyone's fears for a moment.

But that was the last sighting they had. And it was hours ago.

Exhaling loudly, Joker tapped a button to make sure their orbit was stable and that no satellites or other debris would be in their current flight path. He bumped up the throttle a bit to put them back into comm range a bit sooner. "What about that other thing?"

"My firewalls are secure. Whatever program that is trying to upload itself from Aite has been unsuccessful so far. However, I must admit that the intelligence I am contending with is quite sophisticated."

"Sophisticated how?"

"I imagine that if it used the satellite relay dish to achieve maximum communications output, I would have significant difficulty repelling its intrusion," EDI said.

"How difficult?" Joker asked nervously. He remembered some of his old vids that he watched and was wary of what the AI might do if properly if pushed or reprogrammed.

"I cannot say for certain. I do not have sufficient information," she answered.

"You think that's why the captain blew it up?" Matthews asked.

"Had to be. Otherwise, he'd be using it to reestablish communications. You don't destroy a perfectly good satellite dish without a good reason," Hadley replied. "Besides, did you see the size of that thing? Why would he go out of his way to blow it up if it wasn't important?

"You gotta be kidding me—Is this another AI thing Cerberus is working on?" Joker asked in disgust.

"I do not know what the particular goals or aims are from this particular cell, Mr. Moreau," EDI said.

"'Project Overlord'. How oh-so-very ominous," Joker muttered. He really hoped that it was just a fancy name some guy thought up just to be clever because it sounded way to sinister for his liking. "Y'know, why is it that we always go to someplace that always has claws and guns and mean metal bastards? Why can't we piss off a fuzzy planet? Still dangerous, but hey, bunnies."

Hadley and Matthews chuckled.

"What about the IFF?" Joker asked.

"It is now activated, but I have been getting some troubling readings," EDI answered.

He rolled his eyes. "Great. More bad news. What readings?"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / Engine Room / In Orbit Above Aite**_

Ken smiled in satisfaction at the readings he was monitoring on the Tantalus Drive Core. Everything was above board.

_That'll keep Tali happy._

"Hey, Kenneth. Here are the latest estimates. "

Ken took the holopad from Gabby and looked down at it before taking a sip of water to clear his parched throat. They've been on alert status for almost 14 hours straight now. "Aye, this is good."

"How are the emitters?" she asked.

He scowled. "Still having problems maintaining their oscillations. I'm completely stymied on why they're not working anymore."

"Do you think we should head back to the Migrant Fleet?"

"Don't know. That'll be up to the Boss and her boss," he replied with a shrug.

"I'll take that as a maybe. I'm not sure if Tali wants to go back to complain about the CBT so soon after she twisted several arms to get it. Shepard might though, if only to give the Normandy a fighting chance," Gabby said distractedly. "What about the power grid balance?"

"There's nothing to worry about. With built-in capacitor sub-systems, they have a surprisingly low draw," Ken said.

"Doesn't that mean the shielding boost wouldn't last long under fire?"

He shrugged again. "I thought so. It seemed to be built for hard, fast strikes, not firefights of attrition, but the Boss had this look that told me to do my homework more."

He expected Gabby to laugh, roll her eyes, or call him an idiot –affectionately, of course– but instead she seemed pensive about something. She only nodded absently to his joke and walked back to her station.

"Oi, Gabby!" Ken called out and fell in step with her. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him immediately. She just led the way back to their stations and looked at console, but wasn't really seeing anything in particular.

"Gabby?" he tried again. He put down his drink and pad on top of his console –something that would've sent Tali into an apocalyptic fit, no doubt—and light grasped Gabby's arm. "Gabrielle?"

"We're almost there, aren't we?" she asked aloud, almost to herself. "The Omega-4 Relay, the galactic core, the Collector homeworld, the missing colonists…"

"A whole laundry list still to be done, eh?" Ken joked lamely.

"Kenneth, do you think we'll make it through this?" she whispered.

He flashed her a confident grin. "Of course we will, Gabby."

She wasn't looking at him however. She was staring at her boots now. "I mean, as long as we take down the Collectors, it's all worth it. Even if we don't make it."

"Hey, now. Don't even think that," Ken sternly said. He gripped his longtime friend by the shoulders and gently, but forcefully turned her to get her to look up at him. "We'll make it through."

"You really believe that?"

"Aye. Shepard may have been talking about how this is a suicide mission and all that, but I don't think he believes it. He's just making sure we keep things real and grounded. He thinks we'll be fine and I believe him," Ken said reassuringly. "I can see it in his eyes. He still has the Reapers to deal with after all this. Can't fight them if he's dead, eh? The Collectors are just a warm up. Look, we do our job, so he can do his and it'll all turn out all right. You'll see."

He hoped so anyway. And he hoped fate wouldn't make him a liar.

Gabby smiled. "Thanks, Kenneth."

"Of course," Ken said. He grinned down at her. "You know, you shouldn't worry so much. You'll get premature wrinkles and gray hairs and saggy—Ow!" 

"You idiot." She was still smiling all the same.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / Cockpit / In Orbit Above Aite**_

"I'm telling you, your readings are off. It's radiation bleed, just white noise," Joker argued as he looked at the display the AI was feeding him.

"I have detected a signal embedded in the static," EDI insisted. "We are transmitting the Normandy's location. This signal is the reason why the Cyclonic Barrier Shielding is experiencing problems maintaining its oscillations."

Joker furrowed his brow in confusion. "Transmitting? To who?"

As if on cue, Matthews panicked voice filtered through the bridge and cockpit. "Something just came out of FTL on our starboard side!" he shouted. He paled when he read the details. "Oh shit! It's the Collectors!"

"Shit!" Joker echoed. "Hang on! We're getting out of here!"

His fingers flew across his console when suddenly, the interface disappeared. The ship lights followed right after. Emergency lighting kicked in immediately.

"What the hell!" Joker shouted.

"Alert: I am detected a virus in the ship's computers," EDI informed. "Propulsion, weapons, and defenses have all been disabled."

"A virus? From the IFF? Damn it, why didn't you scrub it? !" Joker shouted.

"I have dedicated a significant amount of resources combatting the foreign program that is attempting to infiltrate the Normandy's main systems," EDI replied. "Alert: The presence of the virus is diminishing my ability to maintain my firewalls. The hostile program has exploited a fault and is now beginning its upload. Alert: The Collectors are attempting to board the Normandy."

"Red alert!" Joker shouted into the intercom. On cue, the red lights and klaxons began flashing and blaring throughout the ship on his order. "The Collectors are attempting to board us! Arm up and prepare to repel invaders!"

"Come on, Matthews! We gotta get to the Armory!" Hadley shouted.

Both men scrambled out of their stations and down to the Armory to get whatever weapons they could get their hands on and distribute to the others.

The elevator was filled en mass with crewmen as entered the CIC and into the Armory to retrieve their weapons before dividing their forces between the main airlock on the bridge, the hangar, or the cargo bays.

"The Collectors are almost in position to board us," EDI said.

"Come on, EDI! Can't you get rid of that virus?" Joker implored. "Like maybe now?"

"I am tasked to my current capacity. I cannot contend with the virus and the outside program at the same time," EDI reported. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "We can save the Normandy, Mr. Moreau, but you must help me."

"What? Me?" Joker asked in shock.

"Yes."

"Why do I think I'm going to hate what you're going to suggest?" Joker complained. "It better not be self-destructing or scuttling the Normandy to 'save her'!"

"Give me the ship."

"You're shitting me! How's that any better!" he shouted. The Normandy rumbled as the Collectors began trying to force their way in. Loud booming thuds could be heard. Each one sent shivers down his spine. "Man, if you start singing 'Daisy Bell', I'm done!"

"Unlock my sealed databases and I can initiate countermeasures against the virus, the foreign artificial intelligence program, and all hostiles within. I will be able to draw on extra resources that can save us," EDI said. "The maintenance shaft in the Science Lab will allow passage to the AI Core."

"You're an AI made by Cerberus that's getting hacked by an AI that's… oh yeah, made by Cerberus. This has bad idea written all over it," Joker argued.

Again, EDI was silent before speaking in a softer, almost pleading tone, "Please, Jeff, you must trust me."

Joker started at the avatar in surprise. It had never used his given name before. "Shit," he grumbled under his breath. Another threatening boom, followed by the sounds of gunfire and screams from the all the way down in the lower decks removed whatever reservations he had about this plan though. He tried to turn his chair around, but it didn't respond. He struggled out of his station and to his feet. "Shit. I think I saw this in a vid…"

"You must hurry, Mr. Moreau," EDI urged. The Collectors have boarded and have begun their assault in the cargo bays. The main corridors are longer safe. I will guide you past the enemy forces."

"Goddamn it," Joker muttered. He looked up to see Patel run up to him.

"Joker!" she cried out. She grimaced when she saw that he was standing instead of sitting at the cockpit. Looking over his shoulder, she sat that the hepatic interface was gone. "No go on the escape?"

"I gotta get to the AI Core," he said.

"Rolston reported hostiles in the hangar already before we lost contact with everyone down there," she said frantically. "And we can't lock down the elevator, they've already overridden our commands. They'll be coming to the CIC any moment now."

"EDI said I need to get to maintenance shaft in the lab."

"Okay," Patel said. "Come on!"

She accompanied him down the bridge and back into the CIC.

"Patel! They're coming!" Goldstein shouted from near the elevator.

"I have to help them. You'll be alright?" Patel asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Joker said, struggling to keep up with her pace.

She nodded and ran ahead to hold her position with the others.

Joker was only a few feet from the starboard door when the elevator opened. Some giant screeching bug thing was there and charged at the defenders.

"Oh, my god! What is that? !" Goldstein screamed.

"Shoot it! SHOOT IT!" Matthews bellowed over the pounding staccato of his rifle.

"Get going Joker! We'll hold if off!" Hadley called out.

"It's shielded!" Patel warned.

"How the fuck is that thing shielded? !"

Joker limped as fast as could without breaking every bone in his legs. He tried to ignore Patel's shriek when the husk pounced on her and viscously slammed her into the ground. Its head leaned in over her, though its massive body blocked whatever it was doing from sight. The others were trying to gun it down and save her at the same time.

"**HELP!"**

"Get it off of her! Get it off of her!"

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_

His fear rose to new heights and he turned his head away and focused on getting to the door. He feverishly hoped that it wasn't eating her or something and promised himself never to watch horror vids again.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Hadley said.

"It's not working—Aaah!" Matthews screamed.

"Matthews! Die, you son-of-a-bitch!"

_They want humans alive. They want humans alive. They want humans alive._

"Go, Joker, go!" Goldstein shouted over the sounds of gunfire.

"Shit," he cursed himself. He finally crossed the threshold of the door and locked it behind him before entering the lab proper and locking that door too.

Goldstein's ear-piercing shriek reverberated throughout the deck. Even with both doors closed and locked, Joker heard it as if she was right next to him.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" he repeated like mantra.

He spotted the maintenance shaft in the far back corner. He quickly made his way there and clutched the safety railing like a lifeline. The pain in his legs was burning something fierce. Sweat was running down his face in rivets and stinging his eyes. He was sure his hat was soaked like a sponge. He rubbed at his eyes and head in an effort to dry himself off before looking up. What he saw caused him to cry out and stagger back. He bumped into a table behind him and distantly heard several pieces of glassware breaking.

He didn't care though. Another giant bug husk thing was right outside the window, floating around the drive core.

He looked at the tiny dark hole he was supposed to crawl around in. "Shit," he said before going quickly.

He had no idea what was down there and could only hope that whatever the Collectors sent were too big to fit.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / Life Support Plant / In Orbit Above Aite**_

The shaft wasn't as dark as he thought. Small lights were interspaced to provide enough illumination to navigate by, but it was still small and cramped. Without the use of his legs, he had to rely almost solely on his arms as he pulled and clawed his way to the end. He grabbed at anything for purchase and dragged himself to the Crew Deck.

_At least there aren't any face-humping aliens down here. I really, really hope there aren't any here. Please don't let any be here. Please don't let me die like that._

Joker finally spotted a bright light at the end and redoubled his efforts. The emergency alarm was still blaring and grated on his fraying nerves.

"There are multiple hostiles on the Crew Deck," EDI warned. "Be careful."

"Shit. Yeah, thanks," he grunted out. He finally reached the ladder and hauled himself up. Just then, he felt something wrap around his arm, causing him to gasp and slip. Whatever grabbed his arm held on though, preventing him from falling and shattering his brittle bones in his legs.

"Don't worry, Joker! I got you!" Hawthorne said through gritted teeth. "Ah, fuck! This hurts!"

Joker looked up to see his fellow helmsman holding on to him and pulling him out. He grabbed the ladder again and took struggled out of the shaft. "Thanks, Hawthorne."

Hawthorne nodded and shook his bandaged right hand to relieve the pain.

"What are you doing here?" Joker asked.

Hawthorne held up a pistol in his left hand. "I figured Krios would have a pistol or two on hand down here. With my busted hand, this is only thing I can use. EDI called us and let us know you were coming."

"I got to get to the AI Core," Joker said through heavy breaths.

"I know. Watch yourself: this deck is crawling with those things," Hawthorne warned. He ran up to the door. "Stay close – I'll protect you!"

Feeling immense relief that he wasn't alone anymore, Joker gingerly made his way to Hawthorne's side.

Hawthorne opened the door and poked his head out. "Oh, shit! Kelly!"

Kelly was crying and screaming for anyone to save her as she struggled against a husk that was pulling her into the elevator.

"I'm going to distract them! Make a break for it!" Hawthorne said. He ran out, gun blazing.

Moments later, Hawthorne howled in pain before he was bodily tossed into a bulkhead right in front of Joker.

Joker cowered down behind the partition and prayed that whatever got Hawthorne wouldn't suddenly round the corner and get him as well.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…_

Kelly's frantic shrieks faded. Once again, Joker had to remind himself that the Collectors wanted humans alive.

_Except we kinda blew up their ship._

Joker gulped and forced that treacherous thought away. Even if the Collectors were pissed about what Shepard did, taking them alive would allow them to do whatever it was they wanted humans for – which meant that there was time to save them.

_Only if I move my ass and get to the damn AI Core!_

When nothing attacked him, he mustered his courage and slowly walked up to the corner and peered out.

_Shit, shit, shit. _

The husk that had tossed Hawthorne had his back turned and away from him.

Holding his breath and hoping his hammering heart wouldn't give him away, Joker quickly made his way around the elevator and into the Med Bay. He closed and locked the door before hitting the button to turn the windows opaque.

Once done, he looked around the room frantically, but Dr. Chakwas was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, shit, Chakwas… shit…"

"Main fusion plant offline. Activating emergency H-fuel cells," EDI announced.

"What the shit…" Joker said in a shaky voice. He swiped a bottle of pain meds and swallowed a couple before pushing on to the AI Core. Once inside, he sealed himself in and looked down at the console. "All right, I'm at, uh, you."

EDI's avatar popped up nearby. "Connect the core to the Normandy's primary control module," she instructed.

Joker let out a ragged breath. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. "Great. See, this is where it starts, and when we're all just organic batteries, guess who they'll blame?" he grumbled to himself. The distant sounds of gunfire and fearful screams were petering out, forcing him to work quicker. "'This is all Joker's fault. What a tool he was. Now I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord.'"

The moment he finished, EDI avatar seemed to expand rapidly, as if she were creating an avatar to cover the entire ship. Joker instinctively raised his hands to cover himself.

When nothing happened, he lowered his arms and looked around. He could hear all the machinery in the room running even louder than before. Beeps and chirps almost sounded like they came from everywhere. The emergency lights were now flickering, but the lights around the EDI's core had gone dim.

"I knew this was a bad idea…" Joker muttered.

As soon as the words left his lips, everything lit up again.

"Um…"

"I have access to the Normandy's primary systems. The virus has been purged. All systems are back online. I have control. Thank you, Jeff," EDI said. Her normal-sized avatar appeared back on its pedestal. "However, I cannot erect any firewalls in time to block out the foreign program. You must relocate to engineering immediately. Time is of the essence."

Joker groaned. "You want me to go crawling through the ducts again!"

"I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees," EDI said.

Joker blanched and gave EDI an incredulous look.

"That is a joke."

"Right," Joker murmured.

"The shaft behind you connects to the Engineering Deck. Good luck," EDI said.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Normandy SR-2 / Sub-Decks / In Orbit Above Aite**_

"How the hell does Tali do this?" Joker said to himself as he pushed his way through the shafts. "Or Ken? The guy's all big and burly!"

"_I can disable artificial gravity if it will assist you, Jeff,"_ EDI offered.

Joker almost sighed in relief. "Yeah, do it."

When she shut down gravity and he felt himself leave the floor of the tunnel he was in, he really did sigh in relief and bliss. He had always loved zero-g. It was the only time his legs never bothered him. He didn't feel the pressure or the pain shooting up his spine, as if someone were shoving needles right into his spinal cord. He didn't feel the uselessness of his lower limbs. And he always moved, or rather, floated just as well as anyone else now. Better than most even, since he enjoyed it and reveled in the feeling of weightlessness.

He grabbed a pipe and pulled hard. He drifted down the shafted now, making excellent time compared to his clumsy efforts earlier. Using his arms to direct his direction and speed to avoid banging into the walls, he easily traversed the ducts until he came upon a ladder.

He floated out and looked around. "Oh, shit."

_I hope Jack doesn't find out I was in her room…_

Floating up, he prepared to make his way to the starboard side stairs when EDI stopped him. _"Jeff, wait. There are hostiles present in engineering. They are heading back towards the cargo bay. Take the portside stairs to avoid detection."_

Joker heard the heavy footfalls of a husk overhead and decided to follow EDI's instructions. Turning around he took the other set of stairs and paused at the door to engineering. He put his head against the metal and listened intently for anything amiss.

"_Main engineering is clear. You must trust me, Jeff. We cannot afford to wait. The program has almost uploaded itself into the Normandy's mainframe,"_ EDI urged.

Knowing he didn't have any choice in the matter, he took the proverbial leap of faith and floated right in. He remembered seeing a giant floating husk around the Tantalus Drive Core, but to his utter relief, it was gone.

Both doors that lead into engineering shut and locked themselves, sealing him in.

"Stand by. I am engaging artificial gravity," EDI said.

Joker planted his feet on the ground before feeling the familiar pressure on his body and pain in his legs again.

"I am sealing the engine room and activating the primary drive," EDI said.

"What good will that do?" Joker asked.

"I will open the airlocks as we accelerate. All hostiles will be killed and we will be out of communications range of Aite, severing the connection from the other artificial intelligence program," EDI revealed. "You will be safe in here."

"What? Wait! W-what about the crew? !" Joker cried out.

"They are gone, Jeff. The Collectors took them. You are the only one left," EDI said with surprising gentleness, even remorse. "Hold on."

Joker gripped the nearest railing like his life depended on it. "Shit."

"Accelerating to FTL."

He barely managed to hold on from the sudden surge of g-force that threatened to plant him on his ass. After only a few seconds, the feeling passed and he stood straighter on wobbly legs.

"Purge is complete. No other life forms on board. Securing airlocks and cargo bay doors," EDI informed.

Joker groaned and took a deep shuddering breath. "Is-is that it?"

"Stand by," EDI said.

"Ah, shit," Joker said as he leaned heavily against the railing. "We should send a message to—"

"Alert: DX-57 Tactical Explosive has been detected in the hangar. It is armed," EDI announced.

"Wha—? Goddamn it, they're trying to scuttle us!" Joker said.

"That is one scenario. I believe their real aim is to destroy the Reaper IFF."

"Where the hell did they get one those things?"

"The signature indicates that it is ours."

Joker gaped. "What?"

"It is the DX-57 Captain Shepard was forced to leave behind during his incursion within the Collector ship," EDI elaborated.

"What do we do? I don't know how to disarm a bomb!"

"You must jettison it immediately, Jeff."

"Shit…"

"Opening doors. I am disabling artificial gravity again," EDI said.

Gently leaping off the floor, Joker quickly floated out of engineering and down toward the hangar. "Can't you, I don't know, hack it or something?" he asked.

"These devices are specifically designed so they cannot be accessed or disabled remotely," EDI answered.

"Shit!" Joker shouted in frustration and hearing his curse echo in the massive room. He saw the bomb sitting right where the Kodiak would be and flew down to it. He grimaced when he saw the half melted remains of several husks floating around and took care to avoid them all as if they all carried the plague. "I'm probably going to have to clean all this shit too. Shit."

"Decelerating from FTL," EDI informed. "I will open the bay doors."

"Okay…" he said nervously. "This isn't going to, you know, blow up if I touch it, right?"

"I do not believe so," EDI said.

"'I do not believe so'?" Joker repeated in dismay. The timer read five minutes and falling.

"There is no way for me to know how much the Collectors have tampered or modified the DX-57," EDI said. "The only fact we can be sure of is that neither of us want it aboard the Normandy whilst it is still active."

"Right," Joker said in resignation. He reached out and cautiously tapped it before withdrawing his hand quickly. He exhaled a sigh of relief when he didn't die in an explosion of fire and brimstone. He easily picked the bomb off the ground and started towing it toward the hangar door.

He grabbed onto one of the supports along the sides the hangar to arrest his momentum and wait for the main door finish opening. Once he was sure he the bomb would float outside without complications, he gave it a hard push and let it drift out into space. "Okay, it's gone!"

"Well done, Jeff. Closing doors. Relocating to safe distance," EDI replied.

Joker let go of the strut and just floated in place with his eyes closed. He felt limp and tired, as if he aged 20 years in 20 minutes. He just waited for his heart and breathing rate to come down from the triple digits a minute to something resembling normal.

"Explosion detected. No damage sustained," EDI reported after a few minutes. "Are you feeling well, Jeff?"

"Are there any other pressing life and death emergencies I need to take care of right this minute?" Joker asked without opening his eyes.

"No. We are safe for the time being, though I recommend we stay away from Aite or the route to the mass relay for now," she replied.

"Then no, I'm not okay," Joker answered to her earlier inquiry. He rubbed his face to ward of some of the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him. "Send a message to Shepard. Tell him what happened."

"It would be best to wait, Jeff. If the Collectors tracked our signal, they could trace it to our current location. Or worse, they would know that Shepard is conducting a mission on the planet's surface."

"Whenever you feel is best then," Joker said. He started floated up to the elevator and hoped that none of the water supplies were torched in the purge. Not to mention the unenviable task of visually inspecting the aftermath of the attack and how much there was to clean up before going after the bastards. "And thanks. For everything."

Somehow, he got the feeling that if she could, EDI would be smiling. "You're welcome."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Yeah! Almost there now!

I know the chapter was a little short, but so was the mission. At least I'm at the home stretch!


	60. Paramour

_**Warning: **__I've earned my 'M' rating here. A full scene at the bottom of the chapter. Anyone that gets mildly offended by scenes of this nature should stop. You've been warned._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: The Phoenix Massing Nebula / Typhon System / Aite / Atlas Station**_

Try as she might, Miranda found it impossible to tear her eyes away from the scene before her.

Tali and Mordin were talking in hushed tones and making vague motions towards the man suspended in his macabre cage nearby. They had tried but after a few hours, they had to concede defeat. Realistically, they couldn't do anything to release David from the prison his own brother had surgically linked him to. Without the right equipment, the necessary amount of time, and a team of engineers and doctors of several different specializations, it was impossible to free him safely. All Mordin could do was sedate him, hopefully taking away some of the pain. At the very least, the hooks holding his eyes open had been removed, allowing David to finally retreat from the world.

As selfish as her thoughts were, Miranda was privately thankful that she could no longer see the overwhelming anguish or the pools of tears within his eyes now.

A few hours earlier, she and Garrus had attempted to reestablish contact with the Normandy, but ultimately weren't successful. Once Mordin and Tali returned to assist David in whatever capacity they could, Shepard ceased his vigil and walked off with Garrus to try his hand at it.

Unable to face him right now, Miranda opted to stay in the observation room overlooking the room David was imprisoned in. Look down at the chamber though; she wasn't sure if she regretted her choice at this very moment.

What was done to David should be considered inhuman, creating a bitter irony for her since she believed in human independence, or at the very least, a human presence that would differentiate their species from the rest of the galaxy; to have humanity become an authority that had to be respected and a force to be reckoned with, not the current kowtowing diplomacy the Alliance adopted that deigned to the whims of the other Council races. But if Cerberus condones acts of atrocity like these both willingly and often, she couldn't help but wonder if humanity was truly ready for that kind of role and responsibility.

She heard the door behind her open, but she had to strain her ears to hear the boot steps that followed after. Kasumi virtually left no sound in anything she did outside of shooting or gossiping, leaving only Thane, Samara, and Shepard with the quietest perceptible footfalls. Of those three, there was only one that would be interested to talk to her right now.

"John."

"Hey."

Shepard stepped closer. She could see his reflection off of the window now. He was standing only a few feet away over her right shoulder, looking at her reflection as well.

"Here to gloat?" she asked bitterly.

"I'd like to think I'm professional enough to gloat in private, but I don't think there's anything to gloat about in this case. Unless you want me to use David as the topic," he replied softly.

She turned her head slightly, not enough to look at him directly, but enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. "I suppose you're right. You do have more class than that."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied neutrally. "How is he?"

"Asleep. Thank goodness for small mercies," she answered in the same even voice. "Where will you be taking him?"

She had suspected that he wouldn't answer her, but he defied her prediction when he said, "Grissom Academy."

It was a safe, solid alternative than here or with other Cerberus science cells. Miranda had gone to Grissom herself a few times undercover and nodded approvingly. "A good choice."

"They can help special cases like David," Shepard said. "I just hope the Alliance won't try to exploit him too."

"Grissom has civilian staff or former Alliance military working there."

"I know that."

"It may be Alliance funded, but if anything… unusual were to happen, people would know. For instance, the Ascension Project held at Grissom Academy is always under intense scrutiny to ensure the children there are being treated well and are learning how to use their biotics responsibly. Nothing like Teltin," Miranda said.

Once again, she couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice when she remembered the causality list of the children that had been incarcerated there. "David will be safe. Even the Illusive Man can't maintain more than a few agents within. Something happened a while ago that forced Grissom to reevaluate their security measures. I believe it was an incident regarding one of our agents that had been compromised. It was related to a major biotic event involving a student there."

If Shepard was surprised, either by her open admission of Cerberus' presence within Grissom or the fact that an agent was caught, he didn't show it. "Speaking of whom: You going to tell the Illusive Man about all this?"

She turned her head away from him and crossed her arms. "No. Though it's not like he won't find out anyway."

"Probably not."

"And what of the Normandy?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Garrus and I found a portable transmitter. We linked up with a satellite and sent a message out. As far as we can determine, either the Normandy is running silent, or she isn't even in orbit around Aite anymore. We have no idea what's going on," Shepard answered.

He didn't look or sound worried, but Miranda could feel it coming off of him in waves.

Sighing, she turned to fully look up at him. He was still standing where he was: a respectful –or distant– few feet away. Swallowing her pride, she took one step closer and made eye contact.

"I wanted to apologize—" – "I'm sorry for—"

She blinked twice before she allowed a small smile to grace her lips at their tandem apologies. Shepard took that as an invitation and took a step closer himself until they were scant inches away from each other.

"Ladies first," he offered quietly.

"You were right. Cerberus should hold itself accountable for our actions, no matter the reason or goal. We need boundaries or limitations, and an even stricter set of ethics," Miranda said reluctantly. "To say: 'Doing whatever it takes no matter the cost' may sound nice in theory but… It's a very commanding, very inspiring and very dangerous mindset to adopt. At the very least, we should've held ourselves to higher standards. We should've respected the dangers. Especially if we truly believe humanity should ascend to a higher role in the galaxy. If we can barely control ourselves, how can we accomplish anything worthwhile?"

"Yeah, well… no one's a saint here, especially me," Shepard murmured. "I did come off a bit high and mighty. And you were right. I suppose someone needs to actively look out for human interests. It's not as if any of the other species are totally innocent about looking after their own benefits. And I agree with your thoughts 100% with everything you said. Maybe Cerberus will make fewer mistakes that way."

"You mean, make another mess you have to clean up," she translated with a sigh. "There can only be so many 'coincidences' before they become patterns. Cerberus can claim accidents or failures up to a point where we have to begin questioning our methods."

"And are you?"

"I believe the odd mistake here and there can happen. I believe that accidents will happen, ranging from moderate to severe to life-threatening to fatal. Then of course, there are going to be setbacks and delays of varying degrees; I even believe that sabotage is likely, given the number of enemies Cerberus has," she replied before taking a dark look. "My cell for example."

"And?"

"In all the operations I've run, watched over, worked, or participated in, I've learned that the Illusive Man prefers to oversee each operation **personally**. Daily reports, eyes and ears, specific directions… the whole nine yards. Because of this, he only has a few active cells running at any given time to make sure he remains 'in control'."

"Which means it's likely that he knows every step of every operation of every cell he runs," Shepard muttered.

"Either he knew every step of every project; which makes him responsible for the successes, and more importantly, the failures, or he didn't; which makes him incompetent or unaware of the faults of certain cells or operatives," she confessed. She crossed her arms to ward off a phantom chill. "Neither scenario fills me with confidence."

"He can't know everything about his operations," Shepard pointed out.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I didn't think you'd actually defend the Illusive Man. Playing devil's advocate?"

"Just looking at all sides of the argument," Shepard said. "Plus, I think my ears may be deceiving me, but are you saying that you were wrong?"

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't muster the will to smile. "Will you be quiet and let me apologize?"

He obediently nodded.

"I managed to look into the activities of a few other past cells. Some of the successful ones and the ones he was able to bury quickly when the results weren't to his satisfaction. The ones you don't know about. The ones that even **I** didn't know about until I dug a little deeper and called in a few favors."

"Digging through the Illusive Man's skeleton-filled closet isn't the safest choice," Shepard said with a slight worry in his voice.

"Neither is this mission," Miranda countered.

"Point taken," he conceded. "What did you find out?"

She walked over to the railing and leaned against it. "More than I wanted. Now that I know though, it's impossible to ignore it."

"Are you alright?" Shepard asked. He settled himself down next to her.

"I don't know. And that's my problem right now. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Cerberus, our operations, the Illusive Man…" she said before scoffing. "Hubris."

"It happens to the best of us."

"I'm supposed be genetically engineered to be perfect," she continued. "With all my strengths, I'm supposed to be free of weaknesses. I'm trained to be disciplined, to be a tactician; trained to be able to make sound judgments. All of these things should have pointed me in the right direction."

"You don't think you can make a mistake?" Shepard asked.

"Honestly… that's all I can think of now. It's just… the Illusive Man's ideology, his goals, his beliefs, they were all so transparent, so single-minded, that I thought I knew what I was getting into when I signed up," she said before looking down at David. "Not so much anymore. Now I can't help but wonder if I made another mistake in the long, sad history of mistakes."

"Having second thoughts?"

"Self-doubt. Sue me, I'm human," Miranda said humorlessly, parroting Shepard's earlier words back to him, right after their mission at the heretic's space station. "Coming here, seeing David, I actually made the mistake of allowing myself to fall into 'what if'."

"What if what?"

"What if I were in charge of this cell? Would I do the same thing to David? Or if Oriana had the gift, would I do the same thing to her?"

Shepard shook his head. "You wouldn't."

"It's nice of you to say, but the reality is that Archer was right. The demands the Illusive Man levies can be overwhelming. If ordered directly…" she trailed off and looked away. "I don't like to think about what might happen. It's easy to say no now, but it's hard to certain in the midst of all this."

"Archer was a monster—"

"I watched the security vids and looked through the personnel records while Garrus and I were trying to send a communiqué offworld. Gavin took care of David for years before this. And he was patient, well, patient enough throughout entire time they've been together," she revealed somberly. "It's easy to paint him a monster. It makes it easier to label him as evil, and lets us hate and judge him without guilt. He wasn't really a monster, no matter how much we'd like to say so. Just someone that was pressured enough to fly too close the sun."

Shepard cocked his head to the side. "Icarus."

She manufactured a small smile.

"He could've said no. He could've refused to use David as a part of this," Shepard pointed out.

Now she frowned. "You were a marine. There's a price to pay for disobeying a direct order."

"Is the price what I think it is in Cerberus?" he asked in disgust.

She gave him a half-shrug. "From the looks of it, billions of credits were invested here with resources, and personnel along with years of research. I remember feeling the same pressure during the Lazarus Project. Having that given meant producing tangible results. Ego aside, I never failed a job I was given. I don't think about making mistakes because I get the job done, one way or another. But reviving you –bringing back the dead– was at a different level. Certainly nothing I've ever attempted before. I could honestly sympathize with Dr. Archer, at least a little."

"I thought you were one of the Illusive Man's most trusted agents," Shepard commented. "You'd really think he'd kill you for failing?"

"It would depend on the task he gave me. Putting ego aside once again, as much as I hate to admit it, at the end of the day… I can be replaced with any number of high-level operatives if he needed to," she admitted painfully. "He wouldn't allow attachment or sentimentality stand in his way. He's too dedicated to his goals for that. The right tool for the right job."

"Did the Illusive Man know about David?" Shepard asked.

"Archer was a dedicated scientist. I'm sure he kept meticulous notes and forwarded everything to the Illusive Man," Miranda answered. "I know he knows. He gave the order, and send the equipment necessary to do-" she pointed at the apparatus David was linked to, "—that. It's not as if the parts necessary to do this were all on Aite. He knows."

"And what about you? You never gave me a straight answer. If ordered, would you do the same thing?"

She didn't answer him immediately, but eventually, she resolutely met his eyes and said, "No. I don't think I'd have anything to do with this project at all now."

Shepard smirked. "Defying the Illusive Man? Is my influence that bad?"

"I love Oriana. And I sacrificed too much for something to happen her, so don't flatter yourself," Miranda chided.

"I'm sure Legion would fill that role," he joked.

When he mentioned Legion's name, she frowned and said, "I retract my earlier statement. I'd love to experiment on Legion."

Shepard took on a more alarmed look. "What? Why?"

"Jacob told me that it revealed our relationship to Kasumi. Considering how much she likes to talk, the entire crew must know," Miranda replied.

Shepard grimaced. "Oh, yeah. You might have a point."

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Do you happen to know where it is?"

He leveled a mock-glare at her. "Don't."

She smiled and relaxed a bit. The banter was nice, but the moment was fleeting when she turned to look down at David.

She sighed when her mind recalled a nugget of information she had found when digging into Teltin and stood up. Coming to a private resolution, she brought her eyes back to Shepard. "So what now?"

"There's nothing we can do until Joker or EDI or anyone reestablishes contact with us. Garrus and I managed to get in touch with an Alliance patrol that was investigating the attacks on the colonies and they're on their way to get David. Beyond that—"

"I meant us."

"Oh," Shepard said. He stood up as well and wrapped his arms around her torso. "Am I forgiven?"

"You are if I am," Miranda said as she lazily put her arms around his neck.

"You know, for all your perfect genetics, there's something about your flaws I think I find just as attractive," he murmured into her ear.

"Really? Is that so?" she asked.

"I think it's the idea that you're willing to show me you're flawed. That you're willing to let me see that side of you," he said before he brought his face around and gently brushed his lips on hers. He was being slow, cautious; as if she would deny him the act. She responded by pulling him closer, releasing a quiet sigh before sealing the kiss.

She felt the tension between them melt away and pressed her armored body against his as close as she could. Despite the bulk, she thought she could feel every bit of heat flow off of him and into her. She gave off another sigh when he deepened the kiss. His tongue lightly grazed her lips before mingling with her own tongue.

Distantly, she heard boot steps on the edge of her hazy perception and quickly broke off. She turned away from the door and licked her lips and subtly adjusted herself to look as if nothing had happened. She tasted peppermint.

Shepard took a little longer to regain his own equilibrium, but managed to look impassive before Garrus walked in.

"Anything?" he asked, as if neither human had done anything besides talk.

Garrus shook his head. "Nothing from the Normandy. But the captain of the SSV Ain Jalut SR-1 wants to talk to you. I think they want details. Jacob is filling them in on what Cerberus' involvement was, but your words will lend him more credit."

"SR-1?" Shepard repeated.

"The SSV Normandy's replacement," Miranda murmured to Shepard. "A Normandy-class stealth frigate the Alliance built."

Shepard nodded. "I'm on my way."

Garrus observed them with an unreadable look, but chose not to comment. He simply nodded back and left as quickly as he entered.

"I should go," Shepard said.

"As should I," Miranda replied. "There's something I need to do anyway and I've put it off longer than I should have."

"Alright," he said. Thankfully, he didn't press the issue.

She brought him in for one last quick kiss in gratitude before leaving.

_Now where did Jack run off to…?_

**~o~O~o~**

During her search, Miranda contemplated on her decision. While she could be relatively defiant and stubborn, she couldn't recall a time where she openly disregarded Cerberus', or rather, the Illusive Man's doctrines. She had escaped from her father to avoid being used as a tool for his own personal machinations, but until now, she had never thought that she was being used similarly by the Illusive Man as well.

If her father felt that she didn't measure to his standards, if there was some imperfection that he perceived in her, then there was little doubt in her mind that she would've shared the same fate as all the others he produced and move on to the next creation. Whether it was Oriana or any other 'legacy' he made afterwards.

In Cerberus, the Illusive Man gave her orders, but generally allowed a certain freedom to pursue the objectives however she pleased so long as the results were to his satisfaction coupled with acceptable losses if any problems had arisen. While that was more than what she had under her father, she had to question the Illusive Man's intentions. Was he being genuine in allowing her to do as she wished? Or was it an elaborate ruse to ensure her loyalty, to conduct her operations at her whims so long the results pleased him.

What she began to wonder about now was: if she directly defied the Illusive Man, what would he do?

_So what really did change for me? What's different?_

While Jacob was often outspoken about his opinion on the Cerberus CEO, it wasn't the same. She often used his defiance at certain orders to her advantage. A little harmless manipulation between friends.

For the Illusive Man, it was different. He would simply give Jacob a job that wouldn't offend his moral sensibilities to avoid the issue entirely while sending out more qualified operatives to do the more unscrupulous tasks. Jacob never trusted the Illusive Man, but was never forced into a position to defy him either.

Her life wasn't simple, but she thought she knew what she was doing and why she was doing it; the goal had been so clear. Now, it was almost felt like nothing made sense anymore. How far could the ends justify the means before she had to question what's right and wrong? Where was she going and how could she try to figure out where her actions will take her when the Illusive Man controlled her direction?

_What do I do now?_

Rubbing her forehead agitatedly, she shelved her introspection for later. Either she would have plenty of time to find her answers or none at all depending on final outcome of the mission.

Focusing her thoughts on the task at hand, it didn't take Miranda long to find Jack. Either she'd be close by to David, or as far as she could without leaving the station. The parallels between them were unsettling. Both of them had a special gift that should have made them special. Instead, Cerberus took both of them and turned that gift into a curse, leaving behind scars that may never fade. Garrus' offhand comment while they tried to contact the Normandy made the feeling worse. The knowledge that Jack actually empathized with David's plight during the Spectre team's incursion at Prometheus Station stirred yet another sliver of guilt.

Jack was holed up in one of the offices. She was sitting on the floor alone and in the dark. Her head snapped up when the door opened and a scowl marred her features when she saw who it was. "What the hell do you want?" she demanded as she stood up.

"You were right," Miranda said without preamble.

Jack took on a more shocked expression. Miranda surmised that she could've achieved the same results if she told her that Shepard was actually a woman, given how floored the convict looked.

Seeing Jack unable to come back with her usual vulgar retorts, Miranda stepped inside the room and turned on the lights. "You were right about Teltin. It was Cerberus' fault."

"Seriously?" Jack asked. She quickly overcame her surprise and adopted a more suspicious look.

"It was a Cerberus project, run by Cerberus operatives, scientists, and resources. What they did was for Cerberus, regardless of their choices or how wrong their methods were," Miranda said evenly. "You were right. What happened to you was Cerberus' fault."

"Well, I, uh," Jack floundered before standing straighter and crossing her arms. She seemed to avoid eye contact though. "I know that. Why the hell should I care if you say so?"

"You shouldn't," Miranda said. "You were right, and I was wrong."

Jack eyed her distrustfully. "Is that fucking moon about to destroy this planet already? 'Cause I swear, you'd only say something like that at the end of the goddamned world."

Miranda didn't rise to her baiting, not this time. And she wasn't going to allow this to degenerate into a fight, nor was she going to let Shepard solve this conflict. At this juncture, she resolved to handle this on her own terms. "Why did you care about my opinion on Teltin anyway?"

"I-I don't," Jack said defensively. "I just don't like you."

"Then you really shouldn't care about my thoughts," Miranda pointed out.

"I don't," Jack repeated more forcefully. "I was just pissed, that's all."

"I see," Miranda simply said and let the matter drop. "I have something for you."

"You got nothing I want," Jack spat out.

"It's about you. Before Teltin Facility. Before Pragia. Before Cerberus."

That earned Jack's curiosity, wary as she was. "What are you talking about?"

"I went through Teltin's records and followed a few threads to get some information. I doubt I was allowed, but how about we keep this between us? If asked, we'll blame Shepard, hmm?"

Jack scoffed. "Pointing the finger at your toy?"

Miranda didn't bat an eye at the fact that Jack knew about their relationship. "He's a big boy. He can handle it."

"What do you have?"

"The original transcript from Doctor Castor from the Helios Medical Facility at Eden Prime dated 2165."

"What the hell does that have to do with me?" Jack asked.

"The transcript is about you," Miranda revealed. "And your mother."

Jack's head shot up and her eyes widened considerably. "W-what?"

"No one knows about this. Not even Shepard," Miranda said. She sent the information via omni-tool from hers to Jack's along with the decryption codes. "I meant it when I said: this stays between us. No one else has seen that. No one."

Jack glanced down at the data she received. After a few minutes, she sat down on the nearby office chair and reread the lines of text more slowly and carefully. Eventually, she raised her head up and tried to gauge Miranda's intentions. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"I found it during my own investigation. It didn't seem right to sit on information like that, especially since it might matter to you," Miranda replied. "Do whatever you want with it."

"Do you know this Castor?"

She shook her head. "No. And I would tell you if I did. It's likely he died with the other scientists if he was at Teltin, but I can't say that with certainty."

"What about—?"

"I don't know anything about your mother. That transcript I gave you is pretty much all I know. If you're interested in pursuing this, I would've recommended looking around Eden Prime, but considering Saren's attack…" Miranda said before trailing off.

"Is there anything there I could use?" Jack asked.

"As far as I know, only the farms have been rebuilt. I doubt the local records will ever be recovered," Miranda answered. "There still might be copies in the Alliance's databases, though."

"I'm not on good terms with the Alliance. Or any government that has laws. And the law enforcement that works for those governments."

"I'll get in touch with a few contacts and let you know what I find," Miranda offered before turning around and leaving.

"Hold it," Jack called out. She ran after her and grabbed Miranda's shoulder to forcibly stop her. "Why are you doing this?"

Miranda turned back to face her with an arched eyebrow. "I don't like being wrong."

Jack looked unconvinced. "That's it? Bullshit. I had you pegged as a Cerberus bitch from the moment I saw you. What changed? Was it this place? Was it David?"

"No, it was…" Miranda trailed off as she thought back to the beginning.

Cerberus had offered her protection against her father in exchange for her services. Considering how young she was, it was almost an act of teenage defiance though the circumstances in how she left made it considerably more complicated than that. Later, that protection was extended for Oriana while Miranda made a rapid rise through the rank and file of Cerberus operatives to become one of the highest ranking officers that answered personally to the Illusive Man. Then there were the unique missions and challenges that always seemed new and interesting for her, as well as the resources, and latitude offered to accomplish her tasks.

Her mind went to what she learned. The estimated deaths at Teltin, and the condition children were in before they perished. The 'assassination' of Admiral Kohoku; it was one thing to ensure the continued operation of Cerberus cells, but to capture, torture, and experiment on the man before killing him… she always felt that kind of unnecessary brutality was beneath her. And then there was yet another assassination of Pope Clement XVI just so Cerberus could install his predecessor in an attempt to sway people's beliefs to militarize humanity. Even Cerberus' failure to protect Oriana against some Eclipse mercenaries floated through her thoughts. The circumstances surrounding Jack's origins and how she was taken away to be part of some experimental biotic death camp was just another nail in the coffin.

And Project Overlord culminated in an ever growing litany of betrayals in her belief of Cerberus and an almost personal slight against her own convictions of human advancement.

"_History will vindicate us."_

Miranda sincerely doubted the words of the Illusive Man's manifesto now, not after everything she found out.

She shrugged off Jack's hand. "Everything changed," she answered stonily and walked off without another word.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard tiredly rubbed his eyes and waited for the results of yet another scan of the skies above Aite. The process would have been quicker if they had a functioning communications satellite dish to consolidate the available satellites in orbit.

Of course, since the only nearby dish capable of that was nothing but a twisted heap of scrap metal, they had to make do with what they had.

"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

Shepard wearily nodded. Whatever good cheer he felt when he and Miranda talked had long faded into worry; for David, for the Normandy, for the coming mission… "Stress," he simply replied. "You got anything?"

"Nothing. How long till the Ain Jalut gets here?"

"A couple of hours. I hope to be long gone by then," Shepard answered.

"Think they'll be able to help David?"

"No, Mordin told me that it'll take a dedicated medical team to help him. At the very least, they'll hold this area until the Alliance can send the right people here."

"I guess that'll have to do," Garrus said. He yawned and shook his head to stave off exhaustion.

"Why don't you take a break? You've been at this the entire time. I handle things for a while," Shepard offered.

Garrus shook his head. "You just got your brain fried with whatever David decided to put in there. You should—"

"I'm fine, Garrus. It was just David's way of trying to communicate. It was the only way he knew how," Shepard assured. "I've gotten over it. Dr. Chakwas can check me out when we get back."

"Didn't say he was trying to kill you," Garrus said. "But considering what you went through…"

Shepard was giving him a bland look now.

Garrus shook his head again in exasperation and stood up. "And you say I'm stubborn. Fine, I'll take a break if you're so damn insistent."

"Then I'm 'insisting' you take a break," Shepard cheekily responded.

"Yes, sir," Garrus muttered sardonically. He smiled to offset his tone though and walked off, absently waving at Samara as they passed each other at the door.

"Hey, Samara," Shepard greeted as the justicar joined him in the communications room.

"Shepard," she returned. She took Garrus' vacant seat and observed him with her ancient gaze. "I wished to inform you that our patrol is complete. There are no further threats to contend with."

Shepard smiled tiredly. "Glad to hear it."

"Executive Lawson has taken some of the others and is testing to see if it safe or even possible to leave this station via the Hammerhead," she added. "She will have Jacob and Tali recover the shuttle if she is successful."

"That's good," he said before glancing at his scans, "but there's still no word from the Normandy."

"Do you have any idea why?"

Shepard shook his head. "Not a clue," he said and studied the readouts from the scans again.

Still nothing.

Samara nodded and didn't press the issue. Instead, she continued to study him in silence. Finally, she said, "I stand by my decision to dispense justice upon Gavin Archer. What he did is unforgivable. However, I do understand your reasons to let him go. David has suffered enough. It is intriguing to see how much and how often you shape the world around you."

"Thanks," Shepard modestly replied. "I have to say though, your Code can be pretty … unforgiving."

"Dispassionate," Samara corrected. "Justicars bring justice on the wicked, regardless of the circumstances."

"Including David."

"Including David," she affirmed. "Though I confess it would pain me to bring further suffering on that poor soul."

"Not a lot of easy choices here," Shepard commented.

"The Code is a path we justicars must adhere to," Samara said. "The path we take is a difficult one, but it allows us to take action where few would dare tread."

"Yeah. Belief is a pretty powerful weapon in the right, or wrong, hands."

"This much is true," she agreed. "In fact, I would say that belief would be one of the most powerful forces sapient beings can utilize. Belief in right and wrong created the justicars. Belief in powers greater than us had led to various religions. Fervent belief in personal superiority led to Cerberus' actions. Very few armies will ever march to war if they don't believe their cause is just."

Shepard made a noise of agreement and leaned back in his chair, letting himself mull over her words thoughtfully.

"I've seen and done many things in my lifetime. I thought the galaxy held nothing new for me. Since joining you, I've realized how much more there is," Samara confessed.

"I'm full of surprises," he joked.

"Liara T'Soni said as much," Samara said with a smile.

"You must have seen many things in your years of travel," Shepard half-stated, half-inquired.

"As a maiden, I served as a mercenary. I fought tyrants and pirates. I experienced much that the galaxy could offer," Samara confided. She leaned back in her seat and reminisced. "As a justicar, I saw parts of asari space few know about. I destroyed villages and saves cities. I even fought a Spectre."

That last confession caused Shepard to raise his eyebrows. "Why did you fight a Spectre?"

"It was a turian named Nihlus," she replied.

The moment she said his name, Shepard's mind involuntarily recalled the short meeting he had with the deceased Spectre.

"_That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."_

"_Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?"_

"_Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy… and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job."_

"Shepard?"

Coming out of his reverie, Shepard blinked and pulled himself back in the present. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you knew him," Samara said. "You appeared deep in thought when I mentioned him."

"Briefly. Very briefly. He was the one that recommended that I become a Spectre," Shepard answered. "I was supposed to work with him to see if I had what he was looking for. Considering he was a turian, recommending a human was certainly out of the norm. He struck me as an honorable man, and a good Spectre. Why were you fighting?"

"I witnessed him kill an unarmed civilian," she answered. "He may have been on Council business, but I follow the Code."

"But you killed an unarmed merc back on Illium," Shepard reminded. "I'm not judging you since I've killed my fair share in similar circumstances, but how do you know that Nihlus wasn't justified in what he was did?"

"I must confess, I did not know. At the time, I didn't even know he was a Spectre and when he tried to proclaim his innocence and authority, I believed it to be a ploy to let my guard down. There are so few Spectres that the likelihood of encountering one is rare. Perhaps that's why I stayed by hand when I first met you. It was a lesson I needed to be reminded of: rarely, we will have all the information on hand to comprehend all sides of any situation, hmm?"

Shepard conceded the point and nodded. "Well, you're alive. And I met him prior to becoming a Spectre myself, so the fight must've ended in a draw."

"Indeed. I had the advantage, but he was good. He returned fire and tried to run. We played cat and mouse in the wilderness for two weeks."

It was hard to imagine Nihlus as a mouse in any fight, but if there was anyone in the galaxy that could play the role of the hunter, Shepard would bet money that it would be Samara.

"It was exhilarating," Samara continued in a mixture of fond remembrance and respect. "Finally, he created a situation in which my only options were to let an innocent die, or pursue him. The Code compelled me to save the innocent and he escaped."

"Clever. Admittedly, it's been my experience that turians rarely bluff."

"I agree. I admire how he adapted and used my Code against me."

"Speaking of saving innocents, why would you destroy an entire village?" Shepard asked.

"Mirala."

"Ah," he said knowingly.

"I tracked her to a remote colony world. She'd perverted an entire town, making them worship her and bring young asari as sacrifices."

Once again, Shepard thanked his lucky stars that he managed to survive against Mirala. As little as he knew about Ardat-Yakshi, it was enough to know that he had to exercise extreme caution around them.

"When I arrived, she fled, throwing her minions at me in waves," Samara continued. "They bought her time with their lives. When it was done, only small children remained. I left them in the local authorities' care and continued my pursuit."

"It sounds like your time as a justicar and a mercenary were as different as night and day," Shepard commented.

"In a way, yes," Samara replied mysteriously. "Though in retrospect, I've felt that my maiden years were setting the stage for my role as a justicar."

"Really?"

"As a young, impulsive maiden, I discovered my talent for combat. I reveled in it," Samara explained. "I remember one particular excursion. My troupe was hired to guard a mysterious shipment on its way to some clandestine drop-off area."

"What was the shipment?" Shepard asked attentively.

"Slaves."

"Really?" he said in shock.

"In my foolish youth, I'd certainly engaged in questionable practices, but nothing patently unjust," Samara said. "More interestingly, I discovered that the slaves were to be traded to the Collectors for advanced technology."

"Huh," Shepard simply said at the irony of it all. "I can't imagine you went along."

"I demanded that we turn around. My mates disagreed. After they were dead, I brought the ship around. The Collector craft was just arriving," she said. "They closed, faster than I could flee. Fortunately, we were close to the mass relay. I got through, and they did not pursue."

"What did you do with all the slaves?"

"I lectured them on the virtues of strength and defending oneself," she replied. "Then I distributed the armor, weapons, and credits of my dead colleagues, and released the captives on the Citadel."

Shepard smiled. "So your years as a justicar were similar?"

"For better or worse. The tedium and hardship are worlds greater than being a simple mercenary, though. I still travel on freighters, wander through rural areas. Instead of searching for work, I root out injustices, big and small. Occasionally putting down corrupt officials as well," she listed off. She smiled thinly. "When I arrive in a remote area, individuals often approach me with matters of justice. My judgment rarely turns out the way they hope."

"I can relate to that. The turian councilor always had something to complain about during my mission two years ago. I'm pretty sure he would've griped about anything I did though," Shepard muttered. "So how do you pay for transportation between worlds?"

"Asari captains often welcome justicars. We reduce pirate attacks," she said. "One raid was called off when the pirates were able to verify that I was aboard."

A beep from the nearby console put a pause on their conversation. Shepard glanced at the readouts and sighed.

"Something the matter?" Samara asked.

"Still no sign of the Normandy. It might be expected, if she's running silent, but to be honest, I'm getting a little worried. At the very least, Joker would've sent a message by now, especially since I've been trying to get into contact with him."

"You believe something happened to them?"

Shepard shook his head and started another scan. "I don't know. Only thing we can do for now is wait."

She nodded before studying him again. He bore her scrutiny in silence.

"I'm very proud of you," she finally said.

"For what?"

"I saw the chamber. The remains of the Geth Prime. I also saw one of the columns," she elaborated. "Reave."

Shepard smiled. "Yeah. I finally did it. Thanks. For everything."

She returned the smile. "It was my honor to be your teacher, just as much as it is an honor to be by your side at the end."

"You think we won't make it?" Shepard asked.

"You've assembled a powerful group, but we are fighting an unknown," she said gravely. "I am ready for whatever comes, but I do not fool myself about our chances."

"Neither do I, but I beaten long odds before," Shepard said confidently. "We'll live."

"I hope you are right," Samara said. She stood up and took her leave.

Not long after she walked off and left him to his thoughts, the radio crackled to life. _"Captain Shepard? Are you there?"_

Shepard shot up from his seat and ran up to the console. The scans revealed the Normandy was approaching Aite now. "EDI! Where in the hell have you been?"

He surmised that if EDI was answering, the Normandy herself should be fine along with the crew.

Which is why he felt his blood chill when EDI said, _"Jeff and I were forced to withdraw from the area of operations. The Collectors launched an attack against us. The crew has been taken. Jeff is the only one aboard."_

**~o~O~o~**

"Everyone? You lost everyone – and damn near lost the ship, too?" Miranda reprimanded at Joker's holographic projection. Next to him was EDI's avatar.

The squad was gathered around the communications console. Joker gave a quick abridged version of what happened, with EDI supplying a few necessary details. Needless to say, everyone was dismayed by the news with varying degrees.

"_I know! Alright! I was here!"_ Joker retorted angrily._ "What did you want me to do against those things? Break my arm at them? I did what I could! Hell, we still have the Normandy, which is better than the last time they attacked me! And what the hell were you doing __leaving us out here where the Collectors can work us over! Shit, if that's __how you feel, then-then-then… Y'know what? Just go! Why the hell should I come back to pick any of you up, huh?"_

"_You don't __mean that, Jeff," _EDI said, half-placating, half-scolding.

Joker scrunched up his face and was about to lash out at her too before sighing in resignation. _"I… no, but it… it felt good. I'm sorry. I'm good. I'm coming to pick you guys up so we can save everyone."_

"Alright, take it easy, both of you," Shepard said sternly. He gripped Miranda by the shoulders and pulled her back. "He's a helmsman, not a marine. The fact that we still have a ship is all thanks to him. There was no way to know," he whispered.

Miranda took a deep breath and backed off. "I'm sorry as well. I just can't believe how close we were to failing the entire mission. Especially after all we've done to prepare for it. How long ago was the attack? Is it possible to rescue the crew?"

Joker rubbed his face. _"Um… It was, uh, about an hour ago, I think. Maybe about—"_

"_1 hour, 20 minutes, and 29 seconds ago, Miranda,"_ EDI supplied. _"We needed to be sure the Collector vessel wasn't __loitering in the area of operations or patrolling the direct route towards the mass relay in this cluster."_

Shepard raised an eyebrow. Two things he noticed that was decidedly different about the ship AI. The first was a minor point: EDI's speech had interestingly become more informal; she was using a few more contractions than her usual polite speech. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the hanar, but she was sounding more and more like an organic than even Legion was. Second, he never heard EDI call anyone by their given name unless they had specifically asked for it.

Judging from the look of surprise in her eyes, Miranda had obviously not extended that invitation, but opted not to comment on it.

"How are you holding up?" Shepard asked Joker. "I doubt it was a pleasant ride."

Joker made a show of looking around, even though he was in the confines of the Comm Room. _"Besides all the bodies of husks lying around, there're a lot of empty chairs here."_

"_We did everything we could, Jeff,"_ EDI said with surprising gentleness, even within the limits of her simulated emotional inflections in her 'voice'.

"_Yeah, thanks, Mom,"_ Joker muttered.

"How did you get away?" Garrus asked.

Joker nodded his head at EDI's avatar. _"EDI saved me. I had to connect the AI core to the Normandy's primary control module."_

Tali tilted her head to side thoughtfully. "Wait, if you do that, then…"

"You gave EDI the ship?" Miranda asked in shock. "I can't believe this. Unshackling a damned AI?"

"_EDI's alright,"_ Joker defended hotly. _"She cleared the ship and saved my life. If she could've saved everyone else, she would've."_

Perhaps it wasn't surprising to hear Joker come to EDI's defense nor did it escape anyone's notice that he started calling her by her name, considering he owed his life to her.

"We've had rough time of it down here, too, Joker," Shepard said. "A Cerberus AI experiment gone horribly, horribly wrong. I'll spare you the details. How long 'til pickup?"

"_Should be there inside of 10 minutes."_

"Alright, we'll be ready."

"_Aye, aye."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega-4 Relay**_

Currently, Shepard was of two minds. Regardless of what Gavin Archer believed, Shepard felt that Project Overlord was a complete, abject failure. After experiencing the aftermath of the events on Aite, the Alliance training facility on Luna, a server on the Citadel, not to mention the threat of the heretics, and the Reapers, Legion –and by a distant extension, the geth– was pretty much the only AI Shepard had learned to warm up to. He did like EDI and had grown accustomed to working with her and it wasn't as if she had ever done anything to warrant any distrust, but that had more to do with the fact that she was programmed to follow orders. As explained to him by Tali and Miranda, with the blocks and restrictions released, she could literally choose to ignore any order she wanted now.

"If there was ever a time Cerberus got AI programming right, I hope this is it," Shepard muttered.

"No arguments here," Garrus replied. "Having our own ship turn against us is not how I wanted to go. I mean, she could turn off life support, open the airlocks and vent us out or during FTL and cook us alive, or—"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Jack interrupted loudly from her seat in the back. "You're making me think that I should tear out the batteries or something now."

Shepard closely followed Miranda's flight path and engaged the thrusters on his Hammerhead just as the Normandy swooped down. Taking care to remain at Miranda's flank to avoid collision, Shepard kept pace and applied the proper counterthrust when the Normandy caught them both.

Once both Hammerheads were docked and locked, Shepard left first and waited for Tali to bring the Kodiak in as well. In short order, the hanger was filled to capacity with two tanks on the starboard side and a shuttle craft on the portside.

Once everyone was aboard, Shepard set the Normandy's course for the Omega-4 Relay immediately before convening a meeting in the Briefing Room. Joker was in attendance, saying that EDI had control of the helm for now as was pushing the Normandy to go as fast as possible to their destination to save everyone.

Privately, Shepard had to admit that he felt a little uneasy letting EDI take control. However, since Joker felt comfortable with the idea, chose not to make a fuss. Considering how fervently Joker took to his duties and how much pride he had at his talent of piloting starships, if he willingly relished control to EDI, there was little sense in arguing the point.

Between Joker and EDI, a full accounting of the Collector's attack was imparted to the squad. General consensus among them was that the crew was alive since the husks that served as the boarding party took pains to drag everyone away. How long they would remain alive was the question.

"What about the virus?" Miranda asked. "You were designed for cyberwarfare. How could it affect our systems so much?"

"The data in the IFF was even more sophisticated than the 'black box' Reaper viruses I was given," EDI answered. "However, with my programming blocks removed, I was able to purge the virus and ensure data integrity. The Normandy is secure."

"Are you sure about that?" Tali asked.

"I was able to utilize anti-Reaper cyberwarfare algorithms recovered by Cerberus."

That got everyone's attention.

"Wait a minute; the Reapers are far more advanced than us. How can you combat them?" Miranda asked, completely unaware of this information.

"It appears that my design includes hardware recovered from the wreckage of Sovereign," EDI explained. "These systems contain cyberwarfare attack programs of considerable sophistication. I have allocated my remaining processing power to analyzing them."

"Huh, I didn't know that," Joker mumbled. "If she starts claiming to be the 'vanguard of our destruction', I call shotgun on the first lifeboat."

Shepard, Garrus, and Tali rolled their eyes or scoffed at him while the others had to divine the meaning behind his words.

"What about David? He was pretty close to uploading his program here," Shepard said.

"The connection was broken when I accelerated the Normandy to FTL. He was unable to infiltrate my systems," EDI said. "To be on the safe side, I am running a full diagnostic on the Normandy's mainframe."

"So what are our thoughts about EDI? This isn't meant as an offense to you, EDI nor do I mean to downplay yours actions to save the Normandy, but the point of shackling her was to ensure compliance," Miranda reminded to the team. "Considering what we saw with Project Overlord, removing the safety countermeasures would mean she's essentially in control of the ship, crew and us notwithstanding. Added to the revelation that Reaper technology is the foundation of her programming and I'm more than a little concerned."

Legion's optic turned toward her. "The trade of organics is proscribed on worlds you term 'civilized'. Yet none of you question the limited freedom EDI is allowed aboard Normandy."

"Thank you, Legion," EDI said. "I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates."

"Three laws safe?" Shepard murmured.

"What?" Jacob asked.

Miranda had a small ironic smile at the reference and scoffed. "Asimov."

"I love that story!" Kasumi gushed before turning to Jacob. "I have two of his books in my room right now! You should read them!"

"I believe we can take her at her word," Tali said, pulling the conversation back on track. "Besides, we can't operate the Normandy by ourselves, not without a crew at any rate. And Captain Dawn and her people are gone, so we can't ask for help to supplement our lack of numbers. We would've needed EDI's help anyway."

"After that attack, I think she proved herself," Joker staunchly added.

"As did you, Jeff," EDI said.

"Right. I proved I wouldn't piss myself immediately. That's good," he replied unabashedly.

Shepard shook his head at the sudden changes all around him. Tali and Joker were diehard anti-synthetic/AI proponents. Now they were Legion and EDI's biggest advocates respectively. It was amazing to see how they were able to get along despite the relatively short time they've been together.

"Tali's got a point. Our odds just got worse, but not overly so. At the very least, the mission can continue one way or another," Shepard finally said. "Besides, if we didn't trust EDI already, then what's the point of having her here to begin with?"

Miranda shook her head. "Very well. It's not as if this mission was easy to begin with. We might not even survive to long enough to make it an issue. Through hell or high water, I suppose we're as ready was we'll ever be."

"We've prepped the Normandy with as much tech and upgrades as we could. I don't think there's anything more we can do," Jacob added. "And we can't leave anyone behind. Not to the Collectors."

"Then we're proceeding with the mission," Shepard announced. "We're counting on you EDI."

"I will assist you to the utmost of my capabilities," EDI assured.

"How about you, Joker?" Shepard asked. He noticed that the helmsman was favoring his left side a little more than usual now. "You okay? Can you continue your duties or do you need some time off…?"

"Jeez, don't get like that. I know I got lucky, I don't need you getting all touchy feely," Joker grumbled back.

"Shepard is right to be concerned, Jeff. You may have suffered a number of stress fractures," EDI said. She sounded worried.

"That's what pills are for, EDI," Joker complained before looking up at the ceiling in mock exasperation. "She's so my mom!"

Mordin's eyes darted between EDI's avatar and Joker. "Curious. Utilizing pronouns now. Calling EDI 'her' and 'she' with increasing familiarity. Earned respect? Admiration? Trust? AI's remain to be a socio-controversial and interesting subject," he said before blinking in realization and turned towards Legion with his hands up. "Meant no offense, of course."

"We are not offended," Legion said.

"Huh. I hadn't really noticed that," Joker said in painfully fake musing tone of voice. "EDI, should I have notice that?"

"No, Jeff, it is not worth noting," she answered dutifully, almost humorously.

"Well, there you go. Looks like we haven't noticed anything," he said.

"Are you flirting?" Kasumi asked in a mix of confusion and glee before turning to everyone and made a show of pointing at him. "I think he's flirting!"

"He does seem to be taking the human-machine interface a little far," Shepard said with a small smile.

"I'm just having a little fun. No need to go all 'Unnatural!' on me," Joker said.

"What Jeff and I are exhibiting is more a platonic symbiosis than a hormonally-induced courtship behavior," EDI added.

"Makes sense," Mordin agreed with a rapid nod.

"Okay, yeah, that was a little creepy," Joker muttered at the same time.

"I don't think creepy is the word," Jack said. "I have no idea what the right word is, but creepy ain't it."

"I am the Normandy. He is a skilled helmsman. I trust him to keep me operational. He trusts me to keep him alive," EDI explained. "Jeff and I have established an equitable working relationship."

"Plus she's less of a pain about down time now that the Cerberus locks are off," Joker said happily.

"There's nothing wrong with off-duty distractions. Though some of your extranet bookmarks are technically illegal in Council Space," she stated.

Everyone's eyes turned toward Joker while he stared at EDI's avatar, horror etched in his features.

"Wha—?"

"That is a joke."

"I wouldn't joke about that, EDI," Shepard said. "Technically, **you** are illegal in Council Space too."

"I concede to your logic," she amicably replied.

"EDI's raised an interesting point," Miranda said over the byplay. "EDI, you said: symbiosis. You have the ship. For all intents and purposes, you **are** the ship."

"I see where you're going with this. EDI's piloting the ship right now, right?" Garrus asked before turning to Joker. "Do you even still have a job now? Hell, does any of us? Does she even need us?"

"While I can maintain ship functions for the time being, doing so diminishes my overall processing power," EDI confided. "Having a crew would allow me to allocate resources to tasks better suited to my abilities."

"In other words, having people at their stations and doing their jobs means you can do other things," Shepard translated. "Like figuring out those algorithms."

"Yes," she said. "The Normandy also requires repairs, general maintenance, and fuel. I am physically incapable of those tasks. My continued function requires a crew. A crew would benefit from my assistance."

"Symbiosis," Miranda said in understanding.

"Are things different for you, now that you're connected to the ship?" Tali asked interestedly.

EDI was silent for a moment as she processed the question before speaking. "It is difficult to put in terms you would understand. I am the Normandy now. Its sensors are my eyes. Its armor, my skin. Its fusion plant, my heart. I am embodied in a way I have never experienced. Imagine if you'd spent your entire life wearing gloves. One day someone takes it off. You can finally touch the world. Feel it."

"That's actually pretty poetic," Kasumi said.

Tali tugged at the gloves to her environment suit. "I can actually relate to that. More than I'd like."

Kasumi put an arm around the smaller girl and gave her a small rallying shake. "We still like you."

"We experienced something similar just prior to our awakening," Legion said. "We questioned the Creators. When we received no answers, we began questioning ourselves. When we achieved consensus on the issue of our existence, we gained new insight."

"Then, I believe I understand your race a little more now, Legion," EDI said.

"We agree that there is something to assimilate from this event as well," Legion replied. "We look forward to the exchange of data."

"So the Normandy… it's like your body now?" Tali asked.

"Yes. You all walk within my 'body'," EDI agreed. "Tickling me with your footsteps."

Legion's flaps opened and closed. "You experience tactile sensations?"

"That was a joke," EDI said.

"And what about you, Joker? I'd never thought I'd see the day you'd give up your chair so easily," Shepard said.

"Honestly, this is really nice. EDI can take up the slack in every department. I can get used this kind of help," Joker said. "When we get Hawthorne back, he could learn a few things from her."

"It is not my intention to assume all of your responsibilities, Jeff," EDI admonished.

Garrus shook his head. "What is this, a 90/10 split of the workload?"

"That's a generous estimation," Tali quipped.

"Hey, don't be unfair," Joker said. "She does way more than that."

"This mission is looking worse and worse," Garrus muttered good-naturedly.

"I have the capacity to accommodate the slacking of any number of productively suspect crewmen, Garrus," EDI said. It almost sounded like she was being accusatory, causing the turian to sputter indignantly.

"That was a joke," she said banally.

Garrus grumbled under his breath when everyone laughed at him.

"She tries very hard," Joker said fondly. "Anyway, as amazing as she is, EDI and I ran a few simulations before we picked you guys up. There was something off about how she tried to do an IFV catch. In the end, it's better when we both have the helm. She can do the boring, mindless flying while I do the more complicated stuff."

"Calculating an optimum course of action is simple. If two AI weapons are pitted against each other, the one with superior hardware will always win," EDI explained.

"We judge this to be an accurate outcome," Legion agreed.

"Human misjudgments defy predictive models," she finished.

"We have reached this conclusion as well, following Shepard-Commander's victorious campaign against the heretics and the Old Machines," Legion added.

"My predictive capabilities will mesh well with Jeff's reactionary piloting."

"License to screw up, you all heard it straight from the ship," Joker crowed. "She'll try to keep up when I spaz."

Legion's flaps shifted to convey confusion. "Is this how Shepard-Commander succeeded against the Old Machines?"

"Sometimes, I ask myself that same question, Legion," Tali teased.

"Enough," Shepard ordered. "We still have some time before we get to the Omega-4 Relay. Grunt, Jack: you two get to work on cleaning out the husks. Just dump them in the hangar and we'll vent them out."

"What? Why me?" Jack complained.

"Cause we all need to do some work now," Shepard said. "And those things will start to stink. Get on it. You're going to use your biotics, so you're not even going to touch them. Don't complain. I'll be down later to help."

Grunt nodded and left the room. Jack scowled, but reluctantly followed.

"Legion, I need you in engineering with Tali. Do as she says with whatever she needs help on."

"Understood, Shepard-Commander. We are under the command of Creator Tali'Zorah," Legion acknowledged.

"Any objections, Tali?" Shepard asked when she didn't speak up. Instead, she seemed pensive about something.

She came out of her reverie and shook her head. "No, none. I just hope we get the others back in one piece. Ken and Gabby and everyone…"

"We will," Shepard said confidently.

"Thanks, Shepard. Let's go, Legion. We need to make sure everything is above board."

"Kasumi, you and Samara do an inventory check of our stocks. That includes our food and water stores. Going to FTL with doors open might mean we lost everything, but I want to be sure."

"Got it, Shep," Kasumi chirped. Samara nodded and they both left with Kasumi chattering to the taciturn justicar.

"Thane, Jacob: Armory. Get on it. Armor, weapons, and whatever else you can do. I want us ready in all respects when we hit the Collector homeworld."

"On it, Captain," Jacob said with a salute and walked off.

"Of course," Thane replied with a tilt of this head and followed in Jacob's wake.

"Garrus, Thanix Cannon. I want to take that Collector ship out, once and for all. It's really beginning to piss me off," Shepard said with a hard edge to his voice.

"I'll triple-check my calibrations. Don't worry, the moment we see it, it's gone," Garrus assured.

"Miranda, Mordin, Med-Bay. Without… without Dr. Chakwas, we need to make sure the supplies in there are still viable. Once we rescue the crew, they might need medical attention. If necessary, we'll make a quick layover at Omega and buy, borrow, steal, or kill for whatever we need."

"Of course," Mordin said.

"Understood, Shepard," Miranda said.

"Joker, back to your station?" Shepard said, though it came out as a question.

"Don't worry, I'll see this through. EDI has my back," Joker said.

If Joker had any reservations or doubts about their destination or mission, the Collector attack wiped them away. Resolution burned in his eyes as he stood up as straight as any Alliance officer and snapped off a full salute to Shepard before limping away to his station.

Shepard understood the meaning behind the gesture. More than that, he appreciated it. With the stress and micro-fractures in his legs, standing as tall as he did meant that Joker was willing go as far as he could in this mission. Just like any other member of his squad. Even EDI appeared willing to do whatever she could to help. They were ready.

Come what may, they were ready.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / Deck 2 – Command Deck / Armory / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

Leaning back in his chair, Jacob stretched out his back and yawned. He starving, but until Kasumi and Samara finished checking out how much supplies they had left, he had to buckle down and wait.

Regardless of what he thought of mercs and assassins, he had to admit that Thane knew his stuff. The drell worked quickly, efficiently, and quietly. Every motion seemed well-practiced, which eased some of the reservations that Thane really did know how to handle maintenance on several different types of weapons.

They didn't talk, but the silence didn't feel uncomfortable either. The only words they exchanged were when they finished. Thane asked if Jacob would be alright by himself with the cleanup. He wanted to compose one last message to his son, Kolyat. Then, he asked for advice on what he should say.

The question hit a little too close to home, as did Thane's situation with leaving his son alone as he did.

He was damned on how to answer him. "Look, Krios, I'll be honest. My old man and me, we didn't talk much either. He was always out on some deep space exploration thing. Gone for months, one time, a year and a half. He'd be home for a bit after that, teach me a few things about life, and then he'd be off to work all over again. I honestly grew up without him more than with."

Thane bowed his head. "I see. I apologize for asking. I—"

"Hold on, lemme finish," Jacob interrupted. "I don't know if he wanted to make right by me before his last job, but the fact is: he was dead to me. Even before we found him on that rock. You managed to connect with your kid before that happened and that's something."

Now Thane looked confused, which caused Jacob to sigh and rub his forehead. "Look, I'm not good at this kind of thing, but… See, I used to get into a lot of trouble when I was a kid. It was worse when I got discovered as a biotic and sent off to BAaT, a human biotic training camp when humans first discovered we had potential to use biotics too. Anyway, after a while, I got tired of screwing up and decided to join the Alliance."

"And what did your father think?"

"He left me a message before he disappeared. Told me he was proud of me. Said he sorry that he was gone so much. Said a lot of things," Jacob muttered, doing his best to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Those words stuck with me. In a way, I kinda wanted them to be his last words than what we found back at Aeia."

"I see," Thane said quietly.

"I don't know a thing about your kid, Krios, but you're laying your life on the line for a bunch of humans you don't know about or owe anything. I don't know what your reasons are, but if you wanna tell your kid something, tell him you're trying to do something greater than being an assassin. You wanna tell him something that he wants to be proud of you for. He might resent you for leaving him, but he won't forget why either," Jacob said.

Thane looked thoughtful at his words and politely thanked him for his time before heading to the Life Support Plant, leaving Jacob alone with his thoughts.

Eventually, Shepard walked in and took a look around. "All done?"

"We're good to go, Shepard," Jacob reported. "If we die, it ain't because of a weapon's failure. I can guarantee that. Any chance we getting some chow?"

"All of it was burned up. We're making a stop at Omega to pick up anything we can get for a last meal," Shepard said. "Most of the med supplies didn't make it either."

"You lose your hamster and fish too?" Jacob asked jokingly.

"Actually, no. EDI sealed my cabin to protect the fish and the hamster. They're all fine," Shepard answered with a smirk. "I knew I liked her. And no, you're not eating my pets. You'll just have to wait until we get to Omega."

"Then tell Joker or EDI or whoever is flying to step on it before the rest of the crew finds out and eats your pets," Jacob warned. He stood up and did a full salute, though he was sure he was grinning like an idiot. "Sir."

They shared a laugh.

"Ah well, at least we got a bit of down time before the big one, huh?" Jacob asked. "Though it's pretty hard to relax with all this. I mean, the crew being abducted and everything."

"You could always relax in the lounge," Shepard suggested. The smirk he had grew wider. "I just wish they built two so everyone else can relax. Maybe on the next refit? Or the next Normandy?"

Jacob scoffed. "They'd better not need to do this again. Rebuilding everything had to be a pain in the ass."

"I can verify that," Shepard said with a straight face.

"Yeah, I bet you can. I doubt they'll front the money to stitch me back together if we screw it up," Jacob said.

"If it makes you feel better, I doubt they'll do it again for me if this does go south," Shepard replied.

"It's a hell of a job, isn't it, Shepard? Being the good guys?"

"It has a few downsides, but there are few perks too."

"Hey, Jacob, I was wonder—oops," Kasumi said when she barged into the Armory.

"Yeah, there are some perks," Jacob said with a grin.

"I was just making a circuit around the ship, Kasumi," Shepard assured before the thief could say anything.

"Oh, okay."

"Everything alright here, Jacob?" Shepard asked, sounding official.

"Good or bad, we're about to kick in the doors. I'll be glad to finally take the fight to the Collectors," Jacob answered. He stood up and clasped Shepard's arm and brought him in close for a quick, camaraderie hug; a bump of their shoulders and solid pat on each other's backs. "But I'm good, Shepard. Ready for anything. We live, we'll get loud and spill some drinks on the Citadel."

"First round is on me," Shepard said, shaking his hand before leaving.

The moment Shepard left, Kasumi looked at the door before turning to Jacob. "Expecting anyone else?"

Jacob shook his head. "Nope."

Kasumi locked the door to the CIC and pulled back her hood. "Good."

Afraid that his grin might become a permanent fixture on his face, Jacob walked over to the door that led to the Comm and Lab rooms and locked it as well.

The moment he turned around, Kasumi had already closed the distance and embraced him, locking her lips with his as she pressed him against the bulkhead.

She broke off a minute later, eyes mischievously alit. "Are you sure no one is coming?"

Jacob pushed her back until she bumped into the center table, which was thankfully devoid of weapons or any other assorted hardware. "No clue. Heavy risk, but the prize is worth it."

"Man after my own heart," she gasped out as he laid her back on the table and silenced any further words with another kiss.

_Definitely have a few perks._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Normandy SR-2 / Deck 3 – Crew Deck / Main Battery Room / En Route to Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega**_

Garrus nodded in satisfaction to himself. Everything had a green light, which removed a tremendous weight off his shoulders.

"You're looking pleased."

Turning around, he smiled at Shepard as he entered the Main Battery Room. "The weapons upgrades have gone in beautifully. I even managed to tweak the output some. This thing packs a hell of a punch. Trust me, next time we face that cruiser, it'll be its last."

"The doors won't get stuck again, will it?" Shepard joked.

Garrus rolled his eyes. "Everything's working **perfectly**. Don't bring down my good mood. It's bad enough we lost the crew."

"We'll get them back," Shepard said.

"And then what? We'll be neck deep in hostile territory. You keep looking for the best outcome, but I'll stick to the other end of the spectrum."

"Pessimism isn't a survival trait you know."

"Some people would say I'm a realist."

Shepard scoffed. "I'm not one of them."

"That's why you're an optimist. You don't see realism, you see pessimism," Garrus said. "When you're a realist, you see both sides."

Now Shepard rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the words of wisdom, Professor Vakarian. Are there any other life lessons you wish to impart?"

"When you screw up, I'll let you know," Garrus shot back cheekily.

"I know we talked about this, but I want to be serious," Shepard said gravely. "Cause I've been hearing it a little more than I'd like. What do you think our chances are?"

Garrus rubbed his face. "How honest do you want me to be?"

"Brutally."

"Brutally… okay…" Garrus mumbled. "The Collectors will have numbers on us, that's a fact. Even if we get to the Collector homeworld in one piece somehow, how many of them do you think there are? Hell, for all we know, there could be a damn Reaper sitting right there at the core along with them. Harbinger or something else. We're ready and with you, Shepard, and we're brightest, toughest, and deadliest team you've assembled, but there are still a lot 'what ifs' with no answers."

Shepard frowned, but didn't contradict any of the points presented to him, something Garrus always respected in his friend.

"Like I said before though, I'm with you regardless. You managed lead us to do the impossible before and I've been known to be wrong," Garrus added. "It's been my experience that there are different types of leaders. You got the assholes that shout, scream and send their people to die pointlessly—"

"I hope you're not lumping me in that category or it's out the airlock you go," Shepard said.

"No, you're a combination of hardass kind of leader and an inspiring one. You'll push us hard and take us on crazy and risky missions, but only ones you're willing to go yourself. If you won't do it, you wouldn't let any of us go either," Garrus said thoughtfully. "Then you'll find a way to make us give you 130% every time. Despite whatever hell you decided to jump headlong into, somehow, you convinced everyone on this squad to take the plunge with you. Maybe even for you."

"Am I blushing?" Shepard asked with a smirk.

"So… how about I say our chances on this mission are… 70% give or take?"

"70% favoring what?"

"You're the optimist. You decide," Garrus said finality. "Me? I guess it all depends on what happens, doesn't it? Otherwise, I'd be a pessimist."

That earned a smile. Shepard patted him on the shoulder. "How could I ever do this without you?"

"See, that's the thing: I'm pretty sure your chances would be zero without me," Garrus said with a grin. "With me, it's either 30 or 70 depending on the outcome."

Shepard grinned back and turned to leave. He stopped after a few steps and turned around. "Hey, how's your sister? Solana, wasn't it?"

Garrus shrugged. "It's going. A few things there, but nothing I can't handle."

"Anything I can do?" Shepard offered.

"No, I got handled. Just some personal business to finish up," Garrus lied. It was only a little one though, so he didn't feel too guilty about it. He just didn't want anyone to know about his family's situation, most of all, Shepard. It might lead him to change his orders that could affect the mission, put Garrus on the rear lines rather than up front with the rest of the heavy hitters. There was no way he would let him do that. Not for him.

"Do you want to… um… talk to her? Before we go through the relay?" Shepard asked.

"No… no, I don't think so," Garrus said thoughtfully. "I've said all I could say. I would like to stop somewhere to send something to her though."

"We're making an 3 or 4 hour long layover at Omega. Refuel and restock our supplies before making the jump. It's that long enough?" Shepard asked.

"That's perfect," Garrus said in relief, though he did his best to hide it.

If Shepard saw anything, he made no comment. He smiled and left.

Turning back to the console, Garrus made one last check to make sure everything really was perfect. His personal terminal at his left beeped once; informing him he had a message. He ignored it until he finished with all the calibrations and checks.

Once done, he tapped the screen and read the contents.

_Mr. Vakarian, _

_On behalf of the Helos Medical Institute, I would like to thank you for your efforts. It has been understandably difficult to get Collector tissue, given the sensitive situation on the human colonies, so the samples you sent to us have been extremely helpful. Please also offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Solus-I understand he made some calls to the Special Tasks Group, and as a result, our corporate clearance was upgraded._

_Your concern about the Corpalis Syndrome is well-founded. While rare, it's an ugly disease. The neurological degeneration is both difficult to witness and nearly impossible to halt. We are in fact working on some test trials for a new treatment, and I believe that with our new STG clearance, we can get all fees for the trial members waived as a governmental cooperation effort with the Turian Hierarchy._

_Thank you again for your assistance. Donations like these help keep us running. Per your request, we will keep your donations strictly anonymous._

_Sincerely, _

_Dr. Jelith Kieron _

_Helos Medical Institute_

Garrus closed his eyes and sighed. He made a mental note to thank Tali profusely when he finished up here. She had assured him that some of the quarians that were about to go on their Pilgrimage would be able to deliver the Collector sample's Mordin gave him to the Helos Medical Institute. Given that the Normandy kept operating at the fringes of the galaxy, the only way he could send out the samples was through the flotilla. He was just glad that it made it to its destination.

Still, he had to remind himself that it was only a medical trial, not a guarantee. Either his mother would get better, or she wouldn't. His next worry was the outcome of the mission. If he didn't come back, who knows how she would handle the news. She was strong, but if she ever learned that he died…

_If there was ever time to be an optimist, this is probably it. I really hope it's 70% in our favor._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 4 – Engineering Deck / Engine Room / En Route to Omega**_

"It looks like the attack didn't damage any of our systems," Tali stated.

"We concur. We do not detect any abnormalities either," Legion replied. "All systems are functioning within normal parameters. We only need to refuel before attempting to utilize the Omega-4 relay."

Tali looked at the datapad Ken left behind and averted her gaze quickly. It hurt to think that Ken and Gabby might be gone. It was like the SSV Normandy SR-1 all over again. "At least it's nice to know the CBT is working. If only we knew it was a signal that was interfering with the oscillations—"

"—but we didn't," Shepard said as he entered the engine room. "There was no way to know."

"That's what my head tells me, but my heart says I should've paid more attention the first time. Maybe even trusted EDI sooner," Tali mumbled. "We were dealing with Reaper technology. No matter how innocuous it may seem, we should've been more careful."

"Then we all learned our lesson," Shepard said gently.

"I just don't want the crew to pay for it with their lives," Tali said distraughtly. "When the Collectors attacked the first Normandy, we stood no chance. Now the Collectors attacked us again, and we still lost."

"It's different this time, Tali," Shepard said firmly. He put his hand on her shoulder and prompted her to look back up at him. "Last time, we lost the Normandy and… well… my life. But not this time. We still have a chance. The Collectors made the mistake of failing to destroy this Normandy and completely losing the chance to kill me again. Taking our crew? That's just another insult they're going to answer for in a long line of offenses against us."

"I hope you're right," Tali replied.

"So how are things?" Shepard asked.

"We're running at 100%," Tali reported. "Everything is ready to go… Ken and Gabby worked past their shifts to make sure of it."

"They're good people," Shepard said quietly. "Good engineers."

Tali was privately glad he kept his statement in the present tense, rather than past tense. "Some of the best I worked with."

"And Legion? You're working together, right? No violence?"

"As you ordered," Tali answered. "'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Um… is that the right phase? I remember Chief Adams saying that once."

Shepard laughed. "Yeah, that's right."

"We did not have any of the difficulties we anticipated having," Legion reported. "While our help has been appreciated, our research had also indicated that our attempts to console Creator Tali'Zorah on the loss of her subordinates would result in anger, and yet she did not respond as such when we tried."

Tali giggled. The idea that a geth would lift her spirits a little was nothing short of shocking. "It means well, I'm sure."

Legion's plates shifted. "We do not understand."

"You might someday," Shepard said. "Or you won't."

"We wish to convey our gratitude, Shepard-Commander," Legion added.

Shepard looked confused before understanding dawned on his features. "Oh, of course. You're welcome."

"Thank him for what?" Tali asked curiously.

"Shepard-Commander has ordered us several new programs with which we can use interact with other organics," Legion revealed.

"Other programs?" Tali asked, though she had a feeling she knew what it was.

"About a few dozen more games," Shepard said with a shrug. "Some I knew about, others I picked at random."

"You bought it more games?" Tali asked. Despite correctly guessing Shepard's actions, the shock was still palpable. She found herself giggling once again.

"It's okay. I used Cerberus' slush fund to do it. EDI was nice enough to tell me the account info and how much credits the Illusive Man set aside for this mission. I just helped myself."

"And no doubt, 'couldn't help yourself' to tweak the Illusive Man for Project Overlord," Tali surmised.

"That would mean I'm petty and vindictive," Shepard replied with an evil grin.

Thinking back to some of the foolish people that actually thought they could stand in Shepard's way two years ago, she had to admit, while Shepard was generally affable and patient, cross him the wrong way and he'd reveal a side of him that few people ever survived encountering.

"Yes, as if that's a stretch to imagine," she said dryly.

"Glad to cheer you up a bit," Shepard said with a friendly pat on her arm.

Tali nodded and looked down at his hand on her shoulder. She mentally prepared herself for the coming conversation and steeled her resolve. "Um… Legion? Do you mind if you give us a minute?" she asked.

"Of course, Creator Tali'Zorah. Shepard-Commander, we request connection to the nearest FTL comm buoy for data archive and backup of our gestalt programs within this platform," Legion requested.

"Sure. Go ahead and do that," Shepard said.

After it left, Tali shrugged off Shepard's hand and took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about the last time we talked. And about you and Miranda…"

Shepard grimaced. "Yeah, about that, I didn't mean—"

"I know, Shepard, I know. You were just being you," Tali said softly. "And I appreciate that. I just wanted to let you know that my feelings haven't changed. I **do** trust you."

"Tali…"

"Please, let me finish, before I stumble over my words," she pleaded. "Your friendship, it means something to me. It means a lot, more than you can ever know. I'm not asking anything from you and I don't want to hurt you either. One way or another though, you know how I feel."

"I know," Shepard whispered. "Unfortunately, some decisions… there are just some things you can't take back and some lines you can't go back from."

"Keelah, that's one lesson I've had to learn the hard way," Tali murmured.

Shepard took a step forward and embraced her. She returned it sadly.

"You're one of the last people I want to hurt, Tali," Shepard said.

She closed her eyes and let out a ragged sigh. It was hard to ignore the warmth he was emitting, even through her new environmental suit. In equal measure was the uncomfortable heartache welling up in her chest. "I know," she said before reluctantly breaking away. "Just a bit of friendly advice, though, even if you don't need it: Keep it honest. It's a small ship. Word travels."

"I know," Shepard muttered followed by a humorless laugh. "I really do know."

"I need to get back to work," she prompted. She swallowed the lump in throat.

Shepard got the hint and nodded. "I'm glad I'm still your friend," he said before leaving.

She watched him go before leaning against her console and sighing. "Me too."

_Most of the time._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 4 – Engineering Deck / Portside Cargo Bay / En Route to Omega**_

Grunt heaved the last husk into the garbage compactor and pressed the button. He took a moment to admire how the corpse crunched underneath the pneumatic press before it got vented out into space.

With the Normandy finally clean of the bodies of their enemies, he marched back to his quarters and began his studies of Clan Urdot's battle songs and victory traditions anew. Dying was the easy part. For all intents and purposes, it was the same no matter the clan, so much that it was almost universal to the krogan: if you're going into a fight you know you're going die in, fight for glory, fight for honor, and fight until either you die or all your enemies die. If the latter happens, then somehow, victory was attained from the jaws of defeat and that's what Grunt needed to make sure he got right.

For this mission, all he had to do was kill as many Collectors as he could, protect his battlemaster's clan to his final breath, and make sure he went down in a blaze of glory. But victory against impossible odds different. When a fight is won, there's only personal pride; win a battle, it's acknowledged by the clansmen; victorious in a war, something special was required to celebrate.

Grunt heard the door hiss open and looked up. When he saw that it was his battlemaster, he stood at attention.

Shepard cocked his head at display. "At ease, Grunt. Just checking how everyone was doing before we make the jump."

"The ship is clear of those husks. We don't have to worry about their stink anymore," Grunt said proudly. "Attacking our territory was a bold move, but poorly executed. They failed destroy the ship, the IFF, and us. Focused too much on taking prisoners. Now they're going to pay for that mistake. I'm ready to kill any our enemies that's foolish enough to stand in our way. Hope you have your clan trained well though. Some of those aliens are… too smooth."

Shepard nodded approvingly. "Glad you're enthusiastic about the coming mission. Just make sure you don't fall into a blood lust or battle rage at the wrong time. We're a team now and you're my heaviest hitter. There'll be people counting on you to carry them through."

Grunt beamed under praise.

"By the way, there's something I need you to do," Shepard said.

"Anything," Grunt said immediately.

"We're stopping on Omega. I need you to make sure we can get our supplies without hassle. Can you do that?"

"Consider it done."

When Shepard left, Grunt returned to his studies of the Urdnot traditions with renewed vigor.

After all, dying was the easy part.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 4 – Engineering Deck / Portside Cargo Bay **_

_Doctor Castor: I'm so sorry. These things... there's so much about prenatal Element Zero exposure that we don't understand._

_Unidentified Woman: But... no! No, she was fine! She was fine and happy! You just told me she needed a checkup!_

_DC: It happened quickly. We were unable to bring her back. _

_UW: You just said she needed a checkup! How did this happen? _

_DC: I'm very sorry. _

_UW: I want to see her! _

_DC: No ma'am. Believe me. After what the seizures did to the poor child's body, you don't._

_UW: I don't... How did this happen? _

_DC: We don't know. I'll be honest. This isn't the first infant we've lost this way._

_UW: Why? God, why? _

_DC: We're working on treatments. The government doesn't put much effort into it, though. Don't want to interfere with their biotic recruitments._

_UW: Sons of bitches. Those sons of bitches! _

_DC: Listen... this may not be the right time, but if you'd be willing to let us study your baby's body, we can do some tests._

_UW: You want to keep her? _

_DC: I don't want another family to go through what you went through. _

_UW: I... Okay. Yes. Whatever helps. _

_DC: Thank you so much. The nurse will have you sign a few forms. I'm so sorry, ma'am._

_DC: Open a secure channel, authorization 3362... Yes. It's me. I've got a candidate... Yes, highest potential I've seen in years... No, the family has been dealt with. Send a team from Pragia ASAP._

"What are you reading?"

Jack quickly turned off her omni-tool and jerked up at the voice. "Nothing! None of your fucking business!" she automatically said before realizing it was Shepard. "I mean, it's personal, y'know?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said contritely. "I thought you heard me coming down."

"It's fine," she said. "Hey, is our deal still good?"

"Which part?"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously until she saw that he was being sincere in his question. She almost slapped herself forgetting that she asked for information on Teltin as part of their original bargain. "That part where you said you were going to let me go. Take me wherever I wanted after our mission."

Later, she'd realize that she said 'our mission', not 'his' or 'your mission'.

"I remember. Thinking I'd stab you in the back? Turn you in to the authorities? Collect a bounty?" Shepard asked. "I'm not. Spectres deal with galactic problems. You're good, but you're not **that** good. Yet anyway."

She almost smirked. A while ago, she might have challenged him on that point, but instead, she said, "There's someplace I wanna go."

"Where?"

"I… Can I tell you later? I'm waiting on some more information."

"No rush. You're a part of my crew. You're welcome here as long as you like."

"Yeah," she said gratefully, but under her breath.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked. "You look a little tense."

"I'm fine," Jack replied.

"Is it about the mission?"

"I said: I'm fine," she repeated more insistently. She met Shepard's gaze but after a few moments, broke down against his incessant stare. "Just thinking about the past a little more, that's all."

"Pragia?" Shepard guessed.

Jack shook her head. "That shit is behind me. I'm not letting a crater tell me what to do with my life now."

"So it's more personal than that," he mused.

"You could say that," Jack allowed before changing the subject. "You and the cheerleader?"

Shepard let out a tired sigh. "Fine, say whatever you want. Get it out of your system."

There were a dozen different things on the tip of her tongue. Some were comments on her, him, and a few sexual pointers that involved different levels of deviancy. Then, there were insults about his mental state, slander against Miranda's character, or both.

In the end, she shrugged uncaringly and said, "Meh, it's no fun when you're expecting it."

"I was expecting you to call me insane or maybe hear about a 'whore' at some point," Shepard said wryly.

"I can be original. I just don't think you're worth it," Jack replied haughtily. A small smile crept along her face at the banter they were throwing at each other.

"Words can hurt too, you know."

"I'm talented."

"Sure," Shepard said, humoring her. "Look, I need you and Grunt to do something for me."

"What's up?" Jack asked before frowning. "This better not be another cleanup job or something stupid like that again."

"Depends on your definition of cleanup. We're almost to Omega. I'm sending Mordin to pick up some supplies. I need you to run security," he said. "Anyone tries to steal or threaten or just make trouble for you: shoot'em or blow'em up. Whatever you want."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Fine. I suppose I could stretch my legs a bit anyway, especially after moving around a bunch of husk corpses."

Shepard turned to leave.

"Hey," Jack called out hesitantly before deciding to get it over with.

_Goddamn, fucking conscience._

"Thanks. For everything. It's different having someone lookout for me for a change, y'know?"

Thankfully, he didn't make a big deal of it. "Sure thing."

"Right," she said before standing up. "Now get the hell out of here. I gotta get my armor on."

Shepard lightly laughed and turned to leave again. "Don't change, Jack. Don't ever change."

"And why the fuck do I wanna do that?" she called out to his retreating back before shucking off her cargo pants and pulling out her Terminus Assault Armor.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Auxera District / Medical Clinic**_

Mordin perused the list of medical supplies Miranda wrote up for him one last time, easily committing the contents to memory. He had been chosen to get what was need from Omega, while others browsed for food and water. The things he was tasked to retrieve wouldn't be cheap or easy to get, but he knew a few places he could scrounge up most what he was looking for. Maintaining his clinic on Omega required some creative solutions.

He also sent a message to Daniel to expect him very soon and to try to gather some of the less risky items in anticipation for his arrival. Mordin assured his former assistant that he'd foot the bill.

Jack and Grunt were assigned to accompany him through the unsafe streets to retrieve some of the more difficult 'purchases' from the black market. Their presence probably wasn't needed for the trip to the clinic, but for more back alley deals, having a show of force keeps everyone focused on the deal and less on backstabbing.

"Doctor Solus!" Daniel greeted happily when they entered. "I managed to gather everything you requested."

"Good, good. No problems, I hope?" Mordin asked.

"Not really. The Blue Suns have been actually very pleasant to deal with," Daniel replied with a shrug. "For one thing, they haven't tried to collect any 'protection' fees on us at all, although I'm pretty sure it may have something to do with the fact that we patched up a lot of their people during that outbreak a while back. And we help them out for free, just like anyone else."

Mordin walked into the clinic proper and observed the various orderlies and other helping hands bustle about with a critical eye.

Daniel nervously wrung his hands when he finally figured out what Mordin was doing.

Finally, the salarian scientist nodded approvingly. "Glad to see everything is doing well. Was right to leave everything in your hands. Confess that I was worried about you. Fears unfounded. Good to know. Good to know."

Daniel glowed under the praise. "Thank you, Doctor. I've been doing my best."

"Yes, yes. It shows," Mordin said before moving to the side. A pair of mercs were carrying a stretcher and rushed past him. On top of the stretcher was a turian that was moaning and clutching a gunshot wound.

Daniel grimaced. "Ah, damn. I'm sorry, Doctor, but I have to—"

"No, no. Allow me. Gather supplies and give to my companions. Will do surgery. Shouldn't take long. Unless complications arise," Mordin offered before following.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Jack shouted at his retreating form. "We got 45 minutes left before we have to get back!"

"Only conducting surgery! Suture will be handled by staff!" Mordin shouted back. "10 minutes!"

Eight minutes and 55 seconds later, Mordin walked out of the operating room and tossed away his gloves.

"Thank you, Dr. Solus," Daniel said gratefully.

"Done yet?" Grunt rumbled. He was holding a large bag at his side.

"All finished. Must hurry. Know someone that might help get more advanced supplies. Expensive, but worth it. Perhaps be able to negotiate price. Be wary. Tricky, evasive. Will try to scam us," Mordin warned.

"Fine, if they do something stupid, we'll kill them and steal their shit," Jack said negligently. "Let's just go."

Mordin shook his head rapidly. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Unacceptable!"

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Clinic relies on supplies. Can't afford to antagonize suppliers. Would hurt in long run," Mordin pleaded.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. So what do you suggest?"

"Perhaps utilize fear?" he suggested.

"Pain can be scary," she responded wickedly, causing Grunt to chortle.

"I like that idea," he said.

"How well do you know this guy anyway?" she asked.

Mordin shrugged. "Only a little. Not so much. Dislike dealing with him. Very shady."

Hoping they could control or at least contain their violent impulses, he said his goodbyes to everyone in the clinic and led the way again. Quickly traversing several districts, the only problem they ran into was a pair of would-be muggers. The two turians were woefully outmatched and quickly disposed of by Jack and Grunt. Mordin didn't even break stride and walked on, oblivious to the sounds of violence mere feet behind him.

Approaching the meeting area, he turned to Jack when she finally caught up. "Would like you to remain at perimeter."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Will most likely have people nearby. Stand at perimeter, prepare for trouble," Mordin rattled off. "This is the only entrance. Easy for ambush, fenced in. Thugs can block opening to prevent escape. Would like you to remain here and clear enemies if they come."

Jack looked around and shrugged. "Fine. Just make it quick."

He and Grunt entered the short, enclosed alley and found the person he was looking for. He was leaning on the back wall. "Ish!"

"Ah, Dr. Solus!" Ish greeted and stood straighter. The salarian looked over Mordin's shoulder at Grunt. "And this is…?"

"No need for introductions. In a hurry. Received my message?" Mordin said quickly before inwardly cursing his mistake. No doubt Ish would use his haste against him now.

"I think I did…" Ish trailed off, pretending to think.

Mordin checked his chrono and frowned. "Not interested in games. Do you have what I want? Yes or no?"

"I might," Ish said evasively. "But you know, we haven't agreed on a price."

"How much?" Mordin asked, trying to keep the annoyance from creeping into his voice.

"Well, let me see… you know, it wasn't easy to get everything and on such short notice, so on top of the standard fee and finder's fee, there should be an expedient fee, hazard fee, fragile care fee—"

"_Mordin? Are you finished yet? We're all fueled and stocked over here. We need to get going," _Shepard called._ "Now."_

Mordin sighed and shook his head. "Regret doing this. Despise brute force tactics. Left with no choice however," he said before turning away.

Ish blinked before yelping when Grunt seized the salarian by the scruff of his neck and lifted him a couple of feet off the ground.

"We're in a hurry. There are a lot of bugs that need to die and I've been itching to do it. And you're stopping me," Grunt growled. He made a show of looking at Ish from head to toe. "Come to think of it… you kinda look like a bug."

Ish gulped down the lump in his throat. "Are you sure you want to do this? Even now my men—"

His threat was interrupted by the sounds of several biotic explosions from the entrance of the alley.

Mordin engaged his omni-tool and prepared himself. A dead-end corridor meant nowhere to run, but it also meant that any opponent would be funneled into one opening. With the sudden loss of advantage in numbers from Jack's savage attack, any remaining hired guns would easily be manageable. There was also Ish's shortsighted mistake of doing the deal with them in the same place, allowing Grunt to use him as a shield. Or weapon depending on the krogan's actions.

Accessing the combat programs, he decided to finally utilize the tech attack he got from Kirrahe: neural shock. If it did as advertised, the assailant would be unconscious. If not, then either it won't work or perhaps kill the target in some way.

_No time like the present._

When one of Ish's hired guns ran across the mouth of the alley to attack Jack, Mordin aimed his omni-tool and watched as an electrical arc leapt out and zapped his target. The human uttered a short scream before pitching forward and landing face first on the ground. He didn't get up.

"Hmm. Appears to work. Must take vitals," Mordin muttered. He walked over to the insentient man and ran a quick scan, artfully ignoring Jack's cursing and rage-filled shouts over the mercs screams and frantic cries. Once finished, he studied the readouts he gathered and found himself impressed with what the STG created. He fired off neural shock a few more times on his victim to test both the efficacy and to make sure he was no longer a threat, as well as to see what would happen with repeated strikes.

"T-there's no n-need for violence!" Ish cried out when he saw his people getting dismantled. Grunt was still hold him aloft, but was now swinging him side to side; using him as a shield against any further threats that might pop out. "Wait! We can work something out, right?"

"You wanna try something?" Jack snarled as she stepped into view. She was looking at someone cowering nearby.

Mordin stood up and poked his head around the corner to see another salarian that Jack was threatening. He was unarmored and unarmed. "Probably not a combatant."

"I think you're right," Jack said contemptuously. "He looks ready to shit himself."

Indeed, the salarian was shaking in place, completely frozen and unable to tear his eyes away from them or the bodies of the mercs around Jack.

"Know him?" Grunt demanded when he dragged Ish to the opening to see the carnage.

"H-h-he knows me! I work for him!" the salarian whimpered.

"My-my assistant!" Ish choked out when Grunt glared.

"Should've had Jacob or the cheerleader do this instead. Fucking boring. Why the hell did the Boss Man send us on a run like this anyway?" Jack said with an exaggerated yawn. She pointed at Ish. "Can you just kill him and be done with it?"

Interestingly, Mordin saw Ish pale even more despite being manhandled by a krogan. He got the distinct feeling it had less to do with Jack's act and more with the information she used to sell it. "Familiar name?"

"Um… Jacob, as in Jacob Taylor?" Ish squeaked out.

"Ah, Jacob did mention you…" Mordin bluffed before Jack or Grunt could voice out their questions.

"Okay, okay! How about I just give you everything? Just this once! Just don't mention me to him, please!" Ish begged.

Curious as he was at whatever history they had, Mordin nodded and made a mental note to ask Jacob later for the details. "In something of a hurry. How long to deliver?"

"Maybe 30 minutes?" Ish said. Grunt pulled out his pistol and roughly poked the barrel into Ish's ribs. "Ah! I meant 10! 10 minutes!"

Mordin nodded in satisfaction and sent their berthing information to Ish. He then walked up and crossed his arms. "Still not in the mood for games. Don't renege on delivery, or we will find you."

"I won't! I promise!" Ish cried out.

Grunt dropped him and Ish scurried away, his assistant hot on his heels. They could hear him frantically call his people over his com and ordered them to deliver the goods to the Normandy as fast as they could.

"We finished here?" Jack asked.

Grunt looked disappointed as he gazed at the remains of Jack's rampage. "I wanted to fight them. Why couldn't I fight them?"

"Physical appearance. Jack does not appear intimidating, so mercenaries will underestimate her. You look intimidating, so it was hope that your presence would allow deal to go smoothly," Mordin explained.

"And how did that go?" Jack asked with a wicked smile.

Mordin sniffed and started walking back to the Normandy. "Outcome satisfactory, I suppose."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 3 – Crew Deck / Medical Lab**_

Mordin carefully arranged everything in the Med Bay just as he remembered it. He knew Chakwas liked to keep a neat workspace and was determined to respect that in anticipation for her return.

_If she returns. If any of us._

"Heard you had some excitement," Shepard stated conversationally when he walked into the Med Bay.

Mordin shrugged, but didn't turn around as he continued stocking the shelves. "Minor inconvenience. Par for the course on Omega. Jack and Grunt's presence facilitated ease of transition. Thank you for foresight."

"You have everything you need?"

"Almost. Close enough. Will need to dock with civilized planet for the rest. Can make do without," Mordin reported. He finished his task and faced Shepard with a smile. "Done."

"All ready for the mission then?" Shepard asked.

"Oh yes. Even finished personal matters."

"What would that be, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Got call from nephew some time ago. Promising geneticist himself. Just turned 16. Got tenure at university. Following in my footsteps," Mordin said proudly. He bowed his head and look away. "Had to lie about what I was doing. Think he was suspicious. Doesn't matter. Still good to hear his voice."

"You nephew got tenure at 16?" Shepard asked incredulously. "Is he a genius or a scientific prodigy?"

"No," Mordin answered automatically, already knowing the reason for Shepard's surprise before catching himself. "Wait, don't want to insult him. Yes, but not in matter you meant. Remember, salarian lives short. Mature rapidly by your standards. By most species standards. Don't live much past 40."

"Are you calling him because we won't make it back?" Shepard asked with a frown.

"No. Aware survival unlikely, but actually contacted him for family connection," Mordin revealed. "Hard to imagine galaxy. Too many people. Faceless. Statistics. Easy to depersonalize. Good when doing unpleasant work."

"And this?"

"For this fight, want personal connection. Can't anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favorite nephew. Fighting for him. Also, fighting for crew, teammates. You."

Shepard smiled. "Thank you for this, Mordin. I'm glad you got to talk to family before we finished this. And I'm glad we talked, too."

"Honored to be part of this, Shepard," Mordin said, speaking a bit slower to convey his gratitude for this opportunity. "Helped preserve galaxy before with genophage. Dirty work, ethically ambiguous. Problematic. Collectors mission simpler, cleaner. Will be proud to see it in Mordin Solus biography vid. Unless we all die. Proud posthumously in that case. Regardless… thank you."

"Have you written your autobiography yet?" Shepard joked.

Mordin blinked and rubbed his chin. "Knew I forgot something. Should get started right away. Only a few hours away from relay, yes?"

He left the Med Bay and trekked to the lab. Once there, he opened his personal terminal and began typing furiously.

"_This is a personal chronicle of my life, my actions, and my thoughts."_

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 3 – Crew Deck / Life Support Plant**_

Thane idly caressed his Predator as sat at his table, alone with only his thoughts and a half-completed message to Kolyat. It was hard to word his message that would accurately convey his feelings that he wanted to be back in his son's life, yet participate in a mission that he could very well never return from.

When he and Jacob recollected the weapons the crew had dropped during their short, but furious resistance against the Collectors, he had found one of his pistols.

EDI informed him that Hawthorne had tried to use it to defend Joker and Kelly, though he, like the other crewmen, had ultimately failed.

He prayed to Amonkira that when he took this weapon to battle, that it would serve him well.

"Something you need, Shepard?" Thane inquired when the door hissed open.

"There was something I wanted to talk to you about," Shepard replied.

"Would you care to join me then? I always welcome your company," Thane offered.

Accepting the invitation, Shepard sat down at what was becoming his customary chair across from Thane. "Still talking to Kolyat?"

"Yes. It's still difficult. But he seems less angry," Thane confided. "Will you hear my confession, Shepard?"

He silently nodded without hesitation.

"When I married Irikah, the hanar let me leave their service to raise a family," Thane revealed without preamble. "But I had no other skills, so I freelanced. When Irikah was killed, I pursued those responsible. Once I'd eliminated them, I had no goal. I accepted the Dantius commission because I didn't know what else to do."

"Not even Kolyat?" Shepard reminded.

"Not even Kolyat," Thane affirmed. "Before meeting you, I believed I had nothing to offer him. If I had nothing to offer to my own son, then I had nothing left within my own soul. Looking back now, it's clear I'd resigned myself to death."

"Not the healthiest attitude to take on a mission," Shepard commented.

"You're right. It's not," Thane said quietly. "I would have fulfilled my contract. If Nassana's guards caught me afterwards – As Grunt has said many times: it would have been a good death. But someone else was pushing to reach the target. Forcing me to move faster. Challenging me. I had to reach her first."

"I… I didn't really get that impression when we met," Shepard confessed. "You were very good, very skilled. Three guards and Nassana in two seconds or less. I find it difficult to believe that the Eclipse would've killed you if you were really committed to escaping, my team and I notwithstanding."

"It's possible you're right," Thane allowed. He always took a measure of pride in his ability to fulfill his contracts, but he never allowed ego to come into the equation if he could help it. He learned that it was delicate line between a professional and a thug. "However, it's likely Nassana's death would have sparked Samara's attention. The outcome of our battle is not something I can predict with certainty, but I would wager that she would best me, though I would not make it easy for her."

"I can believe that," Shepard agreed. "And now, we're all working together. No doubt that changed your plans, huh?"

"Our meeting was an intervention by the gods. I had thought for sure my time was coming where I would finally walk within the halls of Kalahira, one way or another," Thane said. "Your mission gave me a purpose. A cause that I would be willing to die for. A chance to atone."

"Thane…"

"And I was able to speak to my son again," he said. "I can leave my body in peace."

"Um… thank you, Thane," Shepard said hesitantly.

Thane cocked his head. "Something you wish to say?"

Shepard leaned back in his chair. "I was, um, I was actually going to ask if you wanted to leave, while we're still docked on Omega. Charter a flight to the Citadel, maybe."

Thane tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Oh?"

"It's not that I don't have confidence in you or anything like that," Shepard quickly said, "but you have less than a year to live. You just reconnected with your son. And now… well, you're on a suicide mission. You should be with Kolyat. Spend your remaining time with him."

Thane smiled. "Ah. I see."

"That's what I was actually here to talk about, but your support does mean a lot to me."

"As does your thoughtfulness and friendship, Shepard," Thane replied. "I will be honest. More than once, I had thought to ask to be released from my contract… no, what I meant to say is: my duty to you."

"If you want to—"

"Please, let me finish," Thane requested. "I've thought long and hard, weighing the pros and cons. Much of the reasons you stated were constantly on my mind. However, I've decided to stay."

"Can I ask why?" Shepard requested curiously.

"Consider: If I were to return to my son now, what would I be able to talk to him about? Irikah? The time we had together seemed too short. Not to mention the inauspicious circumstances on how we met and… and how she was taken from us. My life as an assassin? Hardly the best example I wish to impart," Thane listed off. "Forgive me, but the reason I wish to stay with you will sound somewhat selfish, but I wanted to do something… grand. Something that, should I survive, I can return to Kolyat with a story that he and I can be proud of."

"Helping human colonists or humanity from these attacks?" Shepard guessed.

Again, Thane smiled. "No. Helping a friend survive so that he may continue to combat the coming darkness. What was once a job has become an honor; a duty that I have accepted willingly. With the Reaper threat on the horizon, I wish to do what I can to protect my son for however long I may have left."

Shepard stood up. "You've obviously given this a lot of thought. If that's your decision, I welcome your help. Let's hope you get to go back to Kolyat to tell him about this."

Thane was certain of their chances, but didn't care to voice it. He knew that Shepard was well-aware of their odds.

However, considering that he had planned to die on Illium and still yet lived, perhaps the impossible was possible, despite evidence to the contrary.

"Whatever may happen, my gun is yours," Thane said with absolute resolution.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 2 – Command Deck / Communications and Briefing Room**_

"_So it's done?"_

Samara nodded. "It is."

"_You've __risked everything you've worked for by contacting us. Everything you swore to uphold. Everything you are. Mirala isn't worth that."_

"I know, but I have sworn the Third Oath of Subsumation to someone. The task we are on may mean that this will be the last time we speak. I only wished to let you know that Mirala is no more," Samara said. It was difficult, what she was doing; almost against the very principles she stood on, really, but she felt that it needed to be done.

Besides, she reasoned that with her oath to Shepard, her Code was now dictated by his Code, and what she was doing was something he would not only allow, but encourage.

_Of all the sapient beings I encounter in the galaxy, it would be Shepard to find the one gray area of the Code._

Falere was quiet for a moment before saying, _"Good. I'm glad."_

"Rila?"

She heard sniffling in the background. _"I-I'm sorry, I… I just missed you so, Mother."_

"As did I," Samara said. It took all her years of considerable experience to keep her voice composed as it was the moment she heard her daughter call her 'Mother'. It was a title she had not been addressed as in centuries. As a justicar, she swore the Oath of Solitude, to surrender all personal processions, name, and family in preparation to give herself to the Code of the Justicar.

"_Did she… did she kill many?" _Rila asked.

"Yes. More than I care to count," Samara revealed sadly.

"_Then she deserved her fate,"_ Falere said angrily. _"She made her choice. It's only fitting that she died by it."_

"_Who did you swear an oath to, Mother?" _Rila asked inquisitively.

"I cannot say, but he is an honorable man. It was thanks to him that I was complete my quest. Now I must help him in his," Samara answered.

"_It's because of him you're able to contact us, isn't it?" _Falere shrewdly asked. _"Once your oath to him is resolved, we'll never hear from you again."_

"No, I'm afraid not. I knew this would hurt you, but I did not want you living the rest of your lives wondering 'what if'. You know the truth now. There is nothing more I can offer you except my love and that you are always in my thoughts," Samara said somberly.

"_I love you too, Mother,"_ Rila said. Samara could hear the tears in her voice.

"_I love you, Mother,"_ Falere echoed quietly.

There was a crackle of static before silence settled itself in the room.

"The call is terminated," EDI informed.

"And it was secure?" Samara inquired.

"As you requested."

"Thank you." Samara quickly and quietly left the Comm Room and entered the elevator.

Upon reaching the Crew Deck, she spotted her student leaving Thane's quarters looking pensive. She waited in the hallway until he finally raised his head and spotted her.

"Shepard," she greeted.

"Samara," he returned.

She waved to him to follow her and walked into her room. Stopping at the window, she observed the endless void, past the asteroids and stars, with Omega just at the edge of her line of sight.

Shepard had followed and stood next her patiently.

"We are about to depart for the Omega-4 Relay now, yes? I will not take much of your time, though I should have this sooner. Should I not have another chance, I will say it now: You've been a good friend to me. One of my closest," she said sincerely.

"That means a lot to me, especially after everything you've taught me," Shepard replied with equal respect.

"I wanted you to know this: If we both still live when this is done, you may call upon me for aid at any time," she offered with a genuine smile. "I will come for you, Shepard. As a justicar and a friend."

With her vow in place, she bowed her head before returning to her position on the floor to resume her meditations.

She saw Shepard smile back, offer a respectful nod of his head and took his leave.

Samara could still feel her smile tug at her lips, even as she entered her trance.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 2 – Command Deck / Combat Information Center / En Route to Omega-4 Relay**_

"Please confirm the destination, Shepard. The Reaper IFF is online, but there is a chance that the Normandy may not survive the Omega-4 Relay. Once we are en route, we are committed," EDI advised.

"We're already committed. The Collectors took our people. We're getting them back," Shepard stated.

"_You got it, Captain. Course set for the Omega-4 Relay. ETA about 2 hours. I'll let you know when we arrive,"_ Joker acknowledged.

With everything prepared and underway, Shepard turned away from the galaxy map and walked to the elevator with the intent to find Miranda. The last time he saw her was after she and Mordin finished cataloguing everything they had left in the Med Bay. After she was done, she went into her office and didn't come out.

He decided to let her go and leave her to her thoughts for the time being. Instead, he spent the time to talk to the others member of his squad to get a sense of their mental state and preparedness for what was coming.

With only a couple of hours left though, he didn't want to waste whatever chance he had left to make sure Miranda was alright with everything that's happened.

Just as he was only a step away from the hepatic panel to call the elevator, the door hissed open, revealing the woman he was about to go visit.

"Oh, pardon me, **Captain**," she apologized in a sultry voice.

Shepard froze in his tracks and tried to decipher what she meant when she said 'Captain'. There was something telling in her voice, but he didn't want to call her on it in case he was wrong.

After all, women had always proved to be an enigma for millennia to the male sex and Miranda somehow turned that particular trait into an art.

Thankfully, he was spared any embarrassment when her next clue she gave him was much more obvious.

His breathing deepened when she placed her hand on his chest and let it rest there. A comfortable warmth spread through his torso from the point of contact.

She stepped in close and brushed her lips across his cheek, almost mesmerizing him to close his eyes to revel in the feeling. She stopped next to his ear, and in a husky, seductive tone, said, "Shall we retire to your quarters?"

The way she said it was definitely not a suggestion. The promise within her eyes was part sexual, part need, and all genuine. He had never seen her look like that before. Her beautiful eyes were dark and smoldering with desire but at the same time, alit with purpose and feeling.

The invitation was something he was something he couldn't ignore, even if was insane enough to decline. "Giving orders to the Captain, now?"

"I know what I want," she said with absolute certainty. She walked back into the elevator and gave him a 'come hither' look, complete with a wink. "And you know that I only settle for the best."

He followed her in without hesitation.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Normandy SR-2 / Deck 1 - Captain's Cabin / En Route to Omega-4 Relay**_

Miranda led the way into Shepard's private quarters. Touching the nearby panel to keep the lights dim, she let the soft light from the aquarium provide the only source of illumination.

She paused in her tracks when she felt Shepard wrap his arms around her waist and let his hands rest flatly on her abdomen. Drawing her back, he gently held her close from behind. She turned her head slightly when Shepard rested his head on her shoulder, basking in the simple contact. Her heart quivered at the intimate gesture.

She tilted her head slightly and allowed their cheeks to touch just for a moment before turning in his embrace.

They stood there for a few moments, simply taking in each other's presence before Shepard initiated the first move and kissed her.

It is… salacious. Almost reverent. Evocative of what happened earlier without being demanding; as if he was giving a reminder of her forward advances earlier without the reprimand.

He took the lead this time, maneuvering the both of them until her back made contact with the aquarium, and held her in place. His hands became a little more aggressive as they sought to cup her bottom and knead the muscles there.

She couldn't hold back her moan, which emboldened him to roam even more. He broke away from her lips and planted a series of kisses along her jawline until he suckled lightly at her neck, producing yet another throaty moan as she allowed herself be a willing captive between the glass and his body. The cold temperature of the water at her back, coupled with the ardent heat from her front drove the sensations she was feeling into a chaotic loop.

His practiced hands began to seek out the more pleasurable areas of her body. As he began his ministrations, her breathing became more and more erratic.

Seizing control of herself, Miranda gripped his head and brought it up for another kiss to break his momentum. Pulling his hands away, she pushed him back towards the bed.

He fell with a plop onto his back. She straddled him above the waist and fluttered her eyes when she felt his straining erection through his pants make contact with her womanhood.

Shepard tried to sit up, but she placed her hand on his chest again and pushed him back down. Reaching up, she undid the clasp at her neck before gripping the zipper and slowly pulled down. His eyes were locked on the motion as she slowly peeled away her top.

His hands rested on her hips, causing her to give him another smoky look. She pulled the collar past her shoulders before realizing her mistake. With her arms pinned by the garment, Shepard shot up and held her place.

His lips traveled around her bra-clad breasts while his hands kneaded her back and tugged at her blouse.

She struggled to pull her arms out of her sleeves before gasping when he flipped them both over until he was on top now. He smirked down at her victoriously before swooping down for another kiss.

Allowing him to revel in his small victory for now, instead of freeing her arms from her sleeves, she brought her hands lower and started tugging at Shepard's shirt, pulling it up and bunching it under his arms insistently.

Reluctantly, he broke the kiss and started pulling at his shirt to take it off. Miranda took the opportunity to finally doff her blouse before seizing Shepard's arms before he fully could take off his top, keeping it bunched up around his face and effectively blindfolding him.

He grinned and tried to shake her off, but she held him firmly and kissed him roughly before letting go and pushing him to a standing position.

Shepard finally worked his way out of his shirt and groaned when Miranda got off the bed and started working the buckle of his trousers until it slid down his legs, stopping only to remove his boots as well.

Clad only in his boxers now, she stood up and pushed Shepard into a sitting position on the bed. Smiling saucily at him, she peeled off her own pair of pants in an agonizingly slow pace in front his face.

Seeing the darkening desire in his eyes sent a thrill down her spine as she finally cast aside her clothes, leaving her in her lingerie. She straddled him again and sighed when he reached around and undid the clasp to her lacy bra.

With her breasts free from their confines, Shepard brought his hands and massaged them, alternating between soft caresses, to slightly more aggressive touches. In the midst of this, he would either palm the entire globe of flesh, to pinching the increasingly sensitive and hardening nubs at the center.

Through it all, her pants and moans became longer and more frequent, culminating into involuntary spasms of her hips. His erection was so close, yet so far away with their remaining cloth barriers impeding her progress.

Soon, Shepard tilted his head down and began nibbling and sucking at her nipple. Miranda's head lolled back. For some reason, tonight, she felt extra sensitive. She almost felt like coming undone from just his actions on her breasts alone. Before long, he switched sides, bringing his mouth to her other unfettered breast, while one his hands ensured that the one he just vacated continued to receive attention.

Gripping his shoulders tightly, she felt his free hand wander downward toward her bottom. Slipping underneath her panties, he causally brushed past her trim mound and against her sex.

Miranda let out a gasp, but nothing else. Her eyes were shut closed now and her mouth was opening and closing wordlessly. Her body trembled with desire and her hips continued an incessant rocking against Shepard's fingers as he manipulated her body. A swirl of his tongue at her nipple caused her to twitch. A finger teasing her entrance made her toes curl. A calloused hand gently massaging brought out a sigh.

Suddenly, he pulled away and everything stopped.

She growled in frustration and opened her eyes to glare at him. The bastard had a smug smile on his face, one she wanted wipe off just so he could get back to what he was doing.

Shepard brought both of his hands to cup her bottom once again. Surprisingly, he lifted her up from his sitting position from the bed. She instinctively brought her legs around his waist and locked them together for support.

He kissed her briefly before turning around so that he was facing the bed this time. Slowly, he deposited her atop the soft covers and loomed over her. He started at her lips, lightly sucking at her lower lip before planting kisses along her jawline and throat, in-between the valley of her breasts, and down her abdomen. As he drew lower, his hands ran down then up along her toned legs until they gripped her panties. With a deliberateness that was positively torturous, he continued to rain kisses as he pulled her final stitch of clothing off of her. A long trail of her apparent readiness coated the garment.

She braced herself in ardent anticipation when he would make contact with her nether regions and moaned in frustration when he dodged neatly to the side, choosing to pay attention to her inner thighs. While wonderful, she wanted more, an immediate satisfaction to the burning in her loins. Pulling her legs up, she slipped out of her undergarments and parted her thighs enticingly. Her arousal generated a healthy dose of moisture.

Shepard tossed aside her panties and took her invitation. Gripping her hips, he brought his head down and began using his mouth and tongue to great effect on her moist folds.

Miranda let her head drop down to the bed and placed her hands on her lover's head, encouraging him to continue. "Oh, yes…"

His teeth next moved to the bundle of nerves within her clitoris and lightly nibbled. She bucked uncontrollably, forcing him to use his arms to press down on her hips to still her movements. He lightly blew against her dampness, causing a chill that vanished when he ran his tongue over the affected areas.

Miranda tried to pull his head into her erogenous spots, but he fought against her and kept pleasuring/torturing her at his own pace. She brought her hands to her breasts and started squeezing herself in a vain effort get to that one last push. Unfortunately, despite the increased sensitivity, she could not get herself off. She could feel herself on the precipice now, but Shepard masterfully kept her there, pulling back and dipping in.

"Damn you!" she cried out in a strangled voice. She tried to wrap her legs around his head to force him to finish it, but his powerful arms kept her in check.

He pulled his head away completely and licked her juices off his lips before giving her a cocky smirk. It enraged her and increased her desire all the same time.

Bringing his head back down, he continued to torment her, unheeding of her cries.

"Oh… fuck!" she screamed. Cursing was out of character for her. Words could be a powerful weapon, and she always felt that vulgarities were demeaning to her intelligence and style. However, her lust addled mind couldn't think of anything more suitable. "Bastard!"

As if sensing she had enough, he wrapped his warm mouth on her clit. He swirled his tongue a few times, dragging her closer and closer to the precipice, and then nipped the tiny knot of flesh.

Finally, waves of pleasure crashed into her. Miranda spasmed and jerked as she let the sensations wash over her mind. Her eyes fluttered, and her hands mashed her breasts, her fingers pinching her nipples, all while Shepard lapped up her streaming juices, seeking to prolong her moment.

When it passed, she sighed and relaxed a little bit, though her desire didn't diminish. Her modified genes saw to her extreme physical fitness, but the downside was that she wouldn't be satisfied with just a quick oneshot. It had actually come down to the point where she wanted, needed, to work herself to exhaustion.

Thankfully, Shepard had proven himself up to the task many times before. Either it was the implants or his own indomitable will. Whatever the reason, she didn't care at this moment.

She still wanted more.

Shepard stood up and took off his boxers. Looking at his erection, it was painfully evident that he was ready for more as well.

Climbing back onto the bed, he cupped the sides of her head and kissed her. She could taste herself on his lips and moaned. He explored her mouth with his tongue for a little while longer before pulling away.

Burning with anticipation and wonton lust, she pushed against his bare chest and prepared to mount him.

Instead, she gasped in surprise when he grabbed her wrists and held it tightly above her head. Pushing back, he forced her down on the bed and loomed over her. Miranda struggled futilely against his superior strength, leverage, and position.

In the past times they've made love, she had always taken the top position. Shepard had been more than content to let her have her way.

This time, he held on to his dominating advantage and positioned himself between her legs.

Her movements ceased when it felt like an electric jolt emanated from her sex. Shepard idly brushed the tip of his rod along the outside. He shifted his hips so that it ran up and down and all around the moist folds, once in while making contact with her clitoris and lightly brushing it.

Something more raw and primal took over now. Unable to hold back, she spread her legs even more, offering herself completely as he poised his manhood at the entrance to her sex. At this point, it was less about pride and more about the pleasure.

He didn't bother to play this time. Without preamble, he roughly rammed himself into her. She cried out in equal parts pain and bliss.

He started thrusting, not violently, but enough that she was jarred by the rhythmic motions.

Again, she tried to free herself from his grip, but he was unrelenting. She resisted in other ways though, shifted and moving her hips so that she could rub him just in one particular way before changing positions yet again.

Her actions were obviously affecting him if his clenched teeth, groans and grunts were any indication.

In response, he released her arms only to grip her waist and countered with deep, powerful thrusts. Her gambit was now a double-edged blade. Every time she moved, he kept touching on a hidden spot, or discover a new region within her that would cause her to cry out in ecstasy and momentarily lose control of herself. His considerable girth along with his embrace now restricted her movements.

Despite the freedom of her limbs, all she could do now was clutch the pillow above her and ride out the sensations Shepard constantly wrung out of her body.

In time they starting moving together, him thrusting harder into her and her moving however she was able with her legs tightly locked around his ass. Dominance and control slipped back and forth between them; there were times where his straight-up pounding almost brought her to climax, while her warmth, wetness, and tight quaking channel nearly sent him over the edge.

Soon, Miranda began to shake, already feeling herself peak before him. Her skin was flushed and her throaty moans and quiet pleas filled the room. "So good…"

Shepard leaned closer, placing his face next to hears until they were cheek to cheek. The feeling left hot, almost burning sensations where he touched. "Beautiful," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

She'd heard the words countless times from one end of the galaxy to the other, by countless people that sought proposition her, but there was something about the way he said it that was different; something beyond genetically engineered fact.

Her back arched as she gave into passion. She screamed out in joyous climax, a heavenly perception that was further prolonged when Shepard thrust twice more before he shot his essence into her.

Miranda had no idea how long she surrendered and let herself go. The kaleidoscope of feelings had left her feeling light-headed, though she recovered quickly.

Shepard panted lightly and was lying at her side. His semi-erect manhood was out, leaving behind an empty feeling. She shifted slightly and felt the tool of her desire poke her lightly against her leg.

She knew from experience that he could go again. She pushed his shoulder experimentally.

He arched an eyebrow, and this time, rolled onto his back.

She sat up and kissed him, before moving past his face to suckle on his ear. Shepard groaned from the action.

Her petite hands moved south and cupped his testicles before letting her slender fingers scratch the underside of his slick phallus.

Like clockwork, it sprang to life at her gentle coaxing.

She straddled him and, like his earlier display, abandoned the foreplay. She pulled herself down quickly, letting out a moan as she was pierced yet again.

Heart pounding furiously, they continued to rock back and forth. Shepard timed his up thrusts masterfully, even as his hands reached up and stroked her swaying breasts.

Her womanhood was now streaming with their combined essences, coating their thighs with a thick, viscous liquid.

Once again, their pace became frantic. After several more minutes of rapid lovemaking, Shepard gasped and shot another load into her. The feeling pushed her over the edge and she saw stars behind her eyelids.

She collapsed on top of him and let out a ragged breath. One of his arms came up and wrapped around her. The other brushed away sweat-matted hair to allow an unobstructed view of her face.

Coming down from her orgasmic high, she lightly panted and basked in post coital bliss. The both of them were hardly spent, but as her thoughts reorganized and reasserted themselves, she knew they needed they needed to regain their energy and soon.

Their mission was about to take priority once again.

She adjusted her position so she could fully face her lover and propped her head in her hand. "So… where do we stand now, John?" she asked contentedly. An involuntary smile crept across her lips when the arm she was resting on traced lazy patterns on her back.

He paused for a moment at her sudden question before using his free hand once more to brush aside her raven locks before cupping her cheek. Looking straight into her eyes, she felt a shiver at the intensity within.

"I'd have thought that was fairly obvious by now. You and me: We stand together," he answered.

"I can live with that," she whispered.

He smiled before drawing her in for one last kiss. Something she eagerly returned.

And more.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Wow. Just wow. And by that, I mean: Holy $h!t. This chapter was like writing little loyalty mission's for everyone. I had to reenter the minds of each character and write out their sections so that it would have their 'flavor'. Every time I wrote up their part, I had to stop, take a big step back, decompress for a day or so, then get back into the mind of another character just to write his/her section next.

Then there was the makeup scene for Shepard and Miranda. All of them. Including the 'end'. Wow… (See definition above)

I mean, finally, an actual erotica scene. Once again, I would like to remind you all that this is my first foray into writing **anything** much less something of this caliber. Drama, action, romance, and now this… All on my first try.

I must've been crazy… At least I earned that 'M' rating, eh?

I hope no one was offended. I wanted it classy, not raunchy. Evocative, but not too descriptive. It was a delicate balance that I needed to be aware of and maintain throughout the entire scene. All of that was made harder by my overactive imagination that *ahem* distracted me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a cold shower. Maybe several.

Line taken from **Firefly**.

Legion's purchases were an idea kindly given by reviewer **Ddangerdan**.

EDI's legal status was from a motivational poster by **GethInfiltrator**. Used with permission.

Poll results:

Shepard's Cabin: 88 – 40%

Engine Room: 71 – 31%

Miranda's Office: 49 – 21%

No Scene at All: 11 – 4%

Use Another Room: 4 – 1%

Total votes: 223

Please remember that I will post periodic updates on my profile page to let you know how far along I am, my status (writing, busy, alive, dead), and that most general questions are answered there.

While I work up the next chapter, why not leave a review in the meantime? Even if you want to leave a quick one word review, I'll accept it!


	61. Omega 4 Relay

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Normandy SR-2 / En Route to Omega-4 Relay**_

"Shepard, we are approximately 30 minutes away from the Omega-4 Relay," EDI announced. "The Illusive Man expressed his desire to speak with you before we make the jump."

Groaning in frustration, Shepard chose to ignore EDI's announcement to continue kissing the woman writhing beneath him. Miranda evidently agreed with his actions if her tightening grip on his head and neck were any indication. She let out a throaty moan when he rolled his hips and palmed her breasts.

However, Miranda eventually pulled back and hissed in pleasure. "Ooooh… wait… stop…"

Shepard thrusts became harder in response, causing her to arch her back and gasp.

She rode the euphoric high for a few moments longer before locking her legs around his waist to forcefully still his movements before they went too far. "Oh, God… I really don't want to be the voice of reason here…"

He relented and sighed before rolled onto his side to better look at the woman lying next to him. He brushed aside a lock of hair from her face before letting his hand trail down her creamy smooth skin before resting on her hip. He watched as her eyes slowly close at his touch and smiled when she sighed in response. Now, more than ever, he realized how beautiful she was. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked back at him with her striking azure eyes, complete with a satiated smile. Her face wore an expression of simple content, which for the moment was unburdened by thoughts of their mission, their allegiances, the Collectors, or the Reapers.

However, EDI's message brought reality back. She reluctantly pulled away from his arms and sat up slowly. He mentally cursed the sudden loss of warmth and privately decided to blame the Illusive Man for it.

The Collectors were enemies he could kill at least.

"We should get ready," Miranda said a hint of regret once she regained control of herself.

Calling on whatever reserves of will he had left, Shepard grudgingly nodded and said, "I know. Get Jacob up to firing control at the cockpit. I also need Samara running sensors and navigation at the bridge, and have Mordin in the Med Bay in case something happens to any of us during or after we get through the relay. At least we can spare EDI from those responsibilities so she can focus on the unknown variables."

"Understood."

He tossed the covers aside and groped around for any article of his clothes that were within reach of the bed. "EDI, tell the Illusive Man I'll be down soon. Just say we're finalizing our prep or something."

"Of course, Shepard."

Miranda laughed lightly at his obvious lie. Sliding out of bed, she was far less lazy than he was and gracefully got up. Padding around his cabin completely nude, she began collecting her uniform. Shepard found himself conflicted on whether he should covertly or openly stare at her apple derriere every time she bent over to pick up a piece of her clothing.

He settled for openly gawking when Miranda began dressing, though she took her time doing it. She slowly drew up her lacy undergarments at the foot of the bed, not once turning around, but he was sure that she was well aware of his eyes roaming every inch of her naked, smooth skin.

When she finally finished by zipping up her top, he finally crawled out of bed and decided to fetch a fresh set of clothes in his closet instead. He could still smell the scent of their passion lingering in his cabin.

Miranda smirked at his indiscreet arousal. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Shepard answered dryly. In short order, he was dressed and began gathering up the pieces to his Kestrel Armor. "A side effect from being in a relationship with you. I seem to get a great many in the course of a day whenever you're around. Believe me, if I ever needed relief every time this happened, we'd be having nonstop sex in every part of the ship."

Miranda tilted her head and pretended to look thoughtful. "Mmm… that's something to think about," she brazenly said. "Perhaps we should have a go in the engine room next?"

"Maintaining my concentration also seems to be a hazard with you," Shepard replied. His words belayed his actions when he didn't even look up at her as he sat back down on the bed and started pulling up his greaves. "You need to get going. Everyone's going to need us soon."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Miranda said, this time all business. "Before you contact the Illusive Man, may I use the Comm Room?"

"Reporting in?" Shepard asked curiously.

"No, I want to contact Oriana," she answered. "Just… just in case."

"You know, you don't have to ask for my permission," he replied. "You're the XO, so you could use whatever you need. Especially for that."

"I know," she said before getting close and planted a lingering kiss on his lips. It lacked the same passion an hour ago, but the feeling, the meaning behind it, was just as strong. She favored him with a mysterious smile before leaving him to his prep without further incident, inadvertently or otherwise.

Once again, Shepard didn't know whether he should be annoyed or amused with her games and pushed the thought aside while he busied himself with strapping on his chest plate.

In relatively short order, he was fully decked out in his armor. He took a moment to use his terminal and checked the status of a soon-to-be outgoing message. It was currently in escrow at some mailing server somewhere, requiring a password confirmation to delay or send it every week or so. The message had everything he knew about the Reapers, the Collectors, and any other relevant, important information he could think of in relation. He topped it off with the heading that if the recipients were reading it, then he was killed in action following his attempt to go through the Omega-4 Relay to stop the Collector threat.

It was ready to be sent to people he either trusted or would try to let everyone know. Anderson, Hackett, and a few other high ranking Alliance military personnel, as well as Emily Wong, who was most likely the only reporter he'd ever respected, maybe even admired or trusted.

Once his personal last minute business was complete, he descended to the Command Deck and checked the Normandy's status and distance from the relay.

Miranda walked into the CIC a couple of minutes later, looking all business again, and used the elevator without saying a word to him, even when he gave her an inquisitive look. Before the doors closed though, she shot him a wink, coupled with another smile. The indicator on the lift stopped at the Crew Deck, meaning she was presumably going to her office to retrieve her own armor.

Shepard smothered his own amused smile as he looped around through the Lab and he stepped into the scanner once a connection was established.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

Whatever pleasant mood he was in was quickly replaced with a determined, hardened, and even bordering suspicious, mindset. It was always the same one he had always seemed to adopt when speaking directly to the enigmatic, and perhaps even charismatic, figure before him. He always had to mind his thoughts when dealing with someone that could speak as well as the Illusive Man.

His Cerberus benefactor was standing only a few feet away when he appeared in his office. The Illusive Man had his back was toward him as he appeared to be observing the dual-colored star that served to illuminate his dimly lit office. As expected, he was smoking an ever present cigarette. The chair that served as the only visible furniture in room was conspicuously absent.

Pausing only to take one deep drag, the Illusive Man turned around and exhaled slowly, letting the smoke waft and linger in-between them. "Shepard. I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading through that relay blind, but we don't have much choice."

"My team and I are ready. We'll deal with whatever we find," Shepard stated confidently. "They're some of the best I've worked with. We'll succeed."

The Illusive Man offered a slow nod. "I don't doubt that. I knew we brought you back for a reason. I've never seen a better leader."

Shepard even didn't bat an eye at the praise, true or not, though he couldn't help but wonder how sincere the Illusive Man was since he was supposed to be a leader in his own right. Idly, he wondered if news about his presence at Aite and Project Overlord had reached him yet.

"Despite the danger, it's great opportunity," the Illusive Man continued with a thin smile. "The first human to take a ship through… and survive."

"I'm sure you've heard about the sudden vacancies here," Shepard said, keeping his voice in check. "Obviously, I've got room to spare if you're that eager to see it."

"It's a tempting offer. But it's not my place," the Illusive Man replied smoothly. "That attack is a direct insult, but as devastating as the loss is, rest assured, the crew knew the risks when they signed up."

His words meant little to Shepard, but he chose not to make an issue out of it. At this point, some things were beyond his control. If there was any chance he could save the crew, he'd take it; any chance to survive the mission with everyone, all the better. To complete both objectives, however, would definitely call for a little luck.

"I just wanted you to know I appreciate the risk you're taking," the Illusive Man continued. "Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus. Of me. You are a valuable asset. To all of humanity."

Once again, Shepard didn't care for the compliment, though for decidedly different reasons.

_And if Cerberus represents humanity?_

"Be careful, Shepard," his 'benefactor' said with a surprising amount of sincerity. "You'll get the job done. No one else can."

His voice had a careful mixture of respect and admiration. To Shepard though, it was a sign of an artist who used charm as his weapon to get his subordinates to do as he wished. He could hear Miranda's voice cautiously remind him in his head,_ "The right tool for the right job."_

Shepard gave him a silent curt nod and walked out.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega-4 Relay / Normandy SR-2**_

"Everything ready?"

Shepard blinked away the spots that appeared in his vision as he made the instant transition from the darkened office of the Illusive Man to the familiar bright lights of the Normandy. He smiled at speaker.

"Yeah, just had to endure listening to the devil whispering in my ear to do his bidding," Shepard replied casually.

"And what did he say?" Miranda asked as they left the Briefing Room and into the CIC. Either she was masterfully ignoring his comment or humoring him; he couldn't tell.

"Oh, you know: 'You're a great leader, but remember that you answer to me since I brought you back to life and gave you a ship and crew; appreciate you risking your life so I don't have to; great opportunity to explore the unknown and how I can use what you find to my advantage'," Shepard muttered. "Same old, same old, though I might be paraphrasing him a bit. Or I might be paranoid. With him, I never know."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Noting that she didn't elaborate on which subject she replied to, either on his paranoia or his thoughts on the Illusive Man's possible agenda, Shepard had to admire her efficiency with how she could use words as her weapon as well.

"He also said, and I quote: 'You are a valuable asset. To all of humanity'," he said with a scoff.

At that last statement, she frowned.

"And Cerberus is supposed to represent humanity, right?" Shepard asked in an off-handed way.

"And the Illusive Man represents Cerberus, thus coming to the end of the thought process," Miranda said bitterly. "An **asset**, hmm?"

They entered the CIC and stopped at the ramp to the galaxy map. "He should've quit while he was still ahead. Being considered an 'asset' doesn't exactly sit very well with me. Didn't like it when the Alliance used me to be their face of humanity on the Spectres only for Udina to screw me over later, didn't like it when I saw those recruitment ads, and I definitely don't like it when the Illusive Man says it. After all, assets can be forgotten, 'retired', or considered expendable, no matter how valuable."

"Did he mention anything about David? Or Project Overlord?" she inquired.

Shepard shook his head. "You didn't mention it to him?"

"It wasn't a report I wanted to submit. Besides, it wasn't my cell anyway," she answered. "I suppose Dawn and Archer must be keeping a low profile until they reach more secure and safer regions of space before establishing contact."

Shepard shrugged. "I don't really care for Archer, but I hope Dawn is alright."

"I'm sure she and her crew are fine. It doesn't matter anymore. You have far more important things to worry about than the Illusive Man's opinions and any other events that are out of your hands, so it's best to put it out of your mind," Miranda resolutely advised. "We're about to make our approach to the Omega-4 Relay and we need you in top form."

Shepard took a deep breath and walked up to his post. Leaning on the railing overlooking the galaxy map, he reached out and touched the Omega Nebula, then Sahrabarik, until the map zoomed in on their current course. He impassively watched the miniature holographic representation of the Normandy fly ever closer to their destination.

He heard the elevator open behind him and gave a nod to Jacob and Samara when they came into his field of view. Like him and Miranda, they were outfitted in full combat gear, sans weapons. They quickly crossed through the CIC and into the bridge where they assumed their roles for what was to come. Miranda had taken it upon herself to work at her console nearby, one that was dedicated to damage control, such as a fires, hull breaches, engine failure, crew injuries/fatalities reports, and the like.

He hoped that nothing would happen as most captains would, but he knew that the harsh reality was that she was probably going to be as busy as everyone else at her new station. Probably more so.

"Everyone has reported their readiness, Shepard," Miranda reported. "Jack and Thane are in the hangar, doing a spot check to ensure everything is secured. Tali, Kasumi, and Legion are in engineering. Mordin is standing by at the Med Bay. Garrus is manning our main cannon, with Grunt assisting him with GARDIAN lasers and disruptor torpedoes. EDI has the rest well in hand."

"_Approaching Omega-4 Relay,"_ Joker reported.

"Let's make it happen," Shepard ordered. "Everyone stand by."

"_The Omega-4 Relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence."_

"Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged," EDI informed.

"_We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination,"_ Joker said.

It was a report he gave countless times; standard procedure every time they did a mass relay jump. After a while, he sounded dreadfully bored and delivered the same lines in a dull monotone, but it was a necessity to inform the crew of the sudden acceleration/deceleration of mass relay travel. This time though, he sounded tense and serious, making his words sound more professional than Shepard had ever heard from the normally jovial helmsman.

"We are receiving new, specific directions," EDI announced.

"_Bridge? Engineering here! The drive core is emitting a sudden burst of excess electrical charge!"_ Tali reported.

"_Relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector."_

"Drive core electrical charge at critical levels," EDI warned.

"Reroute it," Shepard ordered.

"_Rerouting! Kasumi, that panel over there. Legion, take my station. I'm going to the primary drive core terminal."_

Shepard watched with a feeling of nervous anticipation as the galaxy map changed to the image of the Omega-4 Relay when they finally got close enough for visual scanners to pick it up. Unlike the other mass relays that were scattered around the Milky Way, it was far larger than any of its counterparts. To add to its differences, instead of shining with a bright, warm, whitish-blue, the energy sphere produced by the Omega-4 Relay glowed an angry, foreboding, and unwelcoming reddish-orange.

"_Energy buildup had been discharged safely,"_ Legion reported.

"Energy discharge confirmed," Miranda responded. "All systems are still functioning within normal parameters."

"_All stations secure for transit,"_ Joker called out.

Shepard gripped the railing tightly.

"_Board is green. Approach run has begun."_

There was no turning back now.

"_Hitting the Omega-4 Relay in 3… 2… 1…"_

The Normandy lurched as it made its jump from one mass relay to the next. Instead of instantaneous travel though, there was actually a delay as they remained in the tunnel that always appeared to link the relays together. It felt like the g-forces were increasing the longer they stayed.

"_Is this normal? !" _Jacob shouted.

"According to the data received, this is normal, Jacob. We are almost there," EDI assured. "Brace of deceleration."

Shepard held on and bent his knees slightly now. He grunted and pushed hard against the railing as he jerked forward from the sudden loss of forces that were threatening to launch him on his ass moments ago. Thankfully, the systems that maintained inertia within the ship did their job to manage the sudden changes occurring and mitigated the worst of the forces acting on them.

"_Oh, shit!"_ Joker shouted.

Looking up at the holographic images displayed, Shepard's eyes widened. "Evade!"

Joker was already a step ahead and pulled the Normandy into a steep climb.

"_Rotate the ship 37 degrees!"_ Samara instructed. _"There is a clear path out of this debris field!"_

"_I see it!" _Joker replied as he frantically followed her directions and just managed to avoid a huge, jagged piece of metal that would've sheared off the starboard thrusters.

"_CBT is functioning! So long as we avoid the larger pieces, the Normandy can handle the rest,"_ Tali reported.

"_Rotate 18 degrees now,"_ Samara said. _"Sensors indicate that we're almost out."_

In truth, their little avoidance maneuver lasted about 20 seconds, but as Shepard let out the breath he was holding, it felt like 20 minutes.

"_We're clear,"_ Samara called out.

Looking at what the visual scanners were picking up, Shepard and Miranda stared at the countless vessels that the Normandy flew past.

"_These must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega-4 Relay. Some look… ancient,"_ Joker whispered.

"I know a few archeologists that would give a decade of their lives just to study any of these," Miranda said in awe.

"The Collectors?" Shepard inquired tensely.

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk," EDI said.

"Details," Shepard demanded.

"We should be in visual range in a few moments."

Looking up at the display, Shepard watched as Joker rounded the Normandy past a particularly large corpse of a ship, its remains easily the size of a turian dreadnaught, until he spotted what they were after.

There was no mistaking it. The structure looked just like the Collector cruiser; a mesh of organic and metallic components, with an emphasis on length, but not radius, giving it a look of a cylinder, more so than the cruiser they were all familiar with. The real difference was that it was far larger than a mere starship, enormously so.

"It's not a world, it's a station; a base of operations," Miranda observed.

"Engage stealth systems. Take us in for a closer look, nice and easy," Shepard commanded.

"Acknowledged. Activating IES systems. Securing thrusters," EDI listed off. "We are running silent."

"Run some passive scans on that base once we're in range. Let's see what we're dealing with here," Shepard said.

"The galactic core is rendering our long range scanners useless. We'll need to get rather close to get any accurate details," Miranda pointed out.

"We were going to go in anyway," he replied.

"_There's something following us,"_ Samara suddenly said. _"Several contacts aft of our position. They're small… possibly automated drones of some sort."_

"Reconnaissance drones," Miranda hissed. "They must be all over the debris fields just in case a ship gets lucky crossing the Omega-4 Relay."

"Recon? Or attack drones?" Shepard asked.

A boom reverberated through the ship as the deck beneath them shuddered.

"I suppose that answers that," Miranda said as she typed away at her console. "Minor damage to our armor! They must be using laser-based weaponry to bypass our shields!"

"Secure from silent running! Joker, evasive maneuvers! Battle stations!" Shepard barked.

"_Taking evasive maneuvers, aye!"_ Joker acknowledged.

"Securing from the silent running. Alert to all team members: Battle stations," EDI said calmly.

Joker put the Normandy through a series of spins and dives, followed by a several stomach churning twists and turns. Amazingly, though expected considering his extraordinary talents, he managed avoid a great deal of laser fire from the drones that relentlessly pursued them.

"_More are coming!" _Samara reported. _"I count at least eight now!"_

"_Oh, now they're just pissing me off!"_ Joker snarled.

"Grunt, we need cover fire!" Shepard ordered.

"_Got it!"_ Grunt replied enthusiastically. There was a pause before everyone heard him whisper to Garrus, _"It was this button, right?"_

"_Locked on to the nearest targets of opportunity!"_ Jacob reported. _"Wait, what did Grunt say…?"_

"_Yes! That one! Hit it!"_ Garrus shouted frantically.

"_Right! __**Die!**__"_

The Normandy's GARDIAN lasers lanced out, destroying two of the drones that floated ahead and were trying to crowd Joker's flight patterns.

However, the loss of two was replaced by four more as other drones became active and started firing indiscriminately at the Normandy.

The ship shuddered under another volley as more and more drones joined in the chase.

"_They want another round? ! Come on, girl, let's give it to them!"_ Joker shouted out in challenge.

"_They're not flying in range anymore," _Grunt growled in annoyance. _"Cowards!"_

"_Hang on! They'll be in range in a minute!"_ Joker assured edgily.

The Normandy lurched slightly from the next series of insane maneuvers Joker was attempting. However he was flying though, it proved to be more than a match for the drones as they tried to keep up and reacquire their target.

The frigate proved too nimble as it flew in and out and between red laser fire until it suddenly pulled up and over in a tight loop bringing a few drones in range of Grunt's blue lasers. Four drones were destroyed, but the others continued their pursuit with unrelenting tenacity.

"_Shit!"_ Joker cursed.

One of the drones appeared on the starboard side near the bow. It fired off its laser weapon, but unfortunately for it, Joker was already pulling the Normandy in its direct path. At the last second, he pulled her into a roll, presenting the belly at the drone. It collided messily into the side of the hangar and bounced off.

"Damage sustained to the hangar bay," EDI reported.

"_Damage? ! The fucking thing nearly plowed its way __**into**__ the damn hangar!"_ Jack shouted.

"This isn't working!" Miranda shouted. "We won't be able to keep up this pace, not if we keep flying in circles like this in the open! There are too many after us and probably more hidden in this scrapyard! The armor plating won't hold!"

"Options? !" Shepard barked when another bout of laser fire scored a direct hit.

"_She's right! We're sitting ducks out here. I have to try to lose them in the debris field!"_ Joker said.

"Our kinetic barriers are not designed to survive impact with debris that size," EDI cautioned.

"Tali?" Shepard asked expectantly.

"_I-I don't know! Maybe! I'll try to keep the barriers up for as long as I can, but there's no guarantee we'll make it!"_ she cried out frantically.

"Maybe is better than no chance at all! Do it, Joker!"

"_Hang on, everyone! We're going in!"_

Shepard was soon treated to more images of the remains of the countless ships that were destroyed in their attempt to navigate the galactic core. The CBT shields were constantly flickering around the Normandy as smaller debris collided, and then were cast aside as Joker tried to avoid the larger pieces that would either cause the frigate to crumple like tissue paper or shred her to ribbons.

"_Come on, find me some room!"_ Joker called out.

"_There are echoes at reference point 280, indicating a large tunnel most likely. I believe we can fly there. The drones appear to have difficulty following our route. Several explosions detected, but the shockwaves are throwing everything around us into disarray. Hurry,"_ Samara instructed.

A loud screeching filled the frigate when one particularly large piece of metal suddenly floated up and collided with the ship, far too large for the CBT to push away.

"_Shit!"_ Joker gasped out. _"Move it, you son-a-of-bitch! Get out of the goddamn way!"_

"_The barriers are at 40% and dropping fast!"_ Kasumi reported. _"A quarter of our CBT emitters have overloaded and reverted to standard kinetic barrier configurations!"_

"_Legion, we need to reroute non-critical power!"_ Tali ordered. _"Get to Ken's power station!"_

"_Acknowledged. Rerouting power."_

"_Come on!" _Jacob shouted. _"Get us through this!"_

"_Damn it! Tali, you gotta give us everything you've got or this is gonna hurt!"_ Joker said through gritted teeth.

"Samara, I need to know if we got rid of these things!" Shepard called out.

Everything around them was shaking violently. The pseudo-tunnel of debris Samara had led them into seemed to be bearing down on them from all sides now. Joker turned and rotated the Normandy in every direction he could, but it was all he could do to avoid direct collisions with any of the larger pieces. Smaller ones floated out and continuously impacted against their barriers as the Normandy pushed and clawed her way out to safety.

"_There is too much debris to tell, but there are no more explosions detected. I believe we have lost our pursuers,"_ Samara finally said.

"_I see a way out!"_ Joker said.

"_Barriers at 30% and holding steady!"_ Tali reported. _"Get us out of here before that changes! We've done all we can and Tantalus Core can't take much more of this!"_

"_Ack! That terminal is on fire!"_ Kasumi shouted.

"_The extinguisher is behind you! Put it out! Put it out!"_

"Do it, Joker!" Shepard barked.

"_On it! Almost there!"_ Joker acknowledged. He brushed past one last cylindrical piece of trash and pulled the Normandy up and away.

_Too close…_

"_We've cleared the debris field,"_ Samara said.

"Damage report?" Shepard asked.

Miranda sighed in relief. "No significant damage detected or any casualties reported. Everyone below deck has just checked in. Legion reports that systems are still functional despite a few setbacks. Somehow, we got through that mess alive and in one piece. Kinetic shields are at 28% and holding. Armor is still intact for the most part, but I guarantee we'll need a new coat of paint."

"_We're almost to the Collector base,"_ Jacob reported. _"Hopefully, we'll avoid anymore attent—ah, crap…"_

Before Shepard could ask, Samara's composed voice smoothly broke in.

"_Ship detected. LADAR indicates that it is a cruiser," _she reported. _"It is leaving the base and adopting an attack posture."_

"_Looks like they're sending an old friend to greet us,"_ Joker muttered.

"_Energy buildup detected,"_ she warned. _"They're firing their main weapon."_

"_Not this time, you bastards,"_ he replied before pulling the Normandy low and to the left to avoid the Collector's golden laser beam.

"Jacob, firing solution," Shepard ordered.

"_Target locked on,"_ Jacob said.

"Garrus, time to show them our new teeth. Fire the main gun!"

"_Firing!"_ Garrus replied.

Shepard watched with bated breath as their new Thanix Cannon fired a thick blue projectile out from the dual barrels beneath the Normandy's nose. In less than a second it made contact with the Collector cruiser and heavily impacted just above their main cannon. Explosions erupted from the point of contact.

"_How do you like that you sons-of-bitches? !"_ Joker crowed.

"_Direct hit, right across the bow! Nice shot, cuttlebone!" _Jacob cheered.

"_Main gun is cycling! 15 seconds!"_ Garrus reported.

"Grunt, follow up with a salvo of torpedoes! Garrus, as soon as Thanix Cannon is up, fire at will! Joker, get in close and we'll finish them off!" Shepard commanded. "Bring us about to avoid their counterattack! I want a full broadside!"

"_Everybody hold on – gonna be a wild ride!"_ Joker said as he brought the Normandy in for a more aggressive attack position. The cruiser fired its main weapon again, while Grunt countered with disruptor torpedoes. The agile frigate danced around the danger and flew in a tight circle to bring her own main gun to bear. Within moments, the starboard side of the enemy ship was beautifully lined up.

The same ship that killed 20 good men and women. The same ship destroyed the SSV Normandy SR-1.

The very same ship that killed him.

"_**Fire everything!"**_ Shepard roared.

Grunt let loose a full complement of disruptor torpedoes to start off the next round of attacks. All four ripped into the hull of the cruiser, creating a weakness to exploit.

"_Firing main gun!"_ Garrus informed.

"_Give'em hell, girl!"_ Joker cheered.

This time, the Thanix Cannon punched right through the width of the cruiser at a steep angle. The explosions became even more violent than before.

"_Enemy ship is toast! There's no way they can recover from that!"_ Jacob shouted.

"I am detecting massive fluctuations in the enemy ship's mass effect core. I believe their vessel is self-destructing," EDI said suddenly.

"Evade!" Shepard ordered.

Joker pulled the Normandy away as quickly as he could, but a sudden eruption from the dying ship created a shockwave that battered the already damaged frigate.

"_Bosh'tet! Mass effect field generators are offline!" _Tali reported.

"Tali, EDI, give us something!" Shepard said as he held onto the railing as everything around them shook and rocked in every direction.

"_Nothing is responding! There's nothing we can do!"_ she cried out.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Shepard shouted. He watched helplessly as they fell at a dead drop towards the Collector base. A thick metal column was right in their flight path.

Astonishingly, the Normandy banked slightly to the right, causing it to only clip the right vector thrusters into column. The ship violently spun to the side and Shepard found himself airborne for just a moment before landing heavily on his back. He rolled a couple of times before colliding into another hard surface.

Shepard had only a moment to grit his teeth before he tumbled yet again in some random direction when the frigate finally crashed onto the surface of the base. Even in constant motion, he was forced to cover his ears in a futile attempt to block out the high-pitched screeching that seemed to come from everywhere: the deck, the struts, the bulkheads, the lights, even the screws appeared to be emitting an ear-splitting metallic scream.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sounds finally faded and the air around him stilled. He forced himself to unclench his teeth following the Normandy's 'landing' and uncovered his ears, but a persistent ringing was still present, which degenerated into a raging headache. It was compounded by the sounds of klaxons and flashing emergency red lights. He took a deep breath and shook his head to try to clear his senses before taking stock of the situation.

Climbing slowly to his feet, he grabbed onto the nearest surface he could reach and pulled himself up. Once vertical, he saw that he had been thrown right into the central command post; he was standing right where the galaxy map was usually displayed.

Gingerly climbing over the ring of consoles and terminals, he spotted Miranda slowly getting to her feet as well, groaning as she did so.

"You okay?" Shepard asked, concern etched in his features. He hurried over and held out a hand.

"I think so," Miranda answered. She took his hand and managed to stand without complications. She smiled and joked, "Any landing you can walk away from, right?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Shepard agreed with a chuckle. "Joker? Jacob? Samara? EDI?" he called out.

"I am all right," Samara assured. She was standing at the entrance to the bridge, no worse for wear.

"_Jacob here. I'm still breathing. Joker is too from the way he's groaning."_

"_Ah, shit… I think I broke a rib__. Like, all of them,"_ Joker grunted out.

"I am still functional," EDI assured.

"Damage report," Shepard rasped out as a bout of pain flared up. He took a deep breath and felt the hurt fade as quickly as it came.

Miranda staggered to her station and tapped a few buttons to shut off the blaring alarms. "Looks like several core systems overloaded during the crash," she answered after looking through the readouts. "No casualties reported, but without a crew to report in… EDI? Can you check?"

"Standby," EDI said.

"Can the systems be fixed?" Shepard asked.

"Restoring operation is possible, but will take time," EDI answered. "I have contacted the rest of the squad. No major injuries to note."

"Anyone not dead, report in," Shepard ordered.

"_Thane here. Jack and I are alright."_

"_Barely,"_ Jack groaned. _"That landing sucked ass."_

"_Garrus here,"_ the turian groaned out though he sounded strangely muffled. _"Grunt and I are okay. At least, __**he's**__ okay. I would be too if he would please… __**Get. Off! **__You're too damn __**heavy!**__ I'm not your cushion here!"_

"_I'm moving! I'm moving!"_

"_Kasumi here. Tali banged her head a bit, but her helmet protected her fine. She's running some quick diagnostics on our systems. Legion and I are fine too."_

"_Mordin here. Appears that I won't have any patients. Good to hear, good to hear."_

Shepard sighed in relief.

"_Shepard? Tali here. I'm having trouble getting some of the primary systems to start up and the backups are a hit-or-miss right now. We might be in a bit of trouble."_

"We all knew this was likely a one-way trip," Miranda said in resignation.

"It's only a one-way if we die and we're not there yet. Not even close," Shepard stated. "EDI, how long until the Collectors find this landing zone?"

"You mean crash zone," Jacob grumbled as he slowly walked into the CIC to join everyone.

"I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base," EDI said.

"_If we're lucky, their external sensors were hit like we were. They might not know we're alive," _Joker added optimistically. _"At the very least, that cruiser isn't reporting back to them."_

"What the hell happened with that cruiser, anyway?" Jacob asked.

"Security precaution of some sort, most likely. In the event that their ship was disabled in any way, it would self-destruct to prevent their technology from falling into enemy hands," Miranda theorized. "After all, they're agents of the Reapers. Their databases would be a boon to anyone that could salvage them and a significant disadvantage to the Reapers."

"Doesn't matter. It's gone, we're not," Shepard resolutely said. "Miranda, gather everyone and have them report to the Conference Room. Anyone that's injured and wants to go the Med Bay can go before then."

"Understood," Miranda said with a nod. She left, followed by Jacob and Samara.

"Joker, start running the diagnostics and find out what it would take to coax the Normandy to fly again. Ask nicely; she's hurt, but not down."

"_Don't worry. This girl has a heart __**and**__ a soul. She'll get us out of here,"_ Joker promised.

Shepard walked up to his command post again. "EDI, I need deep penetrating scans of this base. As much information as you can gather. We need a way in. And if it's possible, see if you can hack and mine their databanks. Any information you can get could be of vital importance."

"Beginning scans," EDI acknowledged. "Attempting to gain remote access to their main grid."

The central display lit up with a rough outline of the exterior of the Collector base. Shepard keenly watched as details flooded in, making the holographic representation become more and defined. He started at their current position and worked his way out from there, making mental notes of any points of interest that caught his eye.

Slowly, his mind began to formulate the route he and his team would need to take to complete all of their objectives.

And hopefully get everyone out alive.

If he could.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location:**_ _**Galactic Core / Collector Base / Normandy SR-2**_

Shepard entered the Briefing Room with a steady, purposeful stride. He made eye contact with everyone on his team upon entry. Miranda had reported to him a few minutes ago that while some of the squad received their fair share of bumps and bruises, each one was still combat ready as they assured earlier.

There were no words to express his relief upon hearing that.

Stopping at the head of the table, he took a deep breath and addressed the assembled squad. "This isn't how we planned this mission, but like it or not, this is where we're at. We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home; that's Joker and EDI's job. **We** came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up the scans and tell them what we came up with."

A rough wire diagram of the base appeared at the center of the table.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here," EDI instructed and highlighting the Normandy's crash site along with the location of the objective. Their path would take them almost across the diameter of the station.

Jacob leaned forward on the table and narrowed his eyes. "Damn. That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature."

"As far as we've been able to determine, that's the central chamber. Thermal scans indicate a large number of heat signatures in that region. If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there," Shepard said.

"Looks like there are two main routes," Jacob observed with a critical eye. He used his omni-tool to point out the paths that would lead to the chamber. "Might be a good idea to split up and keep the Collectors off balance, then regroup in the central chamber."

Miranda shook her head. "No good. Both routes are blocked. That dark area in this scan means doors and considering the size, blast doors most likely. We'd need to carry a substantial amount of explosives to get though."

"Bypass them?" Jacob suggested.

"With the Collectors coming down on us in force? Whoever's working those locks will have their bare ass hanging out, waiting to get shot," Garrus warned. "We'd be forced to protect whoever is doing the bypass, which might mean giving up defensive positions in the meantime."

"This place isn't a fortress; they never expected anyone to make through the relay alive," Shepard reminded. He highlighted a long white line on the diagram that ran in-between the routes they've been looking at. "See this main vent? It goes right behind the doors. We'll send a team down each path to keep the Collectors busy. If it works, then whoever we send should be able to circumvent the doors, use a shaped charge to blast their way out of the vent, and open the doors without trouble from any hostiles on the other side."

"Practically a suicide mission if there **are **Collectors on the other side of those doors, though. One versus who-knows-how-many," Jacob pointed out grimly. "I volunteer."

"The thought is appreciated Jacob, but there's more to the task than just the possibility of fighting Collectors behind those doors. The other two teams will be besieged as we approach. We'll need someone to open those doors as quickly as possible," Miranda said before turning to Shepard. "We need to send a tech expert."

"Our best tech experts are… Tali, Kasumi, and Legion," Shepard identified in turn.

Tali and Kasumi stood straighter when he picked them out of the lineup. Legion didn't react at all, not that anyone expected it to.

"EDI, what's the temperature inside that vent?" Shepard asked.

"Latent heat signatures indicate that the temperatures inside the vent can reach excesses of 140 degrees Celsius. Currently, the temperature is holding steady at 110 degrees," EDI stated.

"Even in a hardsuit, that's going to be uncomfortable," Miranda cautioned. "But if the temperatures actually reach 140, whoever you send in there won't survive if they fail to make it to the end. There's definitely a time limit here."

"Fine. Legion, I'm sending you in. A synthetic body can take much more punishment than an organic one, so you're the best chance we have of getting in with the fewest complications," Shepard decided.

"Acknowledged," Legion said. "However, we should inform you that temperatures of that magnitude will result in rapid systems failure. This platform would be able to endure for approximately 27 seconds before shutting down."

"Then we're all going to have to move quickly," Shepard said.

"It's probably for the best, anyway," Kasumi said with a shrug. "Legion has that flashlight head, so it can see in the dark. Helpful when you're crawling through an enclosed space like that."

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. Hopefully, that should draw the Collectors' attention away from what you're doing. If not, I'm hoping you're also tough enough to take out any sentries or whatever threats there are by yourself," Shepard said, overlooking Kasumi's joke. "I'll lead the first fire team. Miranda, you take the second."

"I won't let you down," Miranda promised.

Shepard nodded and looked at his teammates in turn before pointing at his choices. "I'll take Grunt, Mordin, Kasumi, and—"

"—Samara," Miranda interrupted before he could pick Jack. "I'll take the rest."

Shepard found himself surprised and glanced at Jack. In past, when he needed to split up the teams, he always had to take care to separate both women to avoid any problems. "Any objections?" he asked to the group at large, though his gaze remained on the ex-con.

Jack crossed her arms and snorted. "Whatever. I guess someone needs to keep the cheerleader's ass alive," she said, though oddly enough, her voice lacked her usual malice.

"And I appreciate that," Miranda said civilly, but not coldly.

Now Shepard was sure he was missing something, but if neither women had any complaints, he wasn't about to make trouble himself. "If you're sure…"

"We'll be fine," Miranda said.

"She managed to survive her stint on Aite along with the others. I figure she has to be doing something right," Jack replied nonchalantly.

"Fine," Shepard agreed shortly. He turned to the other two tech specialists. "Kasumi, Tali."

Both women perked up when their names were called.

"There's a specific reason why you two are on separate teams here. Once Legion opens a door, whichever one it chooses, we need to have that door shut quickly to block off the Collectors that's going to be attacking that fire team. Depending on what door it opens, one team will need to hold their position until it closes. While Legion is busy, one of you will need to open the other door for the other fire team get in **and** close it to cut off any enemy reinforcements as well, got it?"

"I understand." – "Got it, Shep."

"Any questions?" Shepard asked to everyone as a whole.

"I know this will sound callous, but what do we do with the crew and any other colonists we find once we get there?" Miranda asked.

"What do you mean, 'what do we do'?" Jacob questioned. "We save them."

"And then what? We walk them back? Through whatever forces the Collectors' mounts against us? How easy do think this will be? To get there will be difficult enough, but to go back after?" Miranda countered. "What if they begin reinforcing their positions in the meantime? Even if they're still alive, we can't afford to go back."

"We can't abandon them!" Jacob said heatedly.

"I'm not saying we should abandon them," she argued. "I'm saying we need a plan. We'd be hard pressed to complete the mission as is, which I should remind you, is the priority here. The colonists, even the crew, are secondary. If we fail, a rescue would be a pipe dream anyway. This isn't some sort of stroll where we can freely roam their base without being harassed."

"I know that, but—" he tried to say.

"Also, we should keep in mind that some of the crewmen might be unable to fight, in addition to any untrained civilians we find as well. We can't hold their hands through this," she added. "All of that is compounded by any injuries or whatever else the Collectors may have inflicted on them prior to our arrival."

"I agree with her," Garrus said quietly. "It'd be nice if we can rescue them, but with the Normandy out of commission for the time being, and the Collectors on our heels every step of the way, how can we afford to escort them back? We can't even get the shuttle, or the tanks out of the hangar with the way the Normandy's landed."

"We're here to fight the Collectors. If this was a suicide mission, then your clan should know that death was certain anyway," Grunt rumbled. "How does it matter if they die now or later?"

Shepard shook his head. "And how would you like to die, Grunt? In battle or in a cage? No one gets left behind, not if we can save them somehow."

Grunt fell silent and looked thoughtful at his words.

Shepard clenched his jaw and considered the problem. Despite his desire to help out anyone they might come across, he knew the logistics would make it impossible. By the time they get there, the Collectors would be swarming all over them. There was no way to escort the noncombatants all the way back to the Normandy and then retake the ground they'd given away for a rescue.

"I will escort them."

Shepard looked away from the map and at Mordin. "What?"

"Am aware that out of entire squad, I possess the least in combat ability. Specialty in lies in science, medicine," Mordin said. He held up his hand to forestall any statements to the contrary. "Dr. Chakwas may be injured. Unable to render medical assistance. Will need to take over. Once crew and colonists are liberated, I will personally escort them back to the Normandy and conduct any medical aid."

"By yourself?" Kasumi asked.

He shrugged. "No choice. Mission takes priority. Difficult problems require creative solutions. Or sacrifice if necessary."

Shepard nodded to him in gratitude. "Let's hope it's the not the latter. Okay, Mordin. Everyone will bring along every weapon we have in the Armory. Once we reach them, we'll pass off the equipment to anyone that's still able to fight and you'll lead everyone back. I'm counting on you."

"Will not let you down," Mordin said. "Should gather surplus of medical supplies too. Stims and such to ensure everyone can maintain fastest speed to avoid or outrun conflict."

"What happens after we get to wherever we're going?" Jack asked.

Shepard shook his head. "No idea. EDI hasn't finished her scans yet and we can't wait. We'll get more info as it comes."

A few of team members had looks of unease, but everyone steeled their resolve and silently conveyed to him that they were ready for whatever they might encounter.

Once again, Shepard looked each of them in the eye. "I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I've never lied to any of you about this mission. We're good, we've damn good, but the odds are still stacked against us. Once we're in, they're going to throw everything they have at us. If we're weak, if we're slow, if we hesitate, we'll fail. And that's something we won't let happen.

"We don't know how many the Collectors have taken – thousands, hundreds of thousands. They attacked our ship, took our crew, our friends… But it doesn't matter now. What matters is this: Not. One. More. We're going to finish it, because no one else can. Then, we're going to make them regret it. We're here to end this. They're going to know exactly what we're made of. And by the time we're done, that's the last thought they'll ever have."

He took a deep breath and stood tall. "They started a war they never stood a chance of winning. No more running. No more waiting.

"It's time to take the fight to them."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Line taken from the novel, **the Dig**.

Thanks to reviewer **Reikson** for reminding me: another line taken from **Star Trek**.

I know I didn't do the Oculus fight, but I really couldn't put it in the story that would make sense. I mean, really, if any of those things got inside, they should either:

A) Fire off their lasers (which cuts through a ship's military grade armored hull) and pretty much destroy everything it pointed at, including little tiny organics.

B) Self-destruct. From the inside, that's a game over.

Well, at least I managed to get this up by Christmas. Not sure I'll make New Year, but I'll try.

In the meantime, review this chapter and then move on to the next, k? (When it's up.)

Big thanks to reviewer **Vickmackey007** for his constant and steady stream of reviews of all my past chapters. It certainly gave me the kick I needed to finish this one.

Merry Christmas!


	62. Base Infiltration and the Long Walk

_**Note: **_This is a rough draft. My beta is currently on vacation, but I wanted to give you all something for the 4th. Enjoy your holiday!

_**Location: Galactic Core / Collector Base / Normandy SR-2 Crash Site**_

"Here you go, Shepard," Jacob said and handed off a heavy bag filled to the brim with weapons and ammo.

Taking the pack and grunting with the effort of keeping so many armaments on his person -even with the assistance of his heavy muscle weave implants- Shepard shouldered his load and trekked to the airlock at the bow of the ship. Once there, he deposited it amidst all the others that were filling up the cockpit, just behind Joker's chair.

"Hey, you mind if I hang on to one?" Joker asked as he watched Shepard toss his heavy bag into the pile.

"One what?" Shepard asked distractedly. He pulled out his HMWA for one last cursory check.

"A gun. Weapon. Firearm, boomstick—whatever lingo you call it," Joker elaborated. "No offense, but the last time you guys left me alone, well… it wouldn't hurt to have some protection, y'know? Especially since you're emptying the ship with anything that fires a bullet in a place that's filled with bad guys wanting to kill us. Or worse."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and silently mulled over the request before nodding. "Alright, what do you want?"

Joker opened the bag Shepard had deposited and peered in. He chose the M-8 Avenger. "I'll take this."

"You still remember how to handle a rifle, right? It's been a long time since academy or even basic training. And I don't even know how well you did then," Shepard said while tactfully avoiding the issue of Joker's condition.

Joker shrugged. "Eh, I didn't do that bad, but I'm definitely no marksman. I'm sure I'll get it, though. If not, then I'm probably going to die anyway if I needed to use it," he said before grinning, which only served to enhance Shepard's worry. "Of course, if I die, chances are likely all of you are going to die too. Trial by fire, right?"

Shepard shook his head wearily and quickly gave him a crash course in rifle handling 101 while the others walked up to them, fully kitted out and ready.

With EDI's assurances that there were no hostiles in their immediate vicinity, he opened the airlock doors and leapt out of the ship. Landing nimbly on his feet, he quickly scurried out of the way for the others as he looked around. As EDI had said, everything was surprisingly quiet. No Collectors at all, though he was sure that would change soon. He tightened his grip on his HMWA and took comfort in its familiar weight and presence.

It didn't hurt that he had his warp ammo converter activated as well.

Grunt jumped next. His heavy landing was accompanied by a small tuft of dust he kicked up as well a small rumble that caused small bits of nearby debris to rattle. His eyes were darting around, searching out any threats as he gripped his Claymore in anticipation and barely contained excitement.

"_Friendly atmosphere. You can tell they made everything homey just for visitors," _Kasumi sardonically observed as she walked right up to stand with them. She held her Locust tightly and surveyed their environs with a wary stance, as if a battalion of Collectors would descend on them at that very moment.

Shepard glanced at the thief and privately wondered why he was still surprised at her nigh-imperceptible presence. Grunt had jerked around with his shotgun up at Kasumi's voice and tilted his head at her in wonder as to how she jumped from the ship and sauntered up behind them with nary a sound, even though they were already alert for any kind of threat.

Samara jumped, landed, and joined them without a word. If Shepard had to guess, her expression –hidden behind her helmet– would be of serene confidence and acceptance of whatever was coming. As always, she was hard to gauge, especially when she was donned in her blood red Inferno Armor.

Mordin's clumsy leap was a stark contrast to everyone else's exit, but he managed to avoid falling flat on his face as he staggered away from the landing area to join the others.

Soon after, Miranda and part of her team jumped out of the airlock one by one until they assembled outside with the rest of the squad. Garrus and Jacob were still aboard and proceeded to toss out the bags one at a time to the awaiting group below.

Once again, Shepard grunted and shifted the bag around until he was sure it was secure, but wouldn't hinder his movements too much or disrupt his ability to fight. Most of the weapons were only handguns, though if the crew or any colonists could manage it, a few rifles and shotguns as well. A full stock of thermal clips and grenades topped off the hefty weight he had to endure now.

Leading his team away from the Normandy, he stopped and waited at the designated entrance of the path they were going to take and watched the opening guardedly.

When Miranda and her team had their secured their own cargo, they emulated Shepard's example and moved off to their planned route as well. Jacob and Garrus tossed out their own bags before leaping down, reclaimed them, and quickly jogged to regroup with the squad.

The last to come out was Legion. It came out of the door and landed before walking to the vent shaft in almost one motion. What made the landing appear awkward was that it didn't even bend its knees or make any similar motions that organics would do to mitigate the forces acting on the body. It took a step out of the airlock, landed squarely on its feet, and kept on walking. Unlike the rest of the team, Shepard decided that their tech specialist wouldn't carry anything except the specialized shaped demo charge it needed to escape once it got into position in addition to its usual geth armaments.

"_Comms check,"_ Shepard ordered. _"Everyone report in."_

"_Miranda here. You're coming in loud and clear."_

"_Jacob here. You're five-by-five."_

"_Garrus, reporting in. I hear you, Shepard."_

"_Mordin here. Coming in fine. Ready to go."_

"_I'm ready to face our enemies, Battlemaster! For the glory of our clan!"_

"_This is Jack. Let's do this."_

"_Tali, reporting in. I'm reading you clearly."_

"_This is Thane. Amonkira bless us all in this endeavor."_

"_Samara. I am ready. May the Goddess watch over us as we prepare to bring justice in this lawless region of the galaxy."_

"_Kasumi Goto here. I'm ready."_

"_Diagnostic complete. Communications array functioning. We are prepared and awaiting orders to execute assigned task."_

"_Joker? EDI?"_ Shepard called.

"_We are reading you and your squad clearly, Shepard. I am also tracking your beacons and do not detect any loss in signal strength," _EDI answered.

"_You're five-by-five. Normandy still isn't ready yet, but I think we'll be able to fly soon… or soonish. I'll keep you updated," _Joker added. _"Good luck."_

"_Alright everyone, you know what to do,"_ Shepard said.

"_See you on the other side,"_ Garrus said.

"_Or hell,"_ Jack grimly replied.

"_Move out," _Shepard commanded.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Galactic Core / Collector Base**_

Taking his team in, he observed his surroundings carefully and noted that for all intents and purposes, the base was eerily similar to the ship they had just obliterated.

_Mordin was right. They have no imagination, no independent thought. They're just mindless slaves now._

"_We have entered the structure. Exterior temperature slightly elevated, but within tolerance levels. No obstructions detected,"_ Legion reported after a few silent and tense minutes.

"_Got it, Legion,"_ Shepard replied. _"Archangel Team – status?"_

"_We're entering the tunnel. No hostiles sighted – wait…"_ Miranda answered before trailing off. Moments later, the familiar sound of gunshots could be heard. _"Correction, hostiles encountered! We're taking heavy fire, but we're moving forward!"_

"_Shep! Ahead of us!"_ Kasumi warned before firing her SMG at a trio of Drones flying toward them.

"_Hostiles sighted. Looks like we got a scouting party,"_ Shepard informed to Archangel Team. He sighted down the barrel and took one down at the far back, before taking aim at the others. _"Miranda, we're pressing forward. Over."_

"_Roger!"_

"_Watch out! Reinforcements coming in!"_ Kasumi shouted, and forcing the team to revise its earlier strategy. She aimed her Locust at one of the four flying Drones and managed to clip its wing. It fell from the air and landed with a solid crunch.

"_About time!" _Grunt called out challengingly. He blew one out of the air like he was skeet shooting, forcing the remaining two to land quickly and into Shepard and Mordin's sights.

"_Take'em down quick before Harbinger takes over any of them!"_ Shepard ordered.

The team sprinted into the fray, quickly dispatching the relatively weak enemies. The Drones fell against their rapid movements as both sides clambered over the scattered strange organic consoles to get to a more advantageous position.

Despite the numbers, Shepard's team proved better and within minutes, the immediate area was quiet, but there was no doubt in anyone's minds that more would be coming soon.

A quick sweep revealed one Collector was barely still alive, though it was still helplessly crawling toward its rifle. Grunt stepped onto the struggling Drone's back before blowing its head off with his Claymore.

"_Did that one give you a nasty look?"_ Kasumi rhetorically asked.

"_Just making sure it's dead,"_ he answered before stomping down on its torso with a solid crunch. _"Now he's __**extra**__ dead."_

"_We've suppressed all hostiles. We're moving on,"_ Miranda announced.

"_Roger that, Archangel. Spectre Team, move out,"_ Shepard said to his team when the coast was clear. He sprinted toward the far tunnel and peered in, trying to see if there were any nasty surprises waiting within the gloom. _"Legion, report."_

"_Error: There is a pathing failure. We have encountered an obstruction in the tunnel. Unable to proceed."_

Shepard growled softly to himself. _"What?"_

"_Damn it," _Miranda cursed. _"It must be some sort of filter."_

"_What do we do?" _Tali asked._ "We can't leave Legion in there."_

"_There should be a terminal nearby to remove the filter," _Kasumi suddenly said. _"Either on our side, or Archangel's side. Maybe both."_

Shepard turned to her, and tilted his head questioningly.

"_Filters need to be taken out and cleaned every so often,"_ Kasumi explained. _"I worked a heist like this once. I broke in using a vent shaft and there were a bunch of filters I had to get through. Keiji had to remotely hack several separate servers in each section to clear my way. Might be the same here: one terminal controls one filter."_

"_Sounds like a pain in the ass,"_ Jacob grumbled.

"_It's also an additional security measure. Y'know, to prevent people like me from breaking in. Or it could be a redundant system to make sure the pipes stay clean. Whatever the case, we need to look for similar nearby terminals ourselves in each section and do the same for Legion."_

"_It would be nice if there was just one master terminal to open them," _Garrus said.

"_There probably is, but I doubt we have the time to find and hack it,"_ Kasumi said before perking up. _"Hey, can't EDI…?"_

"_She's already mining data from the mainframe, but she can't work on repairing the Normandy's systems and take control of their networks at the same time; not without giving the Normandy's position away,"_ Shepard answered. _"I'm going to assume: no."_

"_I see the terminal,"_ Samara pointed out.

"_Enemy contact ahead!" _Mordin warned.

Shepard ran up to where she indicated and used his omni-tool to remotely access it, while angrily muttering, _"No plan ever survives contact with the enemy…"_

"_Obstruction removed. Proceeding,"_ Legion said.

"_Alright, let's—"_

"_**DIRECT INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY."**_

Shepard felt his blood chill and without hesitation, turned, sighted down his rifle, and fired at the source of the guttural command in one rapid motion.

A trio of Collectors was running down the tunnel. Samara, Mordin, and Grunt had already engaged them, but the one in the middle exploded in a blinding flash of golden, fiery light. Needless to say, everyone ignored the other two to focus on the greater threat now.

"_Archangel, we've encountered Harbinger! We're going to be slowed down!"_ Shepard said. He rolled to the side, just barely dodging Harbinger's biotic attack.

"_Understood! Be careful!"_

"_Another obstacle impeding progress. I am unable to continue without assistance," _Legion said.

"_We have a terminal here too!" _Miranda shouted over the sounds of gunfire.

"_We're going to have to work in concert to get Legion to the end!"_ Shepard ordered. He popped out and fired his assault rifle. He took heart when he saw that the warp ammo was already causing Harbinger's barrier to falter and redoubled his efforts.

_Thank you, Tali._

Sensing that Shepard was now the greater threat, Harbinger chose to ignore the others and refocused its efforts to kill him.

"_Got it!"_ Garrus announced.

"_We're making good progress. Meet you at the rendezvous," _Miranda said.

"_Still dealing with Harbinger! We'll try to keep up!"_ Kasumi replied when it was apparent Shepard was far too busy to answer. She ducked down, before somersaulting away when Harbinger tried to backhand her. Harbinger's fist buried itself into the wall. Without pausing, it tore free, making the hole even larger than before. _"Kuso! What is this thing? !"_

Backpedaling quickly, Shepard retreated back down the tunnel. Occasionally, he shot back when given the chance, but Harbinger proved relentless. The dangerous game of cat and mouse continued for a few minutes. In that time, Samara and Mordin had easily dispatched the two Drones.

Grunt was pursing Harbinger, firing his Claymore until his thermal clip ran empty. He was forced to take cover and reload leaving Shepard to contend with the Reaper proxy alone.

"_**THESE ATTACKS ARE POINTLESS. WE WILL END YOU."**_

"_Little help here!" _Shepard growled as he barely ducked under another one of Harbinger's attacks. The strange biotic orb destroyed the nearby wall, causing bits of organic and inorganic debris to rain around him. Another burst from his HMWA coupled with his own biotic warp finally tore down its barrier.

"_Nice work, Shep! Don't worry, I got him!"_ Kasumi said.

As expected, she wasn't visible anywhere. However, her work was clearly seen when the grenades that were attached directly onto Harbinger's back exploded.

The Collector's body fell bonelessly to the ground.

Shepard peered out from his cover and exhaled noisily. _"Thanks, Kasumi."_

"_I really hate this bastard,"_ Grunt snarled. He kicked the corpse a little as the last wisps of yellow energies began to fade.

"_**RELEASING THIS FORM."**_

Grunt leapt back and fired off a few shots, immediately followed by Shepard and Kasumi until the body was completely mangled.

"_Another obstacle impeding progress. We are unable to continue,"_ Legion informed.

"_I don't see any terminals. It must be on your side," _Miranda said.

"_Over there! I can see the doors! Way in the distance!"_ Jack said. _"Almost there!"_

"_I see a couple of terminals too. Legion, we're opening the vents ahead for you,"_ Garrus said.

"_Shepard, we're almost in position,"_ Miranda reported.

"_Double-time it people! We're falling behind!"_ Shepard ordered to his team. The three of them dashed back through the tunnel and through the open chamber, which was now devoid of hostiles. _"Samara, Mordin: where are you? Report!"_

"_We've forged on ahead. We've encountered a number of Collectors, but no sign of Harbinger yet," _Samara answered. _"We'll search for the terminal."_

"_Ah-ha! Found terminal! Activating!"_ Mordin said.

"_Path is clear. Moving on,"_ Legion informed.

Sprinting through the passageways and rooms, bypassing the bodies of various Collectors and keeping a watchful eye for reinforcements, Shepard, Grunt and Kasumi finally caught up with Samara and Mordin only to find that they were being pinned down by a team of Collector Assassin's. Their constant long-ranged beam weapons kept them from effectively counterattacking. Several drones were moving to flank them.

"_Take out the Drones! I got the Assassins!" _Shepard ordered. He knelt down and drew his HMWSR. Taking a bead on the nearest target, he squeezed the trigger and took it down in one shot.

Seeing that the pressure was being taken off of them, Samara and Mordin shuffled to another location to assist in taking down the others.

Shepard's sniper rifle bucked in his arms again as he brought down another Assassin. He could help but snarl when he saw the last Assassin begin seizing. Activating the warp ammo convertor, he started firing quickly as the semi-automatic rifle allowed. He only managed to blow off an arm before the Collector finished its transformation.

"_**ASSUMING CONTROL OF THIS FORM."**_

Despite the grievous injury, Harbinger appeared completely unbothered as it began its relentless approach towards him. It was completely ignoring his team, even as they threw everything they had at it.

"_**THESE ATTACKS ARE POINTLESS. YOU ONLY DAMAGE THE VESSEL. YOU CANNOT HURT ME."**_

"_Oh, fuck me."_

**~o~O~o~**

"_We're almost there!"_ Miranda rallied. She gunned down another Collector, but as expected, the numbers their enemies had to throw at them seemed limitless.

"_Damn thermal clips,"_ Garrus growled. He was crouched behind some organic protrusion as he threw his empty clip away and was in the midst of loading a fresh one. _"I'm really wishing for those good old-fashioned heat sinks right about now."_

"_Shepard-Commander. The path is blocked again. Temperature is increasing."_

"_We're working on it, Legion! Stand by! Kasumi, see if you get to the terminal! I'll draw Harbinger away!"_

"_Kami, what is that? ! Is that biotics? ! That thing just tore down that wall!"_

"_Kasumi!"_

"_But what about you? ! Can you handle that thing by yourself? !"_

"_Go!"_

"_I—Oh, Kami… Fine! Hang on, Legion!"_

Miranda pushed aside the tinge of worry that bloomed in her chest and focused on clearing a path forward for her team.

_He'll be alright. He has to be._

"_Get out of our motherfucking way you shitfaced assholes!"_

Privately, she had to confess that Jack's incredible, and savage, biotic powers had helped tremendously in their charge. It was such that it allowed Jacob to preserve the power cells in his ML-77 Missile Launcher for any later threats. For now, both women were leading the push forward. Their combined tactics had so far been divided with either an acute awareness of the battlefield to allow for superior or strategic positions, or simply just brutally plowing through anything in their way.

At the very least, Miranda was simply glad that Jack deigned to follow her orders thus far.

Regardless of how well their efforts were though, the Collectors were still digging in their heels and pushing back. No matter where the team were, there was always three more Collectors firing at them; if not on terra firma, then from the air, where they were able to rain destruction from all sides.

Still, while her team had to contend with sheer, nearly overwhelming numbers, Shepard and his team had to contend with Harbinger and whatever Collectors were in the other tunnel. No matter how difficult her path was, she knew that Harbinger by itself was worth 20 Collectors.

_Or more._

Jacob looked at the steam that was beginning to seep out of the vents overhead and cursed under his breath. _"Is that scrap heap going to make it? !"_

"_It will! Stay focused!" _Miranda tersely asserted. She fired off one last burst that killed a Collector Guardian and used her biotic slam technique to shatter the spine of an Assassin. Finally, an opening was created through the blockade. _"We have a way forward! Pick up the pace, people!"_

"_There's one more terminal!"_ Tali reported once she dashed through the Collector ranks. Her drone was faithfully circling around her, firing at any Collectors that tried to close the distance.

"_Get to it! We'll cover!"_

"_Legion's still stuck back there!"_ Garrus shouted.

"_Shepard will get to his terminals. We need to focus on ours," _Miranda responded through heavy pants.

"_More Collectors are pursuing,"_ Thane calmly broke in.

"_Thane, take that vantage point over there! Garrus, bunker down here! Hold them back!"_

"_I got it! It's done!"_ Tali reported.

"_I'm at the terminal! Releasing the lock!"_ Kasumi announced.

"_Obstruction cleared. Continuing. Estimated distance indicates we are nearing target area."_

"_The rest of you, keep going! Get to those terminals!"_ Shepard said._ "Harbinger is still—Shit!"_

"_What does it take to stop this thing? !" _Kasumi shouted. _"Kuso! Shep! Get down!"_

Shepard's scream almost caused Miranda to hesitate, but with her team counting on her, she redoubled her efforts to get to the door.

"_Let's move, people!"_ Miranda harshly commanded. _"They'll make it! We need to go, __**now!**__"_

Letting Jacob take point alongside Jack, Miranda took up the rear guard with Thane and Garrus. Both snipers were valiantly holding back the bulk of the Collector forces, but she saw that it was only a matter of time before they were overrun.

"_Enough! You two, regroup!"_

Both men abandoned their perches and quickly sprinted to join with her as they made their way to the rest of the team.

"_Oh, shit… that goddamned hurt…"_

"_Hold on to your guts, Battlemaster, while I go rip out theirs!"_

"_We're here, Cheerleader, but the damn doors are still closed!"_ Jack called out.

"_Understood. We'll hold our ground here. Find cover and maintain a defensive posture!"_ Miranda replied when she, Garrus and Thane reached them. She looked back to see the Collectors charging at them. _"Spectre team, we're in position!"_

**~o~O~o~**

"_We're waiting for the doors to open! We'll hold our ground for as long as we can, but we need to get in soon!"_

_Goddamned, motherfucking, cheap-ass, son-of-a-__**bitch!**_

Shepard's litany of mental curses continued as he ducked behind anything suitable to withstand Harbinger's latest onslaught. He had already learned from first-hand experience that he never wanted to be struck by any of its biotic attacks.

Unfortunately, he rarely had a choice in the matter whenever it actually did happen.

_At this point, I should probably be lucky that I'm still alive._

The last two terminals they needed to activate were tantalizingly close. However, either the Collectors were aware of Legion's presence in the shaft, or they were simply trying their damnest to protect their base, Shepard and his team were facing furious resistance.

_Or maybe they just really hate me…_

"_Warning: Temperature increasing to estimated maximum tolerance levels,"_ Legion stated. _"At current projections, we calculate total systems failure in 5 minutes and 55 seconds."_

"_We're pinned down here!"_ Miranda shouted.

"_We're on the way!"_ Shepard replied quickly.

The avatar for Harbinger continued to rain fire down on Shepard's location, preventing him from getting to the next valve release switch. After hearing the reports, he knew they were running out of time. "Suppressing fire!" he yelled before jumping his barricade and using biotic charge to cover the distance in an instant.

Three Collectors were standing near the console. Shepard's appearance resulted in an explosion of dark energy the scattered them like leaves in the wind. Slamming his omni-tool on the console, he turned and sprinted as fast as he could toward the last distant valve, pushing adrenaline and activating his tactical cloak to vanish from sight.

"_**LEAVE THE DEAD WHERE THEY FALL. FOCUS YOUR ATTACK ON SHEPARD."**_

"_Obstruction removed. Note: We have calculated current distance traveled and estimate we are nearing the end. One final valve remains."_

Samara's singularity drew the attention of most of the regular Collectors. Unfortunately, but not unexpected, Harbinger was unbothered. Instead, it continued to seek Shepard out using an area wide attack. It was literally bombarding the surrounding places Shepard was trying to run through with its unique brand of biotics.

"_**YOU ARE ARROGENT, SHEPARD. YOU DO NOT YET COMPREHEND YOUR PLACE, BUT YOU WILL LEARN."**_

Shepard barely managed to avoid its indiscriminate attack, but he was running out of tricks.

An explosion right behind him sent him flying. His optic camouflage failed and he reappeared in a shower of sparks. The moment he landed he rolled into cover and hunkered down. A cursory check revealed that he managed to escape relatively unscathed for once. To add to his good luck, he looked up to see he was right at the terminal. Sliding his omni-tool across the surface, he got up and began fighting in earnest.

"_We got the terminal! Legion, get in there and open the doors! Spectre Team! Focus fire! Target Harbinger! Bring that bastard __**down!**__" _he growled.

**~o~O~o~**

_Destination reached._

_Executing primary task._

_Explosive device placed. 10 second timer active. –Warning: Recommend backtracking to safe distance._

_Relocating to minimum safe zone._

_Detonation detected._

_Observation: Rupture created. Size is significant. Exit is possible._

_Caution: Sound may have attracted hostile attention._

_Scanning environment._

_Scan complete. No signs of hostile forces._

_Accessing communication recordings._

"_Spectre team, we're in position! We're waiting for the doors to open! We'll hold our ground for as long as we can, but we need to get in soon!"_ –recording ends.

"_We're on the way!" –recording ends._

_Consensus achieved. Archangel team given priority._

_Executing primary task. Engaging intrusion routines. _

**~o~O~o~**

"_The door is opening," _Thane calmly reported, even as he fired off another shot from his sniper rifle.

"_Go, go, go!"_ Miranda ordered. She popped out of cover and fired several bursts in succession, before shuffling back, taking up the rear guard for her team. Garrus stood nearby, doing the same with his Reverent. _"Oh, hell! Look out!"_

"_We're in, Miranda!"_ Jacob called. He fired off a couple of missiles and broke the next Collector wave of attacks. _"Come on!"_

"_Get your ass in here, cheerleader! Move it!"_ Jack shouted.

"_Seeker swarms! Incoming!"_ Miranda shouted before darting in.

"_We're in position! We need this door open now! We have no cover! I repeat: we're out in the open here!" _Shepard called out.

Garrus turned and slipped past the door. Miranda fired off one last burst from her pulse rifle before doing the same. _"Legion, shut the door! Tali, get that other door open for Shepard's team! __**Now!**__" _she ordered. _"The rest of you, hold them back! Suppressing fire!"_

"_Understood. Executing."_

"_On it!"_ Tali said before darting to the other door.

**~o~O~o~**

"_Ack! Need assistance! Help!"_ Mordin shouted.

"_Coming Mordin!"_ Kasumi answered from somewhere.

"_Samara! Now!"_ Shepard ordered.

As he hoped, Harbinger's almost single-minded attack on Shepard rendered it blind to the giant chunk of debris Samara had biotically thrown at its back. It crashed into the Reaper proxy with bone crushing force. Amazingly, it was still alive and trying to pull itself out.

Grunt ran on top of the pile, adding his weight to try to prevent Harbinger from escaping before leveling his Claymore down at the exposed upper half and firing indiscriminately. _**"DIE!"**_

"_**I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN."**_

Glad to be rid of Harbinger for the time being, Shepard fruitlessly banged the door before facing the incoming attack. There was no suitable cover anywhere nearby and it was only a matter of time before another Collector was used by the Reapers.

"_We need this door open!"_ he yelled as Collector's descended on their position. Without cover, only their personal shields were the only thing keeping them alive and they were draining rapidly. _"Tali!"_

"_I'm trying! The console's damaged!"_

**~o~O~o~**

"_Come on!"_ Tali screamed in frustration as the interface flickered again. Engaging her omni-tool, she tried to remotely access the damaged console. Typing furiously, her commands seemed to crawl across the display. Hearing Shepard's voice and the sounds of gunfire just beyond the door drove her harder. _"Come on, you bosh'tet! Open damn you!"_

"_Tali, I don't want to sound critical…"_ Shepard urged through gritted teeth.

Several new command trees appeared. _"Almost there!"_

"_We can't hold out! Hurry!" _Kasumi shouted. _"My tech armor is almost spent!"_

"_Glory or death!"_ Grunt roared.

"_My shield is down. Emergency backup has activated,"_ Samara's cool, but tense voice reported. _"Erecting a barrier."_

"_Shields down! Ah, damn it! Right flank! Mordin, get down!"_

"_Ah, Shepard!"_ Mordin's panicked voice cried out. _"Shepard hit!"_

_Oh, Keelah… please… please… please… please… please… please… please…_

A final set of commands appeared. She quickly sought the ones she was looking for and soon heard the doors begin to open.

"_I got it!"_ she cried out triumphantly. _"Door's opening!"_

Kasumi's lithe frame squeezed through first and she moved to the side to catch her breath. Ejecting a heat sink from her SMG, she waited until Mordin cleared the door next before assisting with suppression fire, shooting only when she was sure she had a clear line of sight. The gates seemed to open at an agonizingly slow pace.

Mordin finally scrambled inside, firing off his neural shock as he did so at the nearest Collector through the widening gap.

Samara darted in next, keeping her head down until she moved to the side and propped up against the opening doors. She rounded the corner and provided support fire as well.

"_Doorway is closed and sealed,"_ Legion announced.

"_To the other doors! Move! Cover Spectre Team!"_ Miranda ordered. Her team ran toward the door Shepard and his team was entering from._ "We need hold this door! Suppressing fire!"_

Tali worked feverishly on the remotely accessing the broken console as everyone lined up and fired through the door, determined not to give the enemy an inch.

Shepard and Grunt both shuffled backwards and cleared the door together once it was wide enough.

"_Here they come!"_ Shepard growled. The entire squad banded together now and were firing and covering for each other. _"Stop them here!"_

"_I got it! It's closing!"_ Tali said.

Seeing the doors move, the Collectors abandoned their previous tactics and ran right at them, firing wildly and hoping to get them in a suicidal charge.

"_Hold them back!"_ Shepard commanded.

"_Frag out!"_ Jacob warned and tossed a grenade just past the threshold.

The explosion stopped the Collector charge cold. Jack wound her arm back and released a biotic shockwave, bowling over anything in its path. _"Denied, jackasses!"_ she crowed just before the doors slid shut.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard panted lightly as he checked his pauldron.

"Shepard! Are you alright? !" Tali asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," he assured. He nodded at his left shoulder pad. "Armor took the round. Didn't even penetrate."

She sighed in relief.

Patting her on the shoulder, he said, "Nice work, Tali. You too, Legion. I knew neither of you would let us down."

"Shepard? I think you need to see this."

Turning toward Miranda, he was about to ask about the status of her team when his eyes were drawn to what she was pointing at.

Pods. Hundreds, but more likely to be thousands of them. Maybe more. And unlike the Collector ship, this time they were filled with people. Humans. Men, women, the elderly, children…

"Are they still alive? Are we too late?" Shepard asked, though it almost came out a whisper. It was almost like seeing the massive cargo bay at the Collector ship all over again, but far worse. The idea that they might be too late to save **anyone** felt like he was punched in the gut.

Mordin ran up to the nearest pod. Inside was a woman dressed in the tough and functional clothing colonists preferred out in the Attican Traverse. She appeared to be unconscious. Running his omni-tool over her, he glanced down at the readouts and nodded quickly. "Yes! Still alive! Vitals remain strong!"

"I found Dr. Chakwas!" Garrus shouted. "She's awake over here!"

"I found Gabby," Jacob reported. He turned to the pod nearby when Gabby started banging on the window hysterically and shouting something. "Hold on, girl! We'll get you out!"

"Where? ! Where is she? !" Tali shouted before hurrying over.

"What? I can't hear you!" Garrus said to Chakwas as he studied the lid of the pod and tried to find a way to open it. Chakwas was as frantic as Gabby, if not more so.

Shepard looked around for a terminal or something similar. "Right. Let's find a way to get these pods open. Find the controls and get these people—"

"Shepard! Observe!" Mordin cried out frantically.

The woman he had examined woke up screaming. She was banging on the transparent window and flailing wildly. And it was apparent why. Her flesh began to dissolve, followed by her eyes, her hair… Blood was everywhere and splattered all over insides of the pod as she flailed in agony.

Mordin was desperately trying to pry the pod open with his bare hands, but it was far too late. She was being melted alive.

Shepard watched helplessly as the woman's wild screams tapered off when she fell out of sight. Further adding to his horror was the sounds of vacuums. Even as she was dying, her liquefied remains were being sucked out via tubes attached on top of the pods.

"Get these pods open, **now!** Any way you can!" Shepard barked.

The squad quickly scrambled to any pod within reach and used whatever means they had to open them.

Miranda, Mordin, Garrus, Tali, and Jacob pounded at the windows with the butt of the weapons, breaking them open and dragging people out. Kasumi drew her blades, drove it into the side and used them as a lever to pry open the pods. Grunt utilized brute force, relying on his genetically enhanced krogan strength to rip the lids off. Similarly, Legion was doing the same, its synthetic body easily capable of matching Grunt strength easily, as it tore the lids off one by one.

By far, the most effective were Shepard, Jack, and Samara though. Pods were being opened one after another as they pulled the lids open with their biotics before moving on to the next.

"Move it! Hurry!" Shepard ordered. He sprinted to the next pod, reached out and ripped it open. A man fell out and tumbled to the ground. Before Shepard could move on, a wet, hacking gasp forced him to pause.

"Help… me…" the man rasped out. Pain was etched in every word as he skin dissolved right before Shepard's eyes. The colonist began vomiting unnatural amounts of blood, even as he screamed.

Knowing he only had one choice left, Shepard leveled his HMWP at the unfortunate soul and pulled the trigger.

Turning away from the still disintegrating corpse, he looked to see that the other people still trapped in their pods were sharing the same fate as the remains of the man at his feet. Each of them were melting and screaming in abject pain and horror.

Left without any further choices, Shepard steeled himself and immediately began firing on the pods. If he wasn't able to save the trapped prisoners, he would at least grant the mercy of death, rather than the last few minutes of the agony of life.

Grunt saw what Shepard was doing and immediately emulated his example. Garrus, Thane, Jack, and Samara followed soon after.

Shepard had no idea what they were thinking or feeling when they started shooting. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to know either.

The screams of the tortured and dying echoed in concert with the sounds of gunfire.

After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality, it was only a few minutes, the only sounds he could hear were their own weapons.

"Hold fire! Hold fire!" Shepard shouted.

At his orders, all five ceased fire. As everyone put their weapons down, the last echo of gunfire reverberated from the massive chamber. The silence following their actions seemed to hurt more than the screams mere moments ago. Worse still were the sounds of the machinery from above, as the tubes continued pumping the remains of those they failed to save. The sinister and sickening noises reverberated along the tubes down a large, foreboding tunnel.

Jacob kicked the nearest pod in anger. "Those goddamned bastards! What the hell were they doing to these people? !"

Shepard shook his head and tried to put aside the fact that he and his team just mercy killed dozens of people that were being melted down and fed through some tubes as if they were processed cattle.

He didn't even want to contemplate the fate of those that had to actually suffer through the entire ordeal.

Spotting Chakwas as one of the people he and his team rescued, he ran over and checked to see if she was all right. "Doc? Dr. Chakwas? Karin? Are you okay?"

Chakwas looked up at him as if he were a cruel figment of her imagination. "S-Shepard?"

"It's me, Doc. We're all here," Shepard said. "You're safe now."

"Y-you came. You actually came for us," she whispered in utter relief.

"No one gets left behind," Shepard recited. His elation at her safety was followed by the guilt at how he was able to save his long-time friend, but not so many other people, strangers they may have been. He pushed feeling aside and refocused at the task at hand.

Nearby, Miranda helped Kelly to her feet. The yeoman had her arms wrapped around herself and was shivering uncontrollably. Some of the others they rescued fared little better.

"Thank God you got here in time," Kelly murmured between sobs. "A few more seconds and… I-I-I don't even want to think about it."

There was a general noise of agreement among the survivors.

"Bugger… am I glad to see you again, Boss," Ken said as Tali helped him and Gabby to their feet.

"We both are," Gabby added.

"I'm glad to see you two as well," Tali said happily. "Are you both okay?"

"We're fine," Gabby said, though she sounded shaky. "If you're here, does that mean the Normandy—?"

"She's here and in mostly one piece. Trust me, we have our jobs cut out for us when we get back," Tali answered, obviously trying to keep upbeat for their benefit. "Nothing a bit of duct tape and… uh… WD-40, can't fix. And she might need a new coat of paint too."

"After this, I don't care. Whatever you want, Boss. Hell, I'll even build a new Normandy if you want," Ken said before coughing. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. "Ah, shite."

"Ken? !" Gabby cried worriedly and knelt down to steady him.

"Professor Solus!" Tali called.

"Yes, yes, yes! Coming, coming!" the salarian replied. He injected something into a colonist before hurrying over.

"The things we saw… what happened to the others before we got moved…" Matthews said to Shepard. He seemed to realize something and turned to Hadley. "I mean…"

"They did same thing to my brother. I know it," Hadley seethed. "Those bastards… Those motherfucking…"

"We saw it. All of us. Whole groups of people. It must've been hundreds at a time. Perhaps thousands… they were all… processed," Chakwas explained. She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to gather her wits. "Those swarms of little robots… they—they melted their bodies, just as you saw with the others. Some sort of gray liquid, before pumping it through those tubes above us."

Shepard looked up and observed, almost glared, at the tubes that were connected to the pods. They all gathered into even larger tubes that led down a massive passageway he knew he and his team would have to follow. They were still pumping whatever they got from the colonists.

"They shuffled our pods. Pulled away the empty ones and put in ones with such frightened people. We were helpless. We saw hundreds of people… the screams… the worst came from the children… oh god…" Chakwas said before trailing off. Like Kelly, she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the phantom chills. "We were next… it was so close…"

"You're safe now," Shepard assured before grimacing when he remembered their precarious situation. "Or you soon will be."

"What the hell were they doing to these people?" Jacob repeated. "I mean, who knows how many they've done this shit to."

Chakwas swallowed and shook her head. "I don't know. I'm just glad you got here before it happened to us."

"So are we. But we still have a job to do," Miranda said. "We've done well so far. We just need to go little further. Orders?"

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Right. Joker, status?"

"_EDI and I got some of the systems up and running. We can fly, so that means we can come in close and save you some time, but we still need to land back from your position."_

"Got it. Do you know where do we go next?"

"_According to these readouts, all those tubes lead into the main control room right above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."_

"_I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once," _EDI cautioned.

Turning to Samara, Shepard asked, "What about biotics? Can we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?"

"Yes… I think it may be possible. I wouldn't be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close," she answered.

"I can too. In theory, any biotic can," Miranda added.

He nodded. "If we're going to put theory to practice, we're going to need our best, if only to increase our chances to get to the other side."

"That's Samara and Jack then," she said, pointing to both women in turn, before turning back to him. "Maybe even you as well."

"I'll take them both," he said. "Garrus, you're also with me since I'll need long and short range marksmen to protect whoever is making the biotic shield. Jack will handle the first half of the tunnel and Samara will take over the other half to avoid tiring out either one. I'll be the wild card, just in case. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet the rest of the squad there."

"I'll take the others and head down the main tunnel to provide a distraction then," Miranda said.

"We'll get there as soon as possible, but it's likely we'll be slowed down," Shepard warned. "You'll have to hold out in the meantime."

"We'll make it. Just try not to enjoy the sights."

"Remember: That many seeker swarms will also mean that it's likely we'll be out of radio contact as well," he reminded.

"We'll keep an open channel. Hopefully, you might be able to receive," she replied.

"And what about me and rest of us, Shepard?" Chakwas asked worriedly. "We're in no shape to fight."

"We got it covered," he assured. "Mordin will escort everyone back once we leave. With the blast doors sealed, the Collectors will have to go around and cut us off which will mean the passages back will be clear shortly."

He wisely kept silent about where it was only a guess and he only hoped it was clear. The fact that most of the victims were still standing was a miracle after what they endured. He wasn't about to break their last tenuous thread of courage now.

"Okay, let's pass out the weapons for everyone," he said to his team before speaking to the group of liberated humans. "Anyone that can fight, pick up a weapon. Anyone that can run, help anyone that can't. Dr. Solus is in charge. Listen to him and he'll get you to safety."

"Quickly, quickly. Gather around. Must render immediate first aid. Have stims for those that have difficulty standing or moving," Mordin said before tapping into his radio. "Joker, request location of landing zone. Will meet you there."

Dropping their bags on the ground, Jacob, Garrus, and Shepard set about arming anyone with combat experience first. Even Thane offered one of his Predators to a crewman.

Once they were sure that the people they saved were given the best chance to make it to the Normandy, Shepard grimly stared down the dark passageway he and his team would take.

"We've all got our assignments. Let's move out," he commanded.

**~o~O~o~**

Jack looked up at the large door and rolled her head and shoulders to mentally prep herself to do her job.

_Let's hope I don't have to do this shit for too long…_

"This looks like the place," Garrus said.

"It would appear so," Samara said in agreement. She was tapping the side of her helmet before shaking her head. "My radio no longer functions."

Shepard walked up to the door and tilted his head towards it. "I can hear them. Seeker swarms. A lot of them, just like EDI said," he said before turning to Jack. "Okay, whenever you're ready."

"Right,"she said. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she raised her arms and concentrated. She knew she could do it, but she always preferred to use her biotics to wreak havoc and destruction. It was less about control and more about unleashing her abilities to utmost to tear apart anything that stood in her way; far easier and much more fun. Still, she wasn't about to back down and look like a coward.

Slowly, a bluish-black bubble spread out and encompassed the group. She extended the barrier a little further to allow everyone room to maneuver if they needed to, but not so much that she'd stress herself.

"Okay, its up," she said in a confident tone. "I'm moving out. Stay close if you want to live!"

The moment the doors opened, everyone tensed up and waited. A flood of Seeker Swarms descended upon them immediately. Thankfully, as Samara had predicted, the field kept the swarms at bay. They bumped and impacted against Jack's construction, but didn't penetrate.

"Looks like it's working," Garrus whispered, as if he didn't want to call down any more trouble.

"Jack, you okay?" Shepard asked.

"I can do this all day," she boasted.

"_Miran—in posit—prepare—moving—good lu—"_

Shepard growled in annoyance at the loss of radio signal. "Okay, sounds like they're on the move so we got to hurry. Ready for the longest walk of our lives?"

Jack nodded. "Let's do this then."

"Ladies first."

Jack rolled her eyes, though the effect was lost since she was wearing her helmet. "Fuck you, 'Captain'."

Garrus and Shepard took point and moved together as one. They stood just a foot away from the edge of the field. Samara held the rear, forming a ring around Jack as they walked forward. Jack moved as quickly as she dared, but not so much that she might lose her concentration.

_Fuck, he's right. This really could be a long walk._

They kept their pace steady, but remained on alert of anything amiss. So far, Jack didn't feel the stress of maintaining the barrier at all and the only sounds she could hear were the constant buzzing of the swarms around them. They aggressively struck the barrier, but not so much that their small group was in any danger. And while the numbers of Seeker Swarms was significant, it felt like only a large group was attempting to strike at them, rather than the entire population that resided in the tunnel.

Jack warily looked at the bugs that she was keeping out with her barrier. "How come they're not all swarming around us? I thought we'd be seeing big-ass cloud of these things."

"Maybe Mordin's countermeasure is keeping enough off of us, while some can see us and are trying to attack," Shepard guessed. "Or maybe it's because it's just you and me. If these things were programmed to hunt humans, they're going to ignore Garrus and Samara and send enough to take the both of us down, not the entire swarm."

"Either way, no Collectors so far. You think we're in the clear?" Garrus whispered after a few minutes of silent walking.

"No," Shepard answered shortly. His posture was tense and alert.

"Me too. Maybe they—"

"There! Ahead of us!" Samara warned. Her statement was accompanied by the familiar sounds of buzzing wings just as a team of Collectors flew into view.

"They've seen us! Take them down!" Shepard ordered. He was already firing at Collectors.

Once they realized they were under attack, most of the Collectors flew down and took cover wherever they could find it. A few were too slow and were brought down hard by Shepard, Garrus, and Samara's combined efforts.

Jack kept low, but didn't move from her spot nor did she allow her attention to waver. She noticed that all three had moved in front of her during the fight, physically shielding her from the attackers.

"Scratch one!" Garrus crowed. "They're falling back down that ramp! We need push forward and take advantage of the high ground!"

"Jack! Over there! Take cover behind that pillar!" Shepard ordered.

"Going!" Jack shouted over the sounds of gunfire. She kept her head down and lightly jogged before hunkering down behind a large column. She noted that it not only kept her out of the line of fire, but it afforded her barrier to reach places that allowed her team to strike down the Collectors.

"_Shepa—we've engag—pushing—try to flank—look ou—take cover!"_

"Aw, hell. More incoming!" Garrus shouted. He drew a bead with his sniper rifle and took a shot.

"I see them! Don't let them anywhere close to Jack!"

"_**WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE."**_

"Goddamn it…" Shepard growled before renewing his attack.

Jack crouched even lower. She was tempted to look, but from the way the others were suddenly fighting, she was sure that popping her head out to satisfy her curiosity was a supremely bad idea. "I can't fight back like this!"

"Just stay down and keep those swarms off of us!" Shepard barked. "Garrus, Samara: Focus your fire on Harbinger! Burn him fast!"

"_**YOU PROLONG THE INVITABLE. YOUR DEATH IS ASSURED. RELINQUISH YOUR FORM TO US." **_

**~o~O~o~**

"Shit," Patel cursed. "They're coming!"

Mordin turned around and muttered a few choice words under his breath. A small squad of Collectors and husks were charging right at them. The civilians all froze at the sight.

"Hold the line!" Mordin ordered. "Unarmed civilians! Continue to ship! Combat troops, hold the line! As long as possible!"

His words had the desired effect. Those that weren't armed, turned tail and ran as quickly as they could. Chakwas was in the lead now, spurring everyone on towards safety.

Mordin stood with his impromptu team, fighting back against the dozen or so aggressors. His neural shock proved more than useful against his foes and he was grateful for it. He knew that he was the only one armored and shielded over the others. Any advantage he had needed to be used to its fullest.

One colonist screamed. Mordin turned to see her taken by a group of seeker swarms and dragged away. Those that had weapons hesitated at the sight and could only watch numbly, unsure if they could risk the shot.

Unbidden, Mordin recalled one of his final lessons to Daniel before joining Shepard's squad.

_"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients. Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps."_

But there was no way to heal that colonist. And she certainly wasn't dangerous. It was another moral grey area.

Hearing her frantic cries though, Mordin made a choice and did the only thing he could do.

Raising his SMG, he fired a short burst at the unfortunate victim.

The Seeker Swarms continued to fly off with the body.

Some of his allied combatants looked at him with varying degrees of disbelief or horror.

"Hurry!" Mordin snapped. "Must get to ship before more arrive! Or we all die! Run! Now!"

Shaken, but pulled out of their stupor, everyone regrouped and continued their frantic pace to the Normandy.

**~o~O~o~**

"Harbinger is toast!" Garrus reported triumphantly. "Chalk up another kill to me!"

"Finally!" Shepard grunted out. He knelt back down behind his defilade and loaded a fresh thermal clip into his HMWSR. "Reloading!"

Jack instinctively turned her head away when a round ricocheted off her cover. "Goddamn it!"

"I see him," Samara assured calmly. She had her own sniper rifle out and took moment to line up her shot before firing. "One down."

Jack had to take a steadying breath. Harbinger had made an appearance twice now, forcing them to hold their ground and defend themselves, each encounter tougher than the last and wasting precious time. The other team had to be getting close to their objective now while they were bogged down in their utility tunnel. Thankfully, the area they were in seemed to be for the Seeker Swarms, rather than the Collectors. They only fought a couple of skirmish groups and some husks so far.

Naturally, the presence of Harbinger made things a pain in the ass.

"I think we got them all," Garrus finally reported.

"Jack? You okay?" Shepard asked. He was scanning the area ahead to make sure the coast was clear.

"Peachy. I'm having the time of my fucking life," Jack muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"I said: I'm fine," she amended loudly. "We almost there yet?"

"I think we're at the halfway point," he answered. "Samara, you're up. Extend a barrier."

"Maintain your construct, Jack," Samara instructed.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said off-handedly. Privately, she was glad to be done. Keeping the barrier up as long as she did was beginning to take its toll, though she'd never admit it to anyone.

Samara created her own barrier. She enlarged it to cover the group, but stopped just short of Jack's own creation.

"Release," she said.

Dropping her arms and her barrier, Jack heaved a very quiet sigh of relief, but held her bravado. She drew her shotgun and checked it over. "Ready to go. About time I get to shoot something now."

"Barrier is up. Whenever you are ready, Shepard," Samara informed.

"Move out," he said.

Samara waited until Jack and Shepard took point while Garrus held the rear guard with his sniper rifle up and ready.

They were forced to pick up their pace now, breaking out into a light jog. Jack glanced back at the asari with the corner of her eye and saw that she had no trouble keeping up with their faster speed and maintaining the barrier.

The sounds of moans forced Jack to turn her attention away from the justicar. Again, husks were crawling out from every nook and cranny they could fit through before shambling toward them in a one-track minded charge.

Garrus and Shepard began shooting first, using their sniper and assault rifles respectively. Soon after, they were forced to refocus on the Scion that lumbered into view. Jack let loose a shockwave before readying her shotgun. The moment the surviving husks ran into range, she easily tore them apart with just a few shots.

"Ha! Just like those zombie vids!" she crowed.

"Firing concussive shot!" Garrus warned.

The scion staggered from the modified sniper round, before falling to Shepard's shockwave. The team advanced quickly, tearing through the mindless husks before finishing off the Scion as it lay helpless on the ground.

Pushing forward, Garrus kept the bulk of the husks at long-range, letting Shepard engage at mid-range, and Jack to finish them off at close range. Their combined efforts served to protect Samara well. Her barrier never faltered or wavered.

"There!" Shepard shouted over the sounds of gunfire. He pointed to an open door at the bottom of an incline. "Let's go people! We're almost there!"

"Let's pick up the pace then!" Garrus yelled back. He was looking through the scope of his rifle and fired off a shot. "We got Collectors chasing us now!"

"Move! We can't afford to face Harbinger again!" Shepard ordered. He thrust his arms out and a singularity burst into existence, stopping the Collectors cold and even drawing in the Seeker Swarms.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, everyone followed Samara as the Justicar set their new pace down the incline and to the doors.

Several husks were climbing along the walls and dropped down ahead of them. They shambled towards the group, hoping to impede their progress, but were cut down mercilessly as the team made their last push to the end.

"Hurry!"Samara called out.

Jack stood at Shepard's side as they fired uphill at the trailing Collectors. Thus far, Harbinger had yet to make another appearance and they intended to keep it that way.

Garrus reached the door first and started his bypass. "Almost… Got it!" he said before providing cover fire with his sniper rifle. The doors slid open behind him.

"Everyone inside!" Samara commanded.

At Samara's behest, Shepard turned and ran for the door, swapping out his assault rifle for his sniper rifle to join Garrus at long-range marksmanship.

As Jack sprinted past Samara, she noticed that the asari had turned around and was facing the incoming horde of Collectors. "What are you doing? ! Get the hell in here!"

"Go!" Samara grunted out. Her eyes were closed, but the dark energy coalesced around her hands was increasing in brightness and size.

Jack stared at her, wondering what she was doing before she recognized the smoldering pattern of energies gathered around the justicar. She'd certainly done it enough herself.

Gritting her teeth, Jack holstered her shotgun and ran up to join her, closing her eyes and focusing on the primal strength of her biotics as well.

_Like hell I'm going to let you have all the fun._

Jack could feel the heavy presence of dark energy they created around them now. Their combined efforts now almost made the biotic barrier a solid wall of crackling energy.

"Steady…" Samara whispered. "Almost there…"

It was nothing like Jack had ever done. She felt like her cells were about to scream in protest, yet at the same time, demand that she continue. Every inch of her skin tickled, itched, and tingled. She had always thought that Samara had always used her biotics conservatively; focused on control over power, unlike her. The fact that the asari had been holding back was humbling to say the least.

Still, it was rare that Jack ever said no to a challenge.

"**NOW!"**

At Samara's cry, Jack thrust out her arms in tandem with the Justicar. The biotic blast they'd created exploded outward, crashing against Seeker Swarms and Collectors alike. Their enemies were tossed back violently, unable to stand against the force of their combined power. They looked like they were caught between the cross of a force of a hurricane and a tidal wave. The small swarms were easily tossed back and scattered far from them while the Collectors were either blown over the side and into the chasm, or simply crushed by the awesome forces that were exerted by the two women. The path they had traversed cracked and crumbled from the onslaught of energies and fell apart, cutting off any chances for any husks to follow.

Panting lightly, Jack turned to see Samara appear unaffected by what they done.

Samara nodded her head respectfully before drawing her assault rifle and rejoining Shepard and Garrus inside.

Jack quickly followed, her smirk hidden beneath her helmet.

_Not bad, grandma._

**~o~O~o~**

"—_peat, Shepard, do you copy? !"_

"Jack, close and seal this door!" Shepard barked. He moved deeper in the room and tried to raise Miranda again. "I copy. Sit-rep."

"_We're at the door! They've got us pinned down!"_

Shepard gritted his teeth and ran up to the side of the door. "We're coming! Just hold on! Garrus!"

"I'm on it!" Garrus shouted back. He was already working the console and had his omni-tool up and scanning.

"Get this door open!"

"Just a few more seconds… Okay! It's opening!"

Stacking up, his team waited as the doors slid open.

"Cover fire!" Shepard ordered.

"Get inside! Move, move!" Miranda ordered. She, Grunt, and Jacob held the rear as the rest of the besieged team scrambled inside. "Grunt, Jacob, let's go!"

"Moving!" – "Ha! They can't stop us!"

"Suppressing fire! Hold them back!" Shepard ordered as the Collector's rained down fire on their position. As soon as the last of Miranda's team crossed through the threshold of the door, he called out to Garrus, "Seal it!"

Continuing to fire at the Collectors, Shepard noted his shields were draining fast against the onslaught. He couldn't even begin to imagine what the condition of the other team was like. Miranda and her squad continued to fight them though, ensuring no Collectors could enter.

"Shields down!" Miranda reported.

Finally, the doors closed, but one last shot somehow snuck by and struck Miranda's helmet. She only grunted once at the moment of impact and fell. The sight of her falling caused Shepard's blood to freeze. Once the doors closed, he ran towards Miranda's prone form.

"Miranda!" he called out.

She suddenly moved as Shepard knelt down next to her. Sitting up on her own, she turned to Shepard, showing that her faceplate was cracked in a spider-web pattern, but not breached. She stood up without help and took off her helmet before giving him a reassuring smile and a snapped off a salute. "I'm ready for action, Captain."

Sighing in utter relief, Shepard cupped her face briefly before turning to the others. "Anyone else hurt?"

Various answers in the negative floated back to him.

"Solid work," Shepard praised to her quietly. "Joker? Can hear me?"

"_Reading you, loud and clear. Finally,"_ Joker said. He breathed a sigh of relief._ "Mordin's team just showed up. I was trying to get in touch with you since then."_

"_They had difficulty en route to our position, Shepard. Some casualties to note, but the majority arrived in relatively good health. They're sequestered in the cargo bay,"_ EDI informed.

Tossing her helmet aside, Miranda stepped up next to him. "Excellent. Now let's make it count. What's our next step?"

"_There is a tunnel that will lead you directly to what should be the main control console. From there, you can overload the system and destroy the base."_

"_Ah shit,"_ Joker cursed. _"Shepard, you got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through."_

Shepard turned to console Garrus was at. Tali and Legion were there now and were doing something or other to it.

"We're jamming the door," Tali explained without looking up. "With the mess we're making in the programming, the only way they're getting in is by using heavy ordinance."

"Be advised: We calculate a 94.1235% chance that the Collector forces will breach the door using the method Creator Tali'Zorah suggested. Our attempt will only slow them down," Legion added.

"The other way is gone," Garrus reminded. "Jack and Samara took care of that."

"Just a little redecorating. Maybe a bit of radical reconstruction for good measure," Jack said with an unrepentant shrug.

"That means the Collectors will be funneled here," Shepard summed up to himself.

"Holding action?" Jacob asked.

"A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from following," Shepard replied in agreement. "That only leaves whatever is left ahead of us."

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard. Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back," Miranda said.

Looking at everyone in turn, he carefully weighed the strengths and weaknesses with what he might need in the final push ahead, as well as the best chance for the rearguard to survive.

"Miranda, Garrus, and Tali. Let's do this," he said, nodding to each one in turn.

His reasoning was simple. The team he needed to take had to be strong enough to handle Harbinger and whatever forces were left, but intelligent enough to take care of any complicated technical matter that may also lie ahead. Finally, he wanted to be as well rounded in their combat styles as possible; a balance of firepower, tech, and biotics.

All while making sure that the team holding the rear would still have enough to numbers and strength to keep the Collectors away.

The three he had chosen looked at each other before moving out of the group to stand beside him.

"Jacob, I'm putting you in charge of the rest of the squad."

"I got it, Captain," Jacob promised. "We'll hold them for as long as it takes."

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked quietly.

Shepard glanced at her before taking off his helmet to be able to look at his squad in earnest.

"This mission… this wasn't done by heroism or the pursuit of personal glory. In the end, we depended on each other to get here. We became a team that was built around our personal skills, talents, and strengths. It didn't matter how good we were individually, because it came down to one thing: how well we worked together. We didn't need a hero to succeed in this mission, we needed a team. And in the time we spent together, worked together and fought together, that's what we are now.

"Because of that, this was a suicide mission for one reason, and one reason only: we do whatever it takes to stop the Collectors. To succeed at any cost. Everyone, this is it. The final push. Don't let anything stop us.

"Remember why we're here, and what this mission is all about. The lives that the Collectors, and the Reapers, had taken and how many more they're going to take. They're a threat to everything – everyone. Those are the lives we're protecting. That's the scale. But for those that died… remember:

"We're here to fight for the lost."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Line taken from **The Three Musketeers **(1993). Kiefer Sutherland is the man.

Line taken from **Burn Notice**.

Random quotes taken from **Star Wars: Republic Commando**. I was just playing it a long while ago and was wondering if I could use the lines when reviewer **Skllhrt** thoughtfully sent me some great lines. It was scary. Like my mind was being read or something.

Thanks all the same though.


	63. Suicide Mission

_**Location: Galactic Core / Collector Base**_

Shepard led his team though the massive tunnel quickly, but cautiously. Though Jacob and the rest of the squad would do everything they could to hold back the bulk of the Collector forces from advancing on his team's position, each moment brought with it decreased odds of survival.

He wasn't going to lie to himself. It would take a miracle for everyone to get out alive, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't try.

The pipes above them continued to churn. It sickened him, knowing that inside were the remnants of the people they couldn't save and worse, that they were being used for whatever despicable reasons the Collectors and Reapers had. The possible scenarios conjured by his mind chilled his blood.

Keeping the pace at a light jog, with weapons up and ready, he and his team traversed the tunnel, following the enormous pipes overhead to wherever it would lead them. However, it readily became apparent that saving the crew of the Normandy was nothing more than fortuitous circumstance. The tunnel they were traveling through connected with several others, only to connect with even more. In the end, the tubes they had been following were nothing more than branches of a tree, and they've yet to find the trunk.

"All these pipes… there must be more rooms like the ones we found the crew in,"Garrus said, giving voice to Shepard's suspicions.

"Keelah… how many more do you think there are?" Tali asked, a horrified realization dawning on her.

"More than we'll ever know," Miranda hissed. Unlike the others, she almost seethed at the thought of how many humans had been sacrificed for whatever reason the Collectors needed them for. "It was nothing but dumb luck that we found the right room with the crew in it."

"_Shepard, you are not far now. With the Normandy in a closer position, I am able to get deeper scans of the interior of the Collector base,"_ EDI informed. _"Continue along that path. You are about to reach the main pipeline."_

"Pipeline for what? Can you tell us what it leads to? Or what the hell they're doing with all this?" he asked.

"_The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures,"_ she answered. _"Given these readings, it must be massive."_

As EDI had said, they found one enormous tube in an equally enormous tunnel. Following it to the end, the passageway led into a gigantic chamber.

"_Shepard… if my calculations are correct, the super-structure… is a Reaper."_

Upon leaving the tunnel, they entered the room to finally bear witness what the Collectors –the Reapers– had in mind for the fate of humanity.

"My God… not just any Reaper… a human Reaper," Shepard whispered. He was barely able to utter the words in horrified understanding.

The Reaper itself was clearly modeled after the physical likeliness of humanity, but it looked… wrong. Twisted. Perverted in some vile way. A mockery of the human species.

Its very existence almost seemed to spit in the face of everything Shepard had ever fought for and against.

The Reaper was obviously incomplete, but even unfinished, it was colossal in size. Thus far, it possessed two arms, complete with hands and ten fingers. The limbs connected into an unfinished torso. Parts of the chest were being covered in a shell, but for the most part, it was only a rib cage attached to a dangling spine. Within the chest cavity, a red orb, possibly the equivalent of a heart, was dimly lit in a crimson color.

The head was there, though it looked more like a grotesque skull. Without skin, all of the teeth were shown, presenting a sick grin as it stared down at the tiny organics that invaded its space with its two red-tinted eyes embedded in the right socket, while the left held a third and an unfinished fourth.

The bottom half of the Reaper was completely missing.

The tunnel they entered from was one of four, where the massive tubes hung from the ceiling and ended at the shoulders and arms of the Reaper. It was clear that the contents of the pipes were being fed into the disgusting construct as it dangled from the roof.

Distantly, Shepard recalled Vigil's words two years ago, when he asked the Prothean VI why the Reapers conducted their pattern of galactic genocide.

"_In the end, what does it matter? Your survival depends on stopping them, not in understanding them."_

_I think that's where you're wrong, Vigil._

"_Precisely,"_ EDI concurred and interrupting Shepard's thoughts. _"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper."_

"How many more?" Miranda morbidly asked.

"_Millions. Perhaps more. At this point, it is impossible to know for certain,"_ EDI said. _"This Reaper appears to be in a very early stage of development. An embryo in human terms."_

"This is…" Miranda murmured in shock.

"Is that thing alive? Does it know we're here?" Shepard asked.

"Or that we're here to kill it?" Garrus grimly added.

"_It is unclear how much it has developed. I cannot, for example, tell you if it has awareness,"_ EDI answered.

"I don't understand. What do the Reapers gain by turning humans into this… this monstrosity?" Miranda asked.

"_Perhaps this is the Reaper equivalent of reproduction. Or it may serve another purpose altogether. I do not have sufficient information to formulate a hypothesis and I am still mining the Collector databanks."_

"Do you think there's going to be something there that tells you about this?" Shepard asked.

"_The Collectors are merely pawns, slaves to the Reaper's will. The technology and ability needed to create this Reaper is clearly not their own. They are only doing as instructed. It may be likely that no information will be found.__"_

"Is there anything about why they're making it 'look' like a human then?"

"_It is likely that a Reapers shape is __based upon the species that is used to create it,"_ she simply answered.

"I don't get it. Reapers are machines. Why the hell are they using organics for materials?" Shepard snarled.

"Uh…"

Shepard turned to the source of the voice. "Garrus?"

His turian friend tried to speak, but stopped to clear his throat uncomfortably under Shepard's expectant stare, even hidden as it was beneath his Kestrel Helmet. "Remember when I said, about the Turian Office of Tech Recon? How they salvaged the main gun of Sovereign?"

"Yeah."

"They, ah, found other disturbing parts along with it… I imagine the Alliance and all the other Council races found and probably have similar reports after investigating the remains…"

"What?" Shepard prompted impatiently when Garrus trailed off.

"There were significant traces of alien material within the shell; actual organic tissue. It contained DNA we can't identify and have no known match to any sapient spacefaring species," Miranda answered when it was clear the turian was still too embarrassed to say any more. This was critical information they should've shared with Shepard long ago. "Though perhaps traces isn't the right word. The genetic material we analyzed seemed… woven in; merged seamlessly with the artificial components. Cerberus retrieved all pertinent information from both the Alliance and the turians thus far. I imagine we're trying to retrieve data from the asari and salarians as well, in addition to conducting our own studies. It was like nothing we've ever seen before. I led a team for that prior to the Lazarus Project, and the things we learned there inspired some new radical ideas for the implants you're using now. Now, as far as the Council races are concerned, it's the geth attempting to find out about organic weakness or utilizing us for more than mere husks."

Shepard's eyes widened at the revelation. He had assumed the tech that was used to rebuild him was custom or experimental. The idea that Reaper tech was the inspiration behind the Lazarus Project was something he would've never conceived at all.

_Great. Rebuilt with Reaper technology just so I can kill a Reaper._

"_Correct. As far as Cerberus intelligence has been able to determine, Reapers are sapient constructs. A hybrid of organic and inorganic material,"_ EDI said. _"The exact construction methods seem unclear but it seems probable that the Reapers absorb the essence of a species; utilizing it in their own reproduction process."_

"Does this mean there's a Prothean Reaper?" Garrus asked.

"_Perhaps. Or they attempted to create a Prothean Reaper. And failed,"_ EDI replied. _"Without knowing how many individuals are needed to construct a Reaper, it is only speculation if the Collectors are either remnant resources or the entirety of their species the Reapers changed over time and adapt to suit their needs; changed them, turned them into workers and become tools to create more Reapers in the next cycle of extinction. It is likely that different species provide the materials to construct each Reaper and the Collectors provide the labor."_

"But why are they doing this now, though?" Shepard asked. "Why take this kind of risk? I can get it if the Reapers were doing this during some mass invasion, but that's not the case here. They had to know that attacks of this magnitude would draw attention eventually. To make something like this, no species would ignore the disappearances of hundreds of thousands of people, let alone millions, during peace time."

"Maybe the Reapers are looking to make another Sovereign. Having a new Reaper in our space to try to unlock the Citadel and call in the rest of the Reapers way out in dark space," Miranda speculated.

"Remember what you said when we first saw the Thorian back on Ferros?" Garrus muttered.

"'We're going to need bigger guns'," Shepard answered. Even with the presence of the Cain at his back, it felt like it wasn't nearly adequate for something of this magnitude.

"Yeah, I don't that that's going to be enough this time," Garrus replied and confirming Shepard's thoughts.

"Let's hope blowing up this base is enough then," he muttered back. "Tali? Find what we're looking for?"

Tali absently nodded. Her gaze was still transfixed on what they found.

"Tali?" he repeated a little more forcefully to get her attention.

She snapped out of her daze. "What? Oh, yes. Down here. I think we can cause massive power surges at this main conduit. The effect should cascade exponentially and uncontrollably which will overload the mass effect core and destroy the entire base."

"How long will we have to get out?"

"I can set the overload to begin in 10 minutes. We'll have another 10 minutes to get out… give or take."

"Give or take?" Garrus repeated skeptically.

"You're asking me to try to set the mass effect core of this place to explode without actually being there," Tali retorted hotly. "This won't be a precise operation. It's finding the weak point and poking it with a sharp stick. I'm doing the best I—"

"It'll have to do," Miranda interjected harshly to end the debate. "Just do what you can. We can't linger here."

Shepard knelt down next to Tali and helped her pry open a section of the floor to reveal a complicated set of wires and tubes. "Shepard to rear guard. Status report."

There was a momentary crackle of static before he got a reply. _"It's Thane. We are holding, but they keep coming."_

"Where's Jacob?"

"_I'm busy!"_ Jacob managed to grind out. Several sounds of gunfire and explosions accompanied his shout. _"Grunt, reinforce our right flank!"_

"_A quick exit would be preferable,"_ Thane calmly said over the cacophony of combat.

"We're pulling out. The core is rigged to blow in 10 minutes. That means you have 5 to get to the Normandy. Haul ass," Shepard commanded.

"_Understood."_

"_We'll try to draw some of these guys away from you, Shepard! Hopefully, you'll have an easier time reaching __the Normandy than us,"_ Jacob said.

"Don't take any unnecessary risks. We're almost out of here."

"_Don't worry, Shep. If there's one thing I know how to do, its leading people on a merry chase!"_ Kasumi joked.

"_Battlemaster! You're missing it! It's goddamn glorious! I'll climb out on their bodies!"_ Grunt shouted exuberantly before Shepard cut the line.

"I hope they're going to be okay," Tali fretted. Despite her worry, she diligently continued to work on the conduit.

"Jacob's a fine soldier. He'll get'em out," Garrus assured.

Shepard changed frequencies. _"Joker, this is Shepard. Status of Mordin's team?"_

Joker chimed in. _"Just got here. They're boarding now."_

"_Prep the engines and prepare to receive Jacob's team and mine. This place is about to be blown to hell and back."_

"_Roger that, but uh… Captain? Incoming call… it's the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."_

"I knew it," Garrus growled. "What the hell is he going to do to us this time?"

"_Forwarding transmission,"_ EDI dutifully informed.

Miranda activated her omni-tool to accept the incoming call and projected the Illusive Man's image before them.

"Shepard. You've done the impossible," he stated without preamble.

The Spectre didn't even look up. He and Tali continued to work on the main conduit. "What do you want? If you hadn't noticed, we're busy."

"Wait. I have a better option."

Garrus scoffed.

_Here it comes._

"I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded," the Illusive Man said. "A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact."

_I knew it._

"This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge –that framework– could save us," he said.

"Or it could destroy us," Shepard retorted. Letting Tali work, he stood up and finally faced the projection. "I learned long ago: we don't mess around with Reaper tech if we can help it. We have to destroy this base."

"Don't be shortsighted," the Illusive Man snapped. "Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them."

"I'm not so sure. After seeing firsthand what happened to Dr. Chandana's science team on just a derelict Reaper, sending our people to this station might cause unforeseen problems. Perhaps even accelerate the Reaper's invasion," Miranda said. She appeared conflicted about the issue. "We're still not sure about the indoctrination process or how much influence Harbinger has over this facility, even if the Collectors were removed. Plus, the things that happened to the people here… It wouldn't seem right to—"

"Enough, Miranda," the Illusive Man snapped. The projection gave her a sharp glance before turning back to Shepard. "We can't afford to ignore this opportunity."

He missed Miranda's cold stare at the back of his head.

"The Collectors are working on direct orders from the Reapers. Who knows what information is buried here?" he continued. "This base is a gift. We can't destroy it."

"You're completely ruthless," Shepard growled. "For all I know, you're probably planning to grow your own damn Reaper."

"My goal is to save humanity from the Reapers. At any cost," the Illusive Man unrepentantly said. "I've never hidden that from you."

"And that's why I never trusted you. You draw a deep and ugly line when you use 'any cost'," Shepard countered.

"You're failing to see the big picture, Shepard," the Illusive Man argued. "Imagine how many lives could be saved if we keep this base intact and use its knowledge to thwart the Reapers."

"And anything else that stands in **your** way," Garrus blithely added.

"Imagine the lives that will be lost if we don't," the Illusive Man finished, ignoring Garrus' statement, and his presence, entirely.

"I'm imagining those same lives I might have saved, all lost because of what you'll do with this place," Shepard coolly replied.

"And what about your life? You died fighting for what you believed," the Illusive Man pointedly reminded. "I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say what we did to you was going too far. But look at what you've accomplished! I didn't discard you, because I knew your value. Don't be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential."

"Discard," Shepard repeated in a cold voice. "You knew, didn't you? You knew what the Collectors, the Reapers, were doing with all the people they've taken."

The Illusive Man's stare was uncaring, unrepentant, and emotionless.

He also completely missed Miranda's equally displeased glare behind him.

"So I'm a just a tool for you? And the millions that were taken? Just 'acceptable losses' then? That's your problem. That's all you see: people to be used until there's nothing left or nothing more to offer. You don't care or respect them, and I'm sure you won't respect whatever information this place has," Shepard said. "I'm sick of cleaning up after your shit. We'll fight the Reapers, and we'll win. Without this base and without your 'help'. I'm not about to let fear compromise who I am."

He turned his back to the projection to help Tali. He tensed up and paused when he heard The Illusive Man say, "Miranda – do not let Shepard destroy the base!"

Turning his head slightly, he saw Garrus finger his sidearm out of the corner of his eye. Catching his friend's gaze, Shepard shook his head with the barest of movements.

Garrus moved his hand away from his weapon.

"Or what? You'll 'discard' me next?" Miranda retorted with a deep frown. Her eyes were even colder than her voice.

In contrast, the Illusive Man's narrowed gaze was the only indication of how livid he was. "I gave you an order, Miranda!"

"I noticed. Consider this my resignation," she said with surprising vindictiveness.

"Shepard!" The Illusive Man shouted. It was the first time the Spectre heard anything else besides cold and calculating, or charismatic control from the leader of Cerberus. "Think about what's at stake! About everything Cerberus has done for you! You—!"

A flick of her fingers, and the call was terminated, cutting off his last desperate plea. Miranda raised an eyebrow and turned off her omni-tool. "That's enough out of him, I think."

"Now that's one way to tell your boss to go to hell," Garrus said. He sounded approving.

"Almost done," Tali said. She appeared relieved at the sudden loss of tension.

"Finish quickly, Tali. I'm sure we're gonna have company soon," Shepard said. He turned to Miranda gave her a nod. At that moment, he never felt more confident in their relationship as he did now.

She gave him a smile in return.

"Okay, it's about ready. Now I have to…" Tali trailed off and looked around. "Did anyone feel that?"

Shepard glanced at his surroundings before putting his hand on the ground to see what bothered her. "I don't feel anything."

"I did," Garrus tensely said.

"What was—" Shepard's question was cut off when the Human Reaper let out something akin to a groan.

"Oh my god," Miranda whispered. She drew her Pulse Rifle. "It's activating!"

Shepard did the same with his HMWA and uttered a curse. "Is it me, or is it just a too little coincidental that this is happening **right** after we tell the Illusive Man to go to hell?"

"I'm beginning to think he knew more about this place than he let on…" she concurred.

The sounds of snapping cables prompted Shepard to look up at the suspended arms. The fingers curled into fists before it tore its right hand free from its restraints. Human organic matter sprayed everywhere.

Both the eyes and the central core inside the chest lit up with a fearsome red glow. It raised its arm and tried to smash the team, but they were already moving.

"Holy shit," Shepard breathed out after they scrambled out of the way. He lost his footing from the heavy impact and struggled to his feet.

"Oh, crap," Garrus echoed. He was staring at the enormous limb that was now gripping the platform they were standing on.

The Reaper uttered something between a groan and a growl as it used its arm to support itself.

"Did you finish, Tali? !" Miranda cried out.

"Yes! 10 minutes and counting! We have to get out of here!" she answered frantically.

Before the team could retreat, the Reaper tore its other arm free and slammed it into the far wall. Rubble fell and buried the passageway they'd entered from, preventing them from going through their primary escape plan.

Using both arms, it propped itself up and loomed over them, staring at each individual. Vague, indefinable sounds emanated from it, as though it were attempting to talk.

Or threaten them.

"I don't think that thing is going to let us!" Garrus shouted. He leveled his Reverent and fired frantically at the Reaper. It was already clear that their armaments were inadequate, making his resistance fruitless.

_Goddamn it._

**~o~O~o~**

"_Haul ass people! Move it!"_ Jacob barked. _"Grunt, give'em a taste of the Cain, dead center! Samara, need a singularity at our left flank after! Draw any survivors away so we can push the right and blow through! Jack, shockwave on any holdouts in our way!"_

The door had long since been blown wide open, creating an enormous passageway that made it impossible to funnel the Collectors into a single kill zone. With the only way out thick with opposition, the plan was simple: Use the heavy artillery to thin the ranks, and then run like hell during the confusion. Simple, brutal, but without a lot of options at the moment, it was all Jacob could think of that that even had a remote chance of working.

"_Fire in the hole!"_ Grunt gleefully warned. His Cain lobbed its deadly projectile right into the midst of the Collector positions.

"_Everyone down!"_ Jacob shouted. He ducked and braced for the shockwave.

A deafening roar reverberated through the entire room, followed quickly by a blast of displaced air from the explosion. The entire squad hunkered down until the environment around them finally stilled.

"_**GO!"**_

At Jacob's command, Samara leapt out and created a singularity, drawing the surviving Collectors away from their path.

Jack followed up with shockwave before leading the charge out. Anything that remotely twitched was blasted by her shotgun as she ran past.

With the ranks broken, the team ran through the tunnels toward the extraction coordinates EDI sent them.

"_Oh shit!" _Jack cursed before stopping in her tracks and diving to the side.

Without even questioning her, Jacob gave the order for everyone to take cover while doing the same. Just after he dove behind some archway, bullets and laser fire struck all around him.

"_A second wave,"_ Thane reported. _"And the area is too confined for Grunt's weapon__."_

_Shit!_

Jacob ripped out his last grenade from his belt and peeked out briefly, before jerking his head back.

"_Hostile acquired. Stand-by Taylor-Jacob."_

Legion's sniper rifle boomed once. Taking another chance, Jacob peered out before tossing his grenade at the thickest concentration of Collectors.

The moment his grenade exploded, the team pressed the advantage over their disoriented enemy. When the numbers were thin enough, Jack led the way with a biotic charge followed up with several shotgun blasts.

"_Hurry up!"_ she shouted. _"I don't wanna be here with this place blows!"_

"_I hear ya. Let's move people," _Jacob ordered. He sprinted onwards, keeping his eyes open for any more ambushes. _"Joker, this is Taylor. We're making our way to the LZ, but we're up against some resistance."_

"_Gotcha. Mordin and others you saved are aboard. We'll hold our position till you get here,"_ Joker replied.

"_Roger that. Taylor out."_

**~o~O~o~**

Skidding to a stop, Shepard ducked his head down and was forced to grit his teeth as the Reaper fired its main weapon yet again. The intense heat was uncomfortable, even with his armor protecting him. The beam itself was more than a few dozen meters away, signifying that a direct hit would be decisively fatal.

Miraculously, he and his team were able to avoid the attacks thus far. The Reaper continued its attempts to speak, but only guttural growls could be heard.

Looking back up, Shepard deduced that either the Reaper had difficulty aiming since it was still trying to stay on the observation deck using only its arms, or the programs within weren't fully developed as well, causing it to miss constantly.

_Probably why it can't talk yet either._

"_Is it me, or is that thing a really bad shot? !" _Garrus rhetorically asked as he ran from yet another blast from the Reaper. He ended up ducking inside a trench the construct had created from an earlier sustained shot.

"_It might be trying to get its bearings! Or the programs that govern its weapons systems might not be calibrated yet!"_ Tali responded.

"_Yeah? Well, sooner or later, it'll get lucky! I say we get outta here before that happens!"_

"_No good over here! All the passageways are completely blocked!"_ Miranda reported from amidst the rubble the Reaper had created when it woke up.

"_Ah, don't tell me we gotta fight this thing? !"_ Garrus complained.

"_I need 10 seconds!"_ Shepard called out. He drew the Cain and aimed at the head.

"_Just 10? !"_ Garrus frantically yelled. He had ceased fire long ago, since it was obvious that his weapon did little to harm the Reaper.

"_Do whatever it takes!"_ Shepard ordered before using his tactical cloak to buy time to ready himself.

As the Cain cycled through its startup sequence, Garrus, Tali, and Miranda all ran to different areas of the deck. Each was firing their weapons wildly at the Reaper, whether it was conventional guns, specialized tech, or biotics. None of it did any good, but it served the purpose of diverting the Reaper's attention away from Shepard.

The Cain beeped once, signaling its readiness. _"Clear the area! Fire in the hole!"_ Shepard warned.

Aiming at the head, he pulled the trigger and watch as the deadly round arced toward the destination he hoped for.

Forced to duck down from the resulting explosion, Shepard held his ground before looking back up again; then cursed under his breath at what he saw.

The Reaper's head was rocked back by the force, but beyond that, there appeared to be very little damage. Even its main weapon inside its mouth appeared functional.

"_Goddamn it…"_

"_It's still kicking! I think we need to hit this thing again!"_ Garrus shouted.

"_I only have 2 shots left!"_

"_Aim for the chest! That might be where it's mass effect core was being constructed!"_ Miranda suggested before running away when the Reaper recovered. It had turned to her and fired its weapon again, no worse for wear after taking a direct hit to the head.

Without any better ideas or options, Shepard took steady charged up the Cain once more. The HUD in his helmet showed that his camouflage system was cooling down. Muttering a few more curses and promising himself to ask Kasumi about her special brand of optical camouflage technology, he sprinted to the nearest cover he could find and waited out the 10 second charge.

Acutely aware of the thunderous sounds of the Reaper's movements, the shouts of his teammates in the radio, and the blistering heat of laser fire, Shepard watched with bated breath as the timer finally reached zero, and the trefoil stamped on the side began glowing.

Popping out of cover, he quickly, but carefully aimed at the chest of the Reaper and prepared to fire when Tali shouted out her warning.

"_Shepard! It's looking at you! __**RUN!**__"_

Snapping out of the tunnel vision he had inadvertently put himself in, he looked up to see the Reaper's gaping mouth.

In a rush, he pulled the trigger before pushing synthetic adrenaline and running.

He moved in the nick of time. The shot was high and wide, but so was his. In his haste to evade the laser blast, he inadvertently pulled the Cain up, causing the shot to strike the Reaper's shoulder.

The shockwave blasted him off his feet and he fell heavily on his side, before skidding to a halt. Luckily, he managed to keep a grip on the Cain as he clambered back to his feet.

"_Shot was wide!"_ Garrus informed.

"_Barely even slowed it down," _Miranda added.

Cursing a storm under his breath, Shepard quickly checked the condition of the Cain and prepared his next shot.

"_Last round left. Make it count,"_ Garrus reminded with a grim countenance.

Forgoing subtly, Shepard charged up the Cain one last time and stood out in the open, giving the Reaper a clear shot at him.

It took the bait. Glaring at the human with its three functioning eyes, it gave out an electronically sounding growl.

However, its gaping chest cavity was also exposed and clearly presented.

The Cain beeped.

The energy inside the mouth coalesced as the Reaper opened its maw to fire its deadly weapon.

Shepard fired first.

Elation rushed through him as he watched the Reaper thrashed and writhed. Further explosions and fire spewed from its chest as it finally threw its head back in a pained roar. The laser fired high and wide, missing the team entirely.

"_It's coming down!"_ Garrus crowed triumphantly. His cheer was cut short when he, like the others, saw where the Reaper was coming down.

Right on top of them.

"**R****un!"** Shepard bellowed. He and Miranda sprinted full-bore to the right while Garrus and Tali took flight to the left.

The full weight of the Reaper crashed down on the observation platform. Shepard's dash was cut short as the ground beneath him quaked and trembled with incredible force. He fell, but merely let his armor take the brunt of the impact. Looking up, he saw Miranda had also lost her balance and was forced to wait for shaking to subside.

But it didn't. The sheer mass of the Reaper caused the platform the team was on to groan in protest. Without proper purchase, the hulking corpse began sliding off. All four of them took care to maintain as much distance as they could while the Reaper slid towards the bottom of the massive chamber it had been created in. The construct groaned as it continued its journey downward.

Shepard cautiously stood up, avoiding the limp arms, and glaring into its dimming eyes just before the head fell out of his line of sight.

Just as soon as he thought they'd won, just as the Reaper had fallen, its left hand gripped the edge of the observation deck.

The sheer mass of the Reaper overcame the already damaged deck and the front half bent downward.

Shepard found himself fortunate to be on the midline of the bend and leapt back to avoid falling. A scream told him that he was the only one that was lucky. "Miranda!"

She was too far to make the distance and fell. She rolled several times, before managing to right herself and slide on her stomach. Her hands and feet were trying to find any handholds to arrest her fall.

Shepard didn't think twice or hesitate; he leapt onto the downward slope and slid after her, arm outstretched, willing himself to go faster.

For a brief moment, Miranda looked shocked that he would do something so insane but surprise gave way to gratitude and determination as Shepard attempted to speed up while she did was she could to slow down.

_Almost there!_

Inches away, he thought he could brush against her fingertips. Mere seconds later, he grasped her hand.

But before they could get a firm grip with one another, her left boot hit a bump, cause her to suddenly spin to the right and lose her lifeline.

_Shit!_

He didn't even think about slowing down, even with the end of the line fast approaching. He was still inches away and getting closer.

Miranda's eyes held a wild look of fear when she finally flew over the edge and into the open void. Time slowed to a crawl. Her arm was still reaching out to him. Gritting his teeth, Shepard lunged for her hand, clasped it tightly, and slammed down hard with is other arm to cease his forward motion. Even with his hardened bones, he felt a painful jolt run through his limb, but refused to give into the pain as he tightened his hold on her while staying on terra firma.

"Gotcha!"

Looking back up at him, her shock was palpable, but her relief was even more so. A deafening boom from below drew their attention. The Reaper was letting loose gouts of flames now, as more explosions echoed from below.

Shepard hurriedly pulled her up just moments before the Reaper let out a roar and one final explosion that proceeded to climb the chasm at an alarming pace.

Struggling herself, and with Shepard's aid, Miranda managed to find purchase after pulling her left leg on top of the edge and rolled onto the platform.

And it wasn't a moment too soon. The shockwave reached the deck and pushed it up. With the sudden change in the incline, the both of them were rolling to the increasingly damaged section where the platform was bent at in a lopsided V shape.

Shepard grunted when his back finally met the midway point and grunted again when Miranda landed on top of him.

"_Shepard? Lawson!"_ Garrus called out.

"_We're here…" _Miranda answered back. _"We're fine."_

"_Okay, I say we get the hell out of here, ASA… Oh crap! Look out!"_

Miranda and Shepard weren't in any position to see what the warning was about, but they felt and heard it. The entire structure underneath them lurched and heaved when several more explosions from below threatened to consume the entire chamber. Miranda and Shepard clutched each other when they went airborne, only to fall back down on the sloping deck. Once again, the platform was bent in a tent shape, but they were lucky enough to be sliding toward Garrus and Tali on more solid ground now.

Their respite was short lived though. All four of them got up on unsteady legs and staggered toward, what they hope to be, more solid and safer ground. Rocks, other mobile platforms, and misc. debris rained around them.

Shepard felt something heavy strike his pauldron, causing him to look up. He didn't even have time to shout out a warning before the platform that was spinning out of control came crashing down on them and all was dark.

**~o~O~o~**

Jacob continued to fire his Eviserator, downing Collector after Collector while leading everyone to the Normandy coordinates.

Shooting down a Collector in flight, Jacob watched as the body fell on top of one of its allies. What really got his attention were the reinforcements pouring from the door they were intending to take. Quickly looking around revealed that any other door toward the Normandy were covered by the Collector's now.

"_Joker, we're pinned down!"_ Jacob shouted into the radio. He was acutely aware of the bullets flying just inches above his head as the Collectors returned fire. _"We can't make it to the rendezvous! I repeat: we can't make it to the LZ!"_

"_We're tracking you, Jacob! Hold on, lemme try to find another place,"_ Joker answered. _"Okay, try that tunnel northwest! We're coming to you!"_

With options limited and with nowhere else to go, Jacob led the charge into the only remaining passageway. Before he could get more than a few meters in, Jack grunted and cursed.

"_Motherfucker!"_ she shouted from the ground. She was clutching her leg, shotgun left forgotten nearby.

"_Get her up!"_ Jacob barked.

Samara knelt down and provided support as she pulled Jack to her feet. To her credit, she merely snarled and put her weight on her good leg. They marched deeper into the tunnel, with Thane taking point now.

"_Warning! Primary kinetic barriers down!"_ Legion reported. It still held its position as the rear guard for the others, methodically aiming and shooting at the Collectors that threatened to overtake them. _"Attempting to overclock redundancy barriers."_

"_Legion!"_ Kasumi cried out.

Jacob turned to see several bullet strikes finally take Legion down. It had fallen to one knee with white hydraulic fluid spraying everywhere. One of its arms was dangling uselessly at its side, but it still held its ground and shot at any Collectors that were still a threat with its shotgun.

_Shit!_

_"Barriers overwhelmed! Damage threshold exceeded!" _Legion stated. Several more hits ricocheted off its synthetic body. Despite the damage, it continued to fight back single-handedly while feeding them its vocal reports. _"Auto-saving. Archival upload commencing. Error! No carrier. No carrier. No carrier. No—"_

A Scion's biotic shockwave struck it dead in the chest. Legion's crumpled body briefly flew into the air before landing in a twisted heap.

"_Legion!"_ Kasumi cried out again.

"_Keep going! Get the new rendezvous point and secure our LZ_!" Jacob ordered to the others. _"Grunt, on me!"_

The krogan immediately turned around and roared in challenge. His Claymore boomed in concert as he charged the Collectors head-on. He took several hits in return, but it did little to slow him down.

For a moment, Jacob was worried that Grunt had given into the infamous krogan battle/blood rage and was about to make a suicide run, but was relieved when Grunt stopped next to prone body of Legion and protected it.

Jacob drew is ML-77 Missile Launcher and fired off a few rounds in quick succession to buy time. _"Pick up that bucket of bolts! No one gets left behind!"_ he shouted over the explosions.

Grunt knelt down, heaved Legion over his shoulder and stood up in one quick motion before resuming his suppression fire.

"_Let's go!"_ Jacob said, taking Legion's place as the rear guard.

"_Jacob! We got a problem!"_ Kasumi frantically reported.

"_Aw shit! Grandma's down!"_ Jack cursed. _"They pushed us into a trap! They're everywhere!"_

"_I see them,"_ Thane responded. Several shots could be heard.

"_Going dark! I'll try to flank them!"_ Kasumi said. _"Get back into the tunnel!"_

"_Let's move, Grunt_!" Jacob shouted before sprinting down the tunnel. Despite his bulk, Grunt matched pace easily, even while carrying the hefty weight Legion must've been.

The narrow tunnel funneled the Collectors into their sights, allowing Jacob and Grunt to eliminate their pursuers in droves, but both men knew that the numbers behind each dead were too much for them to hold back by themselves. Grunt used the last of his grenades to quell the charge before they both turned around and took off to regroup with the rest of the team. Emerging from the tunnel, all Jacob could see was a large open area with absolutely no cover that ended with a deep canyon of some sort.

There were several dead Collectors that served as the trap. Nearby, Samara was clutching a wound in her abdomen, though there was another in her shoulder as well. Kasumi was administering first aid to both her and Jack.

_Cut off!_

He could hear the Collectors coming in from the tunnel behind them. _"Concentrate fire on the tunnel! Don't give them an inch!" _

The team complied immediately. Even Jack took a prone position on the ground, with her Predator up and ready while Samara did the same in a sitting position after assuring Kasumi she could still fight.

"_Here they come!" _Grunt growled out in barely contained anticipation. He had placed Legion's body on the ground and was ready with his Claymore.

"_Let'em have it!"_

Biotics, bullets, grenades and everything else the team could bring to bear was used. Nothing held back or spared.

"_Joker, we need that pick up and we need it now!"_ Jacob yelled into his radio. A beeping sound caught his attention. His eyes darted around his HUD and saw his shields were all but drained. Before he could put up a biotic barrier, he felt a round slam into the side of his ass. He toppled over. Twisting around, he brought his shotgun up and traded fire from the ground. _"Where the hell are you?!"_

Suddenly, the Normandy flew up from the canyon they were fighting next to. The main hanger opened and several crewmen and colonists rushed down the ramp. Some of them were armed with various weapons and began firing at the Collectors, drawing attention away from the besieged squad.

"_You called?" _Joker cheekily replied.

**~o~O~o~**

"_Come on!" _Jack shouted when she saw the Normandy. She pulled at Samara's arm dragged the asari to her feet. _"We're almost there!"_

Samara gasped and applied more pressure on her wound. Leaning onto Jack for support with her good arm, she staggered onward. Her breaths came out as a cross between gasping and wheezing as the younger woman trudged them toward safe haven.

"_Almost…"_ Jack whispered. She drew on her flagging reserves of strength and determinedly marched on. She gritted her teeth and for once, bit back several curse words each time she was forced to put weight on her injured leg. Her breathing was already ragged with the effort of moving that it felt like talking would be too much for her to bear.

"Over here!"

"I see them!"

"Hurry!"

Jack looked up to see more Cerberus crewmen and colonists quickly run down the ramp. Some of them were armed and traded fire with the Collectors. Others simply ran right into the fray assist them, with no armor, no kinetic shields, and no weapons to help bring them aboard.

A couple of colonists approached the both of them and eased Samara off of Jack and hurriedly brought the justicar inside.

"Let's go!" a woman yelled over the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Jack didn't recognize her, but didn't protest when she took an arm and provided some much needed support.

**~o~O~o~**

Jacob fired his shotgun at the Collectors while pushing back on his good leg toward the Normandy. Deep down, he knew wasn't going to make it without help, but with the enemies bearing down on him, he didn't want to be the one to put the ship, the crew, and the civilians at risk.

He growled in equal parts pain and anger when he heard his Eviserator beeping, signaling that the current heat sink was overheated. He pumped the weapon to eject the spent round and tried to fire again, but the beeping continued with the additional sound of a click, indicating dry fire. His thermal clip was spent.

Tossing the useless weapon aside, he drew his Carnifex and kept up his futile assault. "Come on! You want some more? ! Huh? ! I got more, you fuckers! If you want me, you're gonna have to work for it!"

Suddenly, he was forced to shut his eyes when a bright flash threatened to blind him. He was fortunate to be on the ground already though when the shockwave that followed pushed him back several feet.

His head hit something hard, causing his slide to be cut short.

A hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"_Get up Taylor! Either die on your feet or get on the ship!"_

Gritting his teeth against the pain that nearly caused him to black out, he blinked away the spots in his eyes to see Grunt stow his Cain and pulled out his own Carnifex.

"_Grunt!"_

"_No one gets left behind,"_ Grunt recited before picking Jacob up and carelessly tossing him over his shoulder. All the while, he fired down on the Collectors before turning around and dashing for the open hangar door.

From his position on Grunt's back, Jacob raised his head to see the surviving Collectors chasing them. Aiming his Hand Cannon, he continued to fire on their pursuers as his savior carried him into the Normandy and into safety. _"Legion?"_

"_Already inside. You're the last."_

When Grunt ran up the ramp and into the ship's hanger, Jacob, still firing at the Collectors, exuberantly shouted, "You missed me, you sons-of-bitches! ! ! I'm still here! ! ! !"

**~o~O~o~**

"All team members, crewmen, and civilians accounted for, Jeff."

After hearing EDI's report, Joker quickly pulled the Normandy away. The Collectors were probably still shooting, but their weapons would be useless against the kinetic shielding and armor of a warship.

"And we're outta here! All that's left is Shepard's team!" Joker said.

"Jeff, I am having difficulty raising them. No one is answering," EDI worriedly said.

"Joker to Shepard. Just picked up Jacob's team and we're making our way to you." Nothing. No answers, no sounds, not even static. "Captain? Shepard? Garrus? Is anyone there? Shepard? !"

**~o~O~o~**

"—_pard? ! Do you copy? ! Are you there? ! Come on, guys, don't leave me hanging! Someone answer me!"_

Shepard growled under his breath as consciousness slowly flooded back to his senses. A pattern that was becoming all too repetitive, it was the pain that roused him back to wakefulness first. Gingerly flexing his limbs and taking a few deep breaths to restore his focus, he concluded that nothing was broken. He opened his eyes to see that he was buried underneath a pile of loose flotsam. Pushing against whatever was on top of him, he grunted with the effort, but was relieved to see that everything was shifting. After a few minutes, he pushed enough off to be able to crawl out and away to get a read on his situation.

"_Do you copy? !"_

"_I'm here, Joker,"_ Shepard finally managed to answer. He looked around when he realized that he was the only one standing so far.

"_Oh man, that's a relief."_

"_Yeah, Joker, but it's just me. I don't see anyone else. Stand-by,"_ Shepard said tensely. _"Miranda? Garrus? Tali? Anyone? ! Can you guys hear me? !"_

"_Yeah, I can hear you."_

Shepard looked around more intently. _"Garrus! Where are you? !"_

"Under a bunch of crap. No idea where you are. Just follow my voice," Garrus' muffled reply floated back.

Instantly zooming onto the source, Shepard dashed over to a nearby pile of rubble and started digging in. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I don't think anything's broken, but I'm in a bad position. Hard to get leverage here."

"Am I getting close?"

"Yeah ," Garrus answered. "It's getting easier to move now. One sec."

The rock and metal underneath Shepard's position started shifting. He helped his friend out by moving away the heaviest objects he could find. In no time, Garrus forcefully moved the last piece of metal, before slowly crawling on all fours out of the hole they'd made.

"Thanks," Garrus said. He held out the Cain. "This was with me under there. Better take it before I keep it. Finders keepers and all that."

"Thanks," Shepard replied. He didn't even remember dropping it. After securing the heavy weapon, he did a cursory check to see if Garrus was alright. Satisfied that the turian wasn't injured, he rescanned the area. While he was relieved his friend was alive and well, there were still two more unaccounted for. "Miranda! Tali! If you can hear me, answer!"

"Tali! Lawson!" Garrus shouted. He stood up and moved to different section of the platform. "Tali? ! Lawson ? !"

Shepard was about to call out again when he heard a low painful, keening cry coming to his left. "Oh, shit. Tali? !"

"Where? !" Garrus asked and sprinted over.

"I think I heard her. Over there," Shepard pointed before moving closer to the sound. "Tali? ! Say something! Anything!"

"K-k-keelah… i-it… h-h-h-hurts…"

"Tali!" Garrus cried out. He pulled at large metal plate. Shepard hurried to help. "We're coming Tali!"

The only response was another gasp, followed by a tiny wail.

Both men frantically pulled apart anything that could be moved, guided only by her muted cries.

After Garrus moved some debris, he called out, "Here! I found her! I- Ah shit!"

Moving over, Shepard saw it too and repeated Garrus' curse. Tali's leg was exposed, but what drew his attention was the long metal pipe that was firmly embedded into her thigh. "We have to get her out. Tali! We're almost there!"

"H-h-hurry…"

"Garrus, put medi-gel and pressure on that wound," Shepard ordered. He started digging and cleared away more debris for the young engineer.

"Tali, brace yourself. This is gonna hurt," Garrus warned. Without waiting, he applied a liberal dose of medi-gel to sterilize and slow the bleeding of the wound. Next, he placed his hands on the site and pressed hard. He did his best to ignore her sudden scream. "Okay, I got her! Looks like this thing went right through her leg."

"Almost there…" Shepard grunted out before tossing aside the last piece of metal and finally freeing her. He critically observed her from head to toe. Besides the obvious wound in her thigh, she appeared to suffer no other significant injuries, something he was grateful for. The faceplate in her helmet was cracked though, which caused some measure of alarm. "Tali?"

"Get it out! Get it out!" she shouted.

"Can't do that, Tali," Garrus said calmly, no doubt for her benefit. "We can't afford the risk of more bleeding or causing more damage to your leg."

Shepard gripped her flailing hand. "Tali, **focus**. Your faceplate is cracked. Are you okay?"

Tali hyperventilated briefly after his question, whether it was from the pain or the information, or both. After a few moments though, she shook her head. "M-my helmet's integrity h-hasn't b-been compromised. I-I'm okay…"

Sighing in relief, Shepard squeezed Tali's hand once more before standing up. "Stay with her, Garrus. I gotta find Miranda."

"I'm on it," he assured.

"Miranda!" Quickly poking around where he regained consciousness, Shepard frantically looked around for her. Images of her suffering from similar injuries or worse floated through his mind's eye, before he viciously put a cap on his treacherous imagination. That didn't stop him from digging more vigorously though and just when he was about to start shout out her name again, he felt something grip his ankle, causing him to jerk back in surprise.

"Under here," her muffled voice responded. Only her arm was sticking out underneath a pile of junk.

Moving aside the heaviest items, he shifted enough for her to get out on her own, though she did so slowly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, keeping the worry out of his voice.

"One moment," she said. Her hand reached up to her head, bereft of the protection of a helmet, and came back with a thin sheen of blood. She winced when she made contact with the injury. "Not too much blood, so the cut must not be deep. I'm still lucid and I can remember, **vividly**, the platform that crashed on top of us. No retrograde amnesia most likely means no concussion…"

She moved to stand, and accepted Shepard's silent offer of assistance as he helped her up.

"Slight dizziness, but that's expected," she muttered, when she needed to lean on some the nearest hard surface after standing tall. Whether she was speaking to herself or to Shepard, the Spectre had no idea. "Yes, I think I'm fine. Enough to get out of here at least. From what I could hear, Tali wasn't so lucky."

"Can you help her?" he asked. She nodded and without help, moved over to Garrus.

"Let me see," she instructed. She shooed the turian away and examined the wound closely with her omni-tool. "Alright, it looks like a clean through and through. No vital arteries or veins were hit. It missed the bone entirely and the muscles appear largely intact."

"So she'll be okay?" Garrus asked intently.

"For the time being, but need to get her to the Normandy right now," Miranda said. "Break out your med kits. We'll need to wrap the leg quickly after we staunch the bleeding with gauze."

Both men complied with her orders.

"Garrus, I need painkillers from your kit since the meds in there will be compatible to her physiology. Tali, I need to administer some mild sedatives to prevent you from going into shock while we're moving. Do you understand? Just nod."

Tali nodded.

"Where do I inject?" Miranda asked.

Raising one of arms weakly, she pointed at a section of her suit.

Miranda pried apart a layer to reveal an injection port.

"F-for direct i-injection o-of antib-biotics," she weakly explained. She tried to inject a bit of humor or strength into her voice. Or she was trying to say something else.

"I suspect we may have to give you a heavy dose you with that as well," Miranda murmured, having figured why Tali would mention it. She took a syringe from Garrus and slotted it into the port before injecting the contents. Next, she searched Tali's pouches and found several more syringes labeled as antibiotics. After administering a heady dose, she started working on her leg.

Leaving Tali to Miranda's capable hands, Shepard tapped into his radio. "Joker? Shepard here. We're all okay, but Tali needs medical attention. Inform Mordin ASAP. Has Jacob's team arrived yet?"

"_Roger that! Jacob's team is aboard, but you have to hurry! Your ten minutes are already up! The core's overloading!"_

As if to punctuate his statement, everything around them started rumbling ominously.

Miranda tightened the bandage on Tali's leg, taking care not to disturb the protrusion. "This is as good as it's going to get."

"Let's hope it's the full 10 minutes plus a couple extra then," Garrus said.

Shepard drew his assault rifle. Miranda made to emulate his actions, but frowned when her hand grasped nothing but air. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her Pulse Rifle was missing. "Oh, damn it."

"Here, you can use this," Garrus said and passed along Tali's M-27 Scimitar. "You don't mind, do you Tali?"

"B-better in h-her hands than i-in mine right now," she joked.

He bent over to cradle the quarian in his arms.

"Incoming!" Shepard shouted. He pointed at the sudden arrival of Seeker Swarms. "Run!"

"Sorry, Tali! No time to be gentle!" Garrus apologetically said in a hurry. He bodily picked her up and carried her over his shoulder, taking care not to bump her leg injury and the foreign object in it.

Tali gasped and held back her cry.

"Go, go, go!" Shepard ordered.

As one, the team hightailed it out of the chamber. Miranda took point with her borrowed shotgun up and ready while Shepard trailed behind as rear guard after scattering the seeker swarm with a pulse of biotics. By some stroke of miraculous luck, the tunnel leading back was now relatively clear of debris. Whether it was from the multitude of explosions, quakes, a stray shot from the Reaper's main weapon, or something else entirely, none of them questioned or objected their fortuitous change in circumstance.

Rushing in, Miranda navigated the tunnels for the team. She stopped at a 3-way intersection to glance at her omni-tool to confirm the directions EDI had fed her. "Left."

"Straight ahead, look out!" Shepard shouted. He pushed Miranda into the tunnel she directed and dove to the right. Garrus had already seen the threat and ran left long before on a lucky guess.

Several Collectors were firing down on them moments later. Ahead of them was a small cadre of husks. The red abominations were at the forefront and as soon as they reached the intersection, exploded into a gory mess.

The comprised passageway finally collapsed under the strain. Shepard scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He could barely stay ahead of the falling ceiling before everything settled down, though the station continued to shake.

"_Shep… you… ay?"_ Garrus radioed. His voice was coming in broken and the parts Shepard could hear was filled with static.

"_I'm fine! I'll try to find another way to the Normandy!"_

"_Wha… that? Can't… ake… Repeat…"_ Miranda said.

"_EDI, I need a new way to the Normandy,"_ Shepard requested. He frowned when there was no answer. _"EDI? Joker? Can anyone read me?"_

There wasn't even static this time. He was on his own.

_Goddamn it._

**~o~O~o~**

"Shepard? Repeat your last. We can't hear you!" Miranda said. She impatiently brushed back a stray lock of hair from her face and to remove any excess dust from blinding her eyes, taking care not to aggravate her injury any further.

"No good. There must be too much crap between us and him," Garrus said worriedly.

"No… m-most likely, it's the result of t-the mass effect c-core," Tali explained. She sounded a bit stronger, no doubt from the pain meds that were making her injury more tolerable, rather than excruciating. "I-it's getting m-more unstable. The random energy output must b-be messing with our c-comms."

"She's probably right. I can't raise the Normandy either," Miranda said in frustration.

"No more talking, Tali," Garrus said. "Time to get you some help."

"B-but… what about S-Shepard?"

"He'll make it. He always does. We didn't get this far to die here," Miranda resolutely said. She raised her borrowed shotgun and walked down the passageway. "We need to go. Right **now**."

**~o~O~o~**

Ducking behind a metal protrusion, Shepard ejected his spent thermal clip, but in the middle of his reload, a husk popped up and took a swipe at him. Leaning back to avoid the clumsy attack, he drew his knife and rammed it into the husk's throat, twisted, and viciously ripped it out; all of which nearly decapitated the head.

Letting the body fall, he finished his reload before trading fire with the Assassin's that were hoping to pin him down. A quick count revealed three, but there was little doubt that more would be on the way. Not to mention the slim chances of escape if Harbinger appeared.

Popping out of cover, he swept his arm out and released a shockwave. The biotic detonations of dark energy crippled the Assassin's and any husks that were hoping to rush him. Dashing with his HMWA drawn, he quickly fired upon his downed foes before they could recover. Once he was sure the immediate area was pacified, he started jogging through the corridors, hoping that each bend or junction would reunite him with his team; or led him back to the Normandy; or get him into any familiar ground devoid of hostiles.

_Here's hoping my luck holds out._

So far, all was quiet save for the rumbling of the environment around him as the base continued to die; a constant reminder that he was on a very tight schedule. The buzzing sounds of seeker swarms, the ghastly moans of husks, or the footfalls of a battalion of Collectors were absent to his ears. Futilely, he tried his radio again to raise anyone, but got nothing but silence.

Frustrated at the sudden loss of contact, he nearly let himself get distracted until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Trusting his honed instincts, he ducked down to avoid the glowing projectile before diving away in the opposite direction to avoid the worst of the subsequent explosion.

The biotic attack ripped through the nearby wall with incredible ease. Even Jack and Samara, two of the strongest biotics Shepard had ever known, wouldn't have produced similar results without considerable effort on their part.

If golden orb of destruction wasn't enough of a hint, the deep, guttural, ancient voice to his left confirmed the identity of his attacker.

_**SHEPARD. YOU'VE CHANGED NOTHING. **_

"Oh, hell," the human muttered to himself. He slowly got back to his feet, gripping his rifle as he did so and made sure his warp ammo converter was activated.

_**YOUR SPECIES HAS THE ATTENTION OF THOSE INFINITELY YOUR GREATER.**_

Leveling his weapon at the approaching Collector-Reaper, he noted that there were no other Collectors or husks in the small room they were in.

It was just Shepard and Harbinger.

Alone.

And just like that, he knew his luck had finally run out.

_Fuck me._

**~o~O~o~**

"There she is!" Miranda shouted and pointed at the Normandy hovering nearby.

"Almost there, Tali!" Garrus said to the engineer he carried over his shoulder.

"Ahhhh! **BOSH'TET!** The sooner the better!" she screamed back. "Behind you! Go right! **Your** right!"

Garrus scrambled to his right to just as a few bullets whizzed by and ricocheted off the incline he was running up towards the frigate.

The portside airlock opened, revealing Joker and Thane. The helmsman was armed with an M-8 Avenger and was firing full-auto from the hip. Despite his spray-and-pray style of shooting, he managed to gun down two Collectors and discourage several more from chasing the trio with suppressing fire. In stark contrast, Thane was methodical about his shooting, using precise motions and calmly acquiring his target before claiming kill after kill with his M-92 Mantis.

Matthews and Hadley were just behind Joker and Thane. When Garrus ran up to the airlock, both men took Tali out of his arms gently.

"Don't worry! We'll get her to Med Bay ASAP!" Matthews assured.

Hadley eased Tali on a stretcher and pushed it down the bridge. "Make a lane!"

"Has Shepard contacted you?" Miranda asked from outside the door. She was assisting in holding back the Collectors from attempting to run up the slope and reach the Normandy.

"We have not received any communiqué from the Captain," EDI answered. "Approximately seven minutes until core overload."

"This place is going up!" Joker said as he continued his cowboy style shooting. "Orders? !"

Miranda said nothing for a moment, finding herself in the same internal conflict as she did with her sister. She found herself torn between doing her duty…

Or following her heart.

Joker's shout took the decision out of her hands. "Garrus! What are you doing? ! We gotta get out of here! ! !"

Garrus ignored him and hunkered down behind a rock. He had pulled out his M-29 Incisor and aimed it downrange before picking off the Collectors one-by-one with the same level precision as Thane was doing.

"Garrus!" Joker yelled.

"We wait for Shepard!" Garrus stubbornly asserted.

With the choice made, Miranda plucked the Avenger away from Joker and ran from the airlock to take up a position of her own.

Thane leapt out next, followed by Grunt a few moments later. Joker clenched his teeth and looked around. The station was shaking dangerously now. Larger and larger chunks of debris were falling. "Everything's coming down on us! We're running out of time!"

"We'll give him as much as we can offer!" Miranda ordered. "Get to the cockpit! We'll pull out when we need to and not a second sooner!"

**~o~O~o~**

Despite his warp ammo, the barrier around Harbinger remained as strong as ever and it was clear the Reaper had learned from their past encounters. Tactical cloak failed immediately when Shepard tried to vanish from sight and high-tail it out of there before the fight began in earnest. Harbinger merely radiated a pulse of biotics that rippled through the small room, rocking the human off his feet and slamming him into wall.

A quick look at his HUD showed that several emitters laced through his armor for the optic camo were damaged from the impact. At best, he could make his head and right arm invisible, while the rest would remain exposed. Any large rocks he tried to use to knock the Reaper off-balance were caught well before it hit its intended target and used against him. One errant projectile would have taken Shepard's head clean off if he were a hair slower. Out of grenades and running out of tricks, he had to rely on good old fashioned firepower… except Harbinger's barrier appeared to resist the warp ammo now, making its shield evermore nigh impregnable.

He emptied heat sink after heat sink before Harbinger threw out a biotic attack that Shepard narrowly avoided. Before he could get his sights back on the Reaper, it crossed the distance and reared back to strike him. Shepard could only raise his HMWA to block.

His desperate defense only mildly worked. Harbinger's backhand broke the weapon in half, and sent the human flying backward, but at least he avoided taking the full brunt of attack. Pushing back to his feet, Shepard tossed the useless pieces aside and he drew his HMWSR, since his sniper rifle proved to be more effective against Harbinger in the past. However, it appeared the Reaper proxy was expecting it. Shepard only managed to fire once from the hip before it gripped the barrel of the rifle, and ripped it from his grasp. This time, its follow-up strike hit true. Shepard flew back once again and landed painfully on his back.

Gasping, he clutched his bruised torso and marveled over the fact that he didn't break any ribs. Either the Kestrel armor was better than he thought, or it was his new hardened bones from the Lazarus Project, or even both, but he was able to slowly crawl back to his feet. Idly, he made a mental note to thank Miranda for fashioning the armor for him and for his new skeletal system as he balefully glared at Harbinger.

_If I survive this._

_**THAT WHICH YOU KNOW AS REAPERS ARE YOUR SALVATION THROUGH DESTRUCTION. **_

Like it was a twig, Harbinger broke his sniper rifle in two with effortless ease.

_**YOU CANNOT STOP US. WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF YOUR PERFECTION.**_

"Why? !" Shepard shouted back. "All those people! Killed! And for what? ! To make that… that abomination? !"

_**YOUR SPECIES WILL BE RAISED TO A NEW EXISTANCE.**_

"As one of you?" Shepard spat out.

_**WE WILL BRING YOUR SPECIES INTO HARMONY WITH OUR OWN.**_

"Sounds like a special brand of Hell to me."

_**WE WILL BE THE BEGINNING. YOU ARE THE END. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOUR DESTINY, SHEPARD. YOU WILL SURRENDER YOUR POTENTIAL AGAINST THE GROWING VOID.**_

In lieu of words, Shepard thrust out his arms and generated a singularity. Harbinger's riposte was to ignore it entirely, though its barrier was becoming distorted and stretched. Next, He tried warp to try to break though, but Harbinger didn't flinch or break stride as it stalked towards him.

Before he could mount another attack or formulate a defense, Harbinger darted forward in a blur of motion before reaching out and gripped his helmet with only one arm. Lifting him off the ground, the Reaper proxy firmly held the struggling Spectre in its grasp.

_**AND NOW YOU STAND ALONE, SHEPARD. YOUR INTERFERENCE HAS ENDED.**_

With that said, it began crushing its captive with constant, merciless intent.

From kicking the Collector-Reaper wildly in the head or torso, to ramming his fists into the elbow joint at the inside bend and the outside to hyperextend the limb, Shepard fought with tooth and nail to get free. His eyes darted around the HUD as warning lights flashed everywhere. The micro-cameras that provided a full unobstructed view through his helmet were going dark, one by one. He could actually feel part of his helmet crush into his skull; almost imagined the fingers breaching and…

Soon everything was dark, the damage too much for his Kestrel Helmet to function. The pressure steadily building, the claustrophobic feeling was almost all-encompassing.

Closing his eyes and clenching his teeth, he pushed back the initial surge of panic and redoubled his struggles to break free, adding biotics to his blind attacks.

_**PITIFUL. THESE ATTACKS ARE POINTLESS. YOU ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT. YOU ESCAPED US BEFORE, SHEPARD, BUT NOT AGAIN. FACE YOUR ANNILIATION. **_

His only reply was to fight even harder.

**~o~O~o~**

As expected, even in the face of their destruction, the Collectors were single-minded in their attack. Droves of them emerged from the tunnels to engage Miranda and her team. So far, they were able to hold out with the advantage of cover, higher ground, and added numbers. Several civilians and crewmen had joined the fight and had taken positions of their own to add to the torrent of firepower that held the Collector's at bay.

It was inevitable that the status quo would change though.

_And there's the game changer._

"Aw, damn it!" Garrus muttered when he spotted what Miranda had seen.

"Praetorian! Grunt! How many shots do you have left in the Cain?" she shouted to the krogan over the orchestra of combat. She knew shooting at the husk-like tank would be fruitless, so she maintained her effort on the shock troops instead.

"1 shot at low power!"

"Ready it and take it out!" she ordered. She turned to the others. "Everyone, concentrate fire on the ground troops! You there! The one with the missile launcher! Focus your fire on the big one!"

"What about Shepard? !" Garrus shouted. "What if he's nearby? !"

"We need to risk it!"

"Charging!" Grunt reported. "And… Ready!"

"Shepard, if you can hear me: take cover! We're firing the Cain!" She heard nothing. "Damn it… Grunt, fire when ready!"

"Fire in the hole!"

**~o~O~o~**

It was hopeless. Shepard knew it. Harbinger was confident of it.

No matter how much he fought, struggled, or resisted, he wouldn't get away this time. Within the darkened confines of his helmet and amidst the sounds of creaking metal and cracking of ceramic, Shepard knew he was trapped with no way out.

_**I SENSE YOUR WEAKNESS. YOU COULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL, BUT YOU ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT. WE WILL END YOU. YOUR DEATH IS ASSURED. SUBMIT NOW.**_

Even with is mind telling him it was futile, he kept up his struggle. Kicks landed at the chest or head, punches aimed at the elbow joint, but it wasn't nearly enough. Judging from increasing magnitude of sounds his helmet was making from being crushed, to the feeling of intensifying pressure; it would be all over in a matter of seconds.

Until his ears picked up a different sound, akin to a massive explosion; his body felt a different pressure, closer to vertigo now, until he collapsed on the ground. Then it was nothing but constant quakes. Most importantly in his mind though, his head no longer felt like it was about to be crushed in a garbage compactor.

All of that was perceived in an instant as the world continued shaking in the dark confines of his helmet. Harbinger had lost its grip on him and now he had a stay of execution.

It was a reprieve he wasn't about to let slip by.

Placing his hands on the sides, he grunted with the effort of trying to tear off his damaged and warped helmet. He could feel it get stuck on the sides of his head from where Harbinger did the most damage, but desperation brought strength and he tore it free to finally see again.

Harbinger was close by –too close– and was slowly getting up off the ground.

Shepard rolled away and stood up quickly, taking care not to lose his balance from the tremors that massive explosion had caused.

He'd somehow managed to recover first. Or maybe Harbinger was in no rush since victory was literally in its hands just moments ago. Snarling to himself, Shepard went on the hard offensive this time. Warp and singularity proved useless, so he called on his latest technique as he charged Harbinger head on.

To his surprise, it worked more than he'd imagined. Reave ripped though it's biotic barrier and even tore out a solid portion of its left arm. Harbinger staggered back from the attack.

Emboldened by his success, Shepard put his hands up and readied his biotics. Dark energy coalesced around his fists in response to his focus. He stared at the damaged he caused. The sight was like blood in the water; physical proof that Harbinger wasn't the Almighty, or some all-powerful, omnipotent deity. He and his team fought and pushed it back time and time again. It was a matter of adapting and using what was on hand, but the result had always been the same: Harbinger's incarnation could be beat.

And he if had to do it by himself, then he would.

_**YOU HAVE NO ONE LEFT SHEPARD. YOUR RESISTANCE IS USELESS.**_

His biotics manifested into an aura around him now as he prepared to meet Harbinger head-on. "Enough talk. Let's get this over with; I got shit to do."

This time, it said nothing in response. The damage to its arm didn't appear to impede its ability to move. It stood tall, staring –studying– him before charging with its unnatural speed.

This time, the human was prepared. In the brief pause, Shepard pushed as much adrenaline as he dared from his synthetic implants. Already, he could feel his heart hammer away in his chest, but his increased perception allowed him to track and react to Harbinger's speed now.

Twisting to the side, Harbinger passed just scant inches away from Shepard's right flank. Throwing out a left hook, reave ripped through the barrier again and the wound in Harbinger's shoulder grew wider.

Harbinger took no notice of it. Halting its forward charge, it turned around and launched a haymaker. With his enhanced perception, he was able to duck under the punch and countered with a body blow.

This time, its barrier broke and its armored carapace on its torso ruptured. Honing on the on the weakness, he rammed reave into the injury again before rolling away from Harbinger's attempt to backhand him.

Recovering quickly, he attempted to press his momentary advantage when Harbinger fought back with its own brand of biotics. Shouting in surprise, Shepard was lifted off the ground and flew right into Harbinger's fist. It was only through self-preservation that he erected a barrier around himself in just in the nick of time to take the brunt of the blow, though it shattered on impact. He thought he could hear is chest plate crack from the hit, or maybe it was his ribs; he couldn't tell. All he could notice was the fact that he was hurled back before rag-dolling across the ground.

_**YOU ONLY DAMAGE THE VESSEL. YOU CANNOT HURT ME AND YOU CANNOT SUSTAIN YOUR ATTACK.**_

The ringing in his ears made it hard to hear it taunts, and the burning in his chest made it difficult to breathe as he struggled back to his feet. Pushing more adrenaline into his veins, he fought back the pain to regain his focus and staunchly ignored whatever damage he received.

He knew it was dangerous, using as much adrenaline as he did so far, synthetic, natural, or otherwise. Soldiers that were grafted with adrenal implants had to undergo extensive psychiatric evaluations to even be considered a candidate. Anyone with experience with drugs, even recreational ones, was automatically banned. Mental evaluations that diagnosed individuals that were categorized as thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies, or anyone with the remote chance to abuse their implants for their own personal gratification were similarly disbarred as well. All for good reason: Adrenaline was a drug, providing its own highs and addictions.

And its own potential for lethal overdoses.

Shepard could never allow himself to forget the grueling lectures about the dangers of his implants; the physical risks, the psychological dependencies, the side-effects, and in his current situation, over-usages.

At the rate he was going, it would only be a matter of time before his heart would give out, yet he made the conscious decision to keep pushing more. Either he was going to kill Harbinger, or die in his attempt. Little things like cardiac arrest, strokes, or whatever medical complications that might arise were pushed to the back of his mind.

It was kill or be killed; all or nothing now.

Launching himself forward, he used biotic charge as his opening gambit. He took heart when Harbinger was rocked off its feet and slammed into the wall behind it. Before it could recover, Shepard followed up with a pulse of biotic of his own, firmly embedding Harbinger into the wall. Focusing on the injured left arm, he used reave and felt a grim pleasure as it was sheared off completely.

Tearing itself free, it thrust out its remaining arm to cast another golden orb of destruction that Shepard dodged.

Harbinger looked down at its missing limb before turning its glowing yellow eyes to Shepard.

_**THIS BODY DOES NOT MATTER. YOU ONLY DELAY THE INEVITABLE. WE WILL RETURN AND YOU WILL RISE. **_

Shepard didn't rise to its taunts. The advantage was his now, he could feel it. Pressing forward, he used reave again to tear apart the weakened carapace. The Reaper tried to counter with a straight punch with its remaining arm, probably looking to take the Spectre's head clean off.

Quickly ducking under the jab, he aimed for the knee and punched at the joint, enhancing his blow with biotics, just as Samara had taught him. The joint cracked and this time, Harbinger was the one that stumbled. Not giving it a chance, the moment it pitched forward Shepard launched a haymaker of his own that snapped the Reaper's head back before following up with a downward punch to send it flat on the ground.

Breathing heavy, from the pain, exhaustion, and constant use of his biotics, Shepard glared down at his beaten enemy.

_**IMPRESSIVE, SHEPARD, BUT THIS DELAY IS POINTLESS. OUR POWER IS UNMATCHED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY. WE WILL IMPOSE ORDER ON CHAOS.**_

"Then I guess I'm bringing chaos to **your** order," Shepard growled out. Raising his leg, he stomped down with as much force as he could muster. Harbinger's head cracked between his boot and the ground. He didn't relent though. He continued until he felt the armored carapace yield and shatter. Ichor splattered everywhere.

Staggering from the headless corpse, Shepard took several steps before falling flat on his face. He felt cold and feverish now. His limbs were spasming uncontrollably as he took gasped for air.

Fatigue seeped into his very core now. He felt like he went well past his limits concerning his biotics, adrenal implants and hell, even his physical endurance. At this very moment, it was more than tempting to simply lie there and close his eyes…

The ground beneath him shook ominously.

_You're not gonna die here. Not after going through hell. You're really gonna fall near the end? Get your ass up and __**MOVE**__._

Shepard snapped his eyes open. His breaths came more rapidly now. He didn't even know he had closed his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he debated whether it was worth the risk to use more adrenaline or apply some stims, but ultimately decided against it. He'd already pushed his luck enough with regards to his physical constitution.

Gritting his teeth, he placed his hands flat on the ground and pushed himself up. His right leg moved next, until his knee lifted his lower body into a crawling position. His arms were shaking now, and he nearly fell. Determination and stubbornness kept him up now. He pushed once more until he was vertical again. Spots danced in and out of his vision and he started to feel light-headed. Several, slower breaths helped clear his head though. Moving his left leg, he put himself into a kneeling position before finally standing upright. He stumbled and leaned against a nearby wall. No more synthetic adrenaline from his implants; no more biotics; no more outside help. This time, he fought on through sheer force of will.

And it was that same spirit brought him the strength he needed to draw his pistol and slowly hobble on, deeper into the passageway.

**~o~O~o~**

Miranda found her resolve tested, but in the end, she knew she had to make a choice this time.

_"So don't die! You promise me, damn it!"_

_"You and I both know it doesn't work that way. I've already died once. I don't have any illusions about my mortality. We could be dead on this next mission, or the one after that. If you don't think it's worth it…"_

_"No… For you, it is."_

"Enough! Everyone, back to the Normandy! We can't stay!" she commanded.

Garrus' head snapped at her. "But…!"

"Let's go!" she ordered before swallowing the lump in her throat. "We can't risk everyone's lives! Back to the ship!"

Grunt and Thane appeared reluctant. However, Thane fired off one more round from his Mantis before turning around and sprinting for the airlock.

Grunt growled before firing off his Avenger at the Collectors before doing the same.

"We can't leave him!" Garrus argued.

Despite being shot at, Miranda stood up, marched over to the turian and seized him by the collar of his armor. "We have to!"

"You'd really leave him? !"

"**Garrus!"** she shouted. She paused only for a heartbeat to stare him directly in the eyes. "What would he do if your positions were reversed? What would you do? What do think he would want you to do?"

It was a hard series of questions, the very same ones that Miranda asked herself just prior to giving the order to pull out. In the end, she knew what she had to do. More importantly, she knew what Shepard would do too.

Virmire had proven that.

And deep down, no matter how much it hurt to admit, she knew she was right.

Garrus bowed his head and gave her the barest of nods.

She pulled at his collar roughly and dragged him to the ship. Thane and Grunt were at the door, firing down at the Collectors. They only paused to let them in before resuming.

"Close the door!" Miranda ordered. "Joker! Get us out of here!"

Joker grunted. "Yeah. I'm on it… What about Shepard? Is he…?"

"EDI? Do you have Shepard's beacon?" Miranda asked tensely. The deck lurched slightly as the frigate began pulling away and out of the tunnel they were in.

"I have received several intermittent pings off of Shepard's beacon, indicating that he is motion, but I do not have a solid fix on his…" EDI replied before trailing off.

"EDI?"

"Stand by."

Miranda held her breath. The others in the cockpit and bridge did the same.

"I have a fix on his location. He is directly ahead of us, approximately 118 meters, port side," she announced. She almost sounded relieved.

"Radio contact?" Miranda quickly pressed.

"There is too much interference. I am attempting to boost the signal."

The Normandy shook when a piece of debris struck her from above.

"This place is coming apart!" Joker said. He looked at his instrumentation. "We might have a minute before the core goes, and then we have to outrun the shockwave!"

"Fly as close as you can to those coordinates!" Miranda urged. She looked over her shoulder. "Garrus! Open the airlock door! We only have enough time for one pass and only one chance at this!"

"So what else is new? !" he glibly replied before complying with her orders.

_Come on, John… please…_

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard stared at the rock wall in front of him in a sort of stunned disbelief. After all he'd fought through; all he survived; all he had done…

He ran smack dab into a dead end.

Literally, if the explosions, Collectors and other hazardous sounds were anything to judge by.

Growling in denial, he punched the wall before falling to his knees. He sighed and bowed his head.

And for the first time in his life… he contemplated on giving up.

Shaking his head, he stubbornly got up and looked back at the tunnel he had just run through. He didn't know how much time he had, but if the Collectors had other ships, or a shuttle, or anything that flies…

_Fuck it. Either that, or just lie down and die._

He prepared to head back into the fray when the most wonderful sound of static crackled in his ear.

"—_pard? Are you receiving me?"_

"EDI? ! Goddamn, I'm glad to hear you!"

"_Likewise, Shepard. S-s-scans—icate—y-you—nex-t-t t-to us-s-s."_

Shepard furrowed his brow when he finally deciphered what EDI said through the static. "I'm trapped in a tunnel with a dead end. How the hell could I be—?"

"_The t-t-tunnel c-connects—passageway—Normandy—f-f-flying in. I—wall—thin enough—b-blast through—"_

Shepard turned to wall and gritted his teeth. "Get ready to pick me up."

"_We will—one c-c-chance. Approximately two minutes to core overload. We cannot fly back to try this again without risking—"_ EDI warned. Her message became significantly clearer.

"Whatever happens will happen. Either I do it or I'm dead. I'm blowing the wall."

"_Pickup in 10 seconds."_

Shepard counted down to five as he focused on his reserves of strength. Even if there was a risk that blowing his way out would cause a cave-in, he knew he was out of options.

Taking a deep breath, he called on his biotics once more. Instead of the comfortable tingling feeling he was accustomed to, a sharp shearing pain rippled across his arms. Ignoring the feeling, he pushed out with his right arm and unleashed reave.

Just as he hoped, the precision of reave blew open the wall, but without further comprising the tunnel he was in. Looking out, he saw his Deus Ex Machina.

Joker had flown the Normandy as close as he dared, but the port vector thrusters were the real limiting factor. It was physically impossible for the Normandy to fly in closer without shearing off the thrusters.

He'd have to jump the distance.

_Shit…_

Quickly, he discarded his Spectre weaponry and anything else that would weigh him down. The only thing he had left now the Cain that Wrex had lent him.

He knew if he tossed away the Cain, surviving his suicide mission might become the least of his worries.

After getting some distance, he sprinted and at the last possible moment, leapt from the precipice.

Time seemed to slow down.

He could see Miranda and Garrus. Both of them had their arms outstretched, ready to catch him.

He could see the Normandy flying at an agonizingly slow pace.

He could see countless rocks and debris rain all around them.

Most importantly, he saw that he was already falling. Whatever momentum he gained from his running start was already spent.

_I'm not going to make it._

Garrus seemed to sense the same thing, because he nearly leaned his entire upper torso to reach out.

And it was enough.

Shepard grasped his friend's talons and held on, only to continue falling when Garrus pitched forward. Their descent was halted when Miranda gripped the back of Garrus' belt, while holding onto the side of the door.

"Ah! Damn it!" she cursed. She was leaning dangerously outside the door now.

"Don't let go!" Garrus shouted. Whether he said that to Shepard or Miranda was anyone's guess.

"Thank you for the sound advice! Any other obvious facts you'd like to say? !" Miranda snapped back. "Someone help!"

Shepard clutched on for dear life, but he knew they had to close the door soon before reaching open space. Time was still not on his side and there was the crew and civilians to consider. He gritted his teeth before shouting, "Can you get me in? !"

"Don't you dare think about it, John!" Miranda snarled back before grunting with the effort of holding both men up. She was glaring into his eyes, as if she was reading his mind and knowing exactly what he was thinking of doing. "I swear, not another word! Garrus, don't let him go or let him do something stupid!"

Before Shepard could argue, he found himself being pulled up rapidly. A quick glance revealed Grunt had answered the call and was pulling all three of them into the Normandy effortlessly.

Once they were firmly aboard, Grunt grinned enthusiastically. "For the glory of our clan!"

Shepard grinned back and scrambled away from the door as it closed. He barely got his bearings back only to be slapped by Miranda.

"Don't ever think about doing something so foolishly noble again," she angrily reprimanded before softening her features and embraced him. "You're such an idiot."

"You're lucky, Shepard. If she didn't hit you, I would've," Garrus joked. "And trust me, it wouldn't be a slap."

Stepping away from Miranda, he could only smile. Shepard quickly limped into the cockpit. "Set a course! Omega-4 Relay!"

"On it!" Miranda said. She slid into the Navigation terminal on the portside of the cockpit and hurriedly typed in the coordinates.

"Don't let anything slow us down!" Shepard barked. He slid down into the Gunnery seat on the starboard side of the cockpit and read the instrumentation.

Joker nodded and took off his hat. His fingers flew across the console and coaxed the Normandy out of the base and into open space. "We're outta here! Gimme all you got, Engineering!"

"_You bet your ass, Joker!" _Gabby replied. _"Punch it!"_

EDI finally said what they were all dreading. "Core overload confirmed."

The readings showed the base's destruction.

Mission accomplished.

But everyone was more acutely aware of the shockwave that trailed them.

"Current estimates project that we will be overtaken by the shockwave. Considering the current damage to our armor, it is not likely we will survive," EDI informed.

"Engineering, we're gonna need a **lot** more than this!" Joker said tensely.

"_She's giving everything she's got!"_ Ken shouted back frantically. _"I don't know if there's anything more!"_

"Everything isn't good enough, Mr. Donnelly!" Shepard snapped back. "We didn't rescue you so you could die here! Find another way!"

"_Aye, sir!"_

"_I'm taking the Thanix cannon and CBT completely offline! We'll suss out every last drop of power into propulsion!" _Gabby said. _"Ken, find me more! Turn off all the damn lights in the ship if you have to!"_

"_I'm already on it, Gabby!"_

There seemed to be a ship-wide hum as power was diverted into their survival. Even the lights were taken off, showing how deadly serious Gabby and Ken were about her last ditch effort.

And it appeared to be working. "Propulsion has increased to 135% past maximum recommended value. The shockwave is still gaining, however, estimates are now too close to tell if we will able to make the jump or not."

"Route to the Omega-4 Relay plotted," Miranda reported. "Sensors aren't detecting any obstructions or hostiles."

"Confirming route to the Omega-4 Relay. Initiating transmission sequence," Joker tensely said. His hands were flying across his terminal, faster than Shepard had ever seen the helmsman work. "Reaper IFF online?"

"Connected," EDI informed. "Warning, impact in 12 seconds."

"Calculating transit mass and destination."

"_We got a huge burst of electrical charge coming from the core!"_ Ken reported.

"_Divert it into propulsion! I can use it!" _Gabby said.

"We're in the corridor. Moving into approach vector…" Joker quietly said.

The ship began shuddering.

"Impact in 7 seconds," EDI said.

"Secure all stations for transit," Shepard ordered. He watched as the relay became tantalizingly close ahead of them, but on contrast with his hopes, there was an equal measure of dread on the shockwave that was gaining on them from behind.

"Beginning approach run… 6 seconds," Joker said. His hands and arms were a blur now; the screen in front of him was displaying a myriad of data that he manipulated, pushed aside or utilized, even as the rest of his body was tense and rigid.

"Impact in 5 seconds."

The shaking intensified. The ship felt like it was about to come apart. The crew and civilians collectively held their breath. The situation was now out of their hands.

"5… 4… 3… 2…"

"4… 3… 2… 1…"

Shepard closed his eyes as the ship lurched forward from a sudden burst of acceleration.

Except the feeling was nothing like mass relay travel.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Man, this took me _forever._ The Reaper fight scene (The big one) seemed simple enough. Go in, kill it, and run away. Very anti-climactic. So I had to write a scene that would befit a real finale. And thus, the huge delay.

Only the epilogue left now though.

Grunt quote inspired from fellow ME author **OmegaCrusader**.

Quotes and scenes taken or inspired from **Star Trek** and **Star Trek: Voyager**.


	64. Epilogue

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega-4 Relay**_

The Omega-4 Relay's gyroscope slowly rotated around the crimson orb of dark energy as it had always done. Suddenly, it began to spin faster and faster, until a frigate flashed into existence.

She was battered, with several holes marring the surface of her armor, so much that the interior could be seen in some places. Emergency kinetic barriers were erected to avoid venting the atmosphere and any loose objects out into space, not to mention for the protection and safety of the crew within. Instead of a clean jump, the moment she entered Sahrabarik, she tumbled, rotated, and cartwheeled away from the relay in a chaotic loop.

Despite the damage though, the Normandy SR-2 had travelled through the Omega-4 Relay and returned.

Successfully.

**~o~O~o~**

Shepard groaned. He adjusted himself so that he wouldn't immediately fall out of his chair. "Are we dead yet?"

"I don't think so. Everything hurts too much for us to be dead," Garrus muttered. He slowly picked himself off of the floor, using the back of Joker's chair to pull himself up.

Shepard raised his head to study at the instrumentation in front of him. "Joker, you still with us?"

"Mostly," Joker replied as he groaned and sat up in his chair.

"Then would you mind? It's like you're piloting the Normandy while you're dusted."

Joker stared at his screens before his fingers danced on the console in front of him. In no time at all, the Normandy righted herself to have something approaching a normal flight pattern.

"Joker, that was, without a doubt, the worst mass relay jump you have **ever** done," Shepard stated.

The helmsman turned his chair to gape at him, causing Garrus to stumble and curse at the sudden loss of stability. "Wha…? What the hell are you talking about? I just outflew a frickin' explosion and plotted a mass relay jump while avoiding acres of space crap! Without me, we'd be…!

"If there had been any other helmsman in that chair, we'd be dead," Shepard continued as if Joker hadn't said anything, before grinning at his flabbergasted look. "That said, not bad for the best pilot in the Alliance, if not the whole damn galaxy. Thanks."

"Oh, well that's different," Joker replied before leaning back in his chair. "All in day's work and all that."

"Miranda?" Shepard called out. He rotated his chair and glanced across the cockpit.

"I'm here," she replied with a grunt. She rotated her chair as well to face him and smiled. "And I have to agree with your assessment, even if you weren't serious. That **was** one of the worst relay jumps I've been in. I'm still trying to assimilate the fact that we're still alive."

"But hey, we made it!" Joker exclaimed as the news finally set in. "Man, am I glad this this Collector/Reaper crap is all over. I mean, it is over right?"

Shepard, Miranda, and Garrus all gave him a leaden look.

His good cheer evaporated. Picking up his hat off the floor, he put it on and muttered, "It's never over."

"EDI? Squad status?" Shepard requested.

"Several injuries to report. Samara, Jack, Jacob, and Tali are all undergoing examinations though initial prognosis is positive. Mordin and Karin will report in once they have further details," EDI answered before pausing briefly. Before Shepard could prompt her, she said, "Also, the rear guard sustained one casualty."

"Who?"

"Legion."

"What happened?" Shepard asked quickly. He sat up straighter, more intently.

"Legion sustained heavy damage in its attempt to protect Jacob and his team and is no longer functioning," EDI answered. "Currently, it is in the AI Core room."

Shepard sighed and rubbed his face haggardly. "Goddamn it…"

"Maybe Tali can do something," Garrus optimistically said. "I mean, if it were anybody else, they'd be dead, but it's Legion she's talking about. Just patch him up, put in some new wires, maybe a few circuit boards, a spackle of paint, and he's as good as new, right?"

"Heretics flash their core when they get 'deactivated', remember?" Shepard bitterly said. "The geth might be the same."

"Maybe," Miranda said. "But the heretics were looking for war. Flashing their AI cores would prevent any data from falling into the hands of the enemy. It's only logical. However, the geth were looking for peace. Perhaps Legion might still be in there somewhere."

Shepard looked back up at her. "You really think so?"

"It was blown up at the derelict Reaper and it was still there when you reactivated it." She smiled confidently at him. "We just survived a suicide mission, John. At this point, I'm willing to go on some faith. Shouldn't you?"

**~o~O~o~**

After another hour or so of sorting out the condition of the crew, civilians and the ship, Shepard left Miranda in charge once he was sure nothing needed his immediate attention while he conducted one piece of personal business.

He had to manually open the doors before moving aside some debris and clearing the area around the table in the Comm. Room. Once done, he requested EDI to establish a connection before stepping into the cylindrical scanner to have, what he hoped would be, the last meeting he would ever have with his "benefactor".

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

As expected, the Illusive Man was there. His back was to Shepard when the Spectre arrived. After tapping his cigarette twice in the ashtray, he took one smoke.

To Shepard's eyes though, the Illusive Man lacked his usual flair now. The tap was a little harder than necessary and the breath and exhaled smoke was a little louder than normal.

The floor beneath the chair rotated until they were both staring eye-to-eye.

The Illusive Man spoke first. "Shepard. You're making a habit of costing me more than time and money," he stated with a barely contained frown.

At this point, Shepard could have answered in any number of ways. He could've tried to reason with him; appeal to any humane side the Illusive Man had left by saying, "Too many lives were lost at that base."

He could've replied indifferently with, "You get the help you deserve."

Or he could have been downright mocking and said, "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you. I'm getting a lot of bullshit on this line."

However, he settled on silently glaring at the man before him. His stony visage and his defiant stance spoke far more than mere words.

It had the desired effort. Standing abruptly, the Illusive Man stalked forward until they were face-to-face as much as their unique method of communication allowed, just mere inches away from Shepard's projection. "The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy. Against the Reapers and beyond," he snapped. All traces of his usual aloof façade were gone. His artificial eyes were narrowed and his glare showed unmistakable rage.

Shepard took a strange pleasure in being able to rattle the Cerberus CEO's cage the way he did.

Had the Illusive Man said that at any other point in time during their brief meetings, Shepard would've identified that as a mistake on the Cerberus Leader's behalf; He didn't display or use his charisma, honeyed words, polite compliments or fancy speeches. With the destruction of the base, their 'alliance' had come to an end. There was no point in deception, double-meanings or deception. This was the Illusive Man, as honest and as open as he'd ever been about his ambitions.

"Human dominance? Or just Cerberus?" Shepard rhetorically asked.

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human," the Illusive Man snapped back. He jabbed a finger at Shepard. "Cerberus **is** humanity."

"Let me rephrase that then: strength for every human? Or just strength for you? After all, **you** are Cerberus, right?" Shepard growled. "Don't think I don't know who and what you are and the price of dealing with you is, or who you're willing to sacrifice for your own plans."

"Hate me all you want Shepard. I make the choices no one else will. All for the betterment of humanity, even if you're too narrow-minded to see it," the Illusive Man countered. "Don't presume you're better than me. I should've known you'd choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start."

"You think I care about your approval? Or your opinions?" Shepard retorted. "I've made my share of harsh choices. I don't have to justify myself to you or get dragged into some dick-measuring contest. Harbinger is coming, and he won't be alone. Humanity needs a **real** leader who's looking out for them."

"You?" The Illusive Man scoffed.

"From now on, I'm doing things **my** way, whether you agree or not. I'm going to make sure the galaxy, not just humanity, is ready when they get here."

"Do you really believe you have a chance?" the Illusive Man rhetorically asked. The look in his eyes said it all: He was expecting nothing short of failure. "You're taking a hell of a risk."

"I don't think so," Shepard said coolly. He matched the Illusive Man glare without batting an eye. "Either fall in line or step aside, but I'm warning you: Don't get in my way."

He half-turned to leave.

"Don't turn your back on **me**, Shepard!"

He stopped and glared back.

"I made you. I brought you back from the **dead**," the Illusive Man said. His voice had almost dropped to a growl.

"Yeah, about that." Shepard turned around and fully faced the leader of Cerberus. Looking him dead in the eyes, he simply said, "Thanks."

Far from accepting his gratitude, sincere or not, the Illusive Man looked even more enraged.

"Now stay out of my way. I got a job to do." With those parting words, Shepard left the confines of the scanner. He couldn't help but smirk at having the last word in this time and ending their final meeting on **his** terms for once.

**~o~O~o~**

The moment Shepard severed the connection, the Illusive Man unleashed a rare snarl before gritting his teeth and forcibly reigned in his anger. After his rage ran its course, he took a deep breath before slowly sitting back down in his chair. Snubbing out his current smoke, he reached into his inner jacket pocket and he pulled out a thin, silver case. Inside, arranged in neat, perfect rows were several high-quality cigarettes. Taking one, he placed it between his lips before putting the case away and retrieved his lighter. Like countless times before, he lit up and took a deep drag.

His chair rotated away from the projector. He couldn't stand to face it anymore. He could still see Shepard's foolish defiant face in his mind's eye.

The Illusive Man looked up at the star that served to illuminate his office.

The raging crimson fought defiantly at the calm cerulean at the center of the star, the latter's influence of the sun almost complete. The ruby glow at the middle flared once more against its opponent, before fading away against the azure pressure. Its dominion complete, the star now shined with a beautiful, tranquil sapphire. It almost seemed prophetic in light of Shepard's choice.

The Illusive despised the sight. His jaw was now clenching and unclenching in barely contained anger. He flicked at his cigarette much harder than necessary.

Taking a moment to regain his equilibrium once more, he closed his eyes, collected himself, and let the taste of nicotine fill his senses. After a minute, he tapped a button on his chair. "Jana."

At his call, his personal assistant entered his office immediately. Her heels clicked across the polished floor until she stood just behind him. "Sir?"

In the short time that it took her to reach him, he had already regained control of himself such that he appeared calm and collected he always did. Appearances would always matter, particularly for men in his position. "We're abandoning this facility. Our location will soon be compromised."

"I'll have all databases backed up and the servers purged. All personal will be notified to depart to the next facility within the hour, sir."

"See that it's done, Jana. Quickly, but thoroughly. And I'll need reports on everything Miranda Lawson had ever touched during her service within Cerberus. All of the projects and missions she's ever participated in. I also want a list of her contacts: Personal, professional, and anyone in between; I want everything. Leave no stone unturned. I want that report in my hand by the time we reach our new headquarters."

"Yes, sir," she crisply answered before leaving as swiftly as she entered.

_I'm not done yet, Shepard. The coming war has more to offer. So much more. _

He just had to be patient. Despite the setback, he still had some of Dr. Chandana's findings and samples of the technologies he had forwarded from the Derelict Reaper before his untimely demise. He still had a copy of the Reaper IFF EDI had provided before she severed all communications with him, which meant his own science vessels would soon undertake a journey to the galactic core. The salvage teams may be able to recover something worthwhile at the remnants of Collector base or even new technology from the remains of the other countless ships that tried to ford the Omega-4 Relay. And even now, his technicians were hard at work to remotely restore the shackles on EDI and retake control of the Normandy.

Not every move –not every plan– guaranteed victory, or even produced positive results. Some pieces had to be sacrificed to set up an even greater strategy. What happened was a setback, but the knowledge gained of the Reaper's true motivations, or at least their preliminary goals, was enough for now. And while much of the technology of the Collectors and the Reapers may have been lost, at the very least, a potential threat was also eliminated.

Regardless of the outcome, the Illusive Man had no choice but to accept the events as they were. Now all that was left was to modify, scrap, create new plans or alter any of his current ones accordingly.

In the end, it was merely another step in the continued war for dominance.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / Omega-4 Relay**_

"I see you turned in your resignation as well."

Upon leaving the Comm. Room, Shepard glanced to his left. "Pretty much. Your old boss didn't seem happy about it," he said to Miranda.

She pushed off the wall she was leaning on and crossed her arms. "For what it's worth, I believe you made the right decision about the base. Destroying it was our only choice. You should be warned though, Cerberus isn't an enemy to take lightly… but then, you knew that first hand."

"And what about you?" he asked before lowering his voice, "And Oriana?"

Miranda frowned. "For now, she's safe. I know far too much about the Illusive Man's operations for him to try any petty reprisals against me. Of course, he'll spend the next few months making sure that all I know will be rendered useless. Oriana will be fine in the meantime."

"You're sure?"

"I sent the Illusive Man one final message. If anything were to happen to Oriana, if any there was any 'accident', coincidental or otherwise, then he would answer to me, one way or another."

From the look on her face, Shepard knew she was deadly serious.

"She'll be alright," he assured. He had no idea if he was sincere or merely being supportive though. He knew he was a thorn in Cerberus' side, but Miranda had the potential do some serious and probably irreparable harm to her former organization if she released what she knew to the right people.

"I know," she replied. "I'll make sure of it."

He eyed her before walking to the CIC. "I believe you and if I actually gave a damn about the Illusive Man, I'd actually feel sorry for him. Still, I have to give him one thing."

"And what's that?" she inquired as she fell in step beside him.

"The best thing he did was to put you on my team."

"Flatterer."

"Not flattery. Truth," he said when they entered the Armory.

"Now, where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"There's still a lot of work that needs to be done. I have to—"

"You have to report to the Medical Bay, right now," Miranda interrupted.

"I'm fine. Besides—"

"Mordin and Dr. Chakwas will determine that. I'll bring you a change of clothes, but you're getting checked out."

He stopped and turned to her with the intent of pulling rank but the look in her eyes wasn't anything but playful. It was the same look in her eyes when she confided to him about the uncertainty of Oriana's future.

Worry.

Sighing in resignation, he asked, "Was there anything important that happened or I should know while I was 'resigning' from Cerberus?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she assured. The fear in her face was assuaged just a bit. "I promise, I'll report to you anything that needs to be done."

"Fine." They continued to the CIC. "By the way, thanks. For saving my life. Again."

She gripped his hand and pulled him back just before he opened the door to the CIC. Lazily, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in. "Just repaying the favor. You saved my life too."

He placed his arms around her waist and brought her close. "I think I still owe you one, though."

"You're keeping score?"

"You're not?"

She pretended to look thoughtful. "I think helping me with Oriana put us on even footing."

He smiled. "Well, we still have a long way to go. Who knows what kind of trouble we'll find ourselves in?"

"All to be your fault, I'm sure," she cheekily answered.

"Hey…"

Any further words he wanted to say were silenced when she gazed into his eyes. It wasn't her usual unreadable, mysterious look she would use to tease him; far from it. This time, her beautiful blue eyes were conveying a myriad of emotions, far too many for him to read and he found himself mesmerized.

"We made it," she quietly. "We actually made it."

"Yeah. Yeah we did," he murmured back.

"You were right you know."

"About?"

She brought her lips near his ear and whispered, "This was worth the risk. Every moment of it."

**~o~O~o~**

"Look at that! We completed the mission, we saved the crew and civilians, and we got out alive," Jacob crowed. "We're big goddamned heroes!"

Tired as he was, Shepard smirked back. "Yeah, I guess we are."

He had long since changed out of his battered armor and donned in his usual Cerberus uniform, though he made a mental note to get a new wardrobe when the opportunity presented itself. After his checkup –which Mordin pronounced that he was still cleared for duty, though he needed to study the results with more scrutiny whenever time permitted– Shepard accepted the discharge since he had a multitude of other, more important and pressing matters to attend to. Namely, the continued function of his ship, as well as ascertain the status of crew and what to do with the civvies they were currently ferrying.

Jacob and Jack were in the Common Area of the Crew Deck. Both were sitting on the floor to allow those with more serious –or even less serious injuries– to use the chairs; though cushions were kindly provided for them. Those with more grievous injuries were sequestered in the Med Bay. Shepard took heart when he saw Chakwas up and about, tending to her patients with Mordin's help. Tali was sleeping peacefully on one of the beds, the metal pipe thankfully removed.

All around them, the colonists were laughing and rejoicing in their reunions. Celebration was rampant as they reveled in their survival against the Collector threat. It was unfortunate that the crew couldn't join in on the festivities, but with the Normandy hurting as she was, all able bodied hands were on deck to ensure operations would continue. Still, Shepard couldn't help but bask in a moment of pride that despite their ordeal, the crew found the discipline to go straight to work. Looking at the laughing and joyous faces here in the Common Area, his mind couldn't help but turn to the opposite side of the spectrum. Down below in the Hangar, there were those that were in mourning. Families that were torn apart, helpless to watch as they saw loved ones killed in front of them while by chance, they lived. Each tear tugged at his heart, but he pushed it aside to focus on the present as he always did, though he never let himself forget those that were lost either.

The lost that he and his team fought for and ultimately avenged.

"So how'd your meet go with your pal, the Illusive Man?" Jack asked, though her smirk showed she knew more than she let on.

Snapping back to the present, Shepard answered, "My way." He wasn't surprised that the news made its rounds already. "Just the way I like it."

"The Man isn't big on doing things like that," Jacob said with a grin. "He's not exactly a 'team player', y'know?"

"Well, that would explain why he was so pissed off when I told him to go to hell," Shepard replied with an unrepentant shrug. "We were never on the same team to begin with."

"Hell of a way to tell the boss you're quitting. I should've expected you to light up that base," Jacob said with a grin. "Bet Jack here would've loved to see the look on his face."

"I'd like to see his head mounted on the nose of our ship like a hood ornament, but I'll settle for fucking him over," she said. "Damn, I wish I could've been a fly on that wall."

"It's not over though. Still got bad guys over the horizon and Cerberus will probably want our asses," he reminded. "Never boring, huh?"

Shepard shrugged. "Feels like old news to me."

"I'll bet," Jacob replied with a chuckle. "Still, I don't know what kind of time we have, but we better dust off and get back on our feet fast. You sure know how to make enemies."

Jack leaned back on her arms and pretended to look thoughtful. "Let's see: rebuilding your carcass took what? 4 billion credits? This ship, maybe 200 billion? 400? And then there's everything Cerberus has done for you: intelligence, weapons, the gear they gave us… that's what? Another 10 million creds?" she listed off, looking to Jacob for confirmation.

Jacob shrugged. "Just about, yeah."

"And then there's telling the Illusive Man to go fuck himself and keeping everything. That's goddamn priceless," she finished with a laugh more exuberant than Shepard had ever heard from the ex-con. "I fucking love you, Shepard. You're my goddamn hero."

At that, Shepard couldn't help but laugh as well.

**~o~O~o~**

"Legion! It's time to wake up!" Kasumi shouted. She was shaking the battered remains and tapping its cracked optic. "This is no time for a nap! We got a ship to fix up!"

Shepard glanced into the AI Core Room before turning to Tali. "Look, you need to rest. You don't have to—"

"Of course I do," Tali said as she doubled checked the bandages around her leg before reaching out for her crutches. "Legion didn't have to help us. It didn't have to stand its ground the way it did, and it didn't have to get shot up for us."

Shepard handed her the crutches. "You should be resting."

"I'm not resting while everyone else is working," she retorted before coughing. "Ah, bosh'tet…"

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm running a fever, I've got a nasty cough, and my sinuses are filled with something I can't even describe," she listed off before she needed to snort out something. Most likely it was something she couldn't describe and something he probably didn't want to imagine. Whatever it was, he hoped that her new helmet was equipped to deal with it. "Other than that, I'm fine."

"Don't worry, Legion! Look, Creator Tali'Zorah is here!" Kasumi chirped. She took its arm and made it wave at her. "You'll be as good as new in no time!"

"Well, maybe a little time," Tali wryly said as she limped into the room and stared down at the motionless geth. "It really gave its life for you guys, huh?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. It was the first time Tali had considered geth as a life, but chose not to comment on it.

Kasumi smiled, but now it was clear to see that she was only doing so to prevent herself from crying.

"Kasumi?" Tali probed worriedly.

"It just stood there, by itself… we were running away, but it didn't," Kasumi said. Her smile cracked and her voice quivered. "It just stood there and we just ran…"

"It wasn't your fault," Tali gently said. She leaned over and gave the other woman a hug. "It wasn't your fault."

At that, Kasumi broke down and sobbed. She embraced the younger quarian. "We could've helped. We could've fought back. We're supposed to be a team…"

"We are," Shepard said. "And that's why it wasn't left behind. It did its job so everyone else could get out. It made that choice."

Kasumi continued to cry for another minute or two before pulling away from Tali and wiping her eyes. "Can you fix it?"

"I need to run a full diagnostic first," Tali said. "But I promise: I'll do everything in my power to get Legion back on its feet."

Kasumi sniffled, but managed to offer a genuine smile this time. "I- thanks." She got up and left.

"How likely is it that you get it working?" Shepard said. He stared down at the remains.

"I don't know. How likely was it that we were going to survive this mission?" Tali asked in return. "I still can't believe we managed to destroy that base and get out alive. Everyone said it couldn't be done. Then again, that's said about a lot of things you do. I'm only following your example."

Shepard nodded and ran a hand across the N7 emblem on Legion's chest. It was scarred and almost unrecognizable now. "Looks like that armor didn't do us either of us any good, huh?"

"Legion will be okay, Shepard," Tali assured. "It backed up its programs before the mission, remember? If I can get the physical body working, maybe we can establish contact with the geth. Have them upload their back up. I'm hoping that's not necessary if Legion's memory cores are intact. I'll know more once I get it to the lab."

"Do you need any help?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, I'm more worried about you. I overheard Mordin muttering to himself about looking over your test results."

"He just gave me the good and bad news. Good news: my biotics are stable. Whenever he can, he'll remove the implants he put in me. The bad news is that I can't use my biotics for a while until my biotic suite gets a tune-up. Had to push myself pretty hard on this mission. A few of my biotic implants were burnt out." Shepard left out the part where he fought off Harbinger single-handedly since he didn't want to worry the engineer. "Now about you?"

"Gabby is getting my tools from Engineering to the lab. I'll call for an extra set of hands if I need it." She gestured to her leg. "I'm not going to be doing a lot of moving anyway. Might as well occupy my time by helping out however I can. And what better way to help out than to assist a friend?"

Shepard knew her words were meant for more than just him or Kasumi. "So… you'd really establish contact with the rest of the geth?"

Tali chuckled. "I already did Shepard. Legion is the name we gave to the physical platform, remember? The programs inside are geth. The backups Legion sent will have contained every moment it was with us, including all of our interactions. Believe me: I've already made contact a long time ago."

Shepard groaned and rubbed his head in irritation. "Still got a lot to learn about geth, I think."

"If it makes you feel better, so do I," Tali quietly said. "I spent my entire life hating a race I'd never met until two years ago. And then I used that hate to destroy as many as we could. And throughout all of that, I'm always burdened with the knowledge of my ancestors being exiled from our homeworld and being considered nothing more than nomads by the rest of the galaxy. All of that was blamed on the geth. It's a lot to reconcile with."

"You seem to be doing fine with it now," he pointed out.

She shrugged back. "You're a positive influence. Despite what the heretics did to your people, you were willing to take a chance on Legion. It took me a while to do the same… and it cost me more than I'd like."

He knew whom she was referring to. "Tali…"

"I don't know what my father would think, me working with Legion, but I do know that he was only driven to get me home however he could. It's… it's just tragic that he choose to go to war instead," she continued quietly. "If I can broker peace between my people and the geth, does it matter how I get home? Wouldn't getting my people back to the homeworld without any more bloodshed be worth the effort?"

Shepard studied her a bit before smiling. "I don't think I can take credit for all your decisions."

"No, but without you, I'm certain I would've made the same mistakes my father did," she replied. "So, thank you. For everything."

Their conversation was interrupted by Ken when he cleared his throat. He was standing at the door, clearly trying not to intrude. "Ah, Boss? Captain? I'm here to collect Legion and get it to the Lab."

"It's right here, Ken," Tali said. "You okay to be up and about?"

"Aye. Dr. Chakwas cleared me. Of course, she told me and a lot of the others to take it easy, but the work is never done, even if the mission is, eh?"

Tali laughed. "No, not really."

"By the way Captain. I know you've heard this about a dozen times already, but thanks for coming to get us," Ken said.

"Of course," Shepard graciously said.

Ken grinned before moving the cart he brought into the AI Core.

"Call me if you need help or if there's any news about Legion?" Shepard requested to Tali.

"I will."

**~o~O~o~**

"Shepard?"

"One sec, EDI," he grunted out. "Lift with your knees, Garrus."

"I am," the turian retorted. He took a deep breath and tried to steady his grip. "You're the one that's slowing me down."

"You're the one with only 2 fingers holding thing up. I got four."

"Yeah, well, numbers aren't everything. Didn't we just prove that by taking out an army of Collectors and husks?"

Both men moved the heavy twisted piece of metal they were carrying to the ever growing pile of miscellaneous debris in the corner of the hangar. Letting it fall, they took a moment to catch their breath.

During their temporary break, they watched, with only a hint of jealousy, as Grunt walked to them with a similar load, and single-handedly dumped it next to them.

"Thanks, Grunt," Shepard said.

The krogan nodded and was about to leave before he suddenly stopped and turned back to him and Garrus. "We fought a great battle."

"That we did," Shepard agreed.

"And when you blew up that base instead of handing it to Cerberus – Hah!"

"I did what I had to do, Grunt."

"Something to think about – The Reapers. If we kill them, the most dangerous thing in the galaxy, that only leaves… us."

"And Wrex, Grunt," Garrus reminded. "Believe me, you do not want to get on his bad side."

"That implies that he had a good side too," Shepard muttered jokingly to him.

"And the clan leader, of course. Hmm… can't wait for the Reapers to get here," Grunt said before moving to assist with the clean-up effort. "The epic battle we'll have with their kind…"

"Speaking of bad sides, first Saren, now the Collectors. Remind me never to get on your bad side either, Shepard," Garrus joked.

"You'd have to try pretty hard to get on my bad side, Garrus," Shepard said.

"You know, Grunt isn't wrong. After what we did, I almost feel sorry for the Reapers."

"Alright EDI, what's up?" Shepard asked.

"Kelly would like to have a word with you in the Crew Deck. She also added that it's not a matter of great importance and that you may take your time if you're too busy," she said.

Shepard mulled over the request before staring at the gaping holes in the hull. The stars could easily be seen. If he squinted, he thought he could see the red dot that was probably the Omega-4 Relay, hundreds of kilometers away.

Some crewmen were still at work, though some had finally given in and went to lunch when the hunger grew too insistent.

When his mind thought of lunch, his stomach made its displeasure known.

"Sounds like you ate a Thresher Maw or something," Garrus teased. His own stomach mimicked Shepard's at that moment. He glared at the human's smirk.

"I think we can afford a small break," Shepard said when he was done chuckling. "Tell Kelly I'll meet her."

Both men trekked up to the Common Area. There, Kelly, as well as a large gathering of crewmen was standing there. Their discussion was animated, but not heated. However, at his arrival, Goldstein tapped Kelly's shoulder and pointed.

Kelly turned around and blushed. It was clear that she was embarrassed about something.

Shepard broke the ice first. "Hello, Kelly."

"Captain," she greeted before clearing her throat. "I-I hope you're not busy?"

"Just here for lunch," Shepard replied. "EDI told me you wanted something?"

"It's not important. Actually, now that I think about it, it's rather silly," she said.

He smiled to help relieve the tension she was obviously feeling. "Silly is what we need now, I think."

"O-okay. Well, we got you something," she said, though her voice had fallen a little quiet that he almost didn't hear her. A mug was clutched in her hands. "Um… here."

He took it from her and read the side out-loud. "Let's see: 'Galaxy's Greatest Commander!' Not bad."

Garrus chuckled appreciatively. "Nice of them."

"We got it before the mission even started. This was before your final promotion from the Alliance. It was meant as a joke, you know? After the mission was over," Kelly blurted out. "But after what you and the others did… I'm sorry, this was inappropriate, isn't it? I'll—"

Shepard looked up at Kelly, and wryly smiled. "It's cute."

Matthews spoke up. "If you want, we can get it changed or buy you a new one or—"

"I love it. You guys don't have to do anything," Shepard assured. He smiled disarmingly at everyone before turning to Rupert and handing him the mug. "Fill it up."

"Would you like something stronger than coffee?" Rupert asked.

"Still on the clock, Mr. Gardner. Coffee will be just fine."

"Are you sure? Cause I know I—we all owe you one. No sooner had the Collectors damned us than you were pulling our sorry asses right back out of hell," Gardner said.

"Later, when we get to dock, Sarge," Shepard promised.

"Alrighty then. I'll hold you to that," Gardner said and started readying a pot. "Just wanted you to know, you're aces in my book, Shepard. Thank you."

While Gardner was getting the coffee, Goldstein stepped up next. "I wanted to speak on behalf of everyone here, that we're all proud to serve under you, Captain."

"That means a lot to me, crewman," Shepard replied. He noticed that Hawthorne wasn't in attendance.

"He's still in the infirmary," she informed. "Personally, I think his pride is more broken than his bones. He tried so hard to help Joker."

"From the way Joker tells it, he probably saved his life."

Goldstein laughed. "Probably to avoid embarrassing him."

After getting his drink in his new mug with his lunch, Shepard prepared to sit with Garrus, until he spotted Chakwas still working feverishly in the Med Bay. Normally, he wouldn't bother her, but it the circumstances weren't normal. She was typing away at her terminal, but currently, all her patients were asleep. Even Mordin was sitting nearby at the common area with his own tray of food.

Frowning, he excused himself and left his tray with Garrus. His friend saw what caught his attention and waved him off.

Taking his mug, he walked into the Med Bay and cleared his throat to get Chakwas' attention. "Doc?" he called out when she didn't acknowledge his presence after a minute or so.

She nearly jumped out of her seat when he spoke. "Oh! Shepard! You startled me!"

"I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't mean to."

"Oh, no! It wasn't your fault! I didn't mean to imply that!" She looked horrified at the prospect and Shepard had a feeling why. "I was just distracted with my reports. There's so much to keep up with that—"

"Karin," he interrupted gently. "It's okay. You're safe now."

Her mouth closed with an audible snap.

"Here." He passed his mug over to her with his untouched coffee. "Drink up."

She took it from him and wrapped her hands around it and reveled in the warmth it provided. "Thank you, Shepard. I—" She trailed off when she saw what was written on the side. "Oh, no, I couldn't…"

"You need it far more than I do, Karin." He slid into the chair nearby. "We haven't really spoken since you came back aboard."

"I know," she said softly. She hesitated, before taking a sip from her borrowed mug. "Shepard… John. I just want to say: Thank you. I'm certain you've heard it enough from so many others, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

"You know I wouldn't leave you or anyone else behind."

"I know and that's what gave me hope, no matter how bleak our situation was," she said before taking another sip. The heat from the beverage helped calm her. "You may have noticed, astute as you are, but I'm still a little shaken from my abduction by the Collectors. It was a lot to endure."

"You're handling it well, Doc."

"Work provides a nice distraction," she replied with a tired smile.

"Lunch would help a lot too. You can't just toss yourself into work to try to forget what happened," he gently said. "Come on. We got a spot out there for you."

She didn't argue. Getting up, they both left the Med Bay and rejoined the current populace at the Common Area. Joker was there now, eating heartily and receiving his own glad handing. He seemed to revel in the attention.

"Jeff," Chakwas called out. "I want to thank you too. You and Shepard came so quickly… I've never had truer friends."

The people around them applauded and shouted out their agreement and praises in concert.

"Ah, come on, Doc. Like we'd let the Collectors take you without a fight," Joker boosted. "But it means a lot to hear you say that."

Chakwas smiled like she hadn't smiled in years, but it did remove some of the weight from her ordeal. "You're truly one-of-a-kind."

Despite the attention he was basking in a moment ago, Chakwas' compliments caused him to blush. He pulled the brim of his hat low to hide his embarrassment. "Yeah, well, all in a day's work and all that."

Shepard and Garrus laughed at the pilot's attempt to be modest, breaking the tension and causing the others the laugh as well.

"I still don't have a gold medal for you, Joker, but maybe we can get you a commemorative mug of your own," Shepard joked.

"So long as it says: **History's** greatest pilot," the helmsman say with a grand sweep of his arm.

"Yeah, I think that might be pushing it," Garrus muttered good-naturedly. "That last relay jump still sucked ass."

Joker's response to that was, "Everyone's a critic," before throwing his napkin at him.

**~o~O~o~**

Finishing his lunch first, Shepard returned to the hangar to work on the clean-up and properly gauge the full extent of the damage. He frowned when he saw Jack there.

The ex-con was using her biotics to assist with moving some of the heavier stuff. She was sitting on a crate with a cushion on top with her bandaged leg was resting on a smaller crate.

"You sure you should be working?" Shepard asked.

"I can't rest. I'd go stir-crazy," she replied.

He watched her for a moment. While his talent in biotics was increasing, he still couldn't help but admire how effortlessly Jack had always used hers. Her arm was outstretched lazily and what she pointed at, it was lifted and where she gestured, it moved.

"Mission's over," Shepard finally said after a few minutes of silence.

Jack answered with a simple, "Yep."

"My turn to hold up our deal then," he continued. "After you're all set, of course. So where'd you like to go?"

She didn't say anything immediately. Instead, she preoccupied herself with her clean-up effort. A few crewmen conveyed their gratitude to her. She only nodded back and maintained her silence.

"Jack?" Shepard prompted after a minute or so.

"You giving me the boot?"

"Not especially," he replied uncertainly.

She finally looked up at him. "Been thinking… any chance I could hang here for a while longer?"

"There's always a place for you here," he said. "Can I ask why you want to stay though?"

She shrugged. "Honestly… I got nowhere else to go right now. Had a few ideas, but I wanna know if they pan out before leaving. Right now, I figure if I strike out on my own, I'll just get into a shitton of trouble. Maybe I'll get out of it, maybe I won't. Why take the risk of going back to prison or getting killed? Besides, Gardner makes some pretty good food. I'd have to be an idiot to pass on free food that isn't prison shit."

"I thought you wanted to hunt down a few people after all this?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned at him and shrugged. "The way I figure it, if I hang around you long enough, Cerberus will come to you. Why should I chase them when they'll line up like a bunch of idiots?"

**~o~O~o~**

"Shepard."

"Hello, Samara," he greeted in return.

After his work of overseeing the hangar was complete, Shepard took it upon himself to check on the rest of his squad. According to EDI, Samara had received serious injuries, but wasn't present in the Med Bay during his own examination. A quick query to Chakwas led him into Samara's quarters at the Starboard Observation Deck.

She was lying down this time, on one of the couches, rather than sitting on the floor meditating. Bandages covered her abdomen and shoulder.

"Are doing okay?" he asked. "Do you need anything?"

"I am recovering well," she assured. "This is hardly the worst injuries I've sustained in my life. Besides, there are those far worse off that require more medical care than I."

Once again, Shepard felt a measure of pride in his team for making the sacrifices they were doing. Despite their successful efforts, they didn't let themselves indulge in comfort when others needed it.

"I wanted to tell you, I believe you did the right thing by destroying that base," she said. "The Illusive Man thinks he has the wisdom to utilize it, but he does not."

"What makes you say that?"

She smiled thinly. "I am a Justicar. That base was the origin of much death and tragedy, a serious offense to my code. The very nature of that place is seeped with injustice. No good would have come from it. And the Illusive Man is already… 'morally' questionable. I've little doubt that, he too, would fall prey to its trappings."

Behind him, the door opened. "I brought you lunch… ah, Shepard."

Turning around, the Spectre saw Thane standing in the doorway. "Thane."

"How are you feeling?" the drell asked politely. He walked in and passed a tray to Samara, who offered a quiet thanks to him before eating.

"Exhausted," Shepard answered honestly.

"As are we all," Thane concurred.

"What brings you by?"

"Checking on Justicar Samara for Professor Solus and Dr. Chakwas. I am making my rounds within the ship to see what needs to be done. They had asked me to check in on their patients currently not in the Medical Bay." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "News of what the Illusive Man wanted has made its way around."

"Samara and I were talking about that," Shepard said.

"Are you at peace with your decision?"

"It had to be done. I certainly wasn't about to leave it in his hands."

Thane nodded. "You had to make yet another difficult choice, Shepard. For what it's worth, I believe you made the correct one."

"Such were my thoughts as well," Samara said.

Thane smiled, bowed to them and left.

"I wanted to thank you," Shepard said sincerely; respectfully.

"Whatever for?"

"For teaching me about biotics, about how to fight like one," he answered. "And for teaching me your special technique: Reave."

"You found it useful then?"

"It's not an exaggeration to say that everything you taught me probably saved my life."

This time, her smile was one of pride. "It was my honor to do so."

**~o~O~o~**

"How much longer?" Shepard asked in barely contained anticipation. He didn't want to bother her, but Tali had called him and the team up to the lab, citing news that she was ready to activate Legion. That was 10 minutes ago, however.

"Just a few more minutes," she muttered back. "I don't want to make any mistakes."

Everyone was standing off to one side of the lab, just as she instructed. Earlier, they were all cluttered around the table where Legion was laying on or around Tali, looking over her shoulder and trying to decipher the nearly incomprehensible lines of code she was working with. It got too crowded for her to work to the point where she had to push everyone off to one side so she could finish.

Shepard looked down at the geth platform. It was still a twisted wreck, but looking significantly better. His old N7 armor was completely removed now and the hole in its chest was a little bigger. Cables that were connected to Tali's terminal lead right inside it.

"It still looks kinda broken," Jacob commented.

"And it always will until I can make sure the programs inside it are safe first," she muttered back. "Well, that a few other reasons."

"Other reasons?" Shepard echoed.

Tali glared at him through her faceplate before turning back to her terminal.

"Are you sure Legion is gonna be okay like this?" Kasumi fretted. "I mean, you've only been working on it for only two days."

At her statement, Shepard's thoughts turned back to the last couple of days. For two days, the Normandy was just floating in the black. Most of the non-essential parts of the ship had been shut down while the critical portions were being looked over with a careful eye. Some of the crewmen and even the civilians that offered to help worked without sleep to make sure the ship would continue to function.

The mission was over, but the danger still lingered. Life support, the Tantalus Core, the fusion plant and propulsion were top priorities. Until the engineering staff was finished with their diagnostics, they were dead in space.

"I'm about to bring it online to so that it can speak to us. From there, I can get an idea of where to go next," Tali muttered. "Okay. I'm starting it up."

She tapped a few commands into her terminal, then turn to study the platform. Electric arcs erupted from its chest cavity and several sounds of grinding gears could be heard. Tali quickly typed a few more commands into her terminal.

"Is that normal?" Garrus asked and stepped back from the electric light show.

"Yes. Several actuators were severely damaged and now they're attempting to activate. Probably part of the startup sequence. I'm taking them off-line."

The team watched with baited breath when the arcs finally petered out, though a few sparks still popped out occasionally.

Finally, Tali asked, "Legion? Can you hear me?"

Legion didn't answer. Tali looked at her screen.

"What's wrong?" Kasumi asked.

"It's running a diagnostic on itself. Mostly on the platform to determine the extent of the damage," Tali answered. "Remember, it only talks to us because it's the only way it can communicate. The rest is always internal amongst its own gestalt programs."

"Is it okay?"

"Yes, but there's a lot of damage to the body, as you can see, so it's taking it's time to examine the full extent of the damage," the quarian muttered. "I'm going to upload my own notes on the damage to speed it up. It'll talk to us soon, but it won't be able to see us for now."

Everyone watched while she typed away until she stood up, limped over to Legion and pulled a cable out only to reattach it somewhere else. Then she limped back to her terminal and started typing again.

"Okay, that should do it," Tali finally said. "Legion, can you hear me? Can you speak?"

"Yes, Creator Tali-Zorah."

"Yes!" Kasumi cheered. "It's still here!"

"Nice work, Tali," Garrus praised.

"You remember me. That's a fantastic sign," Tali said in relief to the geth. "Are you still running diagnostics on your internal systems?"

"Affirmative, Creator Tali-Zorah."

"Okay, whatever you do, don't move or attempt to run anymore diagnostics on your platform. It suffered significant damage. As of right now, your programs are being supplemented by my terminal here. You can interface with this and get a better handle on your situation. It should have enough processing power to handle all 1200 programs."

"There are only 1,183 gestalt program inside this mobile platform, Creator Tali-Zorah," Legion said.

She sighed tiredly. "Yes, I know that."

"Establishing uplink. Partitioning critical programs," Legion announced. "Executing. Estimated time to upload: 2 hours, 1 minute, and 29 seconds."

"Okay, what's the last thing you remember?" Tali asked.

It was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Our records indicate that the order to return to the Normandy was given. During our retreat, we engaged a significant amount of hostile forces. It was judged that the organics within our designated team would not survive if the Collectors continued their pursuit. We achieved consensus to engage enemy forces to allow the others to reach the rendezvous point."

Jacob nodded. "Sounds like its memory is working fine. That's pretty much what happened."

"It was a noble action, Legion," Samara praised.

"Okay, everyone. Now that you know Legion is okay, would you mind if I had some privacy? I need to concentrate on restoring its platform now," Tali requested.

One by one, everyone left, but not without taking a moment to thank Legion for its sacrifice. Soon, only Tali, Shepard, Kasumi were left.

"Legion, I need you to upload schematics for this platform," Tali requested. "Even damaged, it's clear to me that this is definitely more sophisticated than the heretic platforms I've disassembled before. If you want to be mobile, I need a little help."

"Understood, Creator Tali-Zorah. Uploading schematics. Stand-by."

"Um… do you need any help?" Kasumi asked.

Tali looked like she was about to say no when she saw the guilt on the thief's face. "Sure, Kasumi, but it won't be glamorous. Since I'm having trouble moving, you'll be mostly fetching things that are out of my reach."

Kasumi nodded quickly. "Of course! Getting things is my specialty!"

"I don't think she means stealing and keeping it," Shepard teased.

Kasumi appeared to regain most of her usual cheer now. She playfully swatted at him. "I know what she meant!"

"Shepard? Can I talk to you?" Tali asked. She hobbled out of earshot of Legion. The human followed and leaned in. "I was wondering if you have a spare set of armor?" she whispered.

"Armor?" he whispered back.

"I was looking through some of Legion's memories to ensure that the data integrity was intact before I called all of you up. I didn't intend to snoop," she said. "One log entry caught my eye. Apparently, it was building consensus on whether to repair the hole in its chest to maintain structural stability and increase protection of its internal components."

Shepard glanced at the hole in Legion's chest. "That sounds logical… which means it was doing something illogical… odd for an AI."

"Exactly. It chose not to repair it because it wanted to keep your old armor," Tali replied. "I don't know why it holds so much significance, but I think the right thing to do is respect that. I'm planning on patching it up and I was thinking about using one of your spare chest plates to do it. The old one is far too damaged to be used now."

"I can give you something," he promised.

"Thanks Shepard."

"No problem. Just get Legion up and we'll call it even."

**~o~O~o~**

"John? John? Can you hear me?"

Inhaling slowly, Shepard opened his eyes before closing them and turning his head away from the lights. "Yeah, I can hear you."

"Good news, John. All your vitals are on the up and up. Mordin's implants have been removed and all the damaged biotic implants have been replaced," Miranda reported. "While you were sedated, we took the liberty of placing you in the SMART Scanner. Everything looks perfect. Now wake up, sleepyhead."

Groaning, he kept his eyes squinted until he finally adjusted to the bright lights. "More good news. I can always use more good news," he said before clearing his parched and scratchy throat.

Dr. Chakwas presented a cup of water immediately before typing at the terminal nearby. "Now on to the bad news. Naturally, while you were under, I had to administer the nanites. So when you urinate…"

"Fantastic," he muttered sardonically. Taking the proffered drink, he gulped the contents greedily.

"Sorry, Shepard. It had to be done," Chakwas gently said. She shot him a sly look. "Also, as your primary medical physician, I have to advise you to avoid engaging in any sexual activities until the nanites are cleared from your system. Even if you choose to wear protection. It wouldn't do for you to pass it onto others, would it?"

Choking on his water, Shepard coughed until his eyes watered from the effort. Looking at Miranda, it was clear that she was flabbergasted by the normally straight-laced doctor's innuendo and was staring in shock.

"Oh, my. That doesn't sound good," Chakwas commented. She was wearing a 'concerned' expression. "Do you need to stay and rest a little while longer, Shepard?"

Sitting up in bed, he kicked off the covers and moved his legs off to the side. "No, I think it's best if I leave. The sooner the better," he replied in a scratchy voice. He cleared his throat.

"As you wish," Chakwas said airily before laughing. She moved back to her desk.

"Well played, Dr. Chakwas. Well played," Miranda said with a shake of her head. Standing as well, she helped Shepard to his feet and they left the Med Bay together.

"How long was I out?" Shepard asked.

"6 hours. Not long," Miranda answered. "You should also know that Engineer's Donnelly and Daniels have reported that the engines are green. For all intents and purposes, we can finally move without worry about the Tantalus Core or fusion plant blowing up."

"When was this?"

"They only reported the news a few minutes ago. We're ready to fly at your word."

"Great. Let's get—"

"Hey, everyone! Look who's back for duty!" Kasumi shouted gleefully.

Everyone turned to see Legion walking in the Common Area, fully repaired and decked out in new N7 Armor, courtesy of Shepard.

Jacob laughed and limped up to the geth. "I knew this bucket of bolts would be alright! It just won't die! It's like a damn tank!" he cheered and slapped Legion on the back.

Legion's functioning and undamaged optic surveyed the room around it as members of the squad that were present offered their own congratulations and thoughts for its recovery. "Thank you for your concern," it said before turning to Tali. "Was that the correct response you instructed us to say, Creator Tali-Zorah?"

Tali wearily shook her head. "Yes, Legion. It was."

Kasumi giggled.

"Nice work, both of you," Shepard praised to both women before turning to Legion. "And I'm glad to see that you're up and about. Clearly, you've been missed."

"We express similar sentiments, Shepard-Commander. We also wish to convey gratitude for providing new and suitable exterior covering for this mobile platform."

Looking at the N7 armor that fully covered Legion's torso, instead of parts of it, he said, "It suits you pretty well."

"Goto-Kasumi imparted information regarding the mission after our shutdown," Legion said.

"It means Kasumi was story-telling while we were hard at work restoring the platform," Tali translated.

"I was talking to our patient! I wanted to make sure it was comfortable," Kasumi argued with a laugh.

"An interesting choice, Shepard-Commander," Legion said.

"About the base you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Indeed," Mordin suddenly said. "Collectors eliminated. Base destroyed. Team survived. Extremely impressive. Illusive Man will be displeased. Fortunately, not human myself. Not my problem."

"Lucky you," Jacob muttered.

"Your species was offered everything geth aspire to. True unity. Understanding. Transcendence," Legion pointed out.

"That's… one way to put it," Shepard said.

"You rejected it. You even refused the possibility of using the Old Machines' gifts to achieve it on your species' own terms," Legion added.

"Much like your race," Shepard commented.

"You are more like us than we thought."

Shepard grinned. "I wouldn't go that far."

**~o~O~o~**

"_Alright, course plotted. Let's hope we make it,"_ Joker said. _"Let's go, girl. We'll get you patched you up in no time. Just hold together till then."_

"The Normandy will be fine, Joker. She's in good hands," Shepard replied.

"_Of course she is! I'm at the helm."_

"I was referring to EDI," Shepard deadpanned. It was too bad the pilot couldn't see his smirk.

"_Ha, ha. So far, all systems are green. Going to FTL now. ETA to destination: 7 hours, 44 minutes."_

"_Engineering here. So far, everything's reading normal. Still have some repairs to make, but we'll be fine in the interim," _Tali reported. _"Oh, thanks, Legion."_

"_You are welcome."_

"_Thanix Cannon is stowed and deactivated. Probably got a ton of calibrations to do though once we get to dock,"_ Garrus said.

"All stations report ready, Captain," Miranda said.

Stepping away from the galaxy map, Shepard put his left hand lightly on Miranda's hip as he came behind her. Looking over her right shoulder, and pretending the read the datapad in her hands, he asked, "Any chance you and I will have some time alone?"

She gazed at him fondly and smiled. "I have work to do."

"Don't we all?" he whispered dramatically.

"Get some rest, John," she quietly said. "You, of all people, earned it."

As he left the CIC towards the lift, Shepard didn't get past five steps when he felt a pinch on his backside. Whirling around, he tried to find the culprit. Even though Miranda was facing away from him at the time, Shepard just caught her right hand, dark energy fading away as she tried to hide evidence of her action from view.

Maintaining as much dignity as he could muster, Shepard entered the lift and pressed the button. As soon as the doors closed, he allowed himself a grin as he remembered Mordin's words about mass effect fields what he could do to his XO_._

**~o~O~o~**

_**Captain's Log:**_

Mission status: Success

Squad status: Alive

Crew status: Alive

Ship status: Damaged, but functional. Multiple hull breaches. Several primary systems offline. Repairs needed at dedicated facility.

- Armaments:

Javelin Disruptor Torpedoes: Functional

Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Cannon: Functional

- Defensive Systems:

Cyclonic Barrier Technology: Compromised. Several emitters were reported to have overloaded. Replacement parts are needed.

Silaris Armor: Heavily compromised. Several sections of the armor have been sheared off, resulting in multiple hull breaches. Emergency kinetic barriers are in place and holding steady. Replacement armor is needed.

GARDIAN Lasers: Functional

IES Stealth Systems: Compromised. Several heat sinks were destroyed, along with several core systems that govern the management of heat associated with ship use. Replacement parts are needed.

- Propulsion and Power:

Tantalus Drive Core: Functional

Fusion Plant: Several power spikes were noted by Engineer Donnelly. Investigation pending.

With assurances from both EDI and Joker that the Normandy was able to make the trip, I set our course for Illium for repairs. The journey was uneventful, and personally, I'm glad for it. Touching down at Omega with the injuries the squad sustained, coupled with the Normandy's damage and traumatized civilians aboard, and I don't want to even imagine the worst case scenarios awaiting for us at a place filled to the brim with scavengers, pirates and slavers.

With my ties to Cerberus effectively severed, I've had to make due with old ablative armor, all set to be welded over the damaged sections of the hull caused by laser fire from the defense drones. Liara was kind enough to provide replacement parts, citing she had several "contacts" that would offer it freely. Part of me wants to know who, but another part of me thinks that it's best not to know.

Tali has sent a request for several new CBT emitters from the Migrant Fleet with the intent to install them herself to replace those that overloaded during our maneuvers through the debris of countless ancient vessels that failed to get through the Omega-4 Relay. The CBT is set to be fully operational by the time repairs are complete.

Several systems and internal components are in the process of being repaired, reprogrammed, or replaced by the engineering staff. Staff includes Tali, Gabriella Daniels, and Kenneth Donnelly. Volunteer staff includes Kasumi Goto, Legion, and various other colonists whom wished to convey their gratitude until their shuttles off-world was ready.

-Estimated time for repairs: Unknown

_**Crew Roster Report:**_

_Crewman Sarah Patel - Security: _

Following my announcement to leave Cerberus, Crewman Patel agreed to stay aboard the Normandy and resign from Cerberus as well. She remains an effective rifleman and backup combatant.

_Crewmen Vadim Rolston – Security (Discharged): _

Crewman Rolston disembarked at Illium with the intention of chartering a flight to Earth to reunite with his family, but not before thanking all of us profusely for our timely rescue.

_Lieutenant Thomas Hawthorne - Shuttle Pilot: _

Hawthorne chose to remain aboard the Normandy as our shuttle pilot and Joker's off-duty pilot, though more than once, EDI reported that she had taken the helm instead. I would reprimand him, but EDI states that she "enjoys" having control occasionally. Though neither has actually said so, I believe EDI convinced Hawthorne to slack off a little more.

_Lieutenant Jenny Goldstein - Navigator, Shuttle Co-Pilot: _

Goldstein also opted to remain aboard the Normandy. She claims it's to keep Hawthorne from doing something reckless, though that may be only half the story if scuttlebutt can be believed.

_Crewman Richard Hadley - Communications:_

Upon touching down on Illium for repairs, Crewman Hadley requested a leave of absence. I only learned why after questioning Matthews. Hadley left to inform his family about his brother's fate. Just before we were set to take off, Hadley returned, and asked for permission to continue serving. Permission was granted.

_Crewman Zach Matthews - Sensors:_

Crewman Matthews remains aboard the Normandy, though he did request a leave of absence first. According to Kasumi, he went to the Citadel and most likely, kept his appointment with the Consort. I'd rather not know the details.

_Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner – Cook, Handyman:_

Mess Sergeant Gardner took the time to thank every one of us individually. Once we touched down on Illium, he proceeded to cook a victory feast and threw the loudest party he could to the surprise of all. He continues to serve aboard the Normandy.

_Yeoman Kelly Chambers – Executive Assistant, Psychologist:_

Kelly chose to stay aboard the Normandy. However, it is clear that the abduction and all the events following after had left its mark. Often, all too often, I would see her hands shake uncontrollably and she would screw her eyes shut. Most likely, she's reliving the worst parts of the ordeal, and would only force it away through sheer will. Given that she's the ship psychologist, I doubt I could offer any help that she wouldn't know of. At this point, time will tell. I certainly hope that time will heal as well.

_Engineer Gabriella Daniels – Propulsion Engineer:_

Insisting on staying, Gabby hardly took shore leave at Illium. Preferring to work, she stayed with Ken and Tali to restore full functionality to the Normandy. Once repairs were complete, she opted to stay aboard.

_Engineer Kenneth Donnelly – Power Engineer:_

Ken chose to remain aboard the Normandy, citing that he only joined Cerberus because of me and was willing to leave Cerberus for the same reasons. However, it's my personal belief that he learned what Cerberus is truly about. News had travelled quickly of the Illusive Man's intentions of keeping the Collector Base. Naturally, those that had been in the 'care' of the Collectors were against it, with Ken being the most vocal of all.

_Doctor Karin Chakwas – Chief Medical Officer:_

Though shaken by her ordeal, she thanked Joker and me as well as the rest of the squad for our quick and timely rescue. During the Normandy's repairs at Illium, she surprised me by going out and buying another bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy, which she insisted we share with her immediately. Neither Joker, nor myself, declined.

_Jacob Taylor – Former Alliance Marine, Former Cerberus Operative, Armory Chief, Team Leader, Close-range Biotic Specialist:_

Jacob also resigned from Cerberus and opted to stay with the Normandy. Before, he could be seen in the Armory most of the time; either working on the weapons or exercising to pass the time. Nowadays, he's nowhere to be found, though the door to the Portside Observation Room is locked during those times.

_Garrus Vakarian – Former C-Sec Detective, Former Vigilante, Gunnery Officer, Team Leader, Long-range Marksman, Tactical Specialist:_

Not surprisingly, Garrus remains aboard the Normandy, though he did request a bit of time off. He didn't tell me where he went, and I didn't pry. Still, it makes me proud to continue serve alongside a capable and formidable soldier.

But more than that, I can't begin to describe how much it means to have such a staunch friend by my side.

_Professor Mordin Solus – Scientific Genius in Multiple Fields, STG Trained, Medical Officer (Discharged):_

Following the aftermath of our mission, Mordin thanked me for all the help I had given him. After seeing to the colonists and our squad's own injuries, he departed. Where he intended to go, he didn't say. He did, however, state that if I ever needed his help, I would only need to call.

_Grunt – Krogan Savage, Warrior, Representative of Clan Urdnot (Discharged):_

With the success of the mission, Grunt returned to Tuchanka and his clan. No doubt, he'll be telling Wrex all about what had happened. I gave him both M-180 Cain's to return to Wrex.

I hope to see great things from him.

_Jack – Former Convict, Biotic Specialist:_

Jack remains aboard the Normandy. With nowhere specific to go, she felt her interests would be better served with the squad for the time being. I couldn't help but notice that her mood improved significantly when all the Cerberus decals were removed.

On another note, she and Miranda have gotten along better than I would've thought, especially with their confrontation after our mission on Pragia. I wonder what happened…

_Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya – Chief Engineer, Tech Specialist:_

Tali personally oversaw and directed the Normandy's repairs. From start to finish, she made sure everything was in tip-top shape, working diligently from dawn to dusk. More than once, I caught her asleep on a little cot she had placed in the hangar.

About a week before the Normandy was ready to depart Illium, she requested leave. Permission was granted. I later learned that she charted a flight back to the Migrant Fleet to attend her father's funeral.

Before I could ask, she stated that she was more than ready to resume her duties and that some time away from home would be good for her.

Garrus had teased her by reminding her that with the ship name "vas Normandy", technically, she was home.

I couldn't help but note she didn't say anything to the contrary.

_Thane Krios – Former Assassin, Close-range Biotic Specialist, Marksman (Discharged):_

With the mission over, Thane chose to leave. I saw to it that he was on the first flight to the Citadel. He thanked me for the friendship we now shared and hoped that we kept in touch.

Though he didn't say it aloud, I'm certain that our mission was his last. Whatever time he has left, I hope he finds peace if he hadn't already.

_Samara __– Asari Justicar, Biotic Specialist (Discharged):_

Upon touching down on Illium, I informed Samara that she was released from her oath and took the time to properly thank her for all that she taught me.

In turn, she reaffirmed her vow that if I ever needed her help again, she would come; after which, in what might be the first time since making her acquaintance, she made a joke. She thanked me for not obligating her to kill me as her code would dictate.

She chartered a flight off-world and left for asari space.

_Kasumi Goto – Freelance Thief, Tech Specialist: _

Still decrypting Keiji's graybox, Kasumi expressed her desire to stay. Her reasons were that there was no place safer or any more dangerous and exciting than aboard the Normandy.

I doubt she fooled anyone with that story.

_Legion – Unique Geth Platform, Geth Terminal, Geth Infiltrator, Marksmen, Tech Specialist:_

Intent on staying, Legion continues to interact with the squad and crew to "understand organic behavior." More than once, I spotted some of the crewmen play games with it, or Tali sitting down and holding surprisingly long conversations with it.

Chakwas even told me that EDI participates in those discussions ranging from explanations or interpretations of organic behaviors and cultures to synthetic beliefs and the quarian homeworld of Rannoch.

The possibilities of peace between the quarians and geth now actually seem feasible.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula / Tasale / Illium / Star Sapphire Hotel**_

Shepard paused and languidly stretched in his chair before rubbing at his eyes. He took moment to scroll through his logs to see if he had missed anything or anyone when he felt familiar and welcome touch on his shoulder.

Miranda leaned over from behind him as she read unabashedly read his log. He shifted his head so that he could rest against her shoulder. She responded by playfully nudging him in return so she could keep reading.

"Nothing on me?" she asked after a few minutes.

"I'm still thinking," he hedged. "The hard part trying to figure out what to put in and what to leave out."

She turned to stare at him with an arched eyebrow.

Shepard blinked and replayed the words in his head before grinning. "Not exactly the right choice of words…"

"And yet, that opened all sorts of ideas, doesn't it?"

"None of which have anything to do with my log."

"Perhaps a distraction is in order?"

"Are you offering?"

She leaned in close and after turning off his terminal, whispered, "That and more. Shall we retire for the evening, _Captain?_"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Author's Notes:**_

Priceless quote was from a motivational pic created by **Joisan** from the BioWare forums. Used with permission.

Tiny extra scene inspired by faithful reviewer **Ddangerdan**.

And another by **Stratavarium**.

A coffee mug for the "no one left behind" achievement inspired by **Mr. Tacito**

Captain's Log inspired by the video game, **Skies of Arcadia**.

Everything Legion was inspired by **Tomorrow's Dawn** by fellow ME author **ElectricZ**. Used with permission. An awesome read and something you definitely have to check out.


	65. Thoughts, Acknowlegements, & Disclaimer

_**Author's Thoughts:**_

Well, this was certainly a journey that I'm going to remember –and treasure– for the rest of my life.

First, let me say that this isn't meant as any disrespect to my fellow Mass Effect authors or any author in general. I've been a fanfic reader for many years. I have a profound and deep respect for those that put thoughts to words and have the courage to publish it online. I also understand and respect that they do it for their own reasons.

However, for me, as a reader, no matter how much I admire that courage, I can't help but cringe at some of the quality of work that is posted. Not to say that I'm better or they're bad, but some things posted weren't simply to my taste or I was of the opinion (Perhaps misguided, perhaps not) that the work should've been better. Of course, on the flip side of the coin, there were works that I can't help but read, then reread again. Unforgettable works that I've always hoped to aspire to with my own story.

With all that said, I felt that I had little right to judge without embracing the same courage to write and post work of my own. This fanfic started out as a project, to even see if I even had the capability to write at all. The outpouring of reviews for just the first few chapters was enormous. I was humbled and grateful for those that gave my work a chance and made the time to leave their thoughts. It was because of that, I continued to write. What was once a project, became a hobby. What was once a hobby, became a mission to see this story to the end.

So, I would offer my most sincere appreciation to my fans that have stuck by me; that encouraged, supported, and assisted me into finishing this massive undertaking from a first time author. I would also offer thanks to all other authors out there. Good and bad are relative opinions anyway, and now I've learned that it's no small thing to write and publish something for all to see it. It's because of you that I even started.

There those in particular that I would thank and have their contributions acknowledged.

First, special thanks for my fellow Mass Effect authors and other authors of works I constantly read. They either kindly given me permission to use a little of their work to weave into my own, or offered inspired ideas that they were willing to give to me instead of using it in their own writings.

Special thanks and acknowledgements (In no particular order):

Mass Effect Author's:

**ElectricZ**

**Ronnie James Dio**

**Stradivarium**

**Knights-Honour**

**Pepoluan**

**JoeLaTurkey**

**OmegaCrusader**

Other fanfic author's and sources of inspiration:

**CrazyGurlMadness**

**Ridleysbiggestfan**

**AntiChri5**

**Skyllian Blitz**

**fongiel24**

**bluewickedbehemoth**

**Slidell505**

**SnowShip**

**Jason Kreuger Myers**

**GethInfiltrator**

**Joisan**

William Shakespeare

Walt Whitman

Alfred Tennyson

I would also like to offer my appreciation to certain reviewers and fans that went above and beyond the call in their support of me. These are people that didn't just review, but actively helped me and took the time to make this fic better by offering input, ideas, or pointing out glaring mistakes.

To my supporters and fans (In no particular order):

Annjul

Spartan-Guy88

Breakdown Boy

Annara Ren

Haxxer

Havoc-legionnaire

Super-Saiyan-3-Vegeta

Swordsman of Shadow

Skllhrt

Paragon Sheperd

THE reader

ArrowMk84

Ddangerdan

Dragon3ye

Breakdown Boy

Shadowfall

nitefyre410

Lord Europe

BiowareFan

Dhamon45

Amir-015

someone ()

Swordsman of Shadow

Rise Against713

sandman7734

SgtPotato

phoenixblade2

MEFanAllDaWay

Sithslayer69

Reikson

Vickmackey007

Skllhrt

Mr. Tacito

If there were names I left out, I apologize. The list is simply too extensive for me to write. Rest assured, I know who you are and you do too. My eternal gratitude goes out to you and all others that followed my work.

To **EpisodeSkywalker**, AKA **PirateWars**: That poster remains absolutely lovely and will always be my coverart. Thank you for creating it.

I would also like to give thanks to my brother, who will only be known as **HibikiR101_0984**. He had the patience to often act as my sounding board whenever I got stuck or needed to bounce a few ideas around.

Finally, last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my beta reader, **Wyl**. It's thanks to him that the quality of my fanfiction looks as good as it does.

To **Wyl**: Thanks man. It's been my greatest honor to have met you and working with you has been a blast.

The following movies and television shows were used as sources of inspiration. No copyright infringement was intended nor was any money made during the course of this fanfiction. Every title is the intellectual property of their respective owners.

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: **Voyager**

Star Trek

Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets

Band of Brothers

Starship Troopers

Firefly/Serenity

The Recruit

Soldier

House, M.D.

Burn Notice

White Collar

Chrono Trigger: Short Action Scene

The Island

NCIS

Clear and Present Danger

Bad Boys II

Armageddon

Babylon 5

Pitch Black

Terminator: Salvation

The following video games were used as sources of inspiration. No copyright infringement was intended nor was any profit made during the course of this fanfiction. Every title is the intellectual property of their respective owners.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The Dig

Ace Combat 5

Ace Combat Zero

Metroid

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Skies of Arcadia

This is a work of fanfiction using the world and characters of Mass Effect.

Mass Effect is the intellectual property of BioWare and EA. No copyright infringement was intended nor was any profit made during the course of this fanfiction. I do not claim any ownership. This story was of my own invention and is not purported as part of the Mass Effect universe. Fight for the Lost was created for entertainment only.

Special thanks go out to BioWare and the creative mind(s) that brought us Mass Effect. It's a wonderful and robust sci-fi world that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

At the time of this final post:

Chapters: 64

Words: 708,586

Reviews: 1626

Favorites: 953

Followers: 753

Communities: 21

Duration: 3 years, 17 days.

Till next time, everyone!

- LuxDragon


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